- Messages
- 808
- Reaction score
- 40
- # of dives
- 200 - 499
It's taken a while to get around to this but here goes. I was on the Cayman Aggressor IV March 17-24. This was my first liveaboard and if you want to skip to the chase I had a great time and will definitely be doing it again.
Travel: Some hassle here, as I was originally supposed to be in the Keys that week. But my LDS had to cancel that trip so I booked this at the last minute. Rather than pay a penalty I chose to work around my existing flights to Miami, which resulted in long layover on the way down (5 hours), and even longer on the way back (overnight). The actually flights went relatively well, considering I was traveling on the same weekend that a lot of people got stuck due to weather. My flight into George Town was delayed about an hour, resulting in an even later arrival (11p), but the crew met me as promised (I'd called to advise them of the delay) and got me on a taxi to the boat. Everyone was gracious and welcoming and they had dinner waiting for me. The boat was rocking and rolling at the dock a bit so they moved it soon after I arrived. I checked all but my reg and computers in an unlocked bag and had no issues with luggage or security.
Boat: I thought the boat was comfortable, well laid out and spacious. Granted it wasn't a full charter (12 with a capacity of 18) and I ended up with a cabin to myself. However, I've done some liveaboard sailing, and I think I would have been very comfortable regardless. The only "mechanical" issue was a compressor problem (backordered part), which resulted in no nitrox for the week but I don't feel this limited my diving.
Crew: The crew was flat out great. Very helpful but not intrusively so, and they immediately got a feel for who wanted to ham for the camera and who wanted to do their own thing.
Food: It was good and plentiful. We had BBQ chicken and ribs, awesome fish a couple of nights, steak, pork loin, turkey and all the fixins. Home baked goodies after the first a.m. dive, and platters of crackers and cheese, fruit and dip and that sort of thing in the afternoon. Lunches were typically cold cuts and salads, though one day (I think it was lunch), we had hotdogs and hamburgers with the works. Breakfast consisted of fruits, cereals, breads of various sorts, or eggs to order with sausage or bacon. Choices of beverages included water, tea, lemonade, juices and coffee in the morning, and various soft drinks at the upper deck bar. I didn't drink all that much but did have some red wine which was fine, though they did tend to keep it in the icebox.
Diving: Ok, so I don't have a lot to compare it too, but I thought the diving was, on the whole, fabulous. At least compared to what I've experienced so far. We were limited to the south and west sides of Grand Cayman due to conditions. Speaking of conditions, the water was consistently 78F, topside it was usually breezy, partly cloudy and around 80F. Viz was usually 60-80' at least. There were typically manageable surface currents due to the wind. I found this a bit of a fun challenge though, working on being able to conduct my safety stops without something to hang on to (a 15' hang chain with 4 people on it in a current ends up being an 8' safety stop). I will say the wrecks we visited didn't compare to others I've done and I was disappointed not to visit Bloody Bay Wall or the Keith Tibbits. We did manage to get into Stingray City on the last day, after a bit of a bumpy ride.
This trip did tremendous things for my diving confidence. I found that I don't have to be the air hog and my buoyancy improved greatly. A couple of more experienced divers complimented me on my diving and one of the crew suggested I should consider going divemaster or instructor as I tend to be someone who keeps an eye out on everyone else. I don't know about divemaster, I'd rather take it slow for now, but I'm definitely taking rescue this summer. I know some of you are going, "DANGER, DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!" So my next goal is to hit the quarries in some cold, lower viz situations, eat a little humble pie, and learn more.
Travel: Some hassle here, as I was originally supposed to be in the Keys that week. But my LDS had to cancel that trip so I booked this at the last minute. Rather than pay a penalty I chose to work around my existing flights to Miami, which resulted in long layover on the way down (5 hours), and even longer on the way back (overnight). The actually flights went relatively well, considering I was traveling on the same weekend that a lot of people got stuck due to weather. My flight into George Town was delayed about an hour, resulting in an even later arrival (11p), but the crew met me as promised (I'd called to advise them of the delay) and got me on a taxi to the boat. Everyone was gracious and welcoming and they had dinner waiting for me. The boat was rocking and rolling at the dock a bit so they moved it soon after I arrived. I checked all but my reg and computers in an unlocked bag and had no issues with luggage or security.
Boat: I thought the boat was comfortable, well laid out and spacious. Granted it wasn't a full charter (12 with a capacity of 18) and I ended up with a cabin to myself. However, I've done some liveaboard sailing, and I think I would have been very comfortable regardless. The only "mechanical" issue was a compressor problem (backordered part), which resulted in no nitrox for the week but I don't feel this limited my diving.
Crew: The crew was flat out great. Very helpful but not intrusively so, and they immediately got a feel for who wanted to ham for the camera and who wanted to do their own thing.
Food: It was good and plentiful. We had BBQ chicken and ribs, awesome fish a couple of nights, steak, pork loin, turkey and all the fixins. Home baked goodies after the first a.m. dive, and platters of crackers and cheese, fruit and dip and that sort of thing in the afternoon. Lunches were typically cold cuts and salads, though one day (I think it was lunch), we had hotdogs and hamburgers with the works. Breakfast consisted of fruits, cereals, breads of various sorts, or eggs to order with sausage or bacon. Choices of beverages included water, tea, lemonade, juices and coffee in the morning, and various soft drinks at the upper deck bar. I didn't drink all that much but did have some red wine which was fine, though they did tend to keep it in the icebox.
Diving: Ok, so I don't have a lot to compare it too, but I thought the diving was, on the whole, fabulous. At least compared to what I've experienced so far. We were limited to the south and west sides of Grand Cayman due to conditions. Speaking of conditions, the water was consistently 78F, topside it was usually breezy, partly cloudy and around 80F. Viz was usually 60-80' at least. There were typically manageable surface currents due to the wind. I found this a bit of a fun challenge though, working on being able to conduct my safety stops without something to hang on to (a 15' hang chain with 4 people on it in a current ends up being an 8' safety stop). I will say the wrecks we visited didn't compare to others I've done and I was disappointed not to visit Bloody Bay Wall or the Keith Tibbits. We did manage to get into Stingray City on the last day, after a bit of a bumpy ride.
This trip did tremendous things for my diving confidence. I found that I don't have to be the air hog and my buoyancy improved greatly. A couple of more experienced divers complimented me on my diving and one of the crew suggested I should consider going divemaster or instructor as I tend to be someone who keeps an eye out on everyone else. I don't know about divemaster, I'd rather take it slow for now, but I'm definitely taking rescue this summer. I know some of you are going, "DANGER, DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!" So my next goal is to hit the quarries in some cold, lower viz situations, eat a little humble pie, and learn more.
