divekraz
Contributor
I apologize for this not being a smooth and fluid writting in advance. This is our fifth liveaboard trip in the past 5 years. The trip was Saturday to Saturday and ours started on 12-17-11. The diving is not for the inexperienced due to current, surge, and waves but the wildlife was not to be believed and the best trip I've been on so far. The ship was fantastic and the crew was the friendliest and most helpful of any boat I've been on. My comparison would be the Kona Agressor in Hawaii & Cocos Agressor from Costa Rica, Naia in Fiji, Aquacat in the Bahamas.
Nicolas, the dive master was very friendly as was all the staff. He met us at the airport, loaded our gear and took us straight to the yacht. You take a tender from the pier out to the boat which is anchored in the bay. You have a check out dive on Saturday, max depth 23 fsw, for weight check, wet suit protection, and for the dm to get an idea of your skill. During the check out (Isla Lobos) we had sting rays and sea lions to film. Dive briefings have a very detailed drawing and explanation of the dive. Cabo Marshall was the first day of diving with Wolf and Darwin for the next 3 days, Punta Vicente Roca and then Cousins Rock on the last diving day. You are only allowed 3 dives per day per the government and no night dives. Water temperatures went from 60 at Roca to the mid 70's at the others. Diving conditions were a strong current at Wolf & Darwin to rather pleasant at Cousins with Viz of 20' to 50'. The boat supplies you with a collapsible flag and vhf radio. I would probably bring a hook if you are using a camera. The highlights of what we saw were 5 whale sharks, 2 Mola Mola, numerous eels, 2 batfish, 20 Pilot whales, fur seals and sea lions, penquin, manta rays, eagle rays, galapagos, white tip sharks and so many hammerheads you couldn't count them . You can click on the link below to see my videos of the trip or search for divekraz1 if you would like a sample of what to see along with our land tours.
Galapagos Diving Part One Dec.2011 - YouTube
The boat itself is laid out very nicely. We were in cabin 5 which had a couch and windows the width of the boat. Double sinks in the head and a king size bed with plenty of closet and drawer space. We had a issue with the A/C not being cold enough so they changed out the 8,000 btu unit for a 16,000 btu unit for us the next day. The boat has only been in the water for approximately 10 trips so they were still working out some finishing details. There are 3 freshwater showers on the dive deck where your gear is kept in a numbered box under the bench. There is also a camera rinse tank next to the exit for the tender. Three steps up and you have 2 camera tables, outside head, and heated ceiling vent to warm up. Going forward is the lounge, bar, t.v., dining area and forward of that is 3 cabins, ours was all the way forward. The next deck up are more cabins and above that has a large, wonderfully shaded lounge deck with a large hot tub. Unfortunately the hot tub was not working when we were there. There is a dvd player and tv in your room so bring movies.
There are 2 DM's so the group is split and we got to dive with both. The crew do multiple jobs as Ugo will be serving your meals after he's helped you into the tender. You walk onto the tender geared up with the help of 3 crew. You do a back roll into the water and a quick drop to the meeting point. Getting on the tender after handing your gear to the crewman is by ladder or try to kick over the edge. The crew was very helpful. They place warm towels over your shoulders, Will pick up and hang your wet suit, have hot chocolate and snacks after each dive. The crew was the most attentative to the divers needs of any boat I've been on. Since I didn't speak Spainish very well, anything I asked the DM for was taken care of very quickly. There were 11 divers on our trip from Norway, Austalia, Brazil, Sweden and locally however everyone but us and the Australian spoke Spainish. I was impressed with the stocking of the bar even though I don't drink, you do pay for premium drinks, but wine was served with dinner.
The food was basic, serve yourself buffet style with animal shaped napkins decorating the tables. It was cooked well with a choice of fish and a meat for lunch and dinner, we did have lobster for one dinner, desert after lunch and dinner. Soup at lunch with salads at lunch & dinner. Breakfast was eggs cooked to order, pancakes, french toast, meat, cereal, toast, fruit. There is a coffee, expresso machine for the guests to use.
Laura@Ultimatedivetravel.com was our travel agent and they made our trip very easy and was a wealth of knowledge about the region and diving. Laura always answered my questions in a very timely manner and I would definately use them again.
Nicolas, the dive master was very friendly as was all the staff. He met us at the airport, loaded our gear and took us straight to the yacht. You take a tender from the pier out to the boat which is anchored in the bay. You have a check out dive on Saturday, max depth 23 fsw, for weight check, wet suit protection, and for the dm to get an idea of your skill. During the check out (Isla Lobos) we had sting rays and sea lions to film. Dive briefings have a very detailed drawing and explanation of the dive. Cabo Marshall was the first day of diving with Wolf and Darwin for the next 3 days, Punta Vicente Roca and then Cousins Rock on the last diving day. You are only allowed 3 dives per day per the government and no night dives. Water temperatures went from 60 at Roca to the mid 70's at the others. Diving conditions were a strong current at Wolf & Darwin to rather pleasant at Cousins with Viz of 20' to 50'. The boat supplies you with a collapsible flag and vhf radio. I would probably bring a hook if you are using a camera. The highlights of what we saw were 5 whale sharks, 2 Mola Mola, numerous eels, 2 batfish, 20 Pilot whales, fur seals and sea lions, penquin, manta rays, eagle rays, galapagos, white tip sharks and so many hammerheads you couldn't count them . You can click on the link below to see my videos of the trip or search for divekraz1 if you would like a sample of what to see along with our land tours.
Galapagos Diving Part One Dec.2011 - YouTube
The boat itself is laid out very nicely. We were in cabin 5 which had a couch and windows the width of the boat. Double sinks in the head and a king size bed with plenty of closet and drawer space. We had a issue with the A/C not being cold enough so they changed out the 8,000 btu unit for a 16,000 btu unit for us the next day. The boat has only been in the water for approximately 10 trips so they were still working out some finishing details. There are 3 freshwater showers on the dive deck where your gear is kept in a numbered box under the bench. There is also a camera rinse tank next to the exit for the tender. Three steps up and you have 2 camera tables, outside head, and heated ceiling vent to warm up. Going forward is the lounge, bar, t.v., dining area and forward of that is 3 cabins, ours was all the way forward. The next deck up are more cabins and above that has a large, wonderfully shaded lounge deck with a large hot tub. Unfortunately the hot tub was not working when we were there. There is a dvd player and tv in your room so bring movies.
There are 2 DM's so the group is split and we got to dive with both. The crew do multiple jobs as Ugo will be serving your meals after he's helped you into the tender. You walk onto the tender geared up with the help of 3 crew. You do a back roll into the water and a quick drop to the meeting point. Getting on the tender after handing your gear to the crewman is by ladder or try to kick over the edge. The crew was very helpful. They place warm towels over your shoulders, Will pick up and hang your wet suit, have hot chocolate and snacks after each dive. The crew was the most attentative to the divers needs of any boat I've been on. Since I didn't speak Spainish very well, anything I asked the DM for was taken care of very quickly. There were 11 divers on our trip from Norway, Austalia, Brazil, Sweden and locally however everyone but us and the Australian spoke Spainish. I was impressed with the stocking of the bar even though I don't drink, you do pay for premium drinks, but wine was served with dinner.
The food was basic, serve yourself buffet style with animal shaped napkins decorating the tables. It was cooked well with a choice of fish and a meat for lunch and dinner, we did have lobster for one dinner, desert after lunch and dinner. Soup at lunch with salads at lunch & dinner. Breakfast was eggs cooked to order, pancakes, french toast, meat, cereal, toast, fruit. There is a coffee, expresso machine for the guests to use.
Laura@Ultimatedivetravel.com was our travel agent and they made our trip very easy and was a wealth of knowledge about the region and diving. Laura always answered my questions in a very timely manner and I would definately use them again.
