Cocos or Truk

[elbig]

I have a question about how skilled one needs to be to do a LOB Cocos or Truk. My adult son has about 30 hrs of diving and is AOW He is quite comfortable while diving but nonetheless his diving has been spread over 5 years. Is that sufficient for either place? Should we do another LOB first. If so, any suggestions? Belize, Cayman?? Thanks.

 

[KathyV]

I haven't dived Cocos or Truk but I think that starting with an easier liveaboard, probably in the Caribbean, would be a good idea. Just to try it out, find out if you both like the LOB venue, and to give your son more concentrated and recent dive experience. You can easily get in around 20-25 dives on many liveaboards - and it is a lot of fun, too!

The 2 you mentioned Belize and Cayman, are great but keep in mind that the Cayman Aggressor doesn't make the crossing to the sister islands about 25% of time depending on weather. If the weather is rough they will dive off of Grand Cayman and that may not be the "out at sea" experience you are looking for to try out the LOB lifestyle. In general, many of the Cayman Aggressor dives sites are also accessible from shore; the advantage is that you get to dive the best sites off all 3 Cayman islands - weather permitting.

I suggest taking a look at the Turks and Caicos, there are 2 popular liveaboards working the T&Cs and they offer frequent shark, turtle, and eagle ray encounters, lovely reefs, healthy fish populations, and easy access to the finest T&C diving IMO - because the best T&C reefs are a long boat ride from shore.

But you should check on recent reef conditions because the T&Cs (and many other Caribbean destinations) were hit hard by hurricanes this year - but I have been reading good things about T&C's reef recovery and rebuilding on Provo - so check it out!

But when are you planning to go? Both the T&C Explorer and the T&C Aggressor divert to the Silver Banks for whale watching from late January through the end of March. Right now the Aggressor is offering a 34% off sale on many of their LOBs which is a great deal, but you have to book very soon (by Nov 24!) and travel by the end of April, see the link below.

Have fun wherever you decide to go!

Scuba Diving Trips & Vacations on Liveaboard Boats | Aggressor Fleet

 

[rongoodman]

When I was at Cocos last year on the Okeanos II there were sites with strong currents but there wasn't a lot of finning into them involved. We usually just picked a spot to hang out and then drifted away into the blue to do our ascent and safety stop when it was time to go. All the dives are from pangas, so you won't have mooring lines to ascend. A couple of sites require pulling down a mooring line(gloves needed!) because the current is too strong for a negative entry, the others are just negative entry and meet on the bottom. Its's a 35 hour run out and back, so not the place you want to discover that you get sea sick. It was a wonderful trip with lots of critters, and I'll be going back at the end of February. For a first LOB, though, something in the Caribbean might be a better place to start.

 

[elbig]

We’re boaters so seasickness is not a big problem. I was more concerned about the skills needed. Difficulty of dives. What you described does not sound like a problem. Seems like a great dive trip.
Also any suggested trips in Caribbean. They all seem a bit tame. We have been diving in T&C, Bahamas, Curaçao, Bonair, Maui so looking for a bit more.

 

[KathyV]

We’re boaters so seasickness is not a big problem. I was more concerned about the skills needed. Difficulty of dives. What you described does not sound like a problem. Seems like a great dive trip.

Also any suggested trips in Caribbean. They all seem a bit tame. We have been diving in T&C, Bahamas, Curaçao, Bonair, Maui so looking for a bit more.

It's not Caribbean, but take a look at Cabo and a Baja liveaboard.

FYI, here is a recent detailed undercurrent article about the Okeanos Aggressor trip to Cocos:
Okeanos Aggressor II, Cocos Island, Costa Rica: Undercurrent 10/2017

And you probably know this already, but Aggressor is currently running a 34% off anniversary sale that will end soon, but you have to book now and dive before the end of April; and I imagine that their boats are filling up fast!

Scuba Diving Trips & Vacations on Liveaboard Boats | Aggressor Fleet

 

[Fibonacci]

I have a question about how skilled one needs to be to do a LOB Cocos or Truk. My adult son has about 30 hrs of diving and is AOW He is quite comfortable while diving but nonetheless his diving has been spread over 5 years.

I finally dived Truk in 2012, but stayed at the Blue Lagoon Resort... if I was doing it again I would definitely go the LOB route.
Experience is a different issue... Truk really is a 'Diving Mecca' with a multitude of options for AOW level + LOTS of experience.
Wreck penetration is not for everyone, and some less experienced divers had unexpected claustrophobic/panic events when their poor buoyancy or extremity control kicked up silt and reduced visibility deep inside a wreck.
You could literally hear them clanging their way down companionways and through hatchways or hull openings!

So I'd say definitely do a LOB on Truk, but IMO your son needs a lot more recent diving experience to increase his skill levels and confidence... and you will both have a much more enjoyable time!

It's definitely worth the effort to get to Truk!

 

[BoltSnap]

Diving in Truk (Chuuck) is as easy as it gets in the most part (as long as you dive according to your skills and level of training in terms of depth, wreck penetration, etc.). When you do a LOB in Truk, you won't be actually diving from the LOB but from smaller boats and they will take you to the wreck that suits your experience and skill level. The water there is always calm and the LoB moves very short distances. Cocos is very different and more challenging AFAIK (never dove it myself however).

 

[elbig]

Wow. Thanks for all the replies. Chuuck looks awesome. We would not do wreck penetration dives I don’t think. It seems that we could still have a great time though. It’s a bear to get there it seems.

 

[BoltSnap]

We would not do wreck penetration dives I don’t thin

Some/most of the wrecks are wide open and there are "safe" pass-throughs that are very wide open. The LOB will most likely have a local guide underwater that will guide you in these locations. I am also sure that the better LOB there have instructors on staff that can offer wreck diving courses.

It’s a bear to get there it seems.

Big pain to go through for just one week, I'd do a two week trip at least myself.

 

[bamafan]

Truk is easy diving. Warm water, great viz and little current. Not everything is deep.