Any general tips for first time liveaboard trip?

[outofofficebrb]

If you tend to get blisters on feet or dive in a shortie wetsuit and get nicks and scrapes, make sure you pack 3M tegaderm patches and 3M waterproof bandages. Or if you’re also accident prone and cut your fingers, etc., those covers and bandaids will stay on until you remove them.

I suggest getting open heel fins with comfy boots for that much diving. I have never had blisters or issues doing it that way. I’ve seen some nasty blisters from rental gear, even with open heel and boots because of poor fit, or worse, full foot fins with bad blisters.

 

[scbaNE2179]

So true, so true. I go to work to pay for liveaboards. That’s pretty much what it feels like these days.

Yeah, other than the occasional trip to Cozumel, there's really no point at least for me to ever go on a land-based diving trip anymore. The cost and headache of having to pay separately for hotel, food, and 2 dives a day is just not worth my investment anymore.

 

[Aviyes]

If you tend to get blisters on feet or dive in a shortie wetsuit and get nicks and scrapes, make sure you pack 3M tegaderm patches and 3M waterproof bandages. Or if you’re also accident prone and cut your fingers, etc., those covers and bandaids will stay on until you remove them.

I suggest getting open heel fins with comfy boots for that much diving. I have never had blisters or issues doing it that way. I’ve seen some nasty blisters from rental gear, even with open heel and boots because of poor fit, or worse, full foot fins with bad blisters.

Lycra socks are great at preventing blisters on feet. I wear them under my boots now. They also make getting into the legs of the wetsuit a breeze.

 

[KathyV]

If you tend to get blisters on feet or dive in a shortie wetsuit and get nicks and scrapes, make sure you pack 3M tegaderm patches and 3M waterproof bandages. Or if you’re also accident prone and cut your fingers, etc., those covers and bandaids will stay on until you remove them.

I suggest getting open heel fins with comfy boots for that much diving. I have never had blisters or issues doing it that way. I’ve seen some nasty blisters from rental gear, even with open heel and boots because of poor fit, or worse, full foot fins with bad blisters.

Wearing a lycra seaskin under your shorty adds warmth and some protection against scrapes, jellyfish, and "boat bites!" Another nice thing is that you can use the long sleeves as a make-shift glove when needed. If there is current and I want to use the mooring line as a stabilizer during my safety stop, I just pull the lycra sleeve down to cover my hand - because the mooring lines are often overgrown with stinging corals and other minor hazards.

Once in Roatan they were having a bloom of something the locals called "Picu Picu". There were large rafts of thimble jellysish floating around and even though we avoided the jellyfish when picking a dive site, apparently the larva, invisible to the human eye, were abundant in the water and would superficially penetrate the human skin. They didn't cause permanent injury but people that were exposed before anyone realized what was happening, quickly erupted with an ugly red, itchy rash all over their exposed skin.

I saw a little local boy come running out of the water screaming during that episode and a guy from Germany was worried that they might not let him back into the country because he looked like he had a contagious disease.

The dive op quickly told us to cover up as much as possible and they provided a big jar of Vaseline to spread over any exposed skin, like the neck and face.

Ever since that experience, I have resisted the urge to wear minimal coverage during dives even in the warmest water. On our recent trip to Little Cayman, a woman on our dive boat only wore a swimsuit during her dives, even for the 3rd dive of the day. She said "I never feel cold in the water!" And I thought "well, you're lucky that way, but there are other things to worry about besides the cold" but I didn't say anything. The water was quite warm (85 F) and I just wore seaskins over my swimsuit, but I was happy to have them for both warmth and protection.

 

[Hoag]

I’m going on the Belize Aggressor IV.

Thanks for the tip re the Toronto Outdoor Adventure Show! Will be on my calendar for 2018.

I am pretty sure that the Aggressor Fleet had a booth at this year's show.

Here is a link to the 2018 show.

 

[Damselfish]

Turks and Caicos nickels only yes. And yes, I remove the caps to rinse them and they immediately somehow gets lost in my gear bag. That's why I refuse to use any lights with a twist on cap anymore.

I think these are great marker lights. We've had these forever and the only time I remove the cap is to take the batteries out (which I do with all my lights for the time between trips.) Not sure why you would rinse the inside.

 

[scbaNE2179]

I think these are great marker lights. We've had these forever and the only time I remove the cap is to take the batteries out (which I do with all my lights for the time between trips.) Not sure why you would rinse the inside.

I think because of the twist off nature of the cap, I didn't want salt to build up on the threads of the cap-In the event I need to change the bulb or something. In any case, they are great lights-until you lose the cap!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Lycra socks are great at preventing blisters on feet. I wear them under my boots now. They also make getting into the legs of the wetsuit a breeze.

I have worn Lycra socks since dive 1 with boots. It’s the best thing ever!

Wearing a lycra seaskin under your shorty adds warmth and some protection against scrapes, jellyfish, and "boat bites!" Another nice thing is that you can use the long sleeves as a make-shift glove when needed. If there is current and I want to use the mooring line as a stabilizer during my safety stop, I just pull the lycra sleeve down to cover my hand - because the mooring lines are often overgrown with stinging corals and other minor hazards.

Once in Roatan they were having a bloom of something the locals called "Picu Picu". There were large rafts of thimble jellysish floating around and even though we avoided the jellyfish when picking a dive site, apparently the larva, invisible to the human eye, were abundant in the water and would superficially penetrate the human skin. They didn't cause permanent injury but people that were exposed before anyone realized what was happening, quickly erupted with an ugly red, itchy rash all over their exposed skin.

I saw a little local boy come running out of the water screaming during that episode and a guy from Germany was worried that they might not let him back into the country because he looked like he had a contagious disease.

The dive op quickly told us to cover up as much as possible and they provided a big jar of Vaseline to spread over any exposed skin, like the neck and face.

Ever since that experience, I have resisted the urge to wear minimal coverage during dives even in the warmest water. On our recent trip to Little Cayman, a woman on our dive boat only wore a swimsuit during her dives, even for the 3rd dive of the day. She said "I never feel cold in the water!" And I thought "well, you're lucky that way, but there are other things to worry about besides the cold" but I didn't say anything. The water was quite warm (85 F) and I just wore seaskins over my swimsuit, but I was happy to have them for both warmth and protection.

I have yet to dive in a place where I just need the Lycra skin. At the very least a 3mm, even in cozumel.... I do use the Lycra skin to also get into my 8/7 semidry a lot easier!

 

[scbaNE2179]

I'm the type of diver that HATES diving with bare feet and no rash guard. I was on the Belize Aggressor 4 this past September-water was a steady 84-89f. I had on just a 1.5mm and I had on 1mm socks and a rash guard. Don't know how people do it but full foot fins looks so darn uncomfortable.

 

[chillyinCanada]

If you tend to get blisters on feet or dive in a shortie wetsuit and get nicks and scrapes, make sure you pack 3M tegaderm patches and 3M waterproof bandages. Or if you’re also accident prone and cut your fingers, etc., those covers and bandaids will stay on until you remove them.

I suggest getting open heel fins with comfy boots for that much diving. I have never had blisters or issues doing it that way. I’ve seen some nasty blisters from rental gear, even with open heel and boots because of poor fit, or worse, full foot fins with bad blisters.

That's what the Lycra socks are for. They stop all the rubbing blistering Etc. If you have the Lycra socks, there should be no need for Band-Aids on the feet due to diving ( I'm assuming the use of dive booties and fin straps)