How much experience for Galapagos?

[galapagosexpert]

I am shocked that someone on your cruise did their first ocean dive in GPS on a liveaboard to Darwin and Wolf! That really frightens me..I truly believe that a company shouldn´t sell the cruise to someone without significant experience to safely enjoy the trip. I´m glad that the person had a great time, and did great..but in my opinion things could have gone drastically wrong.

 

[Mossman]

I am shocked that someone on your cruise did their first ocean dive in GPS on a liveaboard to Darwin and Wolf! That really frightens me..I truly believe that a company shouldn´t sell the cruise to someone without significant experience to safely enjoy the trip. I´m glad that the person had a great time, and did great..but in my opinion things could have gone drastically wrong.

He did say first "ocean" dive. If the diver in question had hundreds of dives in the Great Lakes, I doubt a dive or two in Bonaire would have contributed much to his overall experience.

For that matter, I bet there are plenty of warm-water-only divers whose first taste of cold and really challenging conditions are in the Galapagos. Does 100 dives really prepare one for the Galapagos if they've all been done in swimming pool conditions?

 

[Mossman]

USE your snorkel, as sometimes you come up and it isn't very pleasant top side. A good snorkel is a must.

Snorkeling in such conditions breeds seasickness, not to mention that the snorkel is an obvious safety risk underwater unless it's kept safely stowed in a BC pocket. Simply inflate BC, remove mask, and breathe fresh air while watching the world bounce up and down (it's a good idea to watch the pangas as well instead of keeping one's face down in the water, to make sure they see you and are coming to get you, and to make sure they see you and don't run you over).

A good snorkel is a must for snorkeling with the penguins.

 

[hmoffatt]

not to mention that the snorkel is an obvious safety risk underwater unless it's kept safely stowed in a BC pocket

It's not obvious to me - why is it a safety risk?

I've done most of my dives with a snorkel and I am yet to drown.

 

[Mossman]

I've done most of my dives without a snorkel and likewise haven't drowned. Good for both of us.

It's a safety risk because (a) it's an extra snag point that can get caught up in whatever (kelp, soft coral, jellyfish), (b) because it's often attached to one's mask, it can snag or otherwise be pulled away, taking the mask with it, and (c) it's an extra dangling mouthpiece that in a case of sudden removal of the breathing reg (by snagging, an out-of-air diver, etc.) could accidentally be placed into the mouth in lieu of the real thing, and breathing through a snorkel at depth is not recommended.

In a perfect scenario, AKA Bonaire, none of the above is likely. In raging currents, low viz, a crowd of divers simultaneously backrolling off a panga and kicking and smashing into each other, a snorkel mishap becomes ever more likely.

Besides, if you're on the surface with the recommended 500 psi left in your tank, why would you chance breathing through a little tube if you don't want the fresh air that comes with removing all oral obstructions? In that case, simply keep the reg in mouth until you're back on the panga (if you're diving nitrox, which you should be, it will be better for you than real air anyhow).

 

[Kmludwig76]

This thread is of great interest to me as I too am relatively new to diving and have concern over my experience when considering a live aboard to the Galapagos.

Unfortunately, after two weeks of diving off of Maui this year, and experiencing hammerheads up close and personal, I really don't want to dive anywhere that doesn't include a variety of sharks.

That being said, I get the sense I would have a serious amount of preparation to consider these two dive sites... such as nitrox training, additional gear (don't have my own BCD/reg and wetsuit is only 4/3mm from warm water diving). I would not want to have any negative impact on experienced divers that I'd be on one of these live aboards with ... so I would appreciate any comments on feasibility for someone with only about 15 dives, all of which were in the last few months after certification and in warm water, literally just giant-striding off of a boat... or possibly recommendations on other dive sites that are probably more suitable for less experienced divers but still include similar pelagics.

 

[mjh]

"In general" where you find schooling hammerheads there is current. This applies to other species in areas like Palau. There are Carib sites, sites in Fiji, Tahiti and many others were they do "shark dives". Sit in the sand and watch the show.

Cocos, Galapagos, Socorro are all areas known for sharks and other pelagics along with current, cooler water, rough surface conditions and drifting in the blue for safety stops.

So as was mentioned to the original poster, over the internet no one can tell you if you are ready to deal with these conditions. It is up to YOU to be very comfortable in the water. Up to YOU to be able to deal with problems underwater. Up to YOU to judge if you can deal with currents that can pull a mask off. Up to YOU to decide if you can deal with the equipment needed to dive in 65 degree water. Up to YOU to....

 

[Mossman]

I've experienced strong current and intense surge when diving the back wall of Molokini, but the water was still relatively warm and clear. 15 dives in those (and more benign) conditions is probably not a good basis to undertake diving in the Galapagos.

Unfortunately, large pelagics prefer those sorts of conditions. The only comparable location is probably Cocos, where the water might be a bit warmer and clearer, but the conditions can still be very challenging.

Without the onerous travel to SE Asia, Palau, or the Maldives, you might be able to experience numerous pelagics in less difficult conditions than the Galapagos further north in the Pacific, i.e. Costa Rica (Bat/Catalina Islands) or Baja (Socorros via liveaboard or El Bajo seamount in the Sea of Cortez) - I have close friends who have dove Costa Rica and enjoyed hammerheads and cow ray schools, I dove El Bajo myself when there were no hammerheads but supposedly they're frequent there, and I've only heard second-hand about the Socorros, with mixed reviews. There's also nice shark activity in Turks & Caicos (we had an excellent time aboard the Aggressor) and I believe shark feeds still occur in the Bahamas but I have never done that personally.

[I'm editing this to thank mjh for mentioning Tahiti/French Polynesia: lots of sharks in very easy conditions in Bora Bora and Moorea, and incredible pelagic activity in the Tuamotu Archipelago, i.e. Rangiroa, Fakarava, Toau - so expensive that it makes Maui look like a budget trip, but the flight to Tahiti is only a couple hours longer than flying to Honolulu and the island hopper flights are just as short as in Hawaii]

Otherwise, forget about sharks for a bit, and go on some dives in your local N. Atlantic waters when conditions are less than optimal. Diving locally here in the Channel Islands prepared me perfectly for the Galapagos since we have dives that are just as difficult and conditions can be much worse than even a bad day at Wolf or Darwin.

You can usually rent gear and wetsuits aboard your liveaboard and it sure would make traveling easier (I always lug my own, but do envy those who rent and only have to tote a week's worth of boat clothes). On my first trip, two divers who had brought drysuits changed their minds and ended up renting 7mm suits from the boat. Also, gear gets beaten up, since you're doffing it in rough water to be yanked aboard by a crewmember and tossed in a pile to bounce around until it's safely back on the mothership. On my last trip, one diver's corrugated BC inflator hose somehow sheared off as it was being dragged into the dinghy and he was stuck with a rental for the remainder of the trip (really pissed him off since he was diving weight integrated and had to switch to a weightbelt, but what can you do?). So letting them abuse their own rental gear might be preferable to seeing your own pride and joy tossed around and possibly injured.

 

[ronscuba]

... so I would appreciate any comments on feasibility for someone with only about 15 dives, all of which were in the last few months after certification and in warm water, literally just giant-striding off of a boat... or possibly recommendations on other dive sites that are probably more suitable for less experienced divers but still include similar pelagics.

I think it is safe to say, you need more dive experience before heading to Galapagos. The old general rule of thumb dive ops used was 100 dives minimum with many dives in cold water and current.

You can see sharks in the Caribbean and Bahamas. Cozumel will get you some experience diving in currents. Dives in the northeast will get you cold water low viz experience.

If you live in Pennsylvania, Dutch Springs is a good place to practice. No currents, but you can get cold water and low viz experience. After that, some dives off Jersey.

 

[Doug Charney]

Everyone keeps mentioning the currents? Are these drift dives? (Forgive me if that is a stupid question) Do you have to swim against the currents to do the dive? Or is it more like a seamount surrounded by currents and you just have to avoid them during the dive?