Where to train for Galapagos diving?

[capybara]

We're considering going to Galapagos next fall (a last big dream trip before we have to settle down!) but not sure if we're experienced enough yet. Is there a recommended minimum number of dives before you go there? We will have about 100-150 dives by then, and have AOW and nitrox certs. So far we have done a mix of tropical & California diving, two liveaboards, but only a few drift dives. Where is the best place (that is not too expensive) to get some practice for the type of conditions at Galapagos? Anyone been there with similar (in)experience--how was it?

 

[Doc]

Good questions and good thinking.

You don't say how you are going to "do" the G, by liveaboard or land based, but largely the answer is the same.

Be prepared for:

1) Small boat back rolls upon countdown command
2) Immediate descent bordering on negative entry
3) Lateral (sideways) current and how to play it, ducking behind boulders, etc
4) Possible hand-over-hand crawling (it's all lava rock, but did you bring heavy gloves/)
5) Vertical Currents (Downwellings/upwellings)
6) Shooting your safety sausage from 25' and hanging on a line at 15fsw, wait for pick up
7) Taking gear off and handing up to DM
8) Going up less than ideal ladder
9) Seasickness (if a liveaboard)
10) The potential of spending quite some protracted period adrift. This is unlikely, and many ops have added beacons, but this does not obviate the need for this exercise and learning experience. Previsualize spending 12 hours in the drink. What would you do, and when would you do it.

You want reassurances? There are none.

You want real world advice? Go to Speyside in Tobago.

My SO decided she wanted to go to Galloping Pogos. OK, fine, follow me.

She first logged 100 or so in the calm waters around Roatan in the most ideal of conditions and boats.

Then we went off to Tobago so she could get a taste of Galapagos Lite. She logged 35 dives there on several small boats in way less than ideal physical infrastructure. Rickety wooden ladders, small boat recovery, doffing her gear and passing it up, negative entries, shooting her marker from depth and practicing surface survival techniques. These included alternative signalling methods, dropping weights, dropping tank, maintaining body temp and more. Forewarned is forearmed.

In Tobago, she learned lateral currents. She also learned to ask the DM questions and pay attention to the answers.

In Tobago she handled a pretty stiff downcurrent quite well several times and got more proficient throughout the week. She did such dives as Heart Attack, Japaneese Gardens and African Express. Then she stepped up to Washing Machine and aced it.

On her first downcurrent dive in the G, she was apparently enraptured with the Hammerheads below us at Gordon's Rocks. Luckily, a DM from Scuba Iguana grabbed her as she descended through 100fsw. Hate to train a new one.

So, go and train. If you want realistic conditions, try Tobago first. It's no guarantee of success, but with your logical quest for preparedness, it will assist in your path.

 

[drbill]

Well, capybara... at least the two of you have been diving in non-warm water wussy regions of the world so you already have an experience and skills level above the WWW's you try the Galapagos after diving only calmer warm waters.

I haven't been there yet, but my #1 dive buddy Andrea has. Yes, it can be quite advanced depending on what sites you dive and with whom.

Good to see the two of you down here at Thanksgiving. Have a great trip.

 

[slingshot]

Thanks Dr. Bill, it was good to dive with you. I think that was the last day of diving in your (in)famous old wetsuit, based on other posts here. I thought that one day you'd hop back up on the dive deck of the King Neptune, and the old suit would just burst into a cloud of powdered neoprene...

We've done some strong currents and drifts, taking shelter behind boulders and outcroppings, but no big vertical current experience. Are there places out west that have these reliably?

 

[ken chung ar]

We've done some strong currents and drifts, taking shelter behind boulders and outcroppings, but no big vertical current experience. Are there places out west that have these reliably?

hi slingshot,

i am going to Cocos Island next April, so we are in the same shoe, so to speak.

the best place for experiencing the vertical current in my repertoire is PALAU. blue corner in particular is an excellent place for experiencing complex currents, both horizontal and vertical. in addition, it's gonna be the best season in january thru march, and it's not so far if you live in california

ken chung ar

 

[capybara]

Now I am getting excited about the Galapagos! We've narrowed it down to the Lammer Law in September or Sky Dancer or Aggressor in mid-late October. Anyone have any recommendations between these boats? The first two are 10-day trips. The Aggressor is only 7 days but has a photo course. When is the best month for whale sharks: August, Sept, Oct, or November? We're thinking of Cozumel for our training dives. Palau & Tobago look great but are much more expensive to get to.

 

[divebuddy68]

I just got back on 12/22 from the Galapagos Aggressor. The diving, boat & crew were great. Regarding the whale sharks. We saw 2. December is late in the season but according to the dive masters the season is changing somewhat in that it is starting later and ending later. Regarding the conditions, my GF was with me and she only had 30 dives (Palau & Yap) prior and she did just fine. The biggest surprise was the water temps in the southern islands. Max 68 with a few dives dropping to a 61 below the thermocline.

 

[alijtaylor]

Hi Capybara

I dived Galapagos November '04 from Lammerlaw. Boat and crew and diving were all excellent. The advantage of the longer trip is the longer time up at Darwin and Woolf where the whalesharks are. I saw three whalesharks and lots of hammerheads plus innumerable other great stuff.

I had 90 dives when I went but lots of that in strong lateral current. I don't think any of the divers on our boats had experienced vertical current before, from what I have read on the board apart from going to places like Palau it is not necessarily something you can prepare for. We were told to watch our gauges and watch the gringo (little white) fish which always point into the current.. when you see them pointing up or down it is time to take evasive action. There were 16 on the boat, 2 others with about the same experience as me and one with about 50 dives.

In addition to Rotanman's list I would suggest being prepard to climb back into Zodiacs over the side. One of our highlights was that on the last dive all 6 of us on that Zodiac managed to get back in without assistance from the boatman, proved we had learned somethng over the 10 days.
Have fun it was a great experience.
Alison

 

[spotlightlover]

My husband and I spent a week on the Galapagos Aggressor in early July 2004. I am 59, very petite and not at all strong. I had done about 100 dives, all in the Caribbean under pretty easy conditions. Maybe we were lucky in the conditions we encountered, but I had no trouble at all. My biggest problem was managing the more cumbersome, thicker wetsuit and the extra weight required. My warm-up for this was my first (and last) two-tank dive in 50-degree, 3-foot visibility Monterey Bay, after which the Galapagos seemed like a real walk in the park.

If you're looking for whale sharks, July-August is your timeframe. At Darwin, we had 2-4 sightings on every single dive, often more than one at a time. It was amazing.

 

[H2Andy]

You want real world advice? Go to Speyside in Tobago.

i think you just sold me on my next dive vacation

now i gotta get the wife to buy