Dive Review of Nekton in
Bahamas/Cay Lobos

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Nekton, Jul, 2003, by Philip Hamilton, Texas, USA . Report 548.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Nekton Cay Lobos itinerary departs from Ft Lauderdale Saturdays. They run a shuttle back and forth from the airport throughout the day, and deliver the guests to the Las Olas Mall. At 7:00 pm, they return to collect the divers, and take them to the vessel en masse. The Nekton Rorqual is, frankly, one of the ugliest dive boats you will run across. Boxy and square, It looks like a duplex mounted on pontoons. From the inside, however, it is roomy and well laid out. The top deck contains the pilothouse, a covered area for dive briefings and shade lovers, and a sundeck complete with hot tub. One flight down is the galley, lounge, camera table, and some of the cabins, while the lowest deck contains more rooms and crew quarters. Suspended at the stern is the dive deck; a hydraulically operated unit which is lowered to the water on site for diving, and raised while the vessel is underway. The adverts claim it is seasick proof, but don’t count on it. The boat does move, albeit less than a monohull – if you get seasick easily, you will still need the pills. We had a few uncomfortable folks on board. Due to the distance covered during this itinerary, there are only two night dives, one at Cay Lobos, and one at Bimini on the last night, so arrange your flight home accordingly if you want to night dive Friday. The dive deck on the Rorqual is generally open from shortly after 8 am in the morning until quarter to twelve, and again from about 1:30 pm until quarter to six. Often this meant that we got in two dives per site, and except for the first dive of the trip, the deck was not crowded. The crew was friendly and competent - and always ready to buddy with you if you needed one. We dove our own profiles, limited only by 130 foot depth limit, and no planned deco. Break the rules, and you will be out of the water for 24 hours. While not haute cuisine, the food was very good, and plentiful. Nekton encourages BYOB, and will stop on the way to the boat for you to buy your own soft drinks and adult beverages, and they provide an ice chest for them. The boat uses steel 95s, which are 6 pounds more negative than AL80s, and give you a bit more bottom time. Nitrox was being installed in July - 16 stations in place - by publication time, should have 100%. It cannot be stressed enough to bring lots of swimsuits and T shirts, very few other items of clothing. No shoes worn all week. Bring more wetsuit than you think, and perhaps even a hood - possible 24 dives during the week will chill you. I wore a 3mm full in avg 83f water, and was comfortable.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Bermuda, Barbados, St Lucia, Hawaii, Arabian Sea, Flower Gardens, etc.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-70 Ft/ 15-21 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	130 ft max, no planned deco, Captain warned us in Cay Lobos area that we were in Bahamas waters but Cuban airspace - any medical evacuation would require a nine hour cruise to get into useable airspace.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Water was a bit cloudy, making photos challenging. Did wall dive in Cay Lobos, hole dives in Cay Sal and Anguilla, and reef dives in Bimini.

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Dive Review of Nekton in Bahamas/Cay Lobos

Nekton, Jul, 2003,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Nekton in
Bahamas/Cay Lobos