Belize Aggressor IV - Recommendations

[caruso]

I brought 2 bottles of bourbon to share at night. but everyone else was lame and going to bed early.

AND they had tonic on board which if I knew I would have brought gin.

If you like G&Ts, buy a bottle of gin at the airport

If you have never experienced this you can thank me with a bottle of Gin.

Your alcohol obsession is troubling especially when you call others -including me- who drink little if at all and go to sleep early and rest our bodies in preparation for another day of diving perhaps up to 5 times- "lame".

 

[chillyinCanada]

OK OK Caruso, I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it.

Everyone in this thread has been enjoying themselves. Let's keep it that way OK?

 

[chillyinCanada]

The Turks and Caicos Explorer has a hang bar like a trapeze too. If you miss it on the first swing you have to wait until its wings back. Kind of fun either way.

 

[Ayisha]

...why anyone would want to be anywhere near the hang bar in the first place.

Most of the time, we just hovered at 20 feet, and watched the BA III completely swing from end to end, in and out of visibility. They told us not to chase the boat, just wait for it to swing back into view or hold onto the hang bar.

There were a couple of sites that were more rough, and we grabbed the hang rail along with several others before climbing the ladder, and my computer was registering above 10 feet, so the depth can be variable. Most of the time, people wanted a ride or didn't want to wait for the next time the boat swung back.

 

[Ayisha]

+1 on socks. I wear long neoprene socks in cold water and short neoprene socks in warm water (only because long socks were too thick inside the boots with a wetsuit without ankle zippers). They provide warmth and protect your feet from chafing. They dry fairly quickly. They pre-date the lycra socks, so I haven't tried lycra, but those would also protect against blisters.

Medium spring loaded clips came in very handy and everyone always wants to use some, so you might as well bring extra.

Ministryofgiraffes suggestion to bring a light over the door shoe type organizer came in very handy for easy access to our little things.

My surge protected travel bar with usb ports was a huge hit. It eliminated a lot of extra plugs and kept all my charging equipment together.

They don't want anything charging in the cabin while you're not in there and they want all dive equipment charging at the camera table anyway, so you might as well put your name on each piece in advance.

Have a great holiday!

 

[chillyinCanada]

I had neoprene socks in the way back days when I was a cold water diver but had given them up. I'll never go back to them, lycra's the way to go for me.

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

And ‘dive hoods’ Eh Ayisha ?

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

The hang lines off the Cayman Aggressor were similar. This was particularly true when moored over the Kittiwake, especially on the night dive. You simply timed your grab and then went on Mr Toad's Wild Ride.

Wasn’t as keen on the cayman one. Hanging from the bottom to would occasionally get someone coming in above who wasn’t paying too much attention, grabbing the line 3 ft above you and then booting you in the head

 

[chillyinCanada]

Ya, might not need a proper hood but the beanies work for the wigglers at night and in Raja Ampat keep the cleaner wrasse from nipping at your ears on manta dives.

 

[ThatDogDontHunt]

Charred is on the money as regards long dives. When we wanted to go i to the grass beds for extended times we do it as the second pm dive, and usually skip the night dive in favor of libations.

They have never mentioned a time limit as part of the boat intro sessions, but they do have a limit as they close the dive platform (with a little chain) between dives. I think the limit is 70 minutes. Just ask a crew member and they will tell you the limit. With the following story...

While divers are in the water they need to maintain a proper deck watch. The deck watch involves crew members and equipment (think rescue dinghy). They want everyone to start their dive on time and end it on time so that the deck watch can be finished to free up the crew and equipment to do other things.

This schedule also allows the captain to plan un-scheduled boat moves if weather conditions deteriorate.