Instant Reader Report
on Bay Islands Aggressor / [same] in
Honduras / [N/A] on
2003/06
by
Rickie Sterne/Chrisanda Button , ARK, USA
Report Number 030722121422702

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Send an email to the author of this report

 Cozumel, Bahamas, Belize, and Sea or Cortez by liveaboard, and Beaver
Lake[Unspecified] 

Dive Conditions

130 ft or MOD with nitrox and 500 PSI  

[NoWe are not photographers  

Overall Rating

[In a nutshell, the boat was nice, but the diving was disappointing. 
First, the boat. The Bay Islands Aggressor was refurbished last year, and
the job must have been well done.  We found conditions on the boat much
better than those reported in the Chapbook 2 years ago.  The boat was
clean, and we saw only one insect all week.  Since all 20 divers wre
Southerners, we were neither surprised nor outraged. The dive deck is
spacious and well organized.  Both air and Nitrox fills are done with
tanks in place in the gear stations.  Each diver has a covered locker
under his gear station.  There are 2 fresh water showers on the dive dack,
and clean warm towels were offered us after each dive. The cabins are,of
course, small, but comfortable.  Showers are full-sized with plenty of hot
water.  I appreciated the hair dryer in the cabin.  Our bags were stored
outside the cabins.  As usual, couples who could share the bottom bunk had
more space than single divers.  There was a lot of mechanical noise on this
boat.  There was a salon with 2 comfortable sofas on the lower deck.  The
main deck offered a hot tub and the dining area.  There was a partially
covered sun deck up top.  A few more chaise lounges would have been nice,
since our whole group gravitated there between dives.  There were movies
in the salon for those energetic enough to sit upright.  The food was very
good and apparently endless in supply.  Jurgen was a creative chef who made
staples like tomato soup special with his seasonings.  All the divers, from
the meat-and-potato-trenchermen to the California cuisine crowd, were happy
with the meals.  Sweet snacks were offered, right on the dive deck if you
liked, between morning dives and savory snacks between afternoon dives. 
Fish and shellfish were each served twice.  The Captain's Dinner featured
beef prime rib and lobster tails.  Vegetables were especially well
prepared, and salads were not just shredded iceberg.  Ah! the desserts! 
Nuts, fruits, chips, and popcorn were always available, and the boat
served Honduran coffee.  Cokes, wine, and beer wre free.  The first drink
of the day marked your last dive of the day.  Now for the diving.  We have
only been diving three years and are far from jaded.  The condition of the
reefs in the Bay Islands and the paucity of the sea life were disturbing. 
As we were driven to the airport at the end of the week, we saw nine large
trawlers docked in Roatan.  Does their presence explain why some reef tops
looked as if they had been tilled? There was high wind most of the week we
were in Honduras, and the windy conditions limited the access of our large
boat to sites around Roatan.  The captain did manage to take us to Utila
and Cayos Cochinos despite the winds.  Cocos seamount off Cayos Cochinos
was the best site we visited.  We also enjoyed Tavaina's Wall and Caribe
Point off Roatan.  The Aggressor boat swings on its mooring line, creating
a pseudo-current under the boat.  Getting back to the boat required
considerable exertion, including a last desparate lunge from the hang
chain to the ladder.  Service on the dive deck was good.  We were the only
two divers who chose to do the last dive of the week.  Although the boat
was going to return to port as soon as the dive deck was closed, neither
the captain nor the two divemasters acted as if it were an imposition to
keep the boat on the dive site for just the two of us.  No one in our
group wants to return to the Bay Islands.  The reason lies in the
condition of the reefs, not in the Bay Islands Aggressor.  Oh, one big
advantage of the liveaboard:what no see'ums?  The Aggressor encourages the
use of Nitrox for safety reasons, and charges only $100 per week for
unlimited Mitrox fills. 

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