Whats normal on a dive boat?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Frosty

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
1,266
Reaction score
425
Location
Auckland NZ
# of dives
500 - 999
I recently did some diving on Australia's GBR. First time ever on a dive boat setup for 50 divers or more. Definitely not my style of diving. Max bottom time 40 minutes. Dive 1-2 surface interval only 10 minutes.
It seems ive been well spoiled diving in the pacific with max numbers 14 per boat.
So what is the normal scenario around the world ?
 
I've been on boats with nearly forty divers but I've never been on a dive boat where we didn't have at least an hour surface interval. Were these students on the boat?
 
I recently did some diving on Australia's GBR. First time ever on a dive boat setup for 50 divers or more. Definitely not my style of diving. Max bottom time 40 minutes. Dive 1-2 surface interval only 10 minutes.
It seems ive been well spoiled diving in the pacific with max numbers 14 per boat.
So what is the normal scenario around the world ?
Trust me, that's not the normal in Australia.
I did what you did once (as a transition from land to the liveaboard) and that dive was a nightmare...
But it's for tourists...

Boat down here are normally for 10-15 people, very relaxed and not frantic as you have seen, with a 60 minutes dive and 60 minutes of SI...
 
North Gulf of Mexico in winter--usually 4-6 on a boat. Maybe 8.
 
GBR boats have to drive out for a long time, so they are naturally big boats taking lots of divers resulting in the ****** diving experience you had. The right way to dive the GBR with a couple of overnight stays on a smaller boat.

The more local Aussie dive operators in other locations where the site is not that far from land take 6-14 or so divers out on a RHIB with two 50-60min dives and a 60min SI.
 
Unfortunately you got cattle boated and treated like an asian tourist/backpacker. Some organisations have almost zero repeat customers and can get away with such poor service/practices.
 
That's definitely not normal. I've been to about 20 liveaboards (Komodo, Raja Ampat, Socorro, Cocos, Galapagos, GBR, Palau, Red Sea, Maldives, Gulf of Mexico). Maximum divers is about 20, average about 16. 3-5 dives / day with surface interval about 2 hours.
 
I have been on a number of day boats out of Cairns and I have never experienced a SI of 10 min. An hour was the norm.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom