Bad news from Galapagos, Aggressor 1 Liveaboard is out of service 06/13

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.....[sarchasm] I have always been well assured by customers and other denizens of this board that price is the only consideration when booking a liveaboard. They trust in the crew to ensure that everything goes right in an emergency, and that silly things like working hydrostatic releases and lifejackets with working water lights and drills are not important as long as the price is right./[sarchasm]

You screwed up the html, the / must be inside the [ thingie.

That low-cost issue isn't sarcasm, it's reality. There are a hundred examples of this "falling short of expectation / Monday morning expertise", certainly including land-based. People will put up with some real cr@p if it's cheap. Fantasy Island, anyone?

The ongoing and otherwise typical posts that gush about how wonderful any given other boat or land-based resort is... are unfortunately indicative (often) of lack of life-long critical observational judgement.

Every boat is perfect until somebody screws the pooch, then the internet wolves descend. The Shuttle Challenger, anyone?
 


---------- Post added June 23rd, 2013 at 05:08 PM ----------

The boat I took in Africa had so many equipment issues. We ran out of drinking water because the desalinator quit. The AC quit at least twice. We also had shower and toilet issues.
what we didn't have was crew issues. Because of that, I wouldn't hesitate to use that company again. The crew worked their hearts out to give us a great trip. When things broke they fixed it, quickly, using items they had on board, which allowed us to keep diving. The same was seen the following week on our safari. That week we had four vehicle breakdowns, one that required the guides to drive through the night for parts to keep us from missing time enjoying our safari. We woke up in the morning and were right back on schedule!
While the breakdowns were a nuisance, what really makes a trip for me is the crew. Unless breakdowns are so bad as to make it impossible to enjoy a trip. I understand these trips are in third world countries and ( except the Agressor) many of the dive boats are refurbished fishing boats that are decades old. I do want professional, hard working crews, not thieves that steal your computers, watches or cameras, then hold their hands out expecting big tips.
I also expect them to know boating safety and how to navigate through their own waters.

---------- Post added June 24th, 2013 at 05:58 AM ----------

We never performed any safety drills on the Agressor.
 
A friend from Italy was on the Humboldt in February and wanted us to go with him. I wish we had. Unfortunately we were in the extreme south of the Maldives at that time and already booked on Deep Blue for this month. As there are a few people who have made recent trips to Galapagos, although it isn't directly connected to this thread, I wondered if any of you had any bad experiences flying out of Ecuador? I was subjected to the most awful drugs search that lasted for an hour and my Italian friend had a similar experience.

I got flagged for a special search and was escorted from the gate. The search itself took about 30 seconds though. Lucky me I guess. Flew via Quito.
 
Hi All,

I too, like Homi was on board the ill fated Aggressor 1 with not only my husband but also our 2 sons (19 and 20). At 2:30 am we hit the rocks with a terrible bang, throwing some of us out of bed and the rest stumbling around. The alarm went off up on the top deck, where my husband and i were, but not below deck where both my boys were.
in a state of panic(me), having no idea what had happened, other than we were in trouble, we made our way downstairs.
I could not at that moment even remember where the life vests were, my desire was only to get to the kids as i knew we were hit on their side of the boat.
the boat started listing quickly to that side, making movement more difficult.
it was pitch black night and no one had any clue where we were. My husband went to get they boys, who thankfully Homi had already got too.Teenagers seem to have less sense of urgency and i guess disbelief that anything can happen, meant they were not remotely hurrying!
with difficulty i climbed back up the leaning staircase. It was hard to even get into the cabin due to the angle of the boat, furniture sliding around. on retreiving the life vests i remembered the safe, where we had our 2 passports in and some valuables. we had been asked to keep our stuff in the safe as a precaution by the DM on the first day.
unfortunately in my frightened state i could not even open it,though i did try, as every time the boat moved i was thrown to the back of our cabin.
i gave up even though i knew we had a lot of things in there that were well worth taking figuring it just was not worth it.
leaving the cabin i met another friend, who was helping one of the other teenagers out as his father had broken his toes, escaping from his cabin.

i missed the top step and literally flew down the stairs backward, using the handrail like a fireman's poll!
on finding only my elder son, i started yelling for the younger one, who thankfully was tucked around the corner with another helpful adult.
the boat continued pitch to the side and we were taking in water by the gallon, through the dive deck.
we were instructed to all get to the other side to try and add weight and balance...fat chance!
the life boast were stuck/jammed, one was right outside our cabin and on my way out/In/and back out i saw the crew struggling, shouting in Spanish and desperately trying to work it free. due to the sharp angle of the boat it seemed to have got locked to the side.
we remained on one side, quiet and nervous, trying to be patient.
it took almost 20 to 25 mins in total.
The fear I felt was overwhelming, looking at the four of us... the worst thoughts racing through my head.
i was sure the boat was going to capsize and we would be trapped underneath in the dark water.
i yelled to my husband that i was going to get into the water instead. He held me back telling me that currents were too strong.
It was shockingly frightening, there was no one in charge, we did not know why the lifeboats were not deployed, the crew were yelling and running around.The damn boat just kept taking in water. I felt trapped, not sure if it was better to get into the water, taking the kids and risking the currents,and the sharks ( my fear of sharks has never gone away over the 15 years we have been diving..).having dived the previous days in Wolf and Darwin in incredibly strong currents, often getting seperated unwillingly from my husband/buddy, i had witnessed more than enough for the next two or three lifetimes.
it is the predicament of being the only woman in a family of 4. the holidays always have to be outdoorsy, exciting and adrenalin boosting...add blood curling to that - you either join them, or you miss out,
the humour helps, otherwise you cry....this time at least.
finally afterwhat seemed like a lifetime contemplating what i really thought might be our last moments, feeling sad the kids were so young, that I REALLY DID NOT WANT TO DIE YET....the rib came down and the brought it to the rear of the dive deck... one by one we waded accross it. The relief when I saw my husband and Homi get on at the last was immense.
All 16 of us and 2 crew in that little boat then headed towards open water.
yes we were rescued by the Deep Blue and yes I remember the annoyed gentleman, after being woken up by the babble of the Aggressor survivors. struggling, trying to fix each other up with ice, some bandages and lots of hot coffee.
we were so happy and greatful to be alive, so shocked and overwhelmed that i guess we really made a noise...we nearly all were Indians so i guess that added to the poor man's confusion...no harm done, it was a funny moment though!
i thought we were on the Aggressor 2 which had always been around us, but not on this night.
They evidently did not have a malfunctioning GPS, a broken depth gauge, oh their Captain didnt sleep and of course Im sure he knew his way around these waters....
around 6am they caught up with us, we transferred onto her, warmly welcomed by the others on board, offering the women amongst us their bathrooms, a shower if we liked. The Waynes could learn something about empathy and hospitality from their customers. One was a doctor and had a look at the broken toes, sprained fingers, at that time the busted knee, cuts and bruises had not twigged for a lot of us. we were still in shock.
our crew removed things from some our safes as were getting on the dingy and hence i was lucky enough to get the contents as did a few of us. the kids had their knapsacks containing documents, but everything else from their cabin was lost... by the time crew went back their cabin and the one which was hit was under water...a humbling thought.
however at daybreak and low tide we discovered our boat was lying in pretty shallow water and the shore was not that far away... why on earth had we headed out into the dark, deep sea?looking to be rescued when dry land was right there?
why did the life boats fail to deply?
why did we hit the rocks, when surely these are familiar waters to the supposed well experienced crew.
we were told by the crew that GPS was malfunctioning, one of us had asked for a depth check the day before from the Captain who said he could not answer as the sonar was broken.
Why on reaching land, was the company representative so unhelpful, talking about going to see the turtles and carrying on like nothing much had happned.
a minor incident??????????thats what the tourism department had been told, so they landed up with some calenders and a goody bag, that was left untouched by us.
however so much has been lost laptops, hard drives, ipads, iphones, money, wallets, underwater cameras, dive computers, dive gear, prescription masks and MOST important for many of usSLEEP AND PEACE OF MIND.
Its over 10 days now and i wak every night around 2 or 3 am... i am plagued with thoughts of black water and only sleep at dawn...ive turned into an owl.
the most disgusting thing is the attitude of the Aggressor owner/chairman/president whatever...
we have written and written, given phone numbers, but a courtsey call?? haha
Wayne Hasson sent his first email out today, wow! But he was busy diving in Thailand Im sure thats so remote and hence he must have known nothing.we were shipwrecked in The Galapagos, one amongst us had a satelite phone that lo and behold did not get sunk,stolen lost. and hence we were able to speak to our families back home.
Mr Brown was asimilating the facts a wee bit slower, much in the manner of his lifeboats.Lots of us have been writing to him from day one.
peter Witmer who was our receiving party on being asked to provide CEO and company Presidents number told us to go get it from the internet. Nice- while briefing us on the turtles of course...
I am angry, very angry, - they advertise diving, saying its their passion, that they love diving with their families etc etc..
well so do our family, we have been diving as a family first of 2, then of four. However diving with their company almost cost all of us our lives...the least you would expect from such family minded people is an apology... but hey they offered us a voucher for the last dive we missed....
Stay safe....choose wisely....
 
Roshenamin welcome to the board. Wish it was under better circumstances. Thanks for another first hand report. You ask many good questions - which I am afraid will most likely go unanswered.
 
Sounds like a terrifying experience. Glad it worked out on the good side of all the possibilities.

A small point in a much larger incident. It seems that the Siren fleet of liveaboards has learned from their experience with sinking boats.

They take your passport at the beginning of the trip, put them all together in a waterproof bag in a safe location and one person on the boat is tasked with retrieving that single bag if there is an emergency. I and others, were somewhat reluctant to give up passports, but they convinced us that this was the safest way to manage this documentation and on reflection this single bag is a good idea.
 
Roshenamin,

How horrible!! I really feel for you. It sounds like you might benefit from a little PTSD counseling. I, too, have been on liveaboards with my husband and children and cannot imagine how scared, powerless, and furious you felt and feel. Thanks so much for taking the time to share that with us. I am very sorry that based on what I have read on SB the last year, it is very unlikely you will get any satisfaction from Aggressor. Please do keep us posted.

Amy
 
Sounds like a terrifying experience. Glad it worked out on the good side of all the possibilities.

A small point in a much larger incident. It seems that the Siren fleet of liveaboards has learned from their experience with sinking boats.

They take your passport at the beginning of the trip, put them all together in a waterproof bag in a safe location and one person on the boat is tasked with retrieving that single bag if there is an emergency. I and others, were somewhat reluctant to give up passports, but they convinced us that this was the safest way to manage this documentation and on reflection this single bag is a good idea.

At least, if a good plan does go awry, you are all ion the same boat, so to speak.:D
 
I will echo what the others have said. I'm really sorry you had to go through this but I appreciate your firsthand account of that night. Thanks for taking the time to write about it.

My only hope for you and all the passengers is that because of all the terrible reviews of their company, especially about how poorly they have treated other "guests" when things have gone really bad, that the pressure will be on for them to treat you guys in a respectable way and find a way to make it up to you in some meaningful gesture. That doesn't appear to be how they do things but one can only hope. I actually met Anne Hasson one time and she seemed to be a really great person. Maybe she can take over and show Wayne & Wayne how things should be done.
 
The response to the accident, not the accident itself, will cause this company to go 'under.' They should be ashamed of their response (or lack thereof)!

---------- Post added June 25th, 2013 at 03:07 PM ----------

Yes, but it does make you question the safety practices across the fleet....
 
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