Scuba-74
Contributor
For the discussion leading up to this trip please see this thread.
Boat, safety, food
Transfer from the airport was smooth, aside from waiting for a car for about 10 min. Me and my buddy had our safety briefing with one of the dive guides shortly upon arrival. We had an upper-deck cabin, so the notorious escape hatch below decks wasn't our main concern, but I did take time to examine it. It works, but I will say it will be tight down there in case of an emergency. You'd have to move from your cabin into a narrow corridor, then into the dive guides' cabin, from there to the crew quarters at the bow, and from there outside through the hatch. So do yourself a favor and book an upper deck cabin if you can for about $130 extra. Upper deck cabins had life vests placed at the window, not sure about the below decks cabins. Batteries had to be charged in the salon if unattended.
What struck me as the least safe place on the boat was the upper sun deck towards the bow. The sidewalls there go as low as right above knee level, and there are very few railings to hold on to. I wouldn't come near those walls unless the boat was dead still.
Food was plentiful and decent. I haven't been on many liveaboards to make a fair comparison, but the cooks worked their butts off every day and by and large everything tasted great.
Being a smoker (sue me), it is important for me if the boat is smoke friendly. Tillis is, you could smoke on 2 out of 3 decks, which most of the crew and some of the guests did. If you can't stand smokers, this is not your boat.
Guests and crew
The group of divers was diverse and fun, just what I was hoping for. We had 20 divers in total, and the allocation of countries goes like this: Germany (5), France (3), US, UK, Spain, Denmark (all 2), Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Macao (all 1). The crew was 12: captain, 3 dive guides, 4 sailors/mates, 2 cooks, 1 mechanic, 1 salon/cabin person. Everyone was nice and friendly. About 3 pairs ended up being insta-buddies, the rest came with a buddy. One guy on sidemount, others conventional setup. Experience ranged from 60-ish dives to 1700, with an average of maybe 300. We were split in 3 groups, two guides had 6 people, and our guide, Mandu, had 8, and pretty much stayed like that for the whole trip. Nitrox is through a membrane to 30%.
Itinerary (total of 19 dives)
The schedule was pretty taxing; we woke up at 5:30 and were in the water usually by 6:30. Then it was eat-sleep-dive for the rest of the day with the dinner at 20:00. About half of the dives were zodiac-to-boat; others boat-to-boat.
The Elephant in the Room
The sinking of the Sea Story was discussed by divers in passing. A member of the crew, in a personal conversation, has mentioned that he is a survivor but can't talk about it, so I'll leave it at that.
Scubaboard
No one that I asked except for my dive buddy was a member. Go figure.
Conclusion
All in all it was a very good trip. As usual, the company makes or breaks a trip, and ours was fun people. Personally, if I have to make a trip down there from the US again, I'll make sure it is the BDE route. SS Thistlegorm was awesome, but I like sharks and missed them this trip. Other than that, kudos to the Tillis crew and the Dive Pro operation for making it a great and memorable experience.
Boat, safety, food
Transfer from the airport was smooth, aside from waiting for a car for about 10 min. Me and my buddy had our safety briefing with one of the dive guides shortly upon arrival. We had an upper-deck cabin, so the notorious escape hatch below decks wasn't our main concern, but I did take time to examine it. It works, but I will say it will be tight down there in case of an emergency. You'd have to move from your cabin into a narrow corridor, then into the dive guides' cabin, from there to the crew quarters at the bow, and from there outside through the hatch. So do yourself a favor and book an upper deck cabin if you can for about $130 extra. Upper deck cabins had life vests placed at the window, not sure about the below decks cabins. Batteries had to be charged in the salon if unattended.
What struck me as the least safe place on the boat was the upper sun deck towards the bow. The sidewalls there go as low as right above knee level, and there are very few railings to hold on to. I wouldn't come near those walls unless the boat was dead still.
Food was plentiful and decent. I haven't been on many liveaboards to make a fair comparison, but the cooks worked their butts off every day and by and large everything tasted great.
Being a smoker (sue me), it is important for me if the boat is smoke friendly. Tillis is, you could smoke on 2 out of 3 decks, which most of the crew and some of the guests did. If you can't stand smokers, this is not your boat.
Guests and crew
The group of divers was diverse and fun, just what I was hoping for. We had 20 divers in total, and the allocation of countries goes like this: Germany (5), France (3), US, UK, Spain, Denmark (all 2), Italy, Switzerland, Argentina, Macao (all 1). The crew was 12: captain, 3 dive guides, 4 sailors/mates, 2 cooks, 1 mechanic, 1 salon/cabin person. Everyone was nice and friendly. About 3 pairs ended up being insta-buddies, the rest came with a buddy. One guy on sidemount, others conventional setup. Experience ranged from 60-ish dives to 1700, with an average of maybe 300. We were split in 3 groups, two guides had 6 people, and our guide, Mandu, had 8, and pretty much stayed like that for the whole trip. Nitrox is through a membrane to 30%.
Itinerary (total of 19 dives)
The schedule was pretty taxing; we woke up at 5:30 and were in the water usually by 6:30. Then it was eat-sleep-dive for the rest of the day with the dinner at 20:00. About half of the dives were zodiac-to-boat; others boat-to-boat.
Day 1
- Arrival, transfer to boat, check-in, security briefing, dinner
Day 2
- Check-out dive, did not capture the location
- Dive at Abu Nuhas
Day 3
- Dive at the wreck of the Marcus (Abu Nuhas)
- Dive at the wreck of the Ghiannis ‘D’ (Abu Nuhas)
- Dive at the wreck of the Dunraven (Beacon Rock)
- Night dive at Beacon Rock
Day 4
- Dive at the Shark & Yolanda Reefs (Ras Mohamed)
- Dive at the Jackfish Alley (Ras Mohamed)
- Dive at the Thistlegorm (outside plus 2 quick penetrations)
Day 5
- Dive at the Thistlegorm (cargo holds)
- Dive at the Thistlegorm (outside plus 1 penetration)
- Dive at the Small Gubal Island
- Night dive at the Small Gubal Island
Day 6
- Dive at the Siyol Island
- Dive at Umm Gammor
- Dive at the Small Giftun
- Night dive at the Small Giftun
Day 7
- Yet another dive at the Small Giftun
- Dive at Gota Abu Ramada
Day 8
- Breakfast, transfer to the airport
The Elephant in the Room
The sinking of the Sea Story was discussed by divers in passing. A member of the crew, in a personal conversation, has mentioned that he is a survivor but can't talk about it, so I'll leave it at that.
Scubaboard
No one that I asked except for my dive buddy was a member. Go figure.
Conclusion
All in all it was a very good trip. As usual, the company makes or breaks a trip, and ours was fun people. Personally, if I have to make a trip down there from the US again, I'll make sure it is the BDE route. SS Thistlegorm was awesome, but I like sharks and missed them this trip. Other than that, kudos to the Tillis crew and the Dive Pro operation for making it a great and memorable experience.