First Liveaboard trip - what to take, what to leave behind, what to know?

[Surface Interval]

Lots of great advice!
I agree with you'll need half the clothes you think you do. If you need pants, try and get some that don't drag the ground. This will help you avoid a problem I have called Puddle Creep. I'm short, so when my pants touch the ground, they absorb every single drop of water to be found.
On our last trip I was taking Dramamine, my husband had some old Scop Patches. It is important that the patches are fresh and not from 2 years ago. I also brought a pack of Ginger Gum, available at CVS. Ginger really helps with motion sickness. I also brought along some leftover promethazine (is that how you spell it?) from some naseau caused by anestesia (sp). That stuff was GOLD on the way back in from Guadalupe.

I get cold. I get cold in 80+ degree water. Recently I purchased some LavaCore Socks. Totally worth the $25. I also always wear a skin under my suit.

I agree with the person above that said if you have a special coffee or tea you like to bring your own. By the end of the 4 days there was no regular Lipton! Plenty of herbal tea, though.

Hope you all had a great time!

 

[fred3798]

I have to say, we were caught in Hurricane Sandy, and on Wednesday afternoon, we had to hightail it back to Nassau in very rough seas. Captain Ron and the crew worked hard to keep us in protected areas and get us 17 dives. After we tied up with 19 mooring lines in the protected Atlantis Marina (not Hurricane Hole), we buckled down for two and a half days of 90mph+ (110mph max) winds-thought it would never end. They offered to get anyone into the Atlantis (which shuttered up and was evidently a miserable experience), but only one person took advantage of the offer for one night. Captain Ron, First Mate John and crew went out of their way making sure we were safe, as comfortable as could be expected, and the Captain spent a lot of time on his satellite phone (our only communication during the storm, and provided with no charges) to change/rechange flights, etc. They kept constant food available, provided a meal Friday night, and worked to keep us entertained. While the AC is large, it is not that large. Bottom line, the AC crew went out of their way to accommodate us in a difficult situation.!

We arrived at the Aqua Cat just as your gorup left. The wind was so strong that it pinned the boat to the dock at the marina. So we could not get out the first day. I absolutely agree with your comments above about Capt. Ron and his team.

 

[drrich2]

Similarly, in the water, they prefer that you dive on your own rather than following a guide. I like being guided by someone who knows the reef and is much better able than me to find cool sea life. It is my first time at each reef. They have been there thousands of times. Yet many of us got the sense that the staff was too busy taking pictures and video to sell to us at the end of the trip to be bothered with guiding lazy divers.

I have no problems with staff setting up my gear (if they do it right, which historically hasn't been a problem elsewhere), but I can do it myself just fine, so to me, either/or.

I agree with you that it's good for an assigned guide to lead divers who want one. This has historically been a bit of a hot topic on the forum; some believe all OW divers should be 'fully independent' (at the level of the buddy team, anyway) and ready to jump in the ocean & independently navigate reef dives & return to the boat reliably, no big deal, right out of OW courses or they shouldn't get a cert.

Uh-huh. Real world practice is a tad different from that. Even if I can navigate that way, I'm not a multi-tasker, and I want to focus on the reef, not my compass.

That said, the provision of dive guides varies widely by site. I've yet to encounter a charter boat op. in the Caribbean that didn't do it (I've been on 2-tank boat dives at St. Thomas, eastern Puerto Rico, Costa Maya, Cozumel & Grand Cayman), but I'm told that in California it's common practice that if you don't hire your own dive guide, you don't get one (so the op. is more like a taxi service than a guided tour).

I'm glad you told me this about the AquaCat; very good to know. I'm not citing an entitlement or blaming them; just want to be sure I've got the right expectations if I ever sign up for a trip.

Richard.

 

[divengolf]

Just got back from a trip to Raja Ampat where we did 53 dives in 14 days. That much diving will rub your feet raw even in dive boots. Several on this trip did not take precautions and had many blisters or worse half-way through the trip. It's pretty tough finning with blisters.

So, to re-enforce some earlier suggestions, make sure that you take 2 or 3 pair of lightweight socks, either thin neopreme or thin "surfing" socks from lycra or similar. I say 2-3 pair because this is the sort of thing that easily gets lost on the dive deck. I buy mine from a local surf shop for about $10/pair. Very cheap insurance whether using OH or FF fins.

Enjoy AC and say HELLO to Capt. Ron. He's the best.

 

[tdtaylor]

We arrived at the Aqua Cat just as your gorup left. The wind was so strong that it pinned the boat to the dock at the marina. So we could not get out the first day. I absolutely agree with your comments above about Capt. Ron and his team.

We heard that it was really tough on the next week, and that the viz was like quarry diving for the first part of the week. While it wasn't idea for us the preceding week with the high winds, at least we typically had 60-70 feet of viz. Unfortunately, none due to the boat, we had to stay in Eulthera (sp?) for most of the week, which meant we visited some of the less prime spots. Guess you win some and loose some- Mother Nature will have her way.

One thing to note- I had travel insurance on both of us, and am working through the process....slowly. The group DAN outsources to insure, at least in my experience, is clueless about a dive trip. The AC kept us on board, making the Atlantis available (at our cost, and then to get there thru 3/4 mile walk along the docks and howling winds). In my discussion, I mentioned that the purpose was to dive, we did not dive, and we saved them the additional cost of $275 a night, which the agent agreed they would owe us if we had taken up the offer to stay in the Atlantis. The AC group out of Miami has been helpful providing paperwork to the insurer- at this point, I have sent them 42 pages of information! The even wanted documentation that we had properly entered and exited the country. Thankfully they stamped our Passports- something Curacao didn't do last year.

 

[Akimbo]

Warm-water newbie here. Has anybody tried crocs sandals on a liveaboard? I tried them on wet tile and they were OK but not great.

Amazon.com: Crocs - Baya Slide Unisex Footwear: Shoes

My feet are really wide and these fit. All my previous liveabaords required steel-toe boots.

 

[H2O Gal]

All my previous liveabaords required steel-toe boots.

HA!! Good one--but you got paid for being there.....:snorkel2:

 

[koozemani]

I'm starting to put together a packing list for our first lob based on all the great advice in this and other threads. What I keep getting hung up on was the bit about "if its not on the boat, it's not on the boat". How much redundancy do you experienced lob'ers pack. I'm looking at packing backups for my backups. Extra lights on top of our normal 2, extra hoses, spgs, spools, tank lights, computers, tools, Orings, heck I want to bring my whole save a dive kit.

So my questions is, how much backup/extra gear do you pack, and how much can I expect the boat to have on hand? We'll be on the Dancer boat out of Belize.

 

[Darnold9999]

I try to find a balance between uniqueness, essentialness, weight, likelyhood of failure and cost. For example, my mask is unique, essential and weighs almost nothing - so I take two. Yes the boat will likely have a spare mask or two but it won't fit, and it is absolutely essential to have a mask to dive. I don't take three as the chances of breaking two are remote., but the chances of breaking one is not.

Things that are not unique will be things that the boat has as spares. If it is common and likely to break then there is a good chance that the boat will have something that will work. o-rings, bungie cord, zap straps, spg's, lights, regs, hoses, tools and the like fall in this category.


If you have two computers I would take them. Having a computer fail is a pain. I just take a spare battery. Most liveabords have computers but you may have to sit out a dive or two if yours dies. Depends on the liveaboard's policies.

I take a spare memory card and battery for my camera.

Other than that I just make sure my gear is in good shape before I leave.

 

[pelan-pelan]

Two things to repeat. Don't forget zip-lock or watertight thin nylon bags - judging by the reaction from other divers these are objects of desire.

Blank CDs or a USB stick to take home photos and videos. Really nice to share other peoples photos.

Spare mouthpiece that fits you - nothing like biting through your own and having to use one that is the wrong shape for your mouth = can't equalise, jaw fatigue, toothache = a miserable, grumpy diver.

What not to take is also important.

Leather + boat = bad.

Don't take anything of personal sentimental value. Dive boats are a busy environment and things get dropped, lost, sat on. That lovely lilttle pendant, the book mark your son made for you at kindergarten, the leather wallet that was your Dad's, your address book or diary. Take nothing and you cannot lose nothing. Loss is often about memories, not about value. Not even your favourite T shirt.

Going lob in Maldives in May and this thread is absolutely spot on for "revising" needs and "don't needs" for lob.