tparrent:
I have a rolling mesh gear bag that holds all my stuff so I assume I bring that on rather than carrying everything loose. Do people just have swimsuits and t shirts and then get into their wetsuits once the boat is anchored?
You would be well-advised to consider taking a small 'dry-bag' onto the boat as well. It can carry a spare T-shirt, a hat, and possibly your wallet, cert card, and/or cell phone in a small otter box or pelican box. Possibly some sunscreen, car keys, or your glasses if you wear them. Maybe some first aid basics, a couple Tylenols, possibly some bonine or Triptone (which won't help you much ON the boat, the time to take it starts the night before, and then just before you get on the boat) and if you want to get anal retentive, a couple spare parts and some tools in a small 'Save-A-Dive' kit - which potentially could spare you from sitting out a dive with a broken fin strap or something.
In general, plan on anything and everything in your mesh bag getting wet. Which is fine, except that there may be some items you don't want to get wet. Stick'em in your drybag, and stow that up in the bow or as the captain directs you.
tparrent:
Should I also bring drinking water and snacks or do the boats generally have them and hope that you will buy them on board?
The boat may have some stuff, but in general its best to bring at least some of your own. Also, if you throw a sixpack of OJ into the common ice cooler, others won't know its 'yours' unless you put your initials on it with a Sharpie or something. If you're simply contributing your water/gatorade/juice whatever to the common pot, it may not matter. But if it does matter to you, label your stuff clearly (or don't put it into the common ice cooler). Snacks can go in your drybag up forward.
tparrent:
When do people set up their gear? At the dock, underway or on site?
Set your own gear up as soon as you can get to it on the boat, unless the captain has his own preferences - which you'll be briefed on. What works best for me is to set it up the night before, open your valve, make sure everything works, check your fill pressure, etc. Then just wear your assembled rig onto the boat, stow in in one of the slots, and bungee it to the gunnel. This way the only thing you need to do before donning your rig is check that your tank valve is all the way open. You know its all there, you know it all works.
By the way, there have been ridiculous arguments over 'who owns' bits of dive gear when many divers bought the same stuff. Take a minute to put your initials, identifying marks, your name,
something on your gear so its clearly labeled as your gear. There are always a few divers who leave gear adrift and unlabeled, and sometimes its legitimately hard to tell which is whose from the pile of crap on the deck.
Reduce your onboard stress level in advance.
Best,
Doc
