How much extra neoprene for repetitive dives on liveaboard?

[Darnold9999]

Nitrox and really really really slow ascents for the top 20 feet or so made all the difference for me.

Now that I am officially a “senior” I agree - no need to do all the dives. In fact I prefer liveaboards that do 4 dives a day but allow maximum bottom times. 70+ min is just about perfect.

Also appreciate coming back to the thread.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

I think the only time I felt the last few dives were a chore, where on the belize aggressor 10 day trip a few years ago when I was hitting my 44th dive and had photographed everything I needed to and head a strong head cold.

the early morning dives are my fave, although I have always been the kind of guy to put down my fork at dinner and be asleep in bed 10 mins later. I would struggle if I stayed up after 9pm or drank any booze. Nitrox and over hydration are essential also..

 

[shmuggy]

I have seen this with my fellow passengers from time to time. I think over a period of time- the body can get tired from exposure to water, the exertion of diving and traveling, new surroundings, different time zone, etc and the body is telling us to take a time out. We don't want to because if we miss that one dive we may miss the cool creature that everyone else sees on that dive. I think it is important to do what we feel like anyway and if that is taking a nap instead of a dive- go ahead- it is your vacation. If by the end of the trip you feel like you don't want to dive ever again- consider a shorter trip or go land based diving next time.

 

[Esprise Me]

I think only 3 people on the trip I was on did all the dives. Many people skipped at least one dive per day. I'm 36 and had done 92 dives before the trip, and I didn't find it to be too much. The fact that you were new to diving may have played a role. The extra long safety stops I did may have helped me. I had an air hog buddy the first couple days, so I was coming up with half a tank. The boat would swing wildly at its mooring while we dangled from the hang lines and sharks circled around us, so the safety stops were never boring. I'd just signal my buddy to go from the hang line to the surface without me, and I'd spend another couple minutes playing Tarzan. I mean, for safety.

But yes, listen to your body and don't overdo it. The ocean isn't going anywhere.

 

[nquinn]

Ummm...you don't HAVE to do ALL the dives. For me liveaboards are about diving as much as I want; convienence (10 steps from everything); comradery/getting to know folks in a unique environment; ease of diving sites that would otherwise require multiple, long boat rides if done land based if even possible; and being at sea with all the beauty that goes with it (including the night sky). There's more to it than being an "iron diver." All IMHO, YMMV.

Yup I realize this. I was relatively new and was on the boat so wanted to get my money's worth - it felt silly to skip. If I ever do a liveaboard again I'll probably sleep in more and limit dives to 4 a day max most likely.

I've also taken several steps to work on being more conservative overall. Added a nitrox cert and will be using that in appropriate conditions. Plan to start running 5min+ safety stops always now, assuming I don't have trouble holding them!

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

You will find it a lot easier diving nitrox over that timeframe... I don’t think I could dive a full week on air on a liveaboard without crashing.

 

[MrBigfins]

You will find it a lot easier diving nitrox over that timeframe... I don’t think I could dive a full week on air on a liveaboard without crashing.

I'm not in terrible shape, but not peak shape either. I've never done that many dives in a row without nitrox, but when on nitrox I'm good for a couple weeks of 3-5 daily dives while skipping no more than a day (and that's normally because I feel guilty about my wife not getting to spend much time with me) I also tend to stay up later at night to be able to do some activities at night.