AquaCat, Jan, 2004,by Douglas Hansen, CA, USA (![]() |
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No photos available at this time | |||
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Accommodations | ![]() |
Food | ![]() |
Service and Attitude | ![]() |
Environmental Sensitivity | N/A |
Dive Operation | ![]() |
Shore Diving | ![]() |
Snorkeling | N/A | ||
Overall Rating |
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Value for $$ | N/A | ||
Beginners | ![]() |
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Advanced | ![]() |
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Comments |
The AquaCat is a very comfortable boat with a very good crew. They went out of their way to accomodate their passengers. The boat is in excellent shape with very large cabins. There is lots of storage space in the cabins, and the crew will store your empty suitcases elsewhere on the boat so you dont't waste cabin storage space on luggage. The food was very good and perhaps a little overly plentiful! It was easy to put on a few extra pounds during the trip. Upto five dives a day are possible, including a night dive on most days. Most of the rooms had large picture windows, all the rooms had individual air conditioning controls, private heads and showers, and even a small refrigerator. Hot showers were available on the dive deck. Nitrox was available for an extra charge, and you had your choice of tank capacities. Often there were snacks available on the dive deck after dives. Sea kayaking, fishing, lobstering, and shore excursions were available for no extra charge. The crew was very safety conscious, often checking the current before allowing divers to enter the water. A check-in/check-out board was used to keep track of divers on board or in the water. Drift dives were done en masse. A chase boat was available in case some divers surfaced far from the boat. There was always at least one divemaster or instructor in the water during the dives. However, once they were satisfied with your skills, you could go off and dive your own profile. The diving was nice, but generally not that exciting. There were several nice sites, especially Dog Rocks wall, and at several sites we saw numerous sharks and large grouper. However, most of the dives were in fairly shallow areas with sand and rubble bottom. The corals were not in very good shape in some areas, and the fish life could be a little sparse. Some of the drift dives were in very minor current, and the divers were herded together by the divemasters so that we could all be picked up at once. The one shark feeding dive was interesting for about 10 minutes, then I wandered off to try and find other creatures. My wife and I felt that the service provided by the crew was exceptional, and that the accomodations were excellent. The diving ranged from fair to good. This is an excellent boat and itinerary for new and intermediate divers. Divers with more experience may want to look for something a little more challenging. |
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Reporter and Travel |
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Dive Experience | 251-500 dives | ||
Where else diving | California, Bonaire, Curacao, Fiji, Indonesia, Palau, Philippines, Cayman Islands, Hawaii, Florida Keys | ||
Closest Airport | Getting There | ||
Dive Conditions |
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Weather | sunny, windy, cloudy | Seas | choppy, currents, noCurrents |
Water Temp | 74-77°F / 23-25°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 3 |
Water Visibility | 50-80 Ft/ 15-24 M | ||
Dive Policy |
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Dive own profile | yes | ||
Enforced diving restrictions | Depth: 130 ft. Max., less if using Nitrox | ||
Liveaboard? | yes | Nitrox Available? | N/A |
What I Saw |
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Sharks | Lots | Mantas | None |
Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | None |
Turtles | None | Whales | None |
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best): |
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Corals | ![]() |
Tropical Fish | ![]() |
Small Critters | ![]() |
Large Fish | ![]() |
Large Pelagics | ![]() |
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Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best): |
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Subject Matter | ![]() |
Boat Facilities | ![]() |
Overall rating for UWP's | ![]() |
Shore Facilities | N/A |
UW Photo Comments | Dedicated camera rinse tanks and one large table. Outlets nearby for recharging. The camera table was a little small for the number of photographers on this trip. |
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