b) any Ultimate Getaway boat/operation comments
GREAT operation. Great crew, great diving.
the boat is good, but just understand it's not a Luxury yacht and you'll be ok. Remember you'll need to bring your own bedding/towels since you're flying. (some folks buy a cheap sleeping bag/pillow when they get there so they don't have to fly with it and extra baggage fees.
the only bad thing I'll say about flying is that the airport has a contract with a single cab company for taxi's leaving the airport. the cab fee to get to the Ultimate Getaway is freaking outrageious for a 10-15 minute drive. it's like $55 for 1-2 people and $70 for 3,4,5 or something like that.
compared to $20 for a return fare that we got a couple years before.
c) what is the diving like within the reserve - anchor diving/drift diving/easy/hard/shallow/deep.
all this will be up to the captain, conditions, etc.... but here is what you might typically experience.
in the reserve, most of it is mooring diving. the boat ties up to a mooring and you use the mooring line as a down line. and come back up that line.
outside the reserve, no moorings so it's all a drift dive. great sights outside the reserve also.
you'll want a nice big 6' or larger safety sausage and a spool/reel and learn to deploy it either at depth or at your safety stop. This is a requirement for the boat and you'll see why on the drift dives as people easily come up 1/4 mile from the boat.
Any timely comments much appreciated since I need to reserver (or not) NOW.
you need to find out if it's an "all spearfishing trip" if you don't want to spearfish. some divers don't like being on boats that are spearfishing trips. FYI.
a few things I reccomend taking for this boat.:
- a small flashlight for your bunk
- a small bin to put under your seat to put your mask/gloves/lights/etc. (like a plastic dish pan). most folks don't take this... but I like to.
- some aligator clips to use as heavy duty clothes pins for putting towels over the inboard rail and clipping them off so they will dry.
- pack anything you want to stay dry in your dive bag in a waterproof bag or ziplocks. dive bags are stored on the bow.
- any adult beverages you want. (someone will make a booze run before you depart most likely).
- earplugs to wear at night. All boats are noisy underway or when dropping anchor and other people snore.
- tip money for the crew.
