Choosing a liveaboard for a solo trip

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

My wife likes to dive, but in moderation, without many sharks, and in warm water with high visibility. I'm looking to do a week-long dive trip without her, and since I'm not limited by that list above (as many dives as possible, love sharks, colder water ok), it seems reasonable to look for a liveaboard that goes somewhere she wouldn't be interested in (for instance not the Caymans). I've done two liveaboards so far (Blackbeard's and Juliet in Bahamas) and liked them both, and I'm going on an Aggressor to Belize in a month. A bit more about what I'm looking for:

• I don't need luxury (at all) but do require A/C
• I like good food but would be fine if the diving were great but the food wasn't
• Warmer water preferred, but colder water ok
• I do want nitrox
• I would like it to be a reasonable (in terms of time spent) flight from Boston
• Price is an important factor but not the final determinant
• I am ok if the dive involves current and surface chop
• I can survive a rough crossing if need be
• This trip would likely be next February, but I'm interested in any suggestions for future trips as well
• I'd love to see big creatures such as schooling sharks, but I also like fishy reefs in general

From my internet research so far it seems like Cocos and Socorro could be good options. The Red Sea sounds interesting, but is too far and/or too much of a hassle to get to for me, at least for what I'm thinking of for this trip.

Thoughts?

 

[Dan]

Welcome to my club. My style of diving is exactly like yours. There are plenty of divers like us.

I’ll be in (& already put deposit on each):
1. Cocos in September with Argo.
2. Maldives in early December with Maldives Aggressor II,
3. Socorro in late December with Nautilus Under Sea.
4. Ring of Fire, Indonesia in September 2019 with Blue Manta.
5. Raja Ampat, Indonesia in December 2019 with Putri Papua.
6. Raja Ampat, Indonesia in January 2020 with Amira.

You are welcome to join me in any of those liveaboards. I think most of them, except to Cocos, are still available.

 

[KathyV]

I was going to suggest the Turks and Caicos for sharks and lots of fish life. It is a place that your wife might like to visit for a vacation and some diving; but the best dives are a long boat ride on day boats from Provo and it is better to dive from a LOB, in my opinion; but your February dates would not work. Both of the LOBs (Explorer and Aggressor) that service the T&Cs divert to the Silver Banks from mid-January to mid-March for whale watching cruises. You might want to keep the T&Cs in the back of your mind for a LOB trip during a different time of the year.

Also, regarding the Caymans, the Cayman Aggressor spends most of the time (if the weather cooperates and they can make the crossing) diving the Bloody Bay Wall off of Little Cayman - and your wife might be more interested in a vacation with some diving on Grand Cayman. Not as many sharks in the Caymans as in the T&Cs and Bahamas, but we usually see some nurse sharks and reef sharks as well as good corals and fish life.

 

[mantajohn]

From my internet research so far it seems like Cocos and Socorro could be good options.

February is not good for Cocos - but its prime time for Socorro. Nautilus are an excellent outfit.

 

[dlofting]

If you want to see sharks, schooling wahoos and jacks, mantas and possibly dolphins then Socorro is a good choice. Some reef fish, turtles and eels but no coral, like Cozumel.

We just came back from a trip on Rocio del Mar and would definitely recommend them if you decide to visit the Revillagedo Islands (Socorro)

 

[Aviyes]

Also, Jetblue has direct flights out of Boston to Turks & Caicos for future trip options, since Feb was no go as previously mentioned.

 

[Mr. Manfrenjensenden]

Thanks all. I just had a great chat with Mike at Nautilus on the phone, and he actually guided me away from Socorro in February vs. some other times. He suggested Nov/Dec for whale sharks and May/June for silky/hammerhead shark schooling, but said February used to be great for humpbacks but that's tailed off over the past few years. He hypothesized that could be because there are more Socorro dive boats then than other times of year (can actually get "crowded") or because humpbacks are now clustering in superpods elsewhere (e.g. Africa) or because humpbacks can find safety elsewhere and don't need to come by Socorro. And now you aren't allowed to dive with them after a marine park rule change, so you're seeing them from the surface in most cases. In any case, he suggested going to Socorro in late May/early June for schooling sharks as the best time ("where I know I can surpass your expectations").

Perhaps, as @KathyV suggests, the Caymans could be a decent option after all. Still plenty of availability on the Aggressor for that month.

@Dan_T: give me a few more years to retire, and then I'm right there with you.

I know they're a bit farther, but would people suggest Malpelo or the Galapagos given my list above, or does @mantajohn 's suggestion about Feb and Cocos apply to them, too?

 

[KathyV]

Another option would be the Caribbean Explorer trip, it includes some places that your wife might like to visit on vacation, but if you do the LOB trip you get to visit/dive 2 or 3 different islands. When we took the trip we departed from St. Martin and cruised to St. Kitts and then over to Saba.

Not a lot of sharks, but the seamounts around Saba were interesting, but I think that part of the Caribbean was hit by hurricanes last year so I don't know the current status.

You mentioned that you have done a Bahamas LOB with the Juliet, but they also offer LOB trips to St. Croix, but I think that you might want to save that trip for a land-based trip with your wife, because it would be a good vacation destination with diving. They also got hit with hurricanes last year, so not sure of the status.

@drrich2 wrote up a very extensive trip report of his solo trip on the Cayman Aggressor, see the link below:
Cayman Aggressor IV Trip May 2016

Also, I know that Aggressor is now offering a Roatan trip, but I don't know much about it.

 

[diversteve]

I don't believe you'd see a lot of sharks or other big pelagics on the Roatan Aggressor since they move between Roatan and Utila. We never saw sharks on Roatan except at the paid shark dive and saw maybe 3-4 over a week of diving off Utila - usually pretty deep. We didn't do the LOB but dove many of the same sites they list on their sample itinerary.

Too early to snorkel with the Whalesharks off Utila also - no diving allowed.

Nautilus is right about Socorros - either you want to go early in the season like Dec/Jan or late Spring depending on your interest. Solmar V publishes actual siting reports/videos on their website so you can see what they saw this year during your available timeframe.

Lots of sharks on the T/C boats but you'll have to go later after they return from the Silver Banks - IIRC that's May? That's about the time we did that trip.Lots of sharks and stingrays off West Caicos and French Cay - plus we occasionally saw a couple deep down the wall - the viz is so good there.

Feb. would be a suspect time for the Cayman boat to cross over - if they can't 90% of what they dive you can do via dayboat or even a couple of shore dives.

my ,02

 

[mantajohn]

I smiled when you quoted someone from Nautilus group as saying that Socorro was 'becoming crowded in February'. They are correct. In recent years they have gone from 1 vessel to 3 - themselves being a major contributor to that overcrowding!

February is peak time for one of Socorro's major attractions - the oceanic mantas. Truly amazing creatures. At Socorro, you see them often and real close. Unlike their more skittish relatives sighted elsewhere eg Maldives or Indonesia.

Traditionally the lobs ended their seasons at socorro around April time. A word of caution about visiting there in May. We did a late season trip there once. 27 hour crossing from the mainland, 4 dives then 48 hours lying on our bunks trying to outrun a cat 5 hurricane that was heading our way!

I've travelled on nautilus explorer and rocio Del mar. Both excellent.