Nekton Caymen Islands July 29 Departure

[leadweight]

With only 14 guests on that big boat everyone is going to have a lot of space above and below the water. I guess that it is why you did not say anything about the local guide thing.

 

[leadweight]

I am at Sunset House right now, waiting for Nektom to come get us in about 2 hours. We did two shore dives today and yesterday too.

More to come.

Ron

 

[Pam_In_Paradise]

Have a wonderful time. Say hello to Captain Nelson and the rest of the crew for me. I wish I were there....Pam

 

[dolphinfish]

I've heard a lot of great stuff about Nekton. I'd love to read your trip report.

I was wondering how the elevating dive platform worked. Does it make it easier to get out of the water & onto a ladder then onto the steps??? I saw someone's trip pictures & it looked like it was more elevated from the water surface than I would have figured.

Haven't done a liveaboard yet. Would love to. I think Nekton would be my first choice.

 

[diversteve]

I was wondering how the elevating dive platform worked. Does it make it easier to get out of the water & onto a ladder then onto the steps??? I saw someone's trip pictures & it looked like it was more elevated from the water surface than I would have figured.

It's very easy. The dive platform is brought up and down depending on when the dive deck is open - generally 4-5 hrs. in the morning and 4-5hrs. in the afternoon - although if there's a night dive, it generally is down till then.

The crew controls how low the divedeck goes into the water, they can put the bottom step into the water(or lower?) or keep it slightly above if there's some wave action. There's a set of stairs built into the divedeck parallel to the boat that you use to get to/from the shower/upper decks - at least on the Pilot - I've never seen the back of the Rorqual.

The divedeck steps are side by side so two people can go off at the same time. There's a 5-6 step ladder below each set of steps to exit the water. There's also two side exits that are generally 4' or so abovewater when the deck is all the way down as they're on the same level as the divedeck. So if the divedeck is up 2-3', it really becomes a "Giant" stride.

On the Pilot, there's a rope out to the skiff, which is always in the water pre-dive and on the left side there's a ball with about a 50' rope on it.

Since the mooring comes off the front of the boat the crew also attaches another line from the back of the boat to the mooring at the permanent ball. So you have a line to follow all the way around if you want to descend/ascend via the mooring line since the boat's mooring is on the main deck and about 30' over your head when tied off. What we did quite often was just drop and swim under the boat between the pontoons, they block the waves/current quite well.

hth,

 

[DiveMaven]

Steve forgot to mention that there's always a crew member right at the bottom of the steps when you're approaching. As soon as they can reach you, they grab your tank valve and help you up the stairs. You shouldn't have any problem getting out of the water with these guys helping.

 

[dolphinfish]

Thanks for the feedback. I figured they would be right there to assist anyone getting out of the water.

 

[diversteve]

You can also don/remove your BC in the water and hand it up, one of the women on our trip did since she had back problems.