Kona Aggressor

[Noboundaries]

This was a good thread. Thanks everyone that contributed. I just put the KA as a definite diving option for later this year or early next.

[DiverBeth]

My son and I did the KA last August and we had a great time. The crew was wonderful and so was the food.

As pointed out above you have to know about diving Hawaii. While there is some wonderful sea life it doesn't have the coral like the Caribbean let alone the Great Barrier Reef. The manta night dive can be tremendous. We had at least a dozen. The afternoon dive before the manta night dive was at that location and a couple of the mantas came by early so we got to see them during the day.

As to the night life remember a liveaboard isn't a cruise ship. I've done several liveaboards and you can easily be the only diver still up at 9:30. When I was on the KA most of the people hung around the salon and talked till about 11:00. But remember the Aggressor's motto is "Eat, sleep and dive" and I have no problem doing that.

[Wijbrandus]

I'm curious about how the dives are actually handled. My wife and I have been diving in Hawaii before, but land-based, and have never done a live-aboard. We are considering this boat for our first live-aboard this coming Xmas.

Are you allowed to do your own thing? Or is it a group thing the entire dive? Are there good sites where we can explore the nooks and crannies on our own? How do you keep your gear from stinking if it's always set up and never soaked? Is there a good place to soak neoprene (my booties reek badly and quickly)?

[Damselfish]

Yes, you can do your own thing. Sometimes we hang more with the group, sometimes not, as the mood and site strikes us. What there is of a "group" is generally spread way out and heading vaguely the same direction simply because everyone is going the way that makes sense, not any kind of tight herd. Buddies turn on their own whenever/wherever they're ready.

There are rinse tanks on the dive deck but they are used for cameras during the week. There are showers on the dive platform. I generally rinse me and my wetsuit in the shower at the same time then hang my suit to dry, there are rods and hangers on the dive deck and plenty of breeze. I take 2 suits so I always have a sort of dry one. I don't worry about BC and reg on a liveaboard they don't really get a chance to dry. They get a good cleaning and drying the last day (which the Kona crew will actually do for you if you don't stop them.) If you want to rinse your booties every couple dives and put them up on the sundeck to dry, or whatever it is you need to do, it's easy enough. If you smell bad enough they'd probably come up with your own personal bootie bucket. A rinse and good baking on the sundeck would probably do more for them than sitting around soaking though. You might bring 2 pairs of boots if that's your bugaboo.

[robint]

Yes, you can do your own thing. Sometimes we hang more with the group, sometimes not, as the mood and site strikes us. What there is of a "group" is generally spread way out and heading vaguely the same direction simply because everyone is going the way that makes sense, not any kind of tight herd. Buddies turn on their own whenever/wherever they're ready.

There are rinse tanks on the dive deck but they are used for cameras during the week. There are showers on the dive platform. I generally rinse me and my wetsuit in the shower at the same time then hang my suit to dry, there are rods and hangers on the dive deck and plenty of breeze. I take 2 suits so I always have a sort of dry one. I don't worry about BC and reg on a liveaboard they don't really get a chance to dry. They get a good cleaning and drying the last day (which the Kona crew will actually do for you if you don't stop them.) If you want to rinse your booties every couple dives and put them up on the sundeck to dry, or whatever it is you need to do, it's easy enough. If you smell bad enough they'd probably come up with your own personal bootie bucket. A rinse and good baking on the sundeck would probably do more for them than sitting around soaking though. You might bring 2 pairs of boots if that's your bugaboo.

when doing a liveaboard, we always bring more than one pair of booties... the main reason is we both hate putting on wet boots for a night dive! We do rinse the booties after each dive with our wetsuits (I think all liveaboards have showers on the deck) after each dive then set them in the sun. I didn't notice mine smelling bad at the end of the week - I think the hot sun does kill most of the bacteria that causes the stink.

robin