Galapagos MV SKy - What Did You Wish You Knew Before Going

[DiveTheGalapagos]

Definitely bring gloves with reinforced palms, for protection against barnacle covered rocks you're always grabbing, but not for warmth. Keep them thin for dexterity but again, neoprene palms will shred. I recommend a 1.5-2mm reef type glove with kevlar palms. Same goes for wetsuit knees...need reinforcement as neoprene will get ripped. The boats all provide Dive Alerts and SMBs and most provide the Nautilus Lifeline...though I don't think the Aggressor does yet. Currents are stronger during high season than low season. If you are gluten intolerant, bring snacks. Chefs do pretty good at meals, but rarely with snacks. If you get seasick, definitely bring your own meds as what you can buy in Galapagos is pretty lame.

Something that seems to throw everyone is the recommended 10% tip. But that is split by the entire crew: The guides who 'made' your trip, the captain who sailed you safely through some pretty intense seas, the engineers who always had the Nitrox fill right and tanks ready, the chef who always matters, the first mate at the helm when the captain isn't (called a timonel in Galapagos), the guys driving the Zodiacs that safely pick you up (Zodiacs are called pangas in Galapagos), the cabin boys who clean your cabin every day and the others always assisting all of those mentioned. As I broke it down for someone who thought that was high, if you paid $5000 for a trip and leave a $500 tip being split 10 ways, then you are actually tipping $50 pp for a lot of 24/7 service for 8 days and 7 nights. Granted, there are crew members that might not earn it and tipping is always discretionary and based on service, but assuming that is good, then $7.14 per crew member per day is not a massive tip.

Also, if you run a credit card onboard, anything you charge is subject to 12% tax.

 

[Interceptor121]

I spoke to someone who has been there end of September and advised on kevlar gloves that I have
He also said about knee pads or even elbow pads am getting some skateboard kevlar pads for the purpose

Having said that I have been in touch with many people that have been there in June and there was not much current at the time

 

[HowDidIGetIntoThis?]

Lots of good advice already posted. With regard to the dry vs wetsuit debate, we had both on our boat and one needed to be very cold-blooded to enjoy the wetsuit experience. A few of us had tri-lams and I was fortunate not to puncture mine until late in the trip. I do recommend diving dry, but not in a tri-lam as it is just too delicate in this environment. We had currents to contend with but the guides told us that conditions could be much, much, worse and still be acceptable for diving, which would have shredded my shell very quickly.

I didn't have kevlar gloves, but certainly would if I went back.

Spare parts for everything would be ideal if you have a way of packing them and still keeping the baggage to a tolerable weight. I was fortunate to be with a group and everyone brought a little and pooled their resources when the need arose.

 

[Interceptor121]

Lots of good advice already posted. With regard to the dry vs wetsuit debate, we had both on our boat and one needed to be very cold-blooded to enjoy the wetsuit experience. A few of us had tri-lams and I was fortunate not to puncture mine until late in the trip. I do recommend diving dry, but not in a tri-lam as it is just too delicate in this environment. We had currents to contend with but the guides told us that conditions could be much, much, worse and still be acceptable for diving, which would have shredded my shell very quickly.

I didn't have kevlar gloves, but certainly would if I went back.

Spare parts for everything would be ideal if you have a way of packing them and still keeping the baggage to a tolerable weight. I was fortunate to be with a group and everyone brought a little and pooled their resources when the need arose.

I have a whites fusion and is like a plastic bag Cordura style however it has only 1mm on the outer which I am sure will be ripped. What time of year did you go?

 

[Shazzman]

Hi. going to Galapagos on MV Sky liveaboard. What did you wish you knew before going? Examples, did you wish you brought more batteries, extra lanyards, extra clothes, reef hook, etc?

Got back from my trip. Here are my observations.
= gloves needed. If you have thick 7 mm gloves (like I had), then difficult to be dexterous with them. Hard to manipulate camera, pinch nose, etc. Switched to 2 mm reinforced gloves worked much better. kept hands warm enough but allowed for sufficient dexterity. Need tough gloves because of the holding onto rocks. Lots of time where needed to grab & pull rocks to move along and fight current.
= wetsuit - got a Henderson 8mm/7mm semi dry for trip. Worked great. kept warm enough. donning and doffing was OK. Only caveat was that on "warmer dives" didn't really need the hood but when I pulled hood down, it clumped on neck and gave me choking feeling. Other people had separate hood and suit, which allowed them to doff the hood on "warmer" dives.
= drysuit - I didnt' use dry suit but someone got it torn on rocks. quite scary.
= water temps - water was warmer than I thought (btw 75-80) even at 60 ft. but when hitting thermocline, it got cold (55-65).
= Camera = I had Ikelite housing with double lights for my Nikon D7100. Heavy camera in water. After Day 2, I stopped bringing camera as it was getting bashed around in current and relied on others to get vids or pix. I think the GoPro is a very good camera to use here due to compactness of size and good vids.
= Camera lens - brought telephoto (70-200 mm f4.5); standard 18-55 mm; and macro 17-35 mm f2.8. got good use out of macro lens. Telephoto was good on boat and on land. probably wish I had a 300 mm f2.8 to get the jumping dolphins/manta rays/seals.
= reef hook - glad I had it. I had to use it many times.
= extra lanyard - brought extra lanyard for camera to help attach camera to BCD. With single lanyard on right side, camera would swing back to right and get bashed around. Using 2nd lanyard on left side allowed camera to swing straight down when not in use.
= Signals - had DiveAlert, 10ft yellow sausage, and whistle. Had to use divealert a few times under and above water to flag boat, and use Sausage. Safety stops were hard due to buoyancy control problems near 15-20 feet. had to inflate sausage to hang on it. Blew safety stop couple of times
= Memory cards - can't have enough of them.
= Booze - Galapagos sky is a Sunday to sunday. You fly from Guayaquil on Sunday to San Cristobal. Alcohol stores are closed on Sunday. So buy your booze at duty free before entering Ecuador and buy on Saturday. you'll have to pack it the checked luggage.
= Clothing - brought a little skull cap to put on during boat rides as sometimes cold.
= Mouthwash - OK, it's just me, but I bring that little travel size of mouthwash. I hate the taste of salted rubber mouthpiece and starts me gagging. So a little quick rinse of minty mouthwash gets me through the dive.
= Labels - label your stuff so you know what's yours.

Control - you really need to be fully in control of your buoyancy in full dive suits/gloves/hoods; with/without camera; weight checks. I would highly recommend good practice and dives in your cold water gear. New dive gear should be broken into to avoid corkiness.

Current - yes lots of it in many areas. This diving is not for the weak of heart. It is advanced diving, with deep & cold planned dives. Current was sometimes up and down, would blow your mask off/reg out; or would take you out into the sea. Current was sometimes 4 knots or more. I aborted a few dives due to current.

About the Boat
EXCELLENT - crew and boat were fabulous. Food was great. Very attentive crew. Edwin and Glenda were very knowledgeable about area, fish, location and topography, conservation. Note each used a small 63 cube tank; 5 mm suit and about 6 pounds of weight; and still came up with 1000 pounds so am very jealous.
Tipping - this got me as it was suggested tip was 10%. I thought that excessive. I was happy with 250-300 bucks, but not 550 to 600. I understand they are top flight and worked hard, but 10% was too much. Also had to consider hotel rooms, international air fare, etc.

Memories: Galapagos is a bucket list dive. I would spend the money for MV Sky. Boat and crew were really good.

 

[tajkd]

Thanks for the update