Fdog Review: the AquaCat Liveaboard

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Fdog review – AquaCat Liveaboard

This is a review of the AquaCat liveaboard, which we were guests aboard on the week of 21-28 January 2012. The charter was all-inclusive, and cost me $2195. There were additional taxes and fees (such as a fuel surcharge, Marine Park fees, Port fees, etc) that added roughly $250. I chose to breathe Nitrox, which added $150.

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The AquaCat lays alongside at port in the Atlantis Marina, not their usual berthing, in Nassau, Bahamas.


The AquaCat is a liveaboard that is based in Nassau, Bahamas. They frequent the dive sites at the Exuma Cays to the southeast, Eleuthera Island, and (not so much) Nassau.


The size of the AquaCat just doesn’t sink in until you see her next to another vessel.

When it comes to liveaboards, our group has been traveling to a different liveaboard, about 2 liveaboards a year, for the past 10 years or so. The vessels have varied from the Red Sea to Palau to the Caribbean, on a variety of “brands”. Comparisons become inevitable, and the AquaCat compared very, very well indeed.

Our group generally consists of about 80% expert divers, and the remainder low-time divers just starting out. This trip was no exception, and gave us a chance to see how the boat accommodated differing skill levels.


JanetStop.jpg

Janet hangs out for a stop at the end of a dive. The boat also deployed a “hang bar” at 15’ with hooka regulators.



The stern, and dive deck. The AquaCat is equipped with 3 smaller boats for diver support and shore excursions.

We had heard about the AquaCat for years, seeing the ads in the magazines. We really hadn’t considered them seriously, because we’d been on previous shore-based trips to Nassau. These had been nice, but we experienced underwater conditions that were just average, and not what we’d pay the expense of a liveaboard for. Also, when perusing the website, it always appeared to have a smallish dive deck.

As it turned out, neither of these assumptions were correct!



Waiting to board: our group mills around waiting for the magic 6:00 PM boarding time.

As we waited to board the AquaCat, I observed some worn paint and scuff marks on the exterior. This is different from most of the liveaboard vessels we’ve been on, where the exterior generally looks like they’ve been freshly repainted. It was with a sense of foreboding that I accepted the cheerful invitation of the crew to come aboard.

That foreboding disappeared instantly when I stepped on board the AquaCat.

The reality of the vessel, once on board, could not have been more opposite from the exterior: absolutely spotless, in perfect condition. The interior of the vessel looked, smelled, and felt like it was brand-new. When I asked how long since the vessel had been in for a refit, it had been almost a year! The crew works hard to keep the interior shipshape, and it shows.
 
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The Dive Deck


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Frickin huge. And this is only half the dive deck! View is looking aft.


The crew invited us to pick a spot, and assemble our dive gear. …Remember that assumption of “tiny dive deck”? Wow. We exhausted ourselves doing laps around the enormous dive deck looking for a place to plunk our gear. Don’t let the photo fool you – each diver’s station has two cylinders (one air and one Nitrox). And these photos only show half the dive deck!

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View of the dive deck looking forward. Again this is only half of the deck! Note the showers in the forward bulkhead.


As with all liveaboards, you only have to set your gear up once, and your cylinder is refilled where it sits. All you have to do is sit down and shrug out of your gear. Your miscellaneous gear – such as mask, booties, pocket contents – are stowed in the bins under your gear station.

The boat has cylinders to fit any diver. Although the bulk of the cylinders are the ubiquitous Aluminum 80, there’s a selection of 100’s, 63’s and 50’s. I even saw a couple of 40’s. This is in direct contrast with 95% of the liveaboards, where it’s take an 80, or, take an 80.

Particularly refreshing was the open, nonjudgmental attitude of the crew. Most crews become just a little freaked out when they see us assembling backplates, followed by long hoses, and then finally (OMG!) scooters. The AquaCat was all smiles, and actually became excited when they saw the scooters. Which is a good thing, because we make a habit of taking the crew on scooter dives, so they can have fun, too!


James returns from a dive. There’s a clothesline at the ceiling for pining up swimsuits to dry, and the large metal tray above the cylinders holds the Air and Nitrox fill whips.


In the middle of the dive deck, there is a huge camera table. This was literally twice the size of the biggest camera table we’ve ever seen on any other liveaboard, and equipped with clean dry compressed air and bright lighting.


Big enough to (quite literally) sleep four, the well-padded, well-lit camera table.


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Hot ‘n Fresh: the freshwater showers at the forward portion of the dive deck, stocked with soap and shampoo.


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Not to beat a dead horse, but Janet stands on the back of the dive deck as we head off on a scooter dive. What’s visible is only a third of the dive deck.


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The port side dive ladder and dive platform. There is a clone of this on the starboard side.



I could blather on and on about all the subtle nuances of the huge, and well-appointed, dive deck. After all, we came to dive hard, and the AquaCat is spectacularly equipped to provide that. But eventually, we’ll have to sleep and eat, so let’s take a look at what else the AquaCat has to offer.
 
Cabins



We were ushered to our cabin. As we walked inside, the first feature the smacked me was the bed. It was a King size bed. Really. I am 6’2” tall, and I could lay completely sideways without hanging off the sides.

JamesBed.jpg

Yes, Virginia, that’s a real King-size bed.


Every cabin we’ve ever been in has had a shortage of storage space. Not on the AquaCat – we had a large double-sided closet, extra cabinet space, and more storage under the nightstand and the bed. Wow!

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The storage in our cabin, including a private fridge. Air conditioning outlet is above the cabinet.


As we placed our clothes in the cabin, I was struck by how clean the cabin was. Everything looked, felt, and smelled new. It’s obvious there’s a lot of effort in maintenance – if you looked very, very closely you could occasionally see hints of the true age of the vessel – but this cabin was amazing.

I’m sorry I was stupid and didn’t take a photo of the head (bathroom), because it fits right in with the theme of clean and huge. There’s a real toilet (not a marine head with all its idiosyncrasies). The shower is big enough for two. :wink: Amazing.

It’s uncomfortable to talk about, but I thought I should bring this up, too: No insects. Not one. We’ve been on well-maintained vessels from big name chains before where there have been …issues… with ants and roaches. Not on board the AquaCat, I didn’t see anything, and I looked. It’s as if the boat was surgical clean, a huge up-check in my book.

After unpacking, we placed our luggage out in the companionway, where it mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again until the last day of the trip.

Companionway1.jpg

The companionway that services the cabins on the 1st level of the AquaCat.
 
The Rest of the Boat



From our cabin, we climbed up the stairs a level to the Alfresco Deck & Salon level. The Alfresco deck is nicely equipped for outdoor lounging – we had several dinners and breakfasts here – and is also the location for dive briefings.

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The Alfresco Deck


From here we entered the Main Salon.

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Entrance to the Salon. There is a conveniently located head just to the starboard as you enter.


The salon is – like the rest of the boat – huge. And with windows lining three of the four walls, open and bright and airy.

The Salon is both the lounge and dining room, with comfy couches, a big screen TV, and coffee tables equipped with 110V outlets for our laptops.

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Overall view of the Salon. The coffee tables are a relic from the days of film, and double as light tables.


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The dining tables set up for dinner. No waiters with towels over the arm, but tasty nevertheless.


Three meals a day were served buffet style by Chef Kirk. Delicious and filling, we all gained weight despite the relatively cold water of 73 degrees F. Kirk took all the special dietary needs – allergies, vegetarian, etc – and blended them into the fare seamlessly. Yum!

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The buffet set up for pre-breakfast.


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The starboard side of the Salon, a common place to relax and fill out logbooks, or watch a movie as the intrepid few did their night dives.


It’s not all about food, though. When you’re done diving for the day, it’s nice to have a nice glass of brew. The AquaCat has three different beers on tap, and unlimited wine as part of the cost of the charter. Of course, as soon as you have a drink, your diving day is done – it was easy to tell the night divers at dinner, as they would not have a glass of wine in front of them.

BeerSalon.jpg

Local beer on tap (L), and the soda fountain (R)


To complete the tour of the AquaCat, we ascended to the Sun Deck. A popular place to work on a tan, the Sun Deck has its own bar and CD player.

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The Sun Deck, which turns into a used scuba gear garage sale on the last day of the cruise as everyone dries out their gear.


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The Sun Deck bar, which not only features beer on tap, but Rum and fruit mixers.
 
Enjoying the week



All our diving from the AquaCat was done from the vessel. She’d moor over the dive site, and off we’d go. There were no silly restrictions of being forced to dive in a herd or follow the dive guide, we were free to do our own thing. Of course, the crew was happy to show off their knowledge of the little critters and accompany you if you’d ask.


We usually didn’t have to swim far to see colorful reefs.


Our old assumption certainly didn’t hold true (the Bahamas had so-so underwater scenery). In truth, the reefs on the Exumas were vibrant, colorful, and in excellent shape – better than many other “top shelf” destinations we’ve been to lately.

We were happy to find both great structure – spectacular vertical walls dropping into the abyss – as well as packed reefs with tiny elusive critters. Pelagics, including a Whale Shark, and lots of ordinary reef sharks. Every dive was a treat, and made me feel bad for dismissing the location in the past.


Janet captures a shy Juvenile Drum.


The AquaCat uses the “Passport” system popularized by DAN to keep track of divers. We’d move our accountability tags back and forth for each dive as well as for shore excursions.

AquaCatAccountability.jpg




Both dive platforms trailed a surface float and line, making it easy to get to the ladder and climb out.

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Not everything was blowing bubbles. The AquaCat actually has some interesting shore excursions, so we’d all pile in Magic, their dual-engined RIB to go for a tour of the island chain’s pirate history, or see endangered critters such as the Northern Bahamian Rock Iguana. Normally I’m a full-speed-ahead nothing but diving kind of guy, and for the first time, I actually enjoyed the education from the trips to shore.


The AquaCat’s tender, Magic.



We come face-to-face with the blood-curdling pirate history of the Bahamas as we wade across Banshee Creek.



Janet feeds a grape on a stick to a Rock Iguana.
 
The Crew


As fantastic as the vessel is, and as great as the diving was, what can make or break a trip is the crew. In a word, the AquaCat crew was spectacular – and we’ve seen some great crews before, and sadly, some that made us swear we’d never return.

Captain Mark was simply amazing. He’d talk to us about what we wanted in dive sites, and was flexible to give us what WE wanted, as opposed to a canned, pre-packaged itinerary. Wow.

The dive deck crew - Ian and Alex and Adam – always had a smile. They wanted us to have a good time, and it showed. Whether it was handing in cameras or scooters, helping with a piece of cranky gear, or entertaining dive briefings, they worked hard for us.

The vessel was so big, that something that made the crew “twice as productive” was that they all wore a radio. If you went to a crewmember with something that needed fixing, if they couldn’t do it personally (most of the time), they’d get on the radio and contact someone that could. …And usually it would be fixed or handled in minutes.

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Every crewmember wore a radio, just to make sure everything went smoothly.


It’s the little things that count, and all the little things add up into a pretty spectacular experience for us as guests. For example, on the last day, they coordinated the bus trips to the airport. But instead of just writing it down on a bulletin board, they had these posted in every cabin, on the doors, at the galley…everywhere…just to make it easy for us:

BusSked.jpg



How much of an impression did all this make on us? Well, I saw something I’ve never seen before on a liveaboard: a thank-you, from the guests, to the crew.


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Conclusion



The author hangs out for a stop under the twin hulls of the AquaCat.



We’ve been lucky enough to travel on a lot of liveaboards. In a lot of spectacular places, too. And we’ve written off the AquaCat for years, because we didn’t think it was going to be worth it.

Does the AquaCat have everything we want in a liveaboard? Sadly, no. We’d love to have the Tala’s helium supply, or the Odyssey’s wrecks; Yap’s mantas; the Bilikiki’s underwater history. The Cayman Aggressors CIA chef.

But still, after a decade of liveaboards, the AquaCat has something that none of the others have:




The best we’ve ever been on.



All the best, James
 
First: What a great trip report along with all the pictures! The pictures are a real nice touch!

Second: I now hate you James because we have a group of 22 going on the AC during the week of the 4th of July this year and I am now wishing away several months of my life because after this report, I want to be leaving tomorrow!

One of these days I'll get you for this James. Just keep looking over your shoulder! :D
 
gee, james, i didn't know my fb birthday message would be so heartfelt as to force you to produce this masterpiece! thank you. and, yeah, now i want to go...
 
Very outstanding report. Makes me more willing to consider going myself, as I've had some of the same reservations about the Bahamas you did.

Richard.
 

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