New Diver Considering Liveaboard Trip

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Wow, thank you to everyone for the replies! I wasn't expecting to receive so many and so quickly.

Based on all the excellent advice, my next step will be to identify which available groups meet my time constraints and then contact the operator to determine if they offer AOW training during the trip. Most trips seemed to be 5 days/4 nights, however, I might try to find one that's 3 days/2 nights if possible (there weren't as many) to limit the potential for fatigue. Would this be too short for an AOW course?

I'll also look into getting my Nitrox certification at the dive center where I finish my OW certification dives.

Thanks again!
 
On a liveaboard, your will typically be doing 4-5 dives a day and Nitrox certification is a big plus. I would look into that before you go. Any potential buddy may not want to team with someone that is more time limited on their dives than they are.

Don’t be afraid to sit out a dive or two if you don’t feel up to it either experience wise or if you are just tired or if it is deeper than you are comfortable with.

Most experienced divers don’t mind showing a new diver the ropes for a couple of dives but be willing to switch off buddies so you don’t have one dedicated buddy that starts to feel like your baby sitter.

Contact the operator first and verify that the schedule they have planned is compatible with your level of experience.

Assemble your gear set and dive it at least enough to be proficient with it prior to the trip. Knowledge of how your dive computer works is very important. Don’t take an underwater camera.

Have fun.

Hello ZzzKing,

I won't own any gear other than a mask/snorkel and maybe fins, so I will have to rent their BCD and dive computer. Does that change your advice?

Also, why would you recommend not taking an underwater camera? On group dives like this do people with camera's usually share all their pictures?

Thanks!
 
Also, why would you recommend not taking an underwater camera? On group dives like this do people with camera's usually share all their pictures?

An old tech instructor used to say that nobody ever got any smarter under water and a camera simply overloads whatever brain cells are left. Leave it at home until you get the diving part figured out.
 
Taking your points individually:
dive pace - so long as you are up front with the operator you want to go with and your potential buddy, there shouldn't be a problem.
finding a dive buddy that doesn't mind an inexperienced partner - most experienced divers don't mind a less experienced buddy so long as you are up front about it
dive depth limitations - it can be worth tacking AOW onto a trip if for no other reason that it extends the depth that operators will let you dive to.
general comfort with the dives - a lot of that is attitude which can only come from you.

I would be tempted to add AOW certification into the trip as mentioned above for a few reasons:
1) it allows you to go deeper - 30m instead of 18m
2) More dives with an instructor - can give you more confidence
3) Having done Deep and Nav should extend your own abilities as a diver which will give you more confidence.
4) You can take a optional speciality that is helpful for the trip such as wreck, night, etc. Again more skills and more confidence

I might also be tempted to do Nitrox on the trip or before I went - opinions vary but I certainly reckon I felt better because of the lower Nitrogen loadings.

I went on a liveaboard with 20 local UK dives and I feel like I came back a better and more confident diver. A lot of diving in a relatively short time makes for a lot of reinforcement of skills/habits - make sure you reinforce the right habits though.

As a couple of people have identified though - don't be afraid to sit out a dive if you aren't feeling it for any reason (too tired, sore, worry about the dive plan etc). On both liveaboards I have done, I have sat out a few on each and don't feel I missed out - I wasn't feeling up to them so decided I was better out of the water.

Hello Neilwood,

I agree with the benefit of doing a lot of diving in a relatively short time to reinforce skills and habits. I live in the Midwest US, so I'll probably get the chance to dive only once a year. I'm afraid if I don't get enough dives in to reinforce what I've learned on this trip, I will forget a lot of the skills by the time I get to go again.

Thanks!
 
3 days could be long enough to do your AOW course. You need to be able to do the 5 dives that encompass the areas you are training in (Deep, Night, etc.).

To me, renting gear is not that big of an issue.

As for camera, I would not take those on the first few dives, AOW dives or any dives that are a challenge to you (deeper than usual, big currents to deal with, first night dive, etc.). That said, after you start to catch your stride I would think you could take a camera on some easy, more shallow dives (often lots to see in the more shallow areas) so long as it doesn't distract you from watching your buddy and following your group (so you can find the boat) -- that can be a challenge, so be honest with yourself.
 
Hello Neilwood,

I agree with the benefit of doing a lot of diving in a relatively short time to reinforce skills and habits. I live in the Midwest US, so I'll probably get the chance to dive only once a year. I'm afraid if I don't get enough dives in to reinforce what I've learned on this trip, I will forget a lot of the skills by the time I get to go again.

Thanks!
Good for you for considering a liveaboard then. But don't overlook whatever opportunities there might be to dive locally as well. Some people simply prefer to dive only in tropical waters as vacation divers, and that's totally fine. But if you want more experience, see if you can hook up with local divers. I definitely prefer the warm Caribbean over the cold local lakes and quarries, but I'll take the crappy visibility and cold water over not diving at all!

Enjoy whatever trip you end up taking.
 
Hello ZzzKing,

I won't own any gear other than a mask/snorkel and maybe fins, so I will have to rent their BCD and dive computer. Does that change your advice?

Also, why would you recommend not taking an underwater camera? On group dives like this do people with camera's usually share all their pictures?

Thanks!

I would leave the camera until you have enough dives to be very good at buoyancy control and task loading. You may get one of the more experienced divers to share pics. Our dive master on an Aggressor trip took photos and we were able to buy a cd from him at the end of the trip. Check out one of the camera forums here on Scubabboard and ask them. Some of those guys are professional photographers and can give you excellent advice on getting started in underwater photography or the likelihood of getting someone to share images.

As far as gear, I look at live aboards as trips that I already want to be dialed in when I arrive rather than spend valuable vacation time getting used to new stuff. That’s just a personal preference.
 
It would be much more fun to have your basic skills in good form before going. Check around and you might be amazed what fun lakes & quarries there are near you. there is surpringly much fun & beauty to be enjoyed in some pretty empty waters, there is still weightlessless, exploring, practising skills (make an underwater navigation practise site for example) and the incredible beauty of just water / light interactions. The warm water and bazillion fish will be all that much more fun after local diving & esp. after getting you skills dialed in and gear well sorted. I love liveaboards. Friends and daughter feel the same way. You just lug your gear onboard just once and for x-many days you do nothing but dive, eat, sleep, sunbathe & socialize.

On my 1st liveaboard I enjoyed giving all my time & attention to my surroundings. I didn't want spend time time trying to get photos; getting photos that look anything near as nice as what you saw with your own eyes is rather time-consuming, and even then not necessarily successful. I just wanted to enjoy the experience, not invest time in trying to document it. If you are not very experinced with a camera but want to learn qick and take one, consider a GoPro. Even an old GoPro (mine's a GoPro3) takes remarkably nice video & still shots. But you should still learn to use it underwater before you go!
 

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