Nekton boats may come back!!

[cappyjon431]

I have to agree that although I've seen a lot of divers with cheap cameras touch in places they shouldn't, the worst "reef killers" I've ever seen was a group of NJ divers on a NW Bahamas Nekton cruise we did a few years ago. Not only did the group have some of the largest and most expensive camera gear I've ever seen (the rigs were so heavy that they needed pool floaties on the arms of the strobes!), but they LAID ALL OVER the reef to get the shots they wanted. They were the rudest bunch of divers I've ever seen in my life, shoving other divers out of the way to get the shots they wanted, and destroying the reef with their entire bodies and fins wherever they went. It was unreal.

One of my favorite incidents aboard Nekton was with one of these NJ UW photographers on the NW Bahamas itinerary (this was in 1998). I continually warned one of these photographers about destroying the reef while he was trying to capture a good shot. He disregarded my warnings, and on the last day we were diving The Strip, off Bimini. He decided to lay on this very narrow reef to get a picture of a scorpionfish. What he didn't realize was that he was laying on top a hole that contained a large green moray. He got bitten on his stomach, and while the injury was realtively minor, it scared the crap out him (literally--I was glad I didn't have to clean out his wetsuit!). I never wish for anyone to be injured when diving, but in this case justice was served.

 

[Shasta_man]

I'll clarify my camera comment: the proliferation of inexpensive cameras and housings = more divers using them. More divers using them, the more divers with poor skills or lack of enlightenment about the value and importance of the reef and good bouyancy in the water with them. Everybody has a camera now. It translates that many of these people you see with marginal skills or interest in the reef end up with cameras. People who barely know how to use their cameras, now have underwater housings. That ends up being a lot of people.

They impact the reef and animals in multiple ways: through poor buoyancy, or poor skills they hit the coral, etc.; they must take a photo in the face of everything they find, zapping everything with the flash from two inches away; the classic "photog" move: lying in the coral or obliviously sticking the rest of the camera rig into the rest of the reef while shooting something else.

Agreed that many of the "big camera" people are the worst offenders. Very paradoxical as I would expect they have interest in their subject.

No one is perfect but you do your very best to not disturb it. To me that's staying off the reef.

Last year, I was hovering videoing a scorpionfish close up, thinking I was alone when I heard a distinct scream from behind me. At ~65 feet. I turned in time for my fin to be pulled away by a nice lady from Germany pointing at another scorpionfish, I had noticed, but which had looked dangerously close to my arm.

Very disappointed to hear about the moorings. They only anchored in front of the city every night when I was there.

 

[dguerra]

Good luck Deepdiver. I was very disappointed to hear that Nekton went under. I dove with Nekton six times and always had a wonderful trip. I enjoyed all of the Bahama itineraries and would do any of them again. Also did a Caymen trip. The best diving but a hassle to get to.
For me, Nekton offerred great value and convenience. It is easy and inexpensive for me to fly into FLL from Rhode Island.


I know alot of people complained about the less than perfect condition of the boat but, most people also agreed that great diving is much more important than pretty accommodations. I talked to many other divers and no ever suggested that another operator offered a better dive experience.
Keep it simple: great diving, good food and convenient home port. I hope you make it. I would love to come back.

RI Diver

 

[cagey91]

I would also be interested if Nekton came back. Did Belize, St. Croix, Cay Sal and Cayman with them. Food/boats downhill towards the end, but crew and diving were always great.

Cagey 91

 

[Shasta_man]

Silly insistence on a boat that works....all we needed was a tarp and a couple squat toilets

 

[johngrenz]

my wife Mary and I have dove with the Nekton at least 5 times
we would love to come back
john and Mary Grenz
porterville, ca

 

[Wookie]

It's interesting that the last 3 posts are from folks who have never posted on SB before. I'm not being snotty, just making an observation......

 

[daniel1948]

dan, apparently you never asked a local what nexton did here. i quote you as saying never droped anchor? nekton repeatedly tied onto the local dive boat moorings and ripped them out despite being told the moorings were rated for 38' day boats max, after having torn out the moorings at butler bay they tied to the rail of one of our wreck and ripped the rail off the wreck. they were taken to court for connecting to an old navy mooring chain and dragging it across a reef at sprat hole destroying a area of recovering pillar corals despit being the only boat that tied up there nextons responce was prove it. nexton not only droped its anchor they sent divemasters down to set the anchor in reef because our hard bottopm with 2' of sand cant hold a boat that big. all in all nexton agreed to put in its own moorings at its expence and was suposed to only overnight at its mooring at altona lagoon, where you ever at altoona lagoon? the answer is a respounding no, were you ever at a mooring maintaned by nekton? no because they never maintaned them. all in all the trac record of nekton here was one of disreguard for our island and our people.

I'm sorry to hear all this. No, I did not speak to the local divers. We went onto the island for an afternoon and I only spoke to shopkeepers, as those were the only folks about. I strongly oppose the sorts of things you speak of. All I can say is that they were not done on the one Nekton cruise I was on.

I can understand the dislike that local divers would feel for any kind of tourist operations that visit their area. The fewer people there are in an area, the more pristine it remains. Yet, the more people that visit the world's reefs, the more awareness there will be of the need to stop polluting the planet. Local reefs are degraded by visitors; but the entire world's reefs are degraded by irresponsible treatment of the oceans globally. Somewhere there has to be a balance.

 

[Shasta_man]

Yes, quite a paradox: no one cares unless they know about it, and no one knows about it unless they come see it, but if they do come, some destroy it. Should be fixable but due to the numbers involved, extremely difficult.

 

[Shasta_man]

That brings up a very interesting question. Perhaps Cappy or Wookie, or others could answer this one:

Have you ever heard of any liveaboard divers anywhere being prevented from diving for their conduct?

I could imagine whale related trips could, so excluding those. The damage of one person is certainly unlikely the end of the reef but would be just another nail in the coffin.