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Scuba Diving – Life on Liveaboards

Scuba Diver in Raja Ampat Indonesia

Have you ever dreamed of living and scuba diving right on top of one of the world’s best dive sites, starting the day by pulling on your wetsuit, slipping into your dive gear, and dropping into the clear, warm ocean above a coral reef teeming with fish all waiting to wish you good morning?
This is the dream made real by liveaboard dive boats, which have been multiplying in recent years in response to demand from divers with busy lives who want to make the most of the leisure time they have.

There are options for all budgets, from dormitory accommodation to palatial private cabins, from canteen-style buffets to fine dining. You can share the deck with a couple of dozen other keen divers or scuba in style on an exclusive boutique luxury vessel with personal rinse tanks and dive valets to look after you and your gear. Some liveaboards offer weekend schedules; others extended voyages to really let you get away from it all.

What are the pros and cons of Liveaboard Scuba Diving?

The main advantages are that you get access to more remote and unspoiled places that see comparatively few divers and you can easily dive four or even five times a day.

The disadvantage is that you are living on a boat, which can be uncomfortable if sea conditions become rough. Your food options are limited and nightlife is usually non-existent. If you do not get on with your fellow travelers it is hard to escape but liveaboards are usually very convivial places full of like-minded, outgoing folk.

A Typical Liveaboard Day

You wake early, roused from your sleep by sunrise and the sound of activity. You throw on your swimsuit and a t-shirt and head for the galley for a snack to wake you up and give you energy and hydration for the first plunge of the day.

You greet your companions on the dive deck where your equipment is ready to go. You showed the crew how you like it set up on the first day and they are quick learners. During the trip, your dive gear lives permanently in the space allocated to you. Your wetsuit hangs nearby although you will be diving so frequently it will never get really dry! On some boats you gear up fully on deck and jump straight in; other liveaboards use small boats called tenders to take you back and forth to the sites.

Breakfast follows the first dive and from there the day progresses in a sequence of rest – dive – eat – rest – dive – eat until you fall into bed and are rocked to sleep by the sea.
Every boat has a sunbathing area, shaded deck space, and a communal lounge where there might be a Scrabble game going on or someone running through their photos from the last dive. If you want some privacy, you can retreat to your cabin, which on most boats is a shared twin room with bunks or single beds. If you are traveling alone you may find yourself sharing with a stranger, usually of the same sex. This is not necessarily a bad thing. You may find you have made a buddy for life!

There are fresh water showers on deck and usually in the cabins but expect hot water to be in short supply. Think of it as a wonderful surprise if you get some and use it sparingly as you may not be the most popular person on board if you are the only one that got to enjoy it!

Tips for Liveaboard Trips for Scuba Divers

Join a pool session or a local dive. Run an in-water check on your equipment before you go. If you find problems get them fixed and then go back in the water and check everything again before you leave.

Pack light: liveaboard life is very informal. Take a few T-shirts and pairs of shorts, a sarong or two, and a sweatshirt for the cool evenings at sea. Don’t bring shoes apart from those you wear to travel; you will go barefoot on board and can use your dive booties for any beach walking.
Be prepared with: –

  1. Multiple surface signaling devices such as a torch, a noisemaker, and a tall, brightly coloured safety sausage
  2. A small spares kit containing a mask strap, regulator mouthpiece, and two fin straps, (as they both tend to break at the same time!)
  3. A personal medical kit containing anti-motion-sickness pills, patches, or wristbands; eardrops; antibiotic ointment for coral cuts and hydrocortisone cream for hydroid stings.

Warning: liveaboard diving can be very addictive!

Simon is the best-selling author of Scuba Confidential – An Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Better Diver and Scuba Professional – Insights into Scuba Diver Training & Operations. Both books are available from Oceanic Ventures. Simon has also just published a new book for divers-to-be and absolute beginners called Scuba Fundamental – Start Diving the Right Way

Simon Pridmore Avatar
Originally from the UK, Simon has lived in the Asia-Pacific region for almost 40 years and has been involved at the sharp end of the scuba diving industry since the early 1990s, pioneering mixed-gas deep diving in the region, first in Hong Kong and later through Professional Sports Divers, his dive centre in Guam, Micronesia. He then moved to the United Kingdom to run a major technical diver training agency and work with cutting edge dive equipment manufacturers VR Technology. Today, he is one of the most prolific and well-known scuba diving and travel authors around. As well as his many books and guides, Simon writes regular columns for a variety of magazines and, under the pen name S.J. Pridmore, has recently published a highly-acclaimed first novel May the People Know I’m Here? After a decade in Indonesia, then a couple of years back in Hong Kong, these days Simon and his wife Sofie live in the south of Taiwan, still on the move as always, trying, but so far failing, to find a cure for their itchy feet.

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Hidden Scuba Diving Treasures – Muck Diving

Simon is the best-selling author of Scuba Confidential – An Insider’s Guide to Becoming a Better Diver and Scuba Professional – Insights into Scuba Diver Training & Operations. Both books are available from Oceanic Ventures. Simon has also just published a new book for divers-to-be and absolute beginners called Scuba Fundamental – Start Diving the Right Way.

You roll off the boat and look down to get a hint of the wonders that await you on this dive but it seems you are in the wrong place. There are no glorious coral formations; in fact there is no reef at all. Instead the seabed seems grey and featureless and the visibility is reduced by the presence of a nearby river mouth.

 Sixty minutes later, however, you return to the surface with your mind reeling and your camera’s memory card full of pictures of some of the most incredible marine life you could ever have imagined.

You have just been on an underwater treasure hunt; a game of hide and seek with some very clever opponents. This is muck diving!

The Genesis

While early scuba divers were marveling at the beauty of coral reefs and hanging out in the blue watching for whale sharks and manta rays, a whole universe of amazing creatures were going about their business under the sea completely un-noticed.

How could they have remained undetected for so long? Well, first they were small, second, they had developed the art of concealment to a very high degree and third they lived in places that were not particularly pleasing to the eye. Primarily, however, they remained unseen because nobody was looking for them.

Then a few things happened to bring these little creatures into the limelight.

First, the big fish became fewer in number and harder to find. Second, divers became older and a little lazier and, third, there were significant advances in underwater macro-photography.

Most importantly a few enterprising individuals in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Malaysia started looking for marine life in unusual places where nobody had looked before and began to find some absolutely astonishing things.

Muck diving is the quest for these beautiful animals in the sometimes-inhospitable environment where they hide.

Where to Go

New muck diving locations are being discovered all the time but, so far, the world capital is Lembeh Straits on the northeastern tip of Sulawesi in Indonesia. Other locations that also deserve honourable mention include a variety of sites right across northern Bali, Dumaguete in the Philippines, Pulau Mabul off the coast of Malaysian Borneo, Komodo, Ambon and Alor in the Indonesian archipelago and Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea.

Muck Diving Techniques

At first it can appear an impossible task and you will be amazed at how your guides can see things that are almost invisible until you look carefully. Keep trying, however, and with a little experience you will be spotting your own hidden treasures. The thrill of discovery when you find something rare and exotic is hard to beat.

These tips may help: –

  • Look ahead as well as beneath you
  • Be alert for movement as you pass.
  • Follow tracks in the sand
  • Get as close as you can
  • Examine everything from several angles
  • Be patient and take your time
  • Move slowly
  • Stay as near to the sand as possible without disturbing it
  • Use a fin-kick that does not involve downward fin movement so you do not disturb the sand: a gentle frog kick works well

More Spotting Tips

You can also increase your chances of spotting success by knowing where to look, for instance: –

  • Ornate ghost pipefish hang out among feather stars.
  • Pipefish and seahorses hide among sea grass.
  • Baby clown frogfish love rotting wood.
  • Sea cucumbers host colourful emperor shrimps as well as swimming crabs
  • Harlequin shrimps feed on sea stars
  • Urchins are often home to shrimps and baby fish
  • Fire urchins are where zebra crabs live
  • Tube anemones often have small harlequin swimming crabs on their trunks
  • Sea pens shelter porcelain crabs in their fronds
Pointer – OVI Has them in stock

Essential Equipment

An excellent tool that all the top guides use is a stainless steel 30 cm pointer, which you can thrust into the sand to help you balance as you hunt for animals. You can also use it gently to move aside a concealing weed to see more clearly. Attach the pointer with a lanyard to your BCD and tuck it into your harness when you are not using it.

Just Scratching the Surface

Remember, many of the creatures being discovered by muck divers today are new to science. It is exciting to imagine how much more there is to learn and what surprises remain to be discovered by someone with patience, a sharp eye and a pointer.

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Scuba Divers Wandering Through Bali

Bali Pool
There is no rest for the adventure traveler!  The group has been very busy in Bali visiting temples, rice fields and yes, shopping.  I mean what type of trip would it be without a shopping opportunity?  If you are wondering about their time in Bali, here is the schedule for Ann’s group prior to starting toward the Arenui:

Day 1 Upon arrival in Bali 9:35 AM Transfer to Ubud (approx. 1hr 10mins)Tour John Hardy’s Factory, then to hotel
Day 2 08:00 Tour begins with a visit to Taman Ayun, Ulun Danu Bratan – Jatiluwih Rice Terrace. Lunch at Local Restaurant. Return to hotel
Day 3 09:30 Tour begins with a visit to Monkey Forest Ubud , a Batik Factory, a Silver Shop at Celuk Village, a Balinese Traditional House at Mas Village. and transfer back to Nusa Dua for evening
Day 4 5:30 AM Transfer to airport for flight to Ambon

Black-crowned Night-Heron in Bali Indonesia
Black-crowned Night-Heron in Bali Indonesia

Well that is not really true.  Ann was up early in the hotel and wrote this “I have left the perch atop the dining room and went to my original destination.  It is a deck overlooking the rice terraced rice-fields, across the tangled jungle ravine carved by the river. The sky is not yet fully bright and I can hear the full, constant roar of the river over the very loud sound of birds, frogs, chickens and distant village noises. The air is cool, damp, very still.  Two groups of egrets and another pair fly over to reach their favorite morning feeding location.  Although I know there are morning smells the natural lemon grass oil bugs spray on my arms dominates my nasal passages. As I look up to the sky through the palm trees I see there is ever so slight a breeze.
The touring is now done and they are resting for their early morning transfer back to the airport for the flight to Ambon and then on to Sumilaki the next day to meet the boat.
 
And I just heard — they are at the airport…

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Scuba Divers Start Their Journey to Indonesia's Forgotten Islands

Cheryl, Coad, Rich and Ann at the airport in Houston.
Cheryl, Coad, Rich and Ann at the airport in Houston.

The first wave of divers departed Houston’s Intercontinental Airport for the Arenui via Moscow, Singapore and finally Bali where they will be spending a few days touring before heading off to Ambon then to Sumilaki to meet the boat.  I say the first wave because Susan and Donna left on Monday for Bali and will meet up with the group along with more divers from Houston and a few other cities outside of the state.
The Bali touring contingent will be touring in the Ubud region of Bali.  They have some temples and shopping on the list as well as some awesome overviews of the terraced rice patties in Bali.
Stay tuned for more details on their trip…
Laura, Mark, Ann Coad, Cheryl and Rich sitting down to eat after flying around the world.
A portion of the group reaches Bali!

Laura, Mark, Ann Coad, Cheryl and Rich sitting down to eat after flying around the world.
Laura, Mark, Ann Coad, Cheryl and Rich sitting down to eat after flying around the world.

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Adventure Travel – Dive Mom's Travel Hints

My TSA defense mechanism or ..don’t let your things be molested in route.

My friend and fellow diver, Lauren has been asking for articles for a newsletter and I have been wanting to write a series of blog posts: “Tips for travelers; from a professional tour leader.” So here is the first in a series of articles for your reading enjoyment ; hopefully with one new idea to aid in your adventures and travels.
I often tell clients, you should be able to travel for 2 days or 2 weeks in only one check bag, a rolling carry-on and purse (i.e. back pack, lap top or camera bag) and still be able to bring with you your total diving system, all the clothes you need for a tropical vacation, and personal items. Remember divers like having their own equipment so, as a “regular traveler” it is even easier to pack!!!

Specter Pack-It Cubes available at Oceanic Ventures
Specter Pack-It Cubes available at Oceanic Ventures


One of the solutions to accomplishing this task is packing cubes; that simple square, or long zippered cloth and mesh bag popularized by Eagle Creek and sold by Oceanic Ventures, Inc. here in Houston. I have found that if all of my items are organized in cubes, tubes, and bags, they tend to arrive “un-molested” and organized. Not only do they provide you organization both in route and once you reach your destination; but you have helped prevent the TSA from handling all of your personal items one at a time. Picture this – the TSA officials all wear gloves. It is to protect themselves, not you. Those gloves do not get changed between “guests”, so they have passed through all your things after handling “42 billion” other travelers that shift. What I have found in both the TSA line in the terminal and in the TSA search of my checked bags, is that items packed in organization cubes, tended to stay in those cubes. At most the cube is handled and patted down, but seldom opened. And now only the cube is touched, not your personals items.
So here is how I use these cubes.
For your rolling carry bag:

  • Standard Cube or Packing Folder- change of clothes, and your night clothes. Fits on one cube.
    Standard Cube – my regulator, bathing suit, diving computer and mask. If you are not a diver, then that cube gets dedicated to the trip purpose; those things critical to the trip purpose.
  • Half Tube Cube or the SAC—all the electronic cords, charges et al
  • Half Tube Cube—left for other things you need.

For your “purse”, i.e. back pack, lap top case or tote bag:

  • Half Tube Cube—personal kit
  • Shoe Bag Cube—for documents
  • Pack-it Sack—the little “back of the seat” bag for long flights. I’ll send you my essentials list although that is a blog in itself! With new inflatable travel pillow (yes, we have those too!!)
  • Covered Half Cube—stack of foreign currency (For international travel to places requiring cash. I love to shop in local markets, and craft centers and that is better done in cash.)
  • Tube Cube—healthy snacks
  • Reusable—empty water bottle

For your checked bag:

  • Cubes—of all sizes and shapes depending on the purpose of travel.

Oceanic Ventures has two display racks of packing items on our small store!!! So here is my promise to you –before your next trip, make an appointment to stop by the store with your list of items you take on your trip. I will send you home with an arm load of packing accessories best suited for your travels. You can  bring back what you don’t need, and we charge you for the ones that you kept that you thought were useful. It is the way I learned to pack—everything went on the guest room bed, and I had brought a stack of organizers home from the store. Now I have my favorite ones—but somehow each trip I might just add a new one!!!
Enjoy………….Fair Winds and Safe Travels.

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The Making of a Scuba Diver

Scuba Diver Susan Long Relaxing in Fiji
Susan Long Relaxing in Fiji

I have been scuba diving for over two years – since December 2012. Not only that, I had 100 dives within 10 months, and I had another 100 dives within another 10 months. I LOVE it! I am 59 years old, a retired IT professional, not athletic or mechanical in the slightest. How did I get here?

When we got married in 1992, my husband and I made a deal. He would not buy a Harley, and I would not go scuba diving. That way, we thought we could keep each other alive for a good long time. I have always had friends who scuba dived, and I have long been intrigued by it.

I swam for exercise in college – or more precisely, struggled through maybe 10 lengths a session. It was awful and so difficult, but for some reason, I did it. I did not enjoy it at all. Fast forward 25 years, and we went with some diving friends to the Yucatan for vacation. They did some diving, and we all snorkeled one day. I was terrified! I did not understand how I was supposed to breathe underwater. But I made myself jump in and try it, and within a minute or two, I was having a great time! There were lots of glamorous fish! Who knew? And I really enjoyed being in the water – which was also a surprise, after my college swimming experiences.

Scuba Divers Susan & Larry on a motorcycle trip
Susan and her husband, Larry on their last motorcycle trip.

After I retired in 2005, I decided to go to graduate school in Spanish Linguistics at the University of Houston. The parking is horrible! (The classes were great!) I soon realized if I had a motorcycle or scooter, I could park in the designated areas much more easily. So I bought a Vespa scooter! When my husband got over the shock, he got himself a Harley! So now I had permission to scuba dive! (We now both really enjoy our motorcycle trips together!)

I had permission to scuba dive, but on the other hand, I knew it was an expensive habit. I was reluctant to get a lot more “stuff”. We already had plenty of stuff. Being overweight, I didn’t think there would be enough weight available to keep me down (seriously). I also knew myself it could be dangerous – I had looked at some books detailing scuba diving “incidents” and they are pretty scary. You wonder why anyone comes back alive!

In the fall of 2012, my friend Donna Collins (another scuba diver, and Oceanic Ventures, Inc. denizen) and I were planning to go on a cruise to Costa Rica and Panama. She suggested that we could go snorkeling, and she might try to go diving. I was enthusiastic – I had not had a chance to go snorkeling in years! She took me to Oceanic Ventures to look into getting my own mask, snorkel, fins to take on the trip.

My First Trip the the Dive Store

Ann, Alex and David Morris were in the shop, and I will never forget the warm welcome. David took me under his wing and explained everything I wanted to know about masks, snorkels, fins. I could not believe how expensive they were! But I was sold on the part of getting good equipment so I could really enjoy the experience. I left with the mask, snorkel, fins, a bag, a skin, and maybe a few other goodies. David offered to give me a snorkeling class for free, which I gladly took him up on, since I was certainly not an expert snorkeler, having only done it once.

At the snorkeling class, I learned quite a bit, especially how to “duck dive!” David offered to give me a Try Scuba session, and I was, well, OK, sure! If he’s offering, I sure will try it. Within a few days, I was trying out the scuba equipment in the West U pool, and learning the first rule of scuba. I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but the next inevitable step was signing up for Open Water Scuba classes so I could go on the Cozumel trip that December. And buying all my equipment. Oceanic Ventures made it so easy. I could not have chosen (and still can’t) between Buoyancy Compensaters, Air Delivery System’s or computers. I trusted their advice, and I really liked the idea that they had a lot of experience with the equipment they sold, and they believed in it for all levels of diving.

Open Water Scuba Training with Oceanic Ventures

I had a great time in the Open Water Scuba training with David and Alex. It was hard for me to clear my mask, but eventually I figured it out. It was hard remembering all the steps for sharing air, or the out-of-air ascent. But I did it! The Cozumel trip was fantastic. I did my open water dives there with Alex as my instructor, and it was so much fun! He was so calm, and knowledgeable, and encouraging. I could see it was going to take some time for me to get really comfortable with my buoyancy, and the breathing, but I was plenty comfortable enough to enjoy the diving, and the Oceanic Ventures group was so wonderful. All those experienced divers were so encouraging and helpful to the brand-new,” baby diver.”

Scuba Diving in the Solomon Islands Susan Long and Ann Keibler
Scuba Diving in the Solomon Islands with Susan Long and Ann Keibler

David had let me know in the  Open Water Scuba training that he was the first Oceanic Ventures student to get 100 dives in a year. That sounded like a challenge to me, and I like challenges! Also it was quite clear after the Cozumel trip that the more experience I had, the more fun I could have as a diver. So I set myself the informal goal of getting 100 dives in a year. In order to keep diving through the winter, I started drysuit training and bought a drysuit. I started Advanced Open Water Scuba training, if for no other reason that it was more diving experience! I went with Oceanic Ventures to St. Croix, Belize, Cozumel, and then to Grand Cayman in August! (Donna and I did get to do a few dives on our trip to Costa Rica.) By the time I got to Grand Cayman, I had achieved the 100 dives, between the trips, the training, and being a fun diver at Blue Lagoon and 288 Lake.

Where I Am Now…

So what about all the concerns I had, and my husband had? Well, first off, safety is obviously the first priority at Oceanic Ventures. Now that I am diving, I wonder how people got themselves into those situations in those scary dive books. Of course, mistakes can happen, but most of those incidents are inconceivable on an Oceanic Ventures trip. Yes, diving is expensive, and I have a LOT of stuff. I am still dealing with how to organize it and where it all needs to go between trips. Oh well! The experiences I have had as a diver, and the friends I have made, have been more than worth it.

Scuba Diver Susan Long Diving in Fiji
Susan in Fiji

I love being a part of the Oceanic Ventures “tribe.” It feels like home. I am very impressed with the emphasis on safety and professionalism at Oceanic Ventures. Ann and Eric Keibler run a tight ship, with little room for error, but lots of room for fun. It is easy to have fun when you have confidence in the trip leader, the dive location, the divemasters, and the choice of dive sites. And you get to go play with your dive peeps!

My husband has put up with all this graciously, taking me to the airport and kissing me goodbye as I go off on my next diving adventure. I am so happy to report that since his retirement last August he has become a certified scuba diver, and we are going on our second trip to Cozumel with Oceanic Ventures next month!