Liveboard in Bahamas - also for beginners?

[mesje]

I am thinking about going to a liveboard in Bahamas, and i would like to know, if it is suitable also for beginners (I have had about 10 dives). Is there a big chance to see sharks? Can I see them also normally, or only during a feeding show? Isnt it dangerous? Thanks for every advise.

 

[TravisD]

Wife and I did the Aquacat out of Nassau, and it was our first Blue-water experience. We both had about 30 dives under our weight belts going into it.

How comfortable are you with your Buoyancy? They did a shark dive based around a "chumsickle" so shark sighting there was pretty much guaranteed. I don't think that it was any more dangerous than just diving in itself. During our week there was one other shark sighted - a Hammerhead - and we only saw that on another diver's photo.

Since you'll be around real reefs, the biggest factor is to make sure that you're confortable with your buoyancy control. For us, it took a little bit of dialing in since our weighting was tuned for freshwater up to that point.

A liveaboard is a GREAT way to get a lot of diving in though, without having to deal with getting to and from a dive site every day.

 

[robint]

Yes! The Nekton or the Aquacat are both perfect for beginners! In fact, liveaboards in the Bahamas are a great place to improve skills as with 4-5 dives per day, you get better with air consumption and skills much quicker. Plus the Bahamas dive sites are generally very calm dives with little current and clear water. We have done 2 trips on the Nekton boats in Bahamas and each time there have been some newer divers. The Nekton's NW Bahamas itinerary is probably the most popular for new divers. Nekton Cruises > Home

Boat leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale from around mid-April through August for Bahamas itineraries. This fall-winter the boats are in St. Croix (boat leaves from Puerto Rico) and from what we heard from crew, the diving there is pretty close to Bahamas as far as Beg-Int diving level. This would also be a great trip for new divers!

Nekton doesn't do a shark feed anymore, but other boats in area feed so the sharks always show up. Very safe. I think the Aquacat does a feed one day.

Check out my videos our Nekton trips.

robin

 

[Scubasteve1982]

I had about 15 dives when I did a blackbeards trip. It was great. You might want to think about taking the AOW course while your there. That way you can do a deep dive and night dive with an instructor. Well that's what I did and it worked out really well. Oh and make sure you can navigate or at least follow someone that can. You don't want to be the guy that comes up 200 yards from the boat!

If you lucky you will see sharks every dive! The shark dives are amazing.

 

[thevalkyry]

I had been wondering about the independence factor on the Blackbeard's cruise. I'll have over 30 dives by the time we go and my buddy will have even more, but I know she's a real 'follow-the-fins' type. I have less trouble going off on my own, but knowing that someone would be there to hold our hand - esp night diving - would be nice.

 

[osprey]

All the diving in the Bahamas is good for beginners. Both Aqua Cat & Blackbeard's offer great shark dives. Your choice will probably depend on price. Blackbeard's is the most reasonable, Aqua Cat the nicest with Nekton in the middle.