Blackbeard - Liveaboard - Questions

[jlcnuke]

Glad you enjoyed it! Actually, 4 of us from the area are heading to do a Blackbeard's trip this May (myself, a friend of mine, and two guys he knows in the area). Breezy still sporting the dreads?

 

[dirkmy]

Nice. Im jealous. Have fun! Hopefully you have great weather. No dreads on Breezy this time. The divemaster was Hoppy. Guy from South Africa. Very cool guy.

 

[dirkmy]

Glad you enjoyed it! Actually, 4 of us from the area are heading to do a Blackbeard's trip this May (myself, a friend of mine, and two guys he knows in the area). Breezy still sporting the dreads?

how was your trip?

 

[jlcnuke]

how was your trip?

Had a blast again. My buddy did his AOW on the trip this time and so I dived with a couple other people throughout the week as well. Weather wasn't as nice as I've had on previous trips (one night we had 46 knot gusts at one point while I was sleeping) so the visibility wasn't as nice as it was for my last two liveaboards in the Bahamas, but we hit some spots I hadn't been to before and that's always nice. The crew, as always, was outstanding. Surprisingly, none of my previous crew were on this boat so I got to meet some new crew as well this trip. I'll be back next year most likely.

 

[Hoag]

Had a blast again. My buddy did his AOW on the trip this time and so I dived with a couple other people throughout the week as well. Weather wasn't as nice as I've had on previous trips (one night we had 46 knot gusts at one point while I was sleeping) so the visibility wasn't as nice as it was for my last two liveaboards in the Bahamas, but we hit some spots I hadn't been to before and that's always nice. The crew, as always, was outstanding. Surprisingly, none of my previous crew were on this boat so I got to meet some new crew as well this trip. I'll be back next year most likely.

How was the condition of the reefs? The last time I was in the Bahamas (a couple years ago), they were starting to get a bit better and there were more fish on them but they were still a LONG way from what I would call vibrant.

 

[jlcnuke]

How was the condition of the reefs? The last time I was in the Bahamas (a couple years ago), they were starting to get a bit better and there were more fish on them but they were still a LONG way from what I would call vibrant.

Inside the marine park was better than outside, but it's still a bit spartan for fish relative to a full healthy reef system. Overall I'd say it's improved since my first trip there about a year and a half ago. It's still not Cozumel, but it's better than the reefs I saw in Antigua and about on par with what I saw in Grenada.

 

[KathyV]

Inside the marine park was better than outside, but it's still a bit spartan for fish relative to a full healthy reef system. Overall I'd say it's improved since my first trip there about a year and a half ago. It's still not Cozumel, but it's better than the reefs I saw in Antigua and about on par with what I saw in Grenada.

How about big stuff, did you see many sharks, rays, or turtles?

 

[jlcnuke]

How about big stuff, did you see many sharks, rays, or turtles?

There weren't many turtles this time, not sure why. I've seen a lot more on previous trips so it was probably just bad luck of the draw this time. Saw at least one reef shark on most dives, a lot more than one on some (the blue hole I saw 1 nurse shark, 3 reef sharks, and I think it was 4 Atlantic Sharpnose, but they could have been two that circled around). Rays were pretty commonplace in the sandy areas, not so much on reefs as expected. And a ton of grouper (not nearly enough Nassau Grouper for me, but hopefully their population will be improving instead of declining in the future).

I saw a lot more queen triggerfish this time than I've seen previously, and more eels as well. It was also the first trip I found an octopus and I had one on a dive two days in a row this trip . I attached some pics.

 

[Dannybot]

I am headed out on Blackbeard's in a couple weeks. How ample are AC outlets for charging batteries, is there adequate room for a small DSLR Camera? I could take a point & shoot, but don’t have lights for that.

 

[dirkmy]

I am headed out on Blackbeard's in a couple weeks. How ample are AC outlets for charging batteries, is there adequate room for a small DSLR Camera? I could take a point & shoot, but don’t have lights for that.

There plenty of outlets. I think every bunk has at least one. Hopefully everything is still good down there for your trip after Dorian.