Nekton Bahamas, Aug. 12th Departure

[djanni]

My wife and I are on this trip... anyone else going?

 

[DiveMaven]

We're doing it next summer...please post a report when you get back.

 

[Desert_Diver]

We're doing it next summer...please post a report when you get back.

I'm not sure which Nekton trip you are referring to. They do Northwest Bahamas around Grand Bahama and Bimini (roughly) and a different cruise that they call the Cay Sal trip. I did the Northwest Bahama trip June 3 to June 10 this year. This was my first live aboard so I can't compare it to anything else. On the other hand, I will probably not do any more resort diving either. I loved the five dives per day live aboard style.

Up front, the bad points: Nekton Pilot had a full load of divers but the crew was four people short. It didn't bother the divers much, but especially the dive deck crew was looking worn down by the end of the trip. As far as I could tell, they still did a fine job but paid a price for it. A couple of cabins leaked. One cabin took water during a storm. The source was outside their cabin and the water got in via vents (we think). It was cleaned up and dried out within a day to the occupants satisfaction. One couple from Utah had a refrigeration/condensation "drip" in their cabin. The lady was a little peeved but didn't let it spoil her vacation. But I doubt she will be a repeat customer, either.

Good points: everything else. They feed you like pigs. And the food is excellant. Diving varied from novice to advanced. Most of what I would classify as "advanced diving" was because of the currents at a couple of dive sites. The currents varied in intensity during the day. Only one night dive was adversely affected. The dive deck crew did not close the deck, but they did point out that the emergency air tank normally suspended by the safety stop trapeze was breaking the surface regularly because of the current that night. All the "regular" night divers passed on the night dive. All of the dive sites were "good dives". Sugar Wreck and Wreck of the Hesparus are filthy with reef fish. Good viariety. Heavy critter population. And some of the wrecks are relatively shallow making for great photography. Theo's Wreck is down about 100 feet. Caution: we saw some Fire Centipedes (DON'T touch) there. The remoras were aggressive at Shark Junction but you could keep them at a distance if you paid attention. Shark Junction was a fun dive but notably absent were the sharks. We found three or four nurse sharks well north of the dive site. But between poor viz and navigation errors due to current, I won the privledge of wearing a rubber chicken on my tank for the next dive as a reward for "note worthy" navigational skills<sadly shaking head>.

Dress was "dive bum chic" (bathing suits, T shirts, and bare feet). The T shirts were more for sunburn control than for modesty. Be sure to take sun screen. I would also advise a broad brimmed hat or a bucket hat to protect the tops of ears and tip of nose. The crew was great. The other guests, after the ice was broken, were quite friendly. We had a diverse group. Arizona, Texas, Florida, Conneticut, Utah, New York, Kansas, Canada and Singapore were represented. Helana, dive deck crewman (crew person?) and videographer was from the Czech Republic.

There were two shore excursions. I skipped them both since I was there to dive and I would have missed dives going ashore. Several women dive guests volunteered to shop for tacky dive T shirts for me. And threatened to buy them in flourescent pink. (Women really get irritated over the presence of happy male bachelors <confused look>).

The diving sites are somewhat different than I was used to. Cozumel and Belize tend to have massive reefs that go on forever. In the Bahamas, you have "reef islands" in the sand. No walls where you swim over the edge and look into the deep blue. At least not at our dive sites. And nothing like Catalina's kelp forests and refrigerated water. (Love that Carribean water at 84 degrees F).

At first the dive crew discouraged the use of dive gloves (not sure why), but after a couple of high current dives "hand over handing" on the granny line to the mooring line, they relented. The stiff currents were most notable near the surface. After you descend, currents are much reduced but still present. Dive briefings were complete and detailed. A variety of classes were taught on board but which ones are available depends on which ones the crew is qualified to teach.

Sorry, I didn't mean to blather on this long. Summary: Two thumbs up on all aspects of the trip.

Art

 

[djanni]

I'm not sure which Nekton trip you are referring to. They do Northwest Bahamas around Grand Bahama and Bimini (roughly) and a different cruise that they call the Cay Sal trip. I did the Northwest Bahama trip June 3 to June 10 this year. This was my first live aboard so I can't compare it to anything else. On the other hand, I will probably not do any more resort diving either. I loved the five dives per day live aboard style.

Up front, the bad points: Nekton Pilot had a full load of divers but the crew was four people short. It didn't bother the divers much, but especially the dive deck crew was looking worn down by the end of the trip. As far as I could tell, they still did a fine job but paid a price for it. A couple of cabins leaked. One cabin took water during a storm. The source was outside their cabin and the water got in via vents (we think). It was cleaned up and dried out within a day to the occupants satisfaction. One couple from Utah had a refrigeration/condensation "drip" in their cabin. The lady was a little peeved but didn't let it spoil her vacation. But I doubt she will be a repeat customer, either.

Good points: everything else. They feed you like pigs. And the food is excellant. Diving varied from novice to advanced. Most of what I would classify as "advanced diving" was because of the currents at a couple of dive sites. The currents varied in intensity during the day. Only one night dive was adversely affected. The dive deck crew did not close the deck, but they did point out that the emergency air tank normally suspended by the safety stop trapeze was breaking the surface regularly because of the current that night. All the "regular" night divers passed on the night dive. All of the dive sites were "good dives". Sugar Wreck and Wreck of the Hesparus are filthy with reef fish. Good viariety. Heavy critter population. And some of the wrecks are relatively shallow making for great photography. Theo's Wreck is down about 100 feet. Caution: we saw some Fire Centipedes (DON'T touch) there. The remoras were aggressive at Shark Junction but you could keep them at a distance if you paid attention. Shark Junction was a fun dive but notably absent were the sharks. We found three or four nurse sharks well north of the dive site. But between poor viz and navigation errors due to current, I won the privledge of wearing a rubber chicken on my tank for the next dive as a reward for "note worthy" navigational skills<sadly shaking head>.

Dress was "dive bum chic" (bathing suits, T shirts, and bare feet). The T shirts were more for sunburn control than for modesty. Be sure to take sun screen. I would also advise a broad brimmed hat or a bucket hat to protect the tops of ears and tip of nose. The crew was great. The other guests, after the ice was broken, were quite friendly. We had a diverse group. Arizona, Texas, Florida, Conneticut, Utah, New York, Kansas, Canada and Singapore were represented. Helana, dive deck crewman (crew person?) and videographer was from the Czech Republic.

There were two shore excursions. I skipped them both since I was there to dive and I would have missed dives going ashore. Several women dive guests volunteered to shop for tacky dive T shirts for me. And threatened to buy them in flourescent pink. (Women really get irritated over the presence of happy male bachelors <confused look>).

The diving sites are somewhat different than I was used to. Cozumel and Belize tend to have massive reefs that go on forever. In the Bahamas, you have "reef islands" in the sand. No walls where you swim over the edge and look into the deep blue. At least not at our dive sites. And nothing like Catalina's kelp forests and refrigerated water. (Love that Carribean water at 84 degrees F).

At first the dive crew discouraged the use of dive gloves (not sure why), but after a couple of high current dives "hand over handing" on the granny line to the mooring line, they relented. The stiff currents were most notable near the surface. After you descend, currents are much reduced but still present. Dive briefings were complete and detailed. A variety of classes were taught on board but which ones are available depends on which ones the crew is qualified to teach.

Sorry, I didn't mean to blather on this long. Summary: Two thumbs up on all aspects of the trip.

Art

The August 12th departure is the Northwest itiniary.

Gosh, We're looking forward to a better experience than you had. We did the Nekton Belize last year and it was "Fabulous!"

We are also looking forward to Shark Junction... better said, seeing sharks at Shark Junction. That had to be bummer.

We also like the night dives so I hope the currents and the viz is significantly improved by the time we're there.

 

[DiveMaven]

We did the Belize itinerary last year too and had an excellent experience like Don Janni. We'll be doing the NW itinerary next year, and look forward to diving in the Bahamas. Kinda wanted to do Caye Sal, but the dates don't work for us as well....but I'm sure we'll do that another time.

Don, please write a report when you get home.

 

[WetDawg]

The "no glove" policy is common on a lot of boats these days, the simple reason is that you should not touch anything underwater. Granted, they are nice to have for lines. Hint - tuck them away in your BC pocket and use them when you think you need them.

If you want to see sharks at shark junction you need to be there at 2PM each day when the other operations like Xanadu feed the sharks. They are there like clock work and disappear shortly thereafter.

When I worked on the Pilot in 2004 we did a nice wall dive in the gingerbread grounds area north of Bimini on a site called "Mount Olympus." Very nice wall dive.

They do a couple blue holes on the Cal Sal itinerary. At the "Shark Hole," they feed the sharks and you are GUARANTEED to see them up close and personal.

 

[Misplaced Priority]

I'm looking hard at the Aug 12th trip. Problem is that the wife is just a bubble watcher and I'm trying to figure out if she could handle a week of watching bubbles. Overall she is a good sport and is content to read a book and relax. Do they have a hurricane policy?

 

[Doc]

Do they have a hurricane policy?

From the website:

Travel Insurance
Unexpected events can occur at any time and cause delays or even cancellation of your vacation. We strongly recommend that you protect your vacation investment with trip insurance, especially when traveling during hurricane season. There are many insurance companies to from which to choose. A brochure for Divers Alert Network Trip Insurance (click here for more information) will be included in your Travel Packet which we mail to you upon receipt of your deposit. If you would like to receive the brochure prior to your booking, please contact us or visit their website.

 

[DiveMaven]

In my 2004/2005 brochure, they have a "Hurricane Guarantee" on some of the itineraries...mostly the August/September dates. It says "Miss 2 full days of diving, join us for 1/2 price off a future cruise. Miss 4 days of diving, join us for a FREE future cruise."

I haven't a clue if they are still offering this guarantee, but I agree with RoatanMan, trip insurance is a really good idea.

 

[djanni]

The "no glove" policy is common on a lot of boats these days, the simple reason is that you should not touch anything underwater. Granted, they are nice to have for lines. Hint - tuck them away in your BC pocket and use them when you think you need them.

If you want to see sharks at shark junction you need to be there at 2PM each day when the other operations like Xanadu feed the sharks. They are there like clock work and disappear shortly thereafter.

When I worked on the Pilot in 2004 we did a nice wall dive in the gingerbread grounds area north of Bimini on a site called "Mount Olympus." Very nice wall dive.

They do a couple blue holes on the Cal Sal itinerary. At the "Shark Hole," they feed the sharks and you are GUARANTEED to see them up close and personal.

This is good... you worked the Pilot huh? How high do you rate the NW Itin? Can you compare it to Belize? I'll be sure and remember Mount Olympus. As far as Shark Junction is concerned does the boat make it point to be there for the 2pm feeding?

Would say Desert Divers report was indicitive of a typical experience on that trip or would you say typical experiences are a bit better than that?