ScubaToys Blackbeards Trip--the Aftermath

[namabiru]

Woo! This trip is 3 thumbs up .

I don't know if I can speak for the rest of the ol' hee-haw gang, but I had a ridiculously good time.

Just got back home today, and definitely wanting to dive some more.

I will make one of my usual rambling, long-winded posts which starts off with a good spot-on thesis but meanders off on irrelevant tangents after I get rested up a bit. My brain is still a bit muddied after a whole lot of kalik beer and no sleep.

Here's a tidbit, though. You'll love this. Ha ha. You know how I was going through great pains to set up a gathering on 8/31 in Freeport? Well, we get it set up, and I'm all exciting, and ScubaSteve and Mrs. ScubaSteve and the Party Parrot will be there and yada yada, and we'll start off with a bang.

Anyhoo, as it turns out, I went onto island time, thanks to a LOT of kalik. I had every intention of turning up at 6 for the gathering, but I accidentally on purpose went to sleep, and I overslept by 2 hours, until 8 pm. When I arrived at RR's, the ScubaSteve entourage was nowhere to be found. So, yeah, I'm one of those phantom party organizers, where I organize people but fail to turn up myself.

Our DiveMaster, Ramone, was great. Short briefings which didn't vary too much. Ees easy.

There's no current. (there's a story there, of course)

More later.

[quarrydiver]

it's a riot eh? Did you stop in Bimini?

[namabiru]

Yep, sure did. Had port night on Tuesday. That was kinda fun, although I was pretty tired so didn't stay out so long.

[FyVe]

nice. that's good to hear.

[FyVe]

o yea. anything special you saw? anything you haven't seen b4 or didn't think you'd see?

[namabiru]

Yes, there certainly was. I had never seen an octopus on a night dive before, and lo and behold, the first night dive we do, I see a really beautiful one.

We also did a night dive where there were a ridiculous amount of rays. My god, it was amazing. Also two wonderful turtles in the same dive. Some absolutely huge fish too. They could devour small children. Yes, on the same dive. Needless to say, we were exciting.

[namabiru]

Okay, so here is my take on the whole Blackbeard's experience.

It was great to go with ST, as people knew one another a little better, and from the start there was good group cooperation. This is important, as the boat is big, but at the same time it's not either.

The 'dorm' style accommodation was perfectly fine. You didn't spend a lot of time there anyway, unless you were sleeping. If I went again, though, I would be absolutely sure to not get a bunk in the main cabin. The doors are open all day because it's where people eat, so it's not cool down there. You also get to deal with the smoke from bacon frying, etc. I was in the forward compartment, next to the bow. It worked out fine.

The shower situation is a bit annoying, as everyone goes this direction after the night dive. There is a fresh water shower up top, and one in the main cabin. If you want to strip down and shower, then go here. Otherwise if you just want to shampoo/condition your hair, you can go up top. A changing tent up top would be great, so you could get out of wet stuff without having to climb the ladder to your bunk. Um, I almost slipped twice on the ladder with wet feet. I've got a nasty bruise to prove it.

The food was quite tasty. Nothing fancy, but good homey meals. There was always plenty for everyone, and we were told early on by the captain that if we ran out, he would have the cook make some more so everyone got enough. For the size of the galley, some amazing meals came out. Roast pork dinner, roast beef dinner, full cooked breakfasts, etc. We also got a snack in the morning and the afternoon.

Although Blackbeard's is described as 'camping at sea', I felt that the service we got from the crew was first class. Keep in mind that the crew mostly gets paid from our tips. But it was absolutely amazing--those people were *always* working. Our crew really bent over backwards to accommodate dive spot requests, dietary issues, engineering problems, etc. The crew was also really friendly, and enthusiastic about their work.

Things I suggest/tidbits:
--Have your clothes in a carry-on duffle bag, not a hard suitcase. This works well as a sort of second pillow if you need to sleep propped up (I do).

--Get some inexpensive mesh laundry bags, and throw multiple ziploc bags with your things in them. It's easier to find and stow stuff, I think, than if you have to rummage through a regular bag.

--Bring a cheap plastic cup. You get one for the week, with your name on it, but if you want, say, coffee AND water at the same time, you've only got one cup unless you bring another one.

--(Wish I would have known). Yeah, the t-shirts they sell are $25. Super expensive. But, as it turns out, the crew gets all the money from the shirts and other memorabilia they sell. If I would have known this, I would have ponied up the money and gotten a shirt. Their gift shop is only open for a bit when you get back, so I couldn't buy anything. Even the mugs are nice, at $12. They'll sell those beforehand.

--Freeport isn't very exciting. You don't really need to arrive 2 days beforehand to experience Freeport, unless you're coming a long distance and *know* your bags won't get delivered. Continental can be trusted, and did a good job for me. American Airlines, though, didn't do a good job with people's stuff OR their flights. Many people coming out of Dallas had issues. Be warned when you book.

--Consider staying in Freeport Friday night, so you can dive the entire day Thursday. I booked my ticket for Friday afternoon, then had a *Doh!* moment when I realized I would have to stop diving Thursday morning. But most people are in the same boat, so you only miss like one dive. If anything, you might consider getting to Freeport the night before. People who tried to arrive the day of had problems. ST had chartered the boat, so it was no big deal to go back and pick up 2 people. But if it's not a chartered boat, you're getting left. Sorry.

--The Port Lucaya Yacht Club is the cheapest place to stay in Freeport with the BB's discount. You're also literally next to the Port Lucaya marketplace.

--When the cruise ships are in, PL marketplace is hopping. When they're not, you can hear the wolves howling for 20 miles. There's nothing to do. Serious. It's kind of dull. Be warned if you decide to stay in Freeport for a week. Prices are $USD or higher, so it's not a nice cheap Thailand holiday.

--You get lockers topside to put your stuff in. But if you don't claim a good spot (on the ends, I'd say) early, you get stuck in the middle. And usually someone has decided to plant themselves right on top of your locker. That got kind of old, having to constantly ask people if you could get to your things.

--The diving is great, and the captain does deliberately plan long surface intervals. You sometimes stop off to do things like snorkeling or lobster hunting/spearfishing. At first, this kind of cheesed me off, as I was there to dive, not kill things, but then I saw their point--with diving so much during the week, off-gasing is important. There was one other BB boat in the water, and, well, we tended to all be traveling together. We all stopped in Bimini together.

--You get to plan your own dive, and aren't led around by ducklings in the water by a DM. This is great. They just ask that you come up with at least 500 psi. I loved the freedom. You get there, the pool is opened, you splash, you dive. You go where you please. You get a briefing on the area by the DM and that's that.

[quarrydiver]

Which boat did you end up on? They only had 2 out that week?

[namabiru]

Yep, only two--the Morning Star and Pirates Lady. We were on Pirates Lady.

[NitroWill]