Considering Bahamas Liveaboards in November

[Ironborn]

Just back from a T&K live a board trip. The viability is fair at best. 20 to 50 feet on a good dive and that was a drift 3 hours away from the usual moorings. While there were sharks on most dives lion fish are back and eating everything. New regulations make it difficult for taking them. Seems like a shark took one off some tourists spear and the regulatory authority doesn't want divers eaten. Yea right. Flight down and had 25 on a big Jet Blue plane . There are not many tourist around. Yes the island had damage but they are trying to get back in business. 180 winds were clocked according to our driver. Takes time to recover from that above and below the water.

The reefs were hit hard and are sand covered on most dives. I'll go back not for sometime however.

Thank you for the update @jndiver . Were you on the Explorer or the Aggressor?

The Explorer posted this trip report on their first trip after the hurricanes:

Explorer Ventures

Their description of conditions was more optimistic than yours. They wrote that visibility was reduced from the usual 100 ft but still OK, and that the most serious damage was mostly on French Cay.

 

[jndiver]

All said was true. There were some dives that were very nice and there were sharks on almost all the dives. The trip south from the regular areas was the best part of the trip. I truely can't say enough great things about the boat and crew. The scuba radio group was fun. The lion fish problem is only going to get worse without control and there was a distinct lack of small schools especially where the lion fish were plentiful. Some dives I saw 20 or more. The reefs are sandy and lack color from the storms. I hope the area gets back to past glory as the explorer and crew are special. I think the area needs time to recover.

 

[Hoag]

Have you made your Aquacat trip yet? How did you find the the lionfish population and the population of the other fish compared to your last trip there? On most of the Caribbean trips I've been on in the last few years I've seen a decrease in the number of lionfish but I think that's because the divers in the areas I've visited have been hunting them. I'm thinking the Aquacat would be traveling more remote areas with fewer human hunters.

Also did you see any hurricane damage on the reefs?

We've never been on the Aquacat but have been in that areas several times back when Explorer Ventures used to have a boat there.

I just got back from my Aquacat trip (28 Oct - 4 Nov). I was disappointed with the life. There were a lot fewer Lionfish, but there were also a lot fewer of just about everything. We spent a good amount of time avoiding a pretty significant storm that blew through and trying to find dive sites that were doable. As for the fish life, compared to the last time I was there, it almost seems as though the Lionfish ate everything and with no real food supply, their numbers fell. There were a lot of sharks around, so there must be something that the sharks are eating, but the reefs are nothing like they used to be.

 

[scubadada]

I just got back from my Aquacat trip (28 Oct - 4 Nov). I was disappointed with the life. There were a lot fewer Lionfish, but there were also a lot fewer of just about everything. We spent a good amount of time avoiding a pretty significant storm that blew through and trying to find dive sites that were doable. As for the fish life, compared to the last time I was there, it almost seems as though the Lionfish ate everything and with no real food supply, their numbers fell. There were a lot of sharks around, so there must be something that the sharks are eating, but the reefs are nothing like they used to be.

I guess you also had to avoid Tropical Storm Philippe. I was on Cayman Brac, we missed a day of diving on Saturday the 28th. Sounds like you were very disappointed in your trip. My impression, from personal experience, is that Cayman Brac has a higher density of fish than Little Cayman. I was very happy with the destination.

I'm not interested in the shark trips, I don't think the Bahamas are on my long list of places to visit.

 

[drrich2]

Hoag:

Since you guys were avoiding a storm and trying to find doable sites, any realistic chance they were hitting suboptimal sites with less visible life, compared to what they'd hit on a regular trip with better weather?

I have no idea, but the question is worth asking.

Richard.

 

[Hoag]

Hoag:

Since you guys were avoiding a storm and trying to find doable sites, any realistic chance they were hitting suboptimal sites with less visible life, compared to what they'd hit on a regular trip with better weather?

I have no idea, but the question is worth asking.

Richard.

Absolutely! We were bouncing between Eleuthera and the Exumas a few times in search of something that was diveable. We were taking what was available, not what was ideal. We dove on "Danger Reef", and there was so much sand stirred up that it was like diving in milk. I have no doubt that we did not see the best that the area has to offer.

On the other hand, I did get some great stories and I even got to see the "little" Goliath Grouper that has taken up residency on the Austin Smith Wreck. (Unfortunately, Finnegan was nowhere to be seen.)

 

[Hoag]

I guess you also had to avoid Tropical Storm Philippe. I was on Cayman Brac, we missed a day of diving on Saturday the 28th. Sounds like you were very disappointed in your trip. My impression, from personal experience, is that Cayman Brac has a higher density of fish than Little Cayman. I was very happy with the destination.

I'm not interested in the shark trips, I don't think the Bahamas are on my long list of places to visit.

From the looks of it, I would say that it probably was TS Philippe that started the ball rolling. Usually, the Aquacat departs its berth before dawn on Sunday morning. On this trip, we left late Saturday night and headed south while the storm moved north, hoping to put as much distance between us and the storm as quickly as possible.

I did not mean to sound disappointed, I had a great time. Capt Ron and the crew were outstanding! They were friendly, hard working and professional and they did everything that they could to make our (the customers') experiences a positive one. I think that there is perhaps a lot in what @drrich2 said. I think that we dove on some sites that might not have been the best normally, but they were a viable option last week.