Bay Island Live Aboards

[diversteve]

It appears that's the case. I don't think the ownership changed, just the affiliation - they're with Hughes now in the DivEncounters Alliance. http://www.divencounters.com/live-aboard-diving-blog/2012/11/introducing-the-mv-caribbean-pearl-ii/

But the boat ownership shows on Utila - doesn't the same person also own Laguna Beach Resort?
Bay Islands Yacht Charters

Kevin, there's only one boat. Formerly the Utila Aggressor, now the MV Caribbean Pearl. They recently changed representation which is why you may still be seeing both.

Anybody know what happened to the previous Utila Aggressor boat? It didn't look to be that old when we saw there it in 09'. Or is it the re-fitted Pearl? I thought it was physically a different configuration than the Pearl - more like some of the other Dancer/Aggressor boats with the wheelhouse on the main deck in front.

 

[Doc]

As a liveaboard owner, I'll stick with your post number 2 too. A liveaboard cannot compete with a good day operator.

Especially when they moor around Roatan, quite visible by divers from land based dive-ops, which offer the same sites at 40% less.

To make a real marketing go-of-it on Roatan, you have to go beyond the most interesting dive sites which are fairly well served by land based.

Other dive sites? The East end of the North side is extremely weather dependent for a large monohull. Ditto for the flats at the far East End (Barbaretta/Morat). The crossing to Cayos Cochinos had better be flat.

It is not cheap to move these boats, that's why the BIA didn't move.

Exotica peaks interest, but rarely brings in customers. Not many people were going to pop for the 90 mile run North to Cisne/Swan Islands, or South to the Cayos Cochinos sea mounts. Guanaja (the far Easternmost Bay Island) falls into that same pit.

It all came down to what Wookie said above. I have looked off from CCV on the South shore many times in the past and had watched the BIA laying at mooring on 6 varying dive sites that the CCV and FIBR bots would hit during the same week.

Liveaboards cost big money and have huge fixed costs- even if no one signs-up for that week's sailing, it's money out the porthole.

Liveaboards do well where there is no dive infrastructure or the dive sites are so far flung. Galapagos and the SoPac boats are perfect examples. You have to stretch a bit to make this work for the Caribbean, so they fall back onto the quantity of diving offered. I've been on most of them in the Caribbean, and the only one that makes sense would be a Belize route~ lots of far-flung dive sites.

I believe in Utila it serves a very useful marketing niche. For the same reason that we stayed at he Holiday Inn in the 1960's, the same reason we went to Playboy Clubs, not much different than Panda Express... no surprises. It represents a known (perceived as comparatively upscale) alternative to the land based alternative. The Island of Utila's brilliant (and truthful) market positioning as backpacker heaven simply does not appeal to some travelers who seek the perception of consistency (and some upscale)... They really don't want to "rough it". Too bad, they might not know what they are missing... but everybody should have what they want.

As Utila (and the rest of the Bay Islands) develops and fuel prices increase, the days for a possible local liveabaord are numbered.

 

[RTBDiver]

Anybody know what happened to the previous Utila Aggressor boat? It didn't look to be that old when we saw there it in 09'. .

I could be mistaken but wasnt the "old" Utila aggressor the OLDER Turks Caicos agressor that was nicknamed the septic? When we did the Bay Islands Aggressor it was an older ship out of Parrot Tree Roatan, It was by far the worst aggressor trip I had done, Crew was good, but the Itinerary and service as a whole was not. Is the "New boat a refiit of the original Septic boat? No matter what they did there was a serious oder problem, And that was even before I used the head

 

[Wookie]

The previous Utilla Aggressor (not the one that is now the Caribbean Pearl) is now the Carib Dancer. That boat was not the Turks and Caicos Aggressor.

 

[KevinG58]

However, if you want to understand why its only possible to successfully sell spots on a liveaboard operating out of Utila (not departing Roatan), that factor is a huge part of the equation.

But you didn't want to talk about that.

No, I was trying to be clear I was not interested in debating relative values of the various options, to try and head off thread drift such as comparing the various operations.

 

[RTBDiver]

The previous Utilla Aggressor (not the one that is now the Caribbean Pearl) is now the Carib Dancer. That boat was not the Turks and Caicos Aggressor.

My mistake, I know when the TC agggressor came to Jacksonville for work it was then off to Utila, I figured it became the Utila agressor, Maybe it jus went private

 

[laurenceh]

hey roatanman have you ever been to the swan islands? i've been talking to a couple of friends who are interested in doing a trip there.

 

[Doc]

One try, weathered-out on scene, did one "thing" that qualified as a dive on the North side, went home after laying at anchor overnight.

I'd go back in a minute.

 

[John_B]

When CCV bought the EZ Diver, I thought it would be able to get to many of the same dive sites as the UA, but the EZD doesn't seem to be doing day trips as often as I would've guessed. I don't really know why, other than the close-in dive sites near the resort make for some pretty effortless diving, and that the day trips are priced a la carte.

The previous Utilla Aggressor (not the one that is now the Caribbean Pearl) is now the Carib Dancer.

If so, it would seem to have a lot of problems: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/liveaboards-charter-boats/442168-carib-dancer-cancellation.html

 

[zeppelindiver]

Hello all,

I would like to bring to all the posters attention that there IS a liveaboard diving operator in the Bay Islands. We started a liveaboard diving and sailing operation based out of French Cay Harbor, Roatan in February of 2013. We offer private, personalized liveaboard diving trips aboard our 47 foot luxury sailboat with the itineraries and schedule tailored to our guests preferences. We can provide you with access to all the best sites that the local dive shops don't go to as well as the most popular sites near the resorts, but at times of day when no one else is on the site. This is the ultimate in small group diving with a maximum of 4 guests and 2 Instructors to take care of them! For more information check out our website Zeppelin Dive & Sail | Roatan Live Aboard Sailing & Diving Charters