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Essential Packing for Your Next Diving Liveaboard Holiday
One of the key elements of many liveaboard dive trips is they take place in remote locations, which often required domestic flights to reach. With a continuing reduction in airline baggage allowance and growing fees it’s becoming increasingly important to get your packing just right.
Choosing the Essentials
Topping the list of course would be your dive gear. Or would it? Several liveaboards offer free equipment rental or low cost packages as an alternative to bringing you own. Perhaps you are supremely attached to your own BCD or Reg and would not wish to rely upon rental gear, but what about your fins? Do you really need all those wetsuits? For most trips there is not really a need to pack in lots of spare gear and parts for those “just in case” moments when perfectly adequate alternatives are available on board the yacht? Much depends on the quality of the dive operator so it’s important to check with them what they will have available before you depart. Then think about what you couldn’t dive without and bring a fix-it / repair kit of o-rings, mask and fin straps and a mouth piece or two.
Clothing next. So lets just be honest – you’re on a boat with 12-20 other divers, and dinner will not be a cruise ship captain’s table black tie affair. In my experience most people wear the same clothes repeatedly – after all we’re hardly in them. Shorts, t-shirts and 2 sarongs would more or less cover it. I always pack at least 1 sun dress and a fleece jacket in case it gets chilly. Men might want to bring long trousers and shirts and if you’ll be taking any land tours, think about whether it is prudent to cover up to avoid offending the locals by displaying bare shoulders or knees. Shoes? Just forget about them! But very importantly don’t forget your swimwear… I’ve seen a naked 70-year old man bent over on the dive deck and I sincerely wish I hadn’t!
No one wants to be known as “Mr or Ms Stinky” during the trip so some toiletries won’t go amiss. Most operators I’ve dived with provide shower gel but shampoo/conditioner you should plan to bring for yourself. Don’t bother packing huge bottles – decant your usual brands into 100ml bottles then you can also take in your hand luggage too. Essential advice for the ladies: don’t forget your menstrual products! Such items can be exceedingly hard to find in places such as Egypt and Indonesia (note that any unused supplies are always very welcomed by female cruise directors!).
Don’t bother with a towel. Every liveaboard I know provides one or more and if you would like extra, a sarong works brilliantly and takes up far less room.
Now we know what to bring, the big question arises – can I fit it all in? Here the importance of Maximising your carry-on comes into effect. The best items for placing in your carry-on bag are your reg (if you decided to bring it), dive computer, mask, toiletries and any bulky but light weight items that you could put on if necessary. Any medication too, just in case your check-in luggage gets lost in transit.
Of course if you are photographer you’ll likely be struggling with which lenses, dome ports, strobes etc, etc, etc to bring with you. Most airlines count a camera as a separate hand carry item you are allowed on top of a 7kg bag, but even so it can be a tough decision so do your research on the destination and make your decision based upon that… or buy a jacket with loads of pockets and stuff everything into them instead!
Knowing the struggles us liveaboard divers face, equipment manufacturers have developed Specialist Equipment for Travel. I have the Aqua Lung travel set – it’s a BCD, complete reg, fins, mask, shortie 3mm and bag all weighing in at 10kg. The bag itself is the perfect fit for the overhead bins on planes too, so I can be really flexible with how I pack. Last month I met two divers from Australia who only had 10kg each to check in, as they had purchased the Aeris backplate which doubles as a bag and then rented other kit on the yacht. There are plenty of great choices out there for divers who love to travel.
Now you are all packed and ready to go – unpack, remove half of the clothes from the pile, pack again and you’re all set!
Keeping your check in under 20kg is most certainly do-able with a bit of planning. To assist you, Liveaboard.com provides divers with a “Know Before You Go” guide for each destination and liveaboard yacht.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
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