How Many Days of Straight Diving?

[Neilwood]

wake me up at 5:30 2 days in a row and I'll bite your head off and then fall asleep underwater...

You would not have coped very well on the liveaboard I was on last year then - the briefing for the first dive was 6am with the first dive at 6.30 so it was a 5.30 wake up call every day (6 days on board). To make it even worse, the guide was extremely happy and cheerful all the time even at that time of the day . I was ok though as they did allow at the briefings so I was probably awake about 5 mins in.

 

[dmaziuk]

And here I thought the whole point of a liveaboard was that you don't have to get up at 7:30 to be in the water by 9: just crawl out of bed at ten to nine and fall overboard gearing up on the way down...

 

[outofofficebrb]

And here I thought the whole point of a liveaboard was that you don't have to get up at 7:30 to be in the water by 9: just crawl out of bed at ten to nine and fall overboard gearing up on the way down...

I wish. It's an up at 6 or latest by 6:30 deal for me. Mind you, I don't even get up for work until 8, 9, or even 9:30 in the morning for work. No wonder I feel like I need a vacation for my vacation all the time! The nice thing is that the distance you have to drag yourself to the bathroom, food, and dive deck combined is less than the distance you would have to go to get to your car to get to work. ^_^

 

[EFX]

Is this standard practice on live-aboards, i.e. having to be at a briefing at a fixed time? Is this everyday or just the first day? I always assumed you could dive whenever you felt like it, doing as many dives as you want (within reason).

 

[AdivingBel]

The liveaboards I've been on had fixed times for briefings followed by "pool's open" dive windows. If there was a guide in the water and you wanted to follow, you had to be ready when they went otherwise you could do your own thing within the window. It was more structured if you were diving from a RIB or skiff for obvious reasons. Nobody says you have to do ALL the dives (especially the 0-dark-thirty dives ).

 

[Centrals]

Hello!
I am getting my Advanced Open Water certification in Semporna, Malaysia which will consist of five dives over two days in early June. I would then like to do a three dives in one day package in Sipadan. I've only logged one dive (a wreck dive off Aramoana in New Zealand in Feb 2017) outside of my Open Water cert (Oct 2016) but I am a fit 30 year old. Will I most likely be fine (tired wise) if I do the 5 dives to get my Advanced over two days and then the 3 dives in Sipadan on the third day or should I rest a day in between? I'd like to just do them all over 3 days since there isn't a ton to do in the area outside of diving and that would mean cheaper accommodation but I don't want to be exhausted! Any advice would be appreciated!

Are you sure you will be actually diving on Sipadan Island rather than somewhere else? I am really surprised your dive shop could manage to arrange the quota so far ahead!!!

BTW, 8 rec dives over 3 days is nothing. I have done that in day and half in my younger day and my daily record is 5. The longest stretch is 7 days.

 

[Centrals]

And here I thought the whole point of a liveaboard was that you don't have to get up at 7:30 to be in the water by 9: just crawl out of bed at ten to nine and fall overboard gearing up on the way down...

The wake up call for thresher shark dive in Malapascua is 04:30 so it is acceptable to you because it is not an liveaboard dive.

 

[Centrals]

Is this standard practice on live-aboards, i.e. having to be at a briefing at a fixed time? Is this everyday or just the first day? I always assumed you could dive whenever you felt like it, doing as many dives as you want (within reason).

Liveaboard tend to go to far and remote places so group dive is the standard and so are the schedule. Some liveaboards will use dedicated dive boats to transfer divers to the dive sites. They are not going to waste any fuel because one or two diver want to dive at cartain preferred time. YES, there are less freedom on dive schedule ie. you cannot choose when you want to dive but at least you can sit it out.

 

[Marie13]

You would not have coped very well on the liveaboard I was on last year then - the briefing for the first dive was 6am with the first dive at 6.30 so it was a 5.30 wake up call every day (6 days on board). To make it even worse, the guide was extremely happy and cheerful all the time even at that time of the day . I was ok though as they did allow at the briefings so I was probably awake about 5 mins in.

You mean one of those perpetually chipper people who make my teeth itch? Dear God, no. I'm known at work as Grumpy Cat since I am so not a morning person. I have been known to growl at people who got too much into my face before I had ingested sufficient caffeine.

 

[Neilwood]

You mean one of those perpetually chipper people who make my teeth itch? Dear God, no. I'm known at work as Grumpy Cat since I am so not a morning person. I have been known to growl at people who got too much into my face before I had ingested sufficient caffeine.

Exactly that sort of person. I struggle until I have had at least half a cup of coffee although I have to say the first morning dive was a great way to wake up.