Just got back from Nekton Rorqual to Medio Reef, Bahamas

[Shark Whisperer]

We were on the Rorqual the week before doing the NW Bahamas itinerary. We had a GREAT time! We did have one day of down time due to weather, but other than that, it was awesome. We have already scheduled a group trip to St. Croix in January on the Rorqual. Just got back from my sister's wedding in Monterey, so I'm slacking on getting my trip report posted.

 

[robint]

We were on the Rorqual the week before doing the NW Bahamas itinerary. We had a GREAT time! We did have one day of down time due to weather, but other than that, it was awesome. We have already scheduled a group trip to St. Croix in January on the Rorqual. Just got back from my sister's wedding in Monterey, so I'm slacking on getting my trip report posted.

You need to get that trip report done!!
tehehehe

I am working on our trip report but since Ron is back to work this week, the underwater pictures are going to be slow in posting.
I have started videos though.

robin

 

[DiveGal-Mlb]

I'm glad to hear that the Roqual has overcome it's issues.

We were on the boat a few years back and it was a horrible experience - other than the great diving and food. The carpet in the rooms was musty and all torn up, but having your own room and john was very nice (except when the john backed up and no one in the crew wanted to fix it or clean up the mess after it was finally fixed. I had to clean the floor up myself). There was a big come-along holding the one propellor in a permanent forward position and the other prop would cut out occasionally leaving no steerage. There was also a constant drip of hydrolic fluid from the dive platform lifts. Yuck.

The captain was horrible and treated the customers and his crew terribly. He quit at the end of the week (otherwise, he would been fired).

The week before we were on the boat (found out from the crew) that they had an engine fire while on the ocean AND the boat almost sank when the desalination unit intake popped off and no one knew (obviously someone wasn't doing their safety check jobs).

A few months earlier, an employee (dive guide DJ) was found dead on the bottom in 70 fsw by a customer. Apparently he was free diving alone and experienced shallow water blackout. His body was placed on the bridge with the captain (who was his best friends) for transport back to Ft. Lauderdale. That must have been a horrible experience for everyone onboard.

We left the boat convinced it was cursed and vowed to never book with them again. I then heard that the Coast Guard held the boat in dry dock for quite awhile before it would pass it's inspection. Maybe that fixed things - I hope so.

From reading all of the recent good posts here, maybe we'll give it another try - but I think we'll try the Pilot. I loved the stability, but the safety issues scared the crap out of me.

 

[Ed Jackson1]

The nitrox is still down? How long has it been? I've done 5 trips with the Nekton and had a great time, but I will only do another one if the nitrox is working. I would not have done the St Croix trip if I had known.

 

[greenflash1]

The Boat goes in for refurbishing in the fall. Should be like new when St Croix trips start!

 

[robint]

The nitrox is still down? How long has it been? I've done 5 trips with the Nekton and had a great time, but I will only do another one if the nitrox is working. I would not have done the St Croix trip if I had known.

The nitrox may be working by now. They were installing the whole new system right before our trip, they just didn't have time to finish installing it (only in port for 8 hours). They said when we were getting off the boat that they should have it done that day for the next group. There was a technician who was supposed to meet the boat there at the dock to do it that day. So I am guessing it is done now.

We would have preferred to do the trip with nitrox but got by using air just fine. We had to end a few dives earlier than we wanted due to no-deco time but then if we had stayed down until we ran out of air we would have missed the Back-on-boat time and dinner. That said, I still prefer to do nitrox on any trip if available just for the safety factor, especially when doing 4-5 dives per day.

robin

 

[deepstops]

The Boat goes in for refurbishing in the fall. Should be like new when St Croix trips start!

Are the divemasters doing the work (as I've seen ex-employees post)??

 

[greenflash1]

The Boat will be out of sevice for 5 weeks. This is not just upkeep!

 

[cappyjon431]

Are the divemasters doing the work (as I've seen ex-employees post)??

As a survivor of eight shipyards with Nekton, I would say the employees will definitely be doing some of the work. While I always hated the shipyard, having crew work while the boat is being refurbished has many benefits. First, the crew gets the opportunity to learn about many of the operating systems from the land-based engineers. I honestly believe that my time in the shipyard helped better prepare me for when I became captain. Second, it keeps the crew employed for that 4-5 week stretch. Many liveaboard companies lay the crew off for the 4-5 weeks and rehire at the end of shipyard. Nekton keeps it's crew receiving a paycheck, provides housing and food. Third, it is a source of cheap labor, which keeps shipyard costs down which eventually translates for cheaper fares for guests.

Lest someoneone think the crew is unqualified to do this type of work, be aware that Nekton owns its own shipyard in Port St. Joe, Florida and employs a full compliment of shipyard workers and engineers. The crew primarily assists with "grunt" work like chipping and painting unless they have technical skills to be placed on more specialized tasks.

 

[KJHorton]

Doing this reef on the Pilot in a few weeks. What was the water temperature when you were there?

Thanks.