Nekton Caymans ...One Month to Go !

[Footslogger]

However - once you get on the boat everything changes. In the three Nekton trips I have done everything went very very smoothly. I have had three great trips and will have many more in the future.

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To be honest ...that is what I really care about. This will be my 5th Nekton trip and I could develop a list a mile long of things that could be improved but none of them have to do with the diving.

My wife and I go on one, maybe 2 trips a year and always liveaboards. "Getting There" for us is a huge portion of the expense so for my money I'd rather stay with a dive operation I know and trust.

I'm sure there will be things that will annoy me about the land based portion of the Caymans itinerary. But I'm going for the diving !!

Are we there yet ??

 

[-hh]

I would agree that the Cayman Brac trip is annoying. Would rather be diving. I gather there is some politics involved here so that they have to make the stop to be allowed access to the marine park - or something like that.

To suggest that there might be politics at play is a gross understatement.

The Nekton company has been trying very hard to be a good 'corporate citizen', and the Brac stop & tour is part of this agenda.

There's been various complaints made against the Nekton ... the ship's too big ... can carry too many divers ... etc ... but the reality is that the pushback is motivated by the local dive operations who want to keep the area just for themselves and Nekton isn't part of the Good Old Boys club. The fallacy with this approach is that with Island Air being forced out of business and the closure of the last outsider (Divi), the region's toe-hold on tourism is becoming increasingly tenuous, which is going to hurt these businesses more in the long run than another competitor.

FWIW, you can blame part of this reacation in part on the Aggressor, who has been "exploiting" the reefs of Little Cayman for decades without providing any benefit to the local economies of the Sister Islands. That's essentially why Nekton is making a port of call: to show that they're not the Aggressor, and are actually bringing money in to the island and its local economy.

I think I've seen the Nekton's land tour on the Brac a couple of times so far. If I would have known that you guys were getting stranded and/or being taken to lame locations, I would have picked you up and given you a ride.

-hh

 

[Doc]

Somebody throw me a bone and tell me how GREAT the Caymans are gonna be. This'll be our first time on that itinerary.

The Caymans are okay, The Nekton will make them fabulous. :14:

 

[Footslogger]

The Caymans are okay, The Nekton will make them fabulous. :14:

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Word Up !!

 

[Trwmodela]

I have enjoyed two Nekton Diving Cruises in the past six months. Also, I am currently booked on the Rorqual for the Northwest Bahamas Sept 15, 2007.

The Caymans diving was excellent to say the least. The shallow reefs and wall diving gave you lots of options. Most dive sites offered you deep wall diving and shallow reefs. It was totally up to you the certified diver on what profile to plan and dive. My buddy and I usually did our deepest dive first meaning our deepest depth of the day. Then as the day progressed we always reduced our maximum depths on each dive. Many times we dove off the wall for 15-20 minutes then went above the wall and stayed on the reef for the remainder of the dive. It was not uncommon for us to dive the edge of the wall and then stay in the shallow reef for the rest of the dive. Yes, most of the sites were walls with depths in the several thousand feet range. But, that does not mean you should dive to 130 feet on every dive! Remember you are diving five or more times a day for one entire week.

I by the way enjoyed Cayman Brac as we rented a car and toured the bat caves. Also drove to the Light House and took in the view from high above the bluff. Plus, spending time with my fellow divers was fun as diving is a social event too. Hey, it makes sense to take a few hours off during the middle of the week. It reduces your risk of decompression illness for those pushing the limits.

I must say the land liaison folks in Belize were great this past February. American Airlines miss sorted by gear bag and sent it to Orlando. Raymond from Nekton went to the airport the next day to retrieve it off another flight. He then rented a boat and ran it out to me and the Nekton Pilot over 50 miles off shore from Belize City. Now that is service, Raymond made a promise to me and kept it!

I have been on the Rorqual and the Pilot. Both vessels are comfortable and provide excellent living quarters for the week. The deck space is amazing and you will enjoy all the extra room. The diving platform makes both vessels a diving machine. Meaning they were built for DIVING!

BTW... Captain Nelson was one of my diving instuctors here in Fort Myers, FL. He is one of the BEST in the business!

 

[Footslogger]

A week from today we will be waking up at our first dive site in the Caymans. My only regret is that the weather in Wyoming has turned NICE. It was 77 degrees today and about 20% humidity ...wonderful combination !! It's a lot more fun leaving Wyoming for a dive trip when there's snow on the ground.

But, I ain't complaining.

Are we there yet ??