Trip Report: Nekton Pilot, Belize

Thanks for the report Greg. I'm off (with my dive club) for a week on the
Belize Aggressor next month. Can't wait and your "preview" for me makes the
anticipation even higher.

"Dan Bracuk" wrote

> When I did the Nekton Pilot's Northern Bahamas cruise we got to
> compare our boat to Blackbeard's. Waves were about a foot. We were
> rock solid. They looked like they might roll over.

A bit of an overstatement, I'm sure, but the Nekton is more stable until the
seas get high enough. That happened one year. We were on one of the
Blackbeard's boats, leaving Miami as a hurricane headed off into the Gulf.
Seas were high enough that the Nekton Pilot had to stay tied up to the dock
in Bimini while we went on to some of the eastern islands, where the seas
and diving were less affected by the hurricane. It was a wet week, but not
as wet as it was for those in Bimini.

Lee

Dan Bracuk wrote:

> "Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com> pounded away at his keyboard
> resulting in:
> :The pontoons that the odd-shaped Nekton rides upon definitely seem to
> :stabilize the boat, though it's hard to judge just how much without
> :something to compare it to. When there were mild swells at Turneffe, one
> :could definitely feel the boat moving a bit, and it rocked moderately
> :during the crossings at night. Reportedly plenty of people, both passengers
> :and crew, got seasick a couple weeks before our trip.
>
> When I did the Nekton Pilot's Northern Bahamas cruise we got to
> compare our boat to Blackbeard's. Waves were about a foot. We were
> rock solid. They looked like they might roll over.

I did the Nekton NW Bahamas tour last August. We were moored at one
sight near Blackbeards and I noticed the same thing. Relatively calm
seas but Blackbeards was rocking back and forth. It was like I was
standing on solid ground. I guess the waves where hitting the boat
broadside.

One thing out of the ordinary that happened on our tour. It was mid-day
and small boat with 5-6 armed police types approached the Nekton Pilot.
I was on the top sun deck and watched with interest. They made a
circle around our vessel and lined up on the bow and then came around
behind us about 50 yards. I could see them using the radio and our
Captain using the radio. After about 5 minutes the boat left. I
mentioned to the Captain that it looked like they were going to board
us. He told me "They were but after I spoke with them they were
satisfied as to who we were and why we were there". "They must have
been some new people because we have been coming here for years".

Dan Bracuk wrote:

> Only the dive deck gets crowded. I've been on two full Nektons, so I
> know.

Maybe. I wouldn't have wanted more cameras on board. Also we were
able to avoid the middle seats at meal times. Hot tub crowding wasn't
a problem since the hot tub was broken.

> Sounds like you had a reasonably good time.

I did.

"Al Rudderham" <xal.rudderhamx@sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:5roj22tu0mk49j86kd5jr0e9jp7cno81ba@...
> On 28 Mar 2006 17:13:07 -0800, "Greg Mossman" <mossman@qnet.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Hot tub crowding wasn't
>>a problem since the hot tub was broken.
>
> I've made 5 trips between the 2 Nektons, and have only seen the hot
> tub in use a few times. Some trips it wasn't touched (although it was
> full and ready to go). You didn't miss much...

The engineer was grateful that the part it needed still hadn't cleared
Belize customs. He confided to me that the hot tub creates more complaints
when it is working, either "too hot", "too cold", "not enough water", or
"too much water overflowing onto the sundeck".

Greg Mossman wrote:
> Dan Bracuk wrote:
>
>
>>Only the dive deck gets crowded. I've been on two full Nektons, so I
>>know.
>
>
> Maybe. I wouldn't have wanted more cameras on board. Also we were
> able to avoid the middle seats at meal times. Hot tub crowding wasn't
> a problem since the hot tub was broken.

It was broken In August when I went.

I really wasn't interested in using it anyway.

"nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message
news:vCtWf.6380$FD4.1797@dukeread07...
>
>
> Greg Mossman wrote:
>> Dan Bracuk wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Only the dive deck gets crowded. I've been on two full Nektons, so I
>>>know.
>>
>>
>> Maybe. I wouldn't have wanted more cameras on board. Also we were
>> able to avoid the middle seats at meal times. Hot tub crowding wasn't
>> a problem since the hot tub was broken.
>
> It was broken In August when I went.
>
> I really wasn't interested in using it anyway.

I wasn't really interested in using the life jackets or life boats either,
but it's nice to know that they're there and working.

I've only been on two other liveaboards with hot tubs, the TA and the GA II.
On the TA, we used it daily. They didn't do night dives, so after the
second afternoon dive, we five "regulars" would grab a six-pac of Hinano and
jump in. The other four knew each other from previous trips; I was
recruited for ballast. On the GA we only used it one night, during the
crossing to Wolf and Darwin, while smoking cigars and drinking red wine. On
the Pilot, I seemed to be the only one having a really good time at night.
I probably would have had to hot tub solo.

Greg Mossman wrote:
> "nitespark" <nitespark@cox.net> wrote in message
> news:vCtWf.6380$FD4.1797@dukeread07...
>
>>
>>Greg Mossman wrote:
>>
>>>Dan Bracuk wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Only the dive deck gets crowded. I've been on two full Nektons, so I
>>>>know.
>>>
>>>
>>>Maybe. I wouldn't have wanted more cameras on board. Also we were
>>>able to avoid the middle seats at meal times. Hot tub crowding wasn't
>>>a problem since the hot tub was broken.
>>
>>It was broken In August when I went.
>>
>>I really wasn't interested in using it anyway.
>
>
> I wasn't really interested in using the life jackets or life boats either,
> but it's nice to know that they're there and working.

Given a choice as to which I would rather have functioning and working,
lifeboats and jackets or the hot tub, I would certainly prefer the
lifeboats and jackets in good working order.
>
> I've only been on two other liveaboards with hot tubs, the TA and the GA II.
> On the TA, we used it daily. They didn't do night dives, so after the
> second afternoon dive, we five "regulars" would grab a six-pac of Hinano and
> jump in. The other four knew each other from previous trips; I was
> recruited for ballast. On the GA we only used it one night, during the
> crossing to Wolf and Darwin, while smoking cigars and drinking red wine. On
> the Pilot, I seemed to be the only one having a really good time at night.
> I probably would have had to hot tub solo.

Boiled and smoked West Coast Lawyer seasoned in Hinano and red wine? Is
that some sort of South Pacific delicacy?

Greg Mossman wrote:
> Dan Bracuk wrote:
>
>
>>Only the dive deck gets crowded. I've been on two full Nektons, so I
>>know.
>
>
> Maybe. I wouldn't have wanted more cameras on board. Also we were
> able to avoid the middle seats at meal times. Hot tub crowding wasn't
> a problem since the hot tub was broken.
>
>
>>Sounds like you had a reasonably good time.
>
>
> I did.
>
I was on the Rohrquil in January off Puerto Rico (Mona Island) and found
their arrangement for gearing up a little strange. There were two
groups so they put one on each end. Of course each group went down
together so we crowded into each other. It would have worked a lot
better if they had set the gear up differently. But they did have hoses
for air and nitrox fills so you never had to separate your tanks and
your bcd until the end of the week. We had two water tanks for cameras
on the dive deck and another one level up so there wasn't much of a
collision problem with the photo equipment.

The hot tub was on the top deck and no one seemed very interested in it.
Those who used it once said it was hot, but being in the middle of the
large boat deck didn't make it very relaxing.

On the other hand, I found it a very calm trip even through the Mona
passage, but I was wearing a transdermal patch.