4 dives a day with fairly short surface intervals. Nitrox is worth it.
Humboldt Explorer Review
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scubafanatic
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Yeah, I got the same 'lecture' on that same boat in the Bahamas, 'deco' wasn't a problem, but their 110' max floor was....highly annoying and it kinda pissed me off! Although I've never 'done' Galapagos, I'd 'do' Nitrox there without question, 4 - 5 dives daily is definitely Nitrox territory, and given the rough conditions there (currents and such leading to high gas consumption) and the probability you'll be diving AL 80's anyway (versus big, juicy steel tanks), you probably wouldn't go past 110' anyway, unless you want to do 10 min dives!
I have no problem with using Nitrox. In fact, I use Nitrox every chance I get. Like I said, I just didn't want to miss out on the critters because of the MOD they set.
Yes!! I did use nitrox and it worked great for the galapagos. Like someone else pointed out, you need not go deep to see all the big animals. They come to you. The deepest I went on the trip was 93 feet. Anyway, I've been really busy this week but I will probably be able to add another installment of my review tomorrow night!!
Gargoyle_A2
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Thanks for this great thread, Seagal. We'll be on board Sept. 6, so this is very useful information for us. Hope you continue to update. How was the food? Any suggestions of things to bring? How were the shore activities?
(Gargoyle I will answer your questions at the bottom of this post)
After 7 dives at Darwin's Arch, the boat crossed a two hour journey over to Wolf Island overnight. When we awoke in the morning, we were just pulling into Wolf. We were all set for four dives that day.
The first dive spot we dove at Wolf was called the Land Slides. Peter told us how great of a spot this was and that we would be doing our first two dives at this location. Boy, was he right! When everyone was geared up, we rode the panga out about 10minutes to the dive location. At the the surface of the land slides, we encountered big waves. We needed to get down fast and hold on to rocks just like Darwin. So, as usual, we all deflated our BCD's and did a backwards roll into the water. The current at the Land Slides was much more forceful than the current we experienced at Darwin. My regulator shook in my mouth and my mask would occasionally fill with water because the seal broke. If you do two dives at this location, I would suggest not taking your underwater camera the first dive and just waiting until you are more familiar with the conditions at the landslides to take your camera. The two dives we did were almost identical. When we got down to depth, we held on to the rocks and waited for the eagle rays to soar by, sometimes not even a foot away. At one time I counted 20 schooling eagle rays(I later verified that with a photo!)!! It was amazing. The eagle rays in the Galapagos are giant. Biggest I have ever seen. They get just inches from your mask and are not easily spooked like in many locations I have dived in, in the past. After staying about 20min with the Eagle rays, we let go of the rocks and let ourselves drift. We saw several large galapagos sharks and sometimes we saw silky sharks in the distance. There were also hammerheads at this location, but not nearly as many as at Darwin Island. The rock formations underwater at the Land Slides was beautiful. Overall, great diving with lots of current! Be prepared!
The second dive we did was a wall dive and then we would be going to the "washing machine." The wall dive was incredible. There was tons of life. Instead of being a current going either left or right on this dive, the currents went up and down. The up and down currents were crazy! I would be trucking along the wall when all of a sudden I would feel myself being pushed down, I would frantically grab the wall and try and pull myself up, pulling off barnacles on the wall at the same time. A few feet later I would be stuck in an upward current and I would struggle to keep myself down. I know divers who had a lot of problems with the current and some who did not even feel these currents. Very bizarre. At this dive site there was a large cave all the divers got to go into. It was very neat. Unfortunately for me(or fortunately depending on how you look at it) my octo was horribly leaking so I didn't make it to the "washing machine" but the divers who did told me they held on to a large pinnacle under water and got thrashed around every which way until they let go. They set it was one hell of a ride! I was doing my safety stop with my buddy just above the pinnacle(at least for a few seconds because the current was so fast) and went through a couple of thermoclines. These thermoclines made the water go up and down a whole 10 degrees F. It was a fun experience. The dive was awesome overall and definitely an adventure.
The next dive was at Sharks Bay(i think that is what it was called). It was the easiest dive at Wolf with virtually no current. This dive site had the biggest coral reef in the galapagos islands. I was not impressed with the reef at all, especially since I had been to many tropical locations before. But the sea life again was amazing. We saw many galapagos sharks and silky sharks. It was the most unimpressive dive of the trip, but still great.
That was it for Wolf Island. We ate some dinner and then had a dive brief for the next day, Isabella Island. We all sat around the extremely small living room for the brief. Peter came out with some bad news. He informed us one of the engines broke and we would not be diving at Isabella Island the next day. We were all shocked. No diving for one full day of the liveaboard? What were we to do? Everyone on board was very disappointed. Looks like we would not be seeing Marine Iguanas and galapagos flamingos this time. Or the Ecuadorian Penguins. There was nothing we could do. The next day we were at sea the entire day. We were traveling at 4knots and it took us 40hours to reach our next destination, Cousins Rock. We had three dives in the morning at Cousins Rock before heading ashore for the land tour.
Cousins Rock: The water temperature was a chilly 65 degrees F. I would recommend wearing your warmest gear at this dive site. Overall, Cousins impressed me. Immediately when you dove down you were greeted by schooling white tip reef sharks. Then a few minutes later, sea lions swam past your face and played at the surface. We saw frog fish as well. At the "point" in the dive we saw schooling eagle rays once again and a few turtles. It was a great dive spot. You just have to bear with the cold water.
After the diving concluded for the trip, you get ready and board a motor boat to take you to shore. We were taken to see the Giant Land Tortoises. They were definitely amazing. Peter was very knowledgeable about the Tortoises and taught the entire group a lot about them. After we were through at the Tortoise sanctuary, we loaded up on a bus and were taken to a dinner at a local galapagos "restaurant." It was a local outdoor restaurant. The food was ok at this place. Do not expect high quality. Just a good experience and a great way to see how Galapagos living is like.
The next day we were escorted off the bus, taken to the airport and off we went! I would miss the galapagos.
Major Complaints about the Humboldt Explorer:
1. They never wash the orange towels on the dive deck, they only dry them and then give them back to you to reuse. One of the women on the trip came on the ship with a cold sore and just about every one left with one. I was very fortunate that I was one of the 2 or 3 lucky ones to be spared. This is horrible in my opinion. If I were you, I would bring my own towel to dry off with on the dive deck. The dive masters told us there was no washer on board, so they cannot wash towels. If that was the case I think they should have told us from the beginning that they were not able to wash the towels. I would bring my orange towl back to my room and use it as a floor mat for the shower to soak up excess water and then bring it out to the dive deck and put it in the "dirty towel" bin. I would have never have done that if I would have known the towels were never washed. I think that is horrible.
2. The engine broke: I know there is nothing the crew could do for us, but this was very very disappointing. We go on liveaboard boats to get as many dives in as we can. Especially in the Galapagos where every single dive is an amazing dive. I never missed a dive in the Galapagos. It was too great to miss out on.
3. The boat was "NEW": the boat did not seem new in any way. It looked like it was refurbished. Don't get me wrong, the boat is nice but it isn't the luxury yacht it claims to be. Many things in our stateroom broke and I know the ladies across the hall from us had a major leak in the ceiling and a lot of their stuff was ruined from water damage.
4. The hot tub was not hot. (One of the divemasters on board told us it would never be fixed)
5. The dining area is very very small
6. No ladders on the panga's (but I am sure this has been fixed by now)
7. No board games
8. The TVs in the room were too quite to hear
Great things about the Humboldt:
1. The crew was amazing and always there to help! The dive masters were great and very knowledgeable about the galapagos and dive conditions.
2. The upper deck rooms have large windows to look outside.
3. The diving was AMAZING!!!
4. The food is great. I am sure most passengers gained weight that week!(Generally we were served a large breakfast, soup and a large buffet for lunch, and buffet for dinner. Great overall)
5. Upper deck was very spacious and great for whale, dolphin and manta watching.
Next year I am going to the Galapagos again.... yes it was that great!!! However, I am not going aboard the Humboldt, I am going aboard the Aggressor 1. Hopefully, our experience on the Aggressor Fleet will be just as good or better than our experience on the Humboldt. In my opinion, you go on a liveaboard for the diving. The diving aboard the Humboldt was absolutely fantastic. I would go back in time and do that dive trip again! It was amazing. I am sure all of you who have trips scheduled on the Humboldt are going to have an amazing time!
NOW TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1. The food was fantastic. There was a wide variety of food on board. Something for every one.
2. SUGGESTIONS: I would suggest bringing a underwater camera, at least 7mm wet suit, booties, gloves and hood if not a dry suit, a good dive light, a spare pair of gloves just in case yours are torn in the current, your own towel for the dive deck, a divers first aid kit, your own weight belt(if you expect that your pockets in your BC will not be enough will all the heavy equipment) with a mental clamp. I would also bring very few clothes. I basically wore the same outfit every day! I would bring a pair of binoculars and lots of reading material! Also a deck of cards for when you get bored!
3. Land Tours: There was really only one land tour on the trip and that was pretty good. Nothing amazing besides the turtles, but enjoyable. The diving was much better than the land tours!
Let me know if you have any more questions!!
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