Ocean Hunter 1 or Ocean Hunter 3?

[ptn72]

My wife and I are planning for our June 2018 Palau liveaboard trip. Ocean Hunter boats fit our schedule so it'll come down between Ocean Hunter 1 and Ocean Hunter 3. From what I can find online, we like Ocean Hunter 1 for the following reasons

- We can dive off the back of the boat instead of spending 20-30 minutes each dive on chaseboat.
- Smaller group which may lead to a more flexible schedule.

Since Ocean Hunter 1 is much smaller, our main concern getting sea sick on a smaller boat. We did our previous liveaboard trips with TC Explorer II and Nautilus Belle Amie, both are big boats. Hence we don't have any experience with smaller boat. If you have any experience on these Ocean Hunter boat and would like to chime in, your opinion will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Phong

 

[Kevrumbo]

The beautiful scenic passage through the Rock Islands to the dive sites usually isn't too rough (aside from an afternoon rain squall) and not any longer than a couple of hours at the beginning and end of your trip itinerary. With the smaller Ocean Hunter I, you will be moored or anchored overnight in protected coves and/or in the lee of an inside atoll rock island, sheltered from the effects of open ocean swells and wind.

With regard to Sea Sickness: most people don't get motion sickness while driving a car or piloting a boat/plane; the reason being because you're directly effecting the action of the vessel, you see what actions you have to take to steer a clear passage, you anticipate and react to the dynamic forces that result from such actions. Your mind/body kinesthetics are synchronized, your vestibular senses unconfounded, you don't get motion sickness. . .

Now short of going up to the wheelhouse and actually taking control of the boat, try sitting with the Captain at the Wheel, let him talk to you about how he's steering the boat and actually see/anticipate the resultant boat motion in response to his actions.

In other words . . .don't anticipate being seasick --anticipate being in control, knowing & feeling what the boat's motion is going to be. With practice of this simple visualization, you can even "quell the queasiness" in the roughest sea conditions --all without any medication of any kind.

Look at the horizon, see how it moves relative to the boat's motion and memorize that pattern, and then get a feeling for the rhythm of the swells and synchronize it with horizon's motion. Now when you go down belowdecks, just play it all back in your "mind's eye" as you begin to feel & anticipate the boat's apparent motion --or even imagine the boat belowdecks is transparent and you can actually see the horizon & swells in sync with the boat's apparent motion-- it's all just visualization without medication and it works!

 

[blac86]

Ginger treats sea sickness. In absence of supply of pickled ginger I carry a bag of Hammonds old fashioned ginger drops. Tummy drops and Gin-Gins are good too, but Hammonds are my favorite. In an ideal world I'd just have a gallon jar filled with pickled ginger to keep with my dive gear.

 

[ptn72]

Thanks guys for your input. Both of us did fine with 30-hour crossing to Socorro. If Palau crossing is only a couple hours long then I think we'll be ok. Looks like Hunter 1 will be the one for us.

 

[Shasta_man]

Agree with what Kevrumbo said but I'll add a couple things I would consider if my choice. The ride to islands is relatively short and usually good weather (for when people tend to go) so not particularly a problem for seasickness. Additionally, German Channel tends to be good weather and location beautiful, so small boat should not be big problem. Remember that you do take a trip to Peleliu which takes a little traveling again. On the other hand, I suggest that small boat is not essential because when anchored in German Channel, trips to each dive site are like 5-10 mins max. You can see many sites from the boat, so diving from boat is a small advantage. Lastly, note that Ocean Hunter 1 is a relatively small boat. They take 6 max for a reason. That can be a double edged sword. I get along fine on liveaboards but it is possible to be stuck with someone you do not get along and on boat the size of OH1, it will be close company for a week. Enjoy and come back and tell us how it went.

 

[ptn72]

Shasta_man, my wife and I consider ourselves "easy going" folks In our previous liveaboard trip, we met a lot of wonderful people. It was great to listen to stories from people with a lot more diving experience then we do. Sometimes, the great stories were not even diving related at all. Thanks for pointing out the "close quarter" nature of OH1. We hope our luck of hanging out with wonderful people will continue in Palau. I'll write the full report on OH1.

 

[champ]

I was on the Ocean Hunter1 15 years ago and loved it. Sea sickness was not an issue for anyone (the rock islands have tons of protected bays). The smaller boat did have several advantages: we only had 5 divers and could pick what ever schedule we wanted. It allowed us to do a lot of real popular sites without a big crowd. Sites like blue corner would be just too crazy with 12 people trying to reef hook in ...

 

[Shasta_man]

<<my wife and I consider ourselves "easy going" folks...We met a lot of wonderful people>>

That's great and my info was just that neither a large or small boat is a requirement, and a small boat can be a fantastic experience of a tight group of new friends or a great trip occasionally punctuated by someone who doesn't have your sunny disposition. I'd like to consider myself easy going too, only dive travel by liveaboard and have had incredible experiences with passengers and crew, but have met a few I would not prefer a week of close quarters with. My first such experience was coincidentally my trip to Palau on a larger boat where one person apparently decided on day one that my youthful appearance meant I did not deserve to be on such a trip! No joke/exaggeration. Particularly hilarious to me because I was definitely older than she thought but I damn sure did not tell her that. She tried to be... discourteous the entire trip but I was too busy having a fantastic time in a beautiful place. She was apparently king of her group and liked to stand on others to make herself feel better but I hold my own. Best memory was everyone coming back from a dive to find her eating the pie meant for us all directly out of the pie tin. From the various trips, I've come to think the likelihood of meeting such a person is low but not zero. On the other hand, on the same trip we met another couple who have become great friends with us.