Red Sea Livaboard for a Novice?

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Lewis McDonnell - 29 May 2005 19:25 GMT

All,

I have a spare week in August away from the missus, thought I might take
the chance to get in some diving. I am considereding a liveaboard, have
been eyeing up the cruise & stay options with explorers.co.uk.

Can anyone reccomend or not these packages or maybe sugest other
operators who might be well suited to me as I have only 10 dives. I
realise that I will have to take my AOW while I am out there but I am
cool with that.

Ta

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Ian Blakeley - 29 May 2005 20:02 GMT

>I have a spare week in August away from the missus, thought I might take
>the chance to get in some diving. I am considereding a liveaboard, have
>been eyeing up the cruise & stay options with explorers.co.uk.

Top idea

>Can anyone reccomend or not these packages or maybe sugest other
>operators who might be well suited to me as I have only 10 dives.

I think you'll be out of luck
http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/270105rsadw.shtml

Signature

Ian
"Democracy, what we need - Kakistocracy what we've got"

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Lewis McDonnell - 29 May 2005 23:50 GMT

sh.t...

Looks like a hotel then with day trips....

> I think you'll be out of luck
> http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/270105rsadw.shtml

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Ken - 30 May 2005 09:51 GMT

> sh.t...
>
> Looks like a hotel then with day trips....

The advantage of which is the rooms bathrooms are bigger. And if prone to
sea-sickness, there is a daily respite. And there is a greater selection of
restaurants ashore. And it's cheaper. And you get a break from some of your
fellow divers if some turn out to be plonkers.

K

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David Walker - 30 May 2005 13:21 GMT

>> I think you'll be out of luck
>> http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/270105rsadw.shtml

> Looks like a hotel then with day trips....

If you really want a liveaboard then i'd check with the tour operators
first - there are a lot of rules in the Red Sea, and most seem to be
ignored.

However, personally I wouldn't bother with a liveaboard if you've only done
10 dives - wait til you've got a bit more experience so that you can do all
the dives (most of the good wrecks are below 20m) without wasting your
holiday doing training. Also, if you're not too confident in the water yet
then you'll probably miss all the good stuff while you're worrying about
your bouyancy or whatever (and possibly bouncing along the reef!!!). Thats
why Stoney Cove was invented - build up a bit of experience and confidence
somewhere cheap and easy, so that when you start spending a lot of money to
go diving to places like the Red Sea you really enjoy it.

Of course, if you've got the money to spare and aren't too worried about
that type of thing, then you might be able to get on one anyway.

David

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Ken - 30 May 2005 13:46 GMT

>>> I think you'll be out of luck
>>> http://www.divernet.com/news/stories/270105rsadw.shtml
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> spending a lot of money to go diving to places like the Red Sea you really
> enjoy it.

Strange you should mention that - cheap. I used to think that, now not so
sure. After a few weekends of wasted time and money it occurred to me that
after petrol, B&B costs etc are taken into account the cost of diving in the
UK is £100 per day. Sure, that depends on whether you DO stay a night or
two, and whether you live close enough to wherever you're off to not to have
to do so. This rate compares favourably with places like Sharm where for
that money you get warmer water, better viz, fish, more attractive scenery
(God was on LSD when he painted tropical sea life!), a greater selection of
restaurants than your average UK seaside town, more helpful locals who don't
quote the HSE as a reason for not helping you with your gear . . . .

The cost of (for eaxmple) an OW course looks more expensive in the Red Sea
than the UK, but it IS all-in - no hidden extras in fills, accommodation,
travel etc - and you get a holiday in the sun for the same cash. AND you get
a funny stamp in your passport!!

So, rather than do your AOW in the UK and THEN go abroad, go abroad twice
and do the AOW there the first time.

Yours provocatively and sure to be shot down in flames,

Ken :))

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David Walker - 30 May 2005 14:00 GMT

> Strange you should mention that - cheap. I used to think that, now not so
> sure.

Yeah, possibly. For the Red Sea liveaboard we were on at Christmas, it
worked out as about £25 per dive over the week (~£600, approx 4 dives a day
for 6 days). A weekend in Plymouth for example would cost around £100 for a
weekend (4 dives including accommodation) plus maybe £10 in petrol if we
share cars, but by the time we add food and things it will end up say £35
per dive... something like that.

There are exceptions of course. If you live near a UK dive site it will be
significantly cheaper to go there (I often do 4 dives a day at Stoney for my
£8 entry and neglible petrol). With my home club I can do 2 good dives up
in the Farnes for around £15 including air, petrol and boat fuel. I also
know that a lot of people when they go to the Red Sea pay a LOT more than we
do - around double so making that £50 per dive... far less attractive if
you're going to be faffing around with bouyancy or following an instructor
around a flat sandy bottom so you don't hit the reef.

But yeah, it is true that it isn't always all that expensive if you consider
the number of dives etc.

David

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Nick - 30 May 2005 17:54 GMT

> All,

> the
> Can anyone reccomend or not these packages or maybe sugest other operators
> who might be well suited to me as I have only 10 dives. I realise that I
> will have to take my AOW while I am out there but I am cool with that.
>
> Ta

Their is no minimum number of dives for liveabords. The original 'new rules'
were ditched in favour of these more leniant ones (so I've been told). Hope
it helps.

RED SEA DIVING REGULATIONS UPDATE

There are new diving rules, which have been brought in by the Red Sea
Association. These rules provide stricter requirements for liveaboard and
day diving charter boats, and for the divers who holiday aboard them. These
new rules are intended to improve the safety of divers in the Red Sea.
Prerequisites for diving guests on Marine Park safaris (Brothers, Zabargad,
Daedalus, Rocky)

A minimum of 50 logged dives

A self-declaration medical form duly signed by the diving guest.

Valid insurance cover against diving accidents from a reputable company.

Prerequisites for diving guest on NON marine park safaris:

No minimum number of logged dives required.

A Self-declaration medical form duly signed by diving guest.

Valid insurance cover against diving accidents by a reputable company.

Safety equipment for ALL Safari diving guest (Marine Park and NON Marine
Park)

- Surface marker buoy. - One torch for each buddy pair (in daytime dives).

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Bari Pollard - 30 May 2005 22:12 GMT

> Their is no minimum number of dives for liveabords. The original 'new
> rules' were ditched in favour of these more leniant ones (so I've
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> A minimum of 50 logged dives

Errr???? No minimum dives?????

Or hav I missed the point?

Cheers

Bari.

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David Walker - 30 May 2005 22:40 GMT

>> A minimum of 50 logged dives

> Errr???? No minimum dives?????
> Or hav I missed the point?

Yeah, you have... keep reading down the post. Dives depends on where in the
Red Sea, the 50 is for some of the National Parks, which the usual Northern
Tour at least doesn't include (it doesn't seem to include Ras Mohammed in
the exclusions)

David

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Bari Pollard - 30 May 2005 23:22 GMT

>>> A minimum of 50 logged dives
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> David

Doh!!!!

that'll teach me to try and do two things at once!!!

CHeers

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Richard Faulkner - 30 May 2005 19:10 GMT

>All,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
>Ta

Lewis,

I did a week on Cyclone in December, starting with 21 dives, and ending
with 37 dives. I already had my AOW.

I had a fabulous time, lots of challenging dives, learnt loads really
quickly, and I saw things which you do not if you stay in a hotel.

One woman on board did her AOW during the week, and most of it was just
combined with the normal dives. I'm not sure how many dives she started
with, but it wasnt many! She had a great time.

I did a couple of Specialities, (Peak Performance Buoyancy and Deep),
and didnt feel as though they affected the enjoyment of the holiday.

I am not saying that it is suitable for all "novice" divers, but if you
are smart, have a degree of confidence and respect, along with an
awareness of safety matter, you could be OK.

Just be aware that if you are not a particularly confident diver, then
it would be easy for the dives on a liveaboard to shatter any confidence
which you have.

As to cost - I booked at short notice, and got the week for £650
including flight from Manchester. I spent nothing other than tips on
board, and a few quid on the last day and night in Sharm.

I have just been to Sharm for a couple of weeks, and spent around £500
on meals, cabs, drinks, and stuff, over and above the cost of the hotel
and the diving.

Signature

Richard Faulkner

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