Aqua Cat - Bahamas Trip Report

[coldwaterlloyd]

Aqua Cat
June 22 -29
Water Temp - 79-82 degrees Vis 70-100 feet
I used two suits , full 3mm with beanie , full 5mm with beanie
I participated in all 25 dives offered . A wide variety of dives .
Sharks were the main attraction and I was not disappointed .
Most reefs were in tragic condition being covered with thick algae . Very disappointing .
A lot of Lion Fish everywhere , they get big .

The Aqua Cat is as advertised , A very comfortable dive liveaboard .
For my first liveaboard I was very impressed .

The crew are all great .

Food was very good . Lots of choices at all meals .

At times the seas ( crossings ) were rough . I did take meds for seasick and I did not feel any effects .

All in all I would rate the trip as excellent even with some of the poor reefs . I would not hesitate to go back and dive with Aqua Cat again .
The Shark Feed and the mating Silky Sharks in the Blue Hole were worth the price of admission .
The other divers were a treat to spend a week with , A lifetime of memories from the Bahamas .

 

[amoses]

Thanks for the report. I am heading out at the end of this month on Blackbeards and am looking forward to it. I was worried the reefs would be in this condition. Very sad about that.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

We stayed in the unasuming Cabin 11 . Do not try to sit up in the lower bunk ...

 

[drrich2]

Sounds great. Would like to try it someday.

Did you see many sharks on the dives other than a 'shark feeding' dive? Any idea what range of species of shark you saw?

Richard.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

We saw a large Blacktip Shark on second dive of the trip , came up from the wall , saw divers , checked us out and then right back down .

They took us to a site called Cracked Reef , this is a site where they do feedings . Even when they are not feeding , the Caribbean Reef Sharks congregate around the site just in case ...

There are dozens from 3-10 feet checking you out your whole dive . It looks so cool !

Most of the reefs were so boring we got them to take us back there 3-4 times just so we could have something to look at . The actual reef there is one of the better sites as well .

The actual shark feed was a lot of fun .
We also saw quite a few at the Wreck of the Austin Smith , another feeding location .
At this site we actually freed a 10 foot Green Moray from a fish trap not 100 feet from the wreck . A sad site indeed with a happy ending . A real Free Willy experience .

I have not seen Sharks other than Nurse Sharks for over 20 years , diving all over the Caribbean . This trip came through with the Sharks , it is sad that we do not see these magnificent beasts on other Islands , it just looks complete to see those guys cruising the reefs .
Too bad that most of the reefs we saw in the Exumas were near dead due to Algae .

We were also very fortunate that the Silky Sharks were doing their mating routine in the Blue Hole . There were hundreds of them around us the whole dive , would make me dizzy in the mid water section of the hole .

Funny thing is , the healthiest reef we saw was the last dive of the trip , 30 feet of water with a very colourful reef , Periwinkle Reef which is just out of Nassau Harbour , It was one of the best dives of the trip and I was expecting it to be totally lame .
This place must get enough current to keep it clean of the invasive Algae which is smothering most of the other reefs .

The Aqua Cat is a great trip . I would not do it again with my dive buddy , we want to see healthier reefs , I would not hesitate to do this trip with my wife , she dives but her expectations are not as high as ours .
If this boat was located in a better dive area I would not do anything else , I have no other liveaboard to compare it to but it would be hard to beat , especially at the price . Very good value .

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Off gassing at Split Coral Reef

 

[dive!]

Most of the reefs were so boring we got them to take us back there 3-4 times just so we could have something to look at .

Too bad that most of the reefs we saw in the Exumas were near dead due to Algae .

Funny thing is , the healthiest reef we saw was the last dive of the trip , 30 feet of water with a very colourful reef , Periwinkle Reef which is just out of Nassau Harbour , It was one of the best dives of the trip and I was expecting it to be totally lame .
This place must get enough current to keep it clean of the invasive Algae which is smothering most of the other reefs .

Hope to do a couple dives in Nassau this month. Sounds like a shark feeding dive may be the way to go. Sad to hear about the algae and lion fish in the Bahamas.