My wife and I just returned from a fantastic week aboard the Aqua Cat (4-24 to 5-1). I would reccomend this boat to anyone. Visibilty and weather for the week were not ideal, but that is completely out of anyone's control. Temps in the water were typically 73-75 degrees, decided it's time to invest in a 5 mil.
The Boat:
What a great boat. Cabins were spacious, the dive deck was fantastic. Every live aboard should have two full showers on the dive deck. Dive deck had plenty of space and entries and exits were a breeze even on some of the choppier sites. Beer on tap was Sands, Sands light and a pretty tasty stout. Wine was decent and the booze offered was Rum and Vodka with plenty of mixers. The crew was fantastic and the food was very good.
The Diving:
My wife and I got in 20 dives for the week at sites varying from shallow reefs to walls that start at 60 feet. We didn't get to do their ideal itinerary because of the weather and some baggage issues. We saw sharks on quite a few dives and of course saw a ton of reef sharks on the shark feed dive. I was excited to see my first lion fish, but quickly realized what a blight they are. The reefs and walls did have less fish life than any of my previous dive locations, but the architecture and addition of sharks on almost half the dives made the diving good in my book.
The other stuff:
We did a trip to feed the Iguanas, the Exumas Land and Sea Park and a beach trip. We missed out on the pigs and Thunderball groto. They offered a fishing trip and a couple of other beach trips that we did not take part in. Did learn this trip that 5 dives a day is great in theory, but for us, especially in colder water is too much. It was nice to skip a few and have a rest on the sun deck or a cocktail or two in the evening.
I'm am officially a fan of liveaboards and will do more in the future. I would return to the Aqua Cat, but there is a long list of dive locations that I want to hit for a first time before I start repeating. If you have any specific questions, please ask away or shoot me a PM.
The Boat:
What a great boat. Cabins were spacious, the dive deck was fantastic. Every live aboard should have two full showers on the dive deck. Dive deck had plenty of space and entries and exits were a breeze even on some of the choppier sites. Beer on tap was Sands, Sands light and a pretty tasty stout. Wine was decent and the booze offered was Rum and Vodka with plenty of mixers. The crew was fantastic and the food was very good.
The Diving:
My wife and I got in 20 dives for the week at sites varying from shallow reefs to walls that start at 60 feet. We didn't get to do their ideal itinerary because of the weather and some baggage issues. We saw sharks on quite a few dives and of course saw a ton of reef sharks on the shark feed dive. I was excited to see my first lion fish, but quickly realized what a blight they are. The reefs and walls did have less fish life than any of my previous dive locations, but the architecture and addition of sharks on almost half the dives made the diving good in my book.
The other stuff:
We did a trip to feed the Iguanas, the Exumas Land and Sea Park and a beach trip. We missed out on the pigs and Thunderball groto. They offered a fishing trip and a couple of other beach trips that we did not take part in. Did learn this trip that 5 dives a day is great in theory, but for us, especially in colder water is too much. It was nice to skip a few and have a rest on the sun deck or a cocktail or two in the evening.
I'm am officially a fan of liveaboards and will do more in the future. I would return to the Aqua Cat, but there is a long list of dive locations that I want to hit for a first time before I start repeating. If you have any specific questions, please ask away or shoot me a PM.
