Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's

**sfldiver** · 25th June 2008, 14:12

Quote: (Originally Posted by mmcauliffe)

It would probably be more of a timing issue. All the liveaboards I've ever been on are on "somewhat" of a schedule. They like to move the boat while everybody is eating lunch so they can be at the next site with enough time to allow everybody to dive the new site at least once before a night dive.

So I guess the answer is, they probably would prefer you not splash in for a three hour dive at 10:00am

I've been on livaboards before, so I understand the basic gist of how they run things, but this will be my first livaboard trip diving a rebreather, and furthermore, I know that each livaboard company applies their own protocol and can be more or less strict than others.

Believe me, I am a fan of long technical dives, but on trips such as this one where the goal is to do 3 to 5 dives a day, I can't imagine doing a three hour dive, because I know that has a snowballing affect which can limit you on subsequent dives that same day. When I posed the question, I was thinking more along the lines of their acceptance of divers completing 15 to 30 minutes of deco on certain dives.

I basically plan to be shooting lots of pictures this trip, and I would hate to have to leave the water when the bell rings, especially if there's a cooperative subject within my viewfinder at the time.

I kind of knew the answer to my own question, because from my experience, the tip-earning staff aboard livaboards tend to be very accomidating, despite what's printed on the waivers and company website, especially when dealing with instructors and experienced divers.

With all that in mind, my question really should have been, is the staff on board this livaboard militaristic and strict about no-deco limits or are they laid-back and understanding, assuming the dive profiles aren't extreme and don't clash with their scheduled itinerary?

netmage · 25th June 2008, 14:24

As Monkey explained and Johns note eluded to.... they stay moored to a location all day. They move the boat at night,..... come and go as you wish..., and if you want to go 'off' the path, they have two skiffs....

I can see having to drop setpoint down to 1.0 for the week

mmcauliffe · 25th June 2008, 14:28

Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver)

With all that in mind, my question really should have been, is the staff on board this livaboard militaristic and strict about no-deco limits or are they laid-back and understanding, assuming the dive profiles aren't extreme and don't clash with their scheduled itinerary?

Got it, sorry. That's a good question and I would be interested in the answer as well.

mmcauliffe · 25th June 2008, 14:54

Quote: (Originally Posted by netmage)

As Monkey explained and Johns note eluded to.... they stay moored to a location all day. They move the boat at night,..... come and go as you wish..., and if you want to go 'off' the path, they have two skiffs....

I can see having to drop setpoint down to 1.0 for the week

Hey Tim, post #11 would indicate otherwise. Not that it's a big deal to me one way or the other if I went but it might be to others.
Mike

***ScubaDadMiami*** · 25th June 2008, 16:19

Not that I am the authority, but in my discussions with Monkey, he made it sound like the boat anchors in one or two spots per day. So, you can do a single, long dive in the morning, and then a single, long dive in the afternoon (and one at night if you want, etc.) instead of the usual five dives per day kind of thing. I much prefer less dives per day but making them longer. So, I find the idea appealing.

jkaterenchuk · 25th June 2008, 16:33

I found the crew very accomodating. They seemed to not even ask about the dive plan but rather made sure you signed in and out of the pool and had a buddy with you. The reality was that most of the sites were not that deep and with a 80 cu ft air tank most of the divers could not get much over 45 minutes dive time.

With rebreathers they might need to change slightly and be more conserned with the dive plan especially duration but I am sure Monkey could give them a call and ask for clarification.

John

**sfldiver** · 25th June 2008, 16:49

Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami)

Not that I am the authority, but in my discussions with Monkey, he made it sound like the boat anchors in one or two spots per day. So, you can do a single, long dive in the morning, and then a single, long dive in the afternoon (and one at night if you want, etc.) instead of the usual five dives per day kind of thing. I much prefer less dives per day but making them longer. So, I find the idea appealing.

Howard, am I interpreting the subliminal message within your response to imply that you are considering joining us?

You can even sleep in every morning before you wake up to go diving!

netmage · 25th June 2008, 17:00

Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver)

Howard, am I interpreting the subliminal message within your response to imply that you are considering joining us?

You can even sleep in every morning before you wake up to go diving!

This will however factor into the computations of meg vs. optima missed dive time...

**sfldiver** · 25th June 2008, 17:16

Quote: (Originally Posted by netmage)

This will however factor into the computations of meg vs. optima missed dive time...

Tim, I'm not going to mentioned any names, but of the five rebreather divers out on the boat Saturday afternoon, the Meg was the only one that didn't make it down to the wreck - I suspect the Bahama's trip will follow the same pattern!

I'm not saying, I'm just saying!!!

**Monkey** · 25th June 2008, 17:59

Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver)

Tim, I'm not going to mentioned any names, but of the five rebreather divers out on the boat Saturday afternoon, the Meg was the only one that didn't make it down to the wreck - I suspect the Bahama's trip will follow the same pattern!

I'm not saying, I'm just saying!!!

his issue was scooter related ... NOT MEG RELATED....

and guys.. we have a week to dive... no need to be so overly concerned with profiles... lets jsut chill and go with the flow... its the Bahamas.

25th June 2008, 14:12	#21 (permalink)
sfldiver S.C.R.U.B.'S Photographer Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 819	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by mmcauliffe) It would probably be more of a timing issue. All the liveaboards I've ever been on are on "somewhat" of a schedule. They like to move the boat while everybody is eating lunch so they can be at the next site with enough time to allow everybody to dive the new site at least once before a night dive. So I guess the answer is, they probably would prefer you not splash in for a three hour dive at 10:00am I've been on livaboards before, so I understand the basic gist of how they run things, but this will be my first livaboard trip diving a rebreather, and furthermore, I know that each livaboard company applies their own protocol and can be more or less strict than others. Believe me, I am a fan of long technical dives, but on trips such as this one where the goal is to do 3 to 5 dives a day, I can't imagine doing a three hour dive, because I know that has a snowballing affect which can limit you on subsequent dives that same day. When I posed the question, I was thinking more along the lines of their acceptance of divers completing 15 to 30 minutes of deco on certain dives. I basically plan to be shooting lots of pictures this trip, and I would hate to have to leave the water when the bell rings, especially if there's a cooperative subject within my viewfinder at the time. I kind of knew the answer to my own question, because from my experience, the tip-earning staff aboard livaboards tend to be very accomidating, despite what's printed on the waivers and company website, especially when dealing with instructors and experienced divers. With all that in mind, my question really should have been, is the staff on board this livaboard militaristic and strict about no-deco limits or are they laid-back and understanding, assuming the dive profiles aren't extreme and don't clash with their scheduled itinerary? __________________ *Currently piloting & shooting...* Dive Rite O2ptima FX Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.* Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera *Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes.
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25th June 2008, 14:24	#22 (permalink)
netmage Tim Owens Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Coconut Creek, FL Posts: 700	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's As Monkey explained and Johns note eluded to.... they stay moored to a location all day. They move the boat at night,..... come and go as you wish..., and if you want to go 'off' the path, they have two skiffs.... I can see having to drop setpoint down to 1.0 for the week
(Online)

25th June 2008, 14:28	#23 (permalink)
mmcauliffe New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Cave Country, Luraville Florida Posts: 58	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver) With all that in mind, my question really should have been, is the staff on board this livaboard militaristic and strict about no-deco limits or are they laid-back and understanding, assuming the dive profiles aren't extreme and don't clash with their scheduled itinerary? Got it, sorry. That's a good question and I would be interested in the answer as well.
(Offline)

25th June 2008, 14:54	#24 (permalink)
mmcauliffe New Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Cave Country, Luraville Florida Posts: 58	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by netmage) As Monkey explained and Johns note eluded to.... they stay moored to a location all day. They move the boat at night,..... come and go as you wish..., and if you want to go 'off' the path, they have two skiffs.... I can see having to drop setpoint down to 1.0 for the week Hey Tim, post #11 would indicate otherwise. Not that it's a big deal to me one way or the other if I went but it might be to others. Mike
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25th June 2008, 16:19	#25 (permalink)
*ScubaDadMiami* Moderator Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 2,215	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Not that I am the authority, but in my discussions with Monkey, he made it sound like the boat anchors in one or two spots per day. So, you can do a single, long dive in the morning, and then a single, long dive in the afternoon (and one at night if you want, etc.) instead of the usual five dives per day kind of thing. I much prefer less dives per day but making them longer. So, I find the idea appealing. __________________ Howard Packer IANTD CCR Instructor Miami Beach, Florida CCRDiveTraining.com
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25th June 2008, 16:33	#26 (permalink)
jkaterenchuk . Current Rebreather/s: Inspiration Classic Megalodon Classic Kiss Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: May 2006 Location: Lititz, PA Posts: 1,085	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's I found the crew very accomodating. They seemed to not even ask about the dive plan but rather made sure you signed in and out of the pool and had a buddy with you. The reality was that most of the sites were not that deep and with a 80 cu ft air tank most of the divers could not get much over 45 minutes dive time. With rebreathers they might need to change slightly and be more conserned with the dive plan especially duration but I am sure Monkey could give them a call and ask for clarification. John
(Online)

25th June 2008, 16:49	#27 (permalink)
sfldiver S.C.R.U.B.'S Photographer Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 819	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by ScubaDadMiami) Not that I am the authority, but in my discussions with Monkey, he made it sound like the boat anchors in one or two spots per day. So, you can do a single, long dive in the morning, and then a single, long dive in the afternoon (and one at night if you want, etc.) instead of the usual five dives per day kind of thing. I much prefer less dives per day but making them longer. So, I find the idea appealing. Howard, am I interpreting the subliminal message within your response to imply that you are considering joining us? You can even sleep in every morning before you wake up to go diving! __________________ *Currently piloting & shooting...* Dive Rite O2ptima FX Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.* Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera *Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes.
(Offline)

25th June 2008, 17:16	#29 (permalink)
sfldiver S.C.R.U.B.'S Photographer Current Rebreather/s: Optima Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Pompano Beach, FL Posts: 819	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by netmage) This will however factor into the computations of meg vs. optima missed dive time... Tim, I'm not going to mentioned any names, but of the five rebreather divers out on the boat Saturday afternoon, the Meg was the only one that didn't make it down to the wreck - I suspect the Bahama's trip will follow the same pattern! I'm not saying, I'm just saying!!! __________________ *Currently piloting & shooting...* Dive Rite O2ptima FX Rigged w/ a Dsix Custom Aluminum Frame, Nomad Wing, Transpac Harness and VR3 Computer w/ VPM-B/E & a 4th Cell Sensor Link.* Canon PowerShot G9 Digital Camera *Rigged in a Patima-PDCH 2008 G9 Aluminum Housing w/ an Inon UWL-100 Achromat Wide Conversion Lens, 2 Inon UCL-165M67 Close-Up Lenses and 2 Inon Z-240 Strobes.
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25th June 2008, 17:59	#30 (permalink)
Monkey Supporting Member Current Rebreather/s: Megalodon Other Rebreather/s: Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Lauderdale By The Sea Florida Posts: 338	Re: Monkey's Week long Live Aboard North Bahama's Quote: (Originally Posted by sfldiver) Tim, I'm not going to mentioned any names, but of the five rebreather divers out on the boat Saturday afternoon, the Meg was the only one that didn't make it down to the wreck - I suspect the Bahama's trip will follow the same pattern! I'm not saying, I'm just saying!!! his issue was scooter related ... NOT MEG RELATED.... and guys.. we have a week to dive... no need to be so overly concerned with profiles... lets jsut chill and go with the flow... its the Bahamas.
(Offline)

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