Making the scuba diving liveaboard memorable

If you really want to really scuba dive on a holiday, the liveaboard is probably the best way to get your dive-for-the-buck.

My first liveaboard was exciting and a bit daunting at the same time. I’d just received my Open Water certification and was really keen on getting out and diving on my own. I made it a bit easier by booking an all-inclusive with a London-based dive school and all I had to do was just turn up at the airport and off I went. As first trips go, it was a rapid learning curve (with some confusion and not wanting to look like a moron.

Boats range from the state of the art with amazing amenities to the most basic. Be prepared and take what you need. If you need rental gear, organise this in advance.

When you don’t know anyone on the boat, it’s nice to break the ice. Don’t hide in your room. Meet your fellow travellers and the crew. The outside deck is a lot nicer anyways. You’re going to be living in small tight surroundings with few other people. Being good neighbours and friends will make the trip more enjoyable and pleasant.

Non-diving companions? Best to leave them behind. A boat trip with a partner or a family member may sound like fun but imagine what it would like being the odd one out: being left out of all the pre-dive excitement and anticipation, not having anything to say at the post-dive huddle, quietly watching the boat companions toasting another great day of diving, hoping for a nice snorkelling opportunity and being seasick for all your efforts.

Before you book
Check immigration requirements about required visas etc.

If you are fairly new to diving or if you’re looking for your first liveaboard, mention this to the travel agent or diveshop. Many sites have certification level requirements. It’s also nice to be with people at a similar level and experience.

Review timing of your flights and sailings. Unless your trip is a package including flight, transfers and the boat, make sure you allow enough time between flight arrival and boarding the boat. A delayed flight can mean you miss the boat. Also, remember the no-flight time required between your last dive of the trip and your return flight home. Generally, the last day of the trip should be a no-dive, no fly day and it can be spent doing nothing by the poolside, sightseeing on land or getting in the last minute shopping.

If you have special dietary requirements, mention this when booking.

Make sure you have adequate dive insurance. Divers Alert Network (DAN) is a membership-based organisation that offers a comprehensive range of dive and travel insurance.

Seasickness

Unless you’ve got sea legs, be prepared and take medication with you. Some motion sickness remedies can make you drowsy so it is always a good idea to ask a doctor who knows a bit about diving.

Once the sickness hits, it will be difficult to keep down the medication so take the tablets BEFORE the journey starts.

A bigger boat is generally more stable. Trip booking sites usually have the specs for the boats. If you aren’t sure, ask the agent or tour operator.

Health and safety
• Limit your diving to what you are allowed under your level of certification (this includes depth maximum, overhead environments, mixed gas diving, decompression diving)
• Listen to the trip briefings
• Listen to the pre-dive briefings
• Stay away from out-of-bound and crew only areas
• Always abide by the instructions of the captain and the crew. Don’t jump in for a swim unless you’ve been told it’s safe
• Consume alcohol in moderation. There is strong evidence linking drinking with diving ailments
• Stay well hydrated. Drink plenty of water. Dehydration contributes to many ills on a holiday
• Because you’re on a boat, you’ll get an opportunity to do a lot of diving. Do not feel compelled to do every single one offered. If you are feeling tired or fatigued, sit it out and nap.
• Getting a good night’s rest is very important - not all that easy if you’re a light sleeper. Anchoring, motors revving and a moving boat make sleeping difficult. This is where the afternoon surface interval comes in handy for a kip

Small things to make life more comfortable
• You never have enough towels on a liveaboard – take few of your own
• Take comfortable boat-appropriate clothing – things that are easy to get in and out of, preferably quick-to-dry
• Waterproof containers and bags will come in handy when you want to keep things dry
• Pack light and small – those cabins are not huge
• Once you’re off, you won’t have a chance to restock on anything – CHECK to make sure you have everything you’ll need for the trip
• Take a good book. Sometimes, you will just want some solitary time to yourself
• Don’t forget your spares kit – containing your basic tools, spare O-rings. Boats usually have the basics but it’s nice to be prepared and able to do your own minor maintenance

Otherwise, bon voyage!

Why I don’t cycle

Two weeks ago, the folk of Vancouver – or the media representing them anyways – were talking about just one thing. Yes, it was the start of the Burrard Bridge cycling lane experiment. The City has implemented a trial of allocating one of the lanes of a multi-lane bridge to bicycle traffic. Sounds like a great idea? If you read and listened to some of what was being spewed in the mainstream press, you would have thought the masses were out after the Mayor’s head. “Overcrowding!” “Congestion!” and “Pandering to the cycling minority” were just some of the headlines.

I really do hope the cycling lanes will be a success and that the entire culture around transportation changes. This can’t happen soon enough. Perhaps in a few years, even road-cowards like myself will take up cycling. But for now, I do not cycle for what I think are very sensible reasons.

I don’t want to get myself killed by an inattentive driver
It may be their lack of timing or spatial perception but there is a breed that should not be driving. It’s very easy to obtain a driver’s licence and unfortunately, very hard to lose it. There are risks I’m willing to take but death at the hands of someone who doesn’t think a solid metal object travelling at high speeds can’t kill a human being? No. If daytimes are frightening, I can’t imagine cycling after dark (even if you are a lit up Christmas tree with all those reflectors and fluorescent clothing.

I don’t want to get myself killed by a criminally reckless driver
Then there are those who will try to jump a green and make a turn where cyclists and pedestrians are crossing. Their line is “might equals right”. And what cyclist would argue with a car? This bully of the roads has killed and injured countless people over the years. In many towns and cities, the authorities have cracked down and started encouraging people to report dangerous and reckless driving to the police.

I don’t want a car to accidently steer off the road and kill me
If a cycle lane means the edge of the car lane then I’ll take the bus instead. There has to be a lane set aside SPECIFICALLY to accommodate bicycles. There is a good video on the whys and hows of bike lanes at:
http://local.theoildrum.com/node/3061


So I return to the main point. Cycle lanes are good and we need more of them.

Take a walk

Last month, I attended a lecture on walking – yes walking – given by a group working to promote walking. Their website states:
“Walk21 exists to champion the development of healthy sustainable and efficient communities where people choose to walk.”
Simple sounding objective but it’s really a task, socially and politically to not just get people to walk but to make our communities walkable. To facilitate walking, the environment has to be safe and walking routes have to be accessible. Easier said than done.

The automobile lobby has done a great deal to obstruct and halt public transportation and to make towns and cities walker-unfriendly. Many US and European cities are perfect examples of how public transportation and road sharing (with cyclists and walkers) have been made the butt of political and civic priorities.

Why is walking important? To for one, walkable places are more civilised places. Imagine a community where no amenities and services exist within walking distance from residential areas. For poorly lit roads, no sidewalks, dangerous crossings – think antisocial behaviour, no social activities, no interactions between neighbours. Think of a lifestyle where everything depends on the motor vehicle, a culture where the out-of-town mega shopping mall is king.

Walking communities are healthier. It’s absolutely no coincidence that obesity and poor health are directly related to walkability. Walking is an activity nearly anyone can engage in – there is no special equipment required, it costs nothing and no special training or skill is needed. A bit of walking will keep most people fit. Or there is the bizarre but commonly done ritual of driving to the gym to walk on the treadmill and driving back home.

Some common reasons cited for people not walking:
• Walking is unsafe because of traffic – circular logic maybe? We can’t walk so we drive.
• There are no places to walk (no crossings, sidewalks or accessible walkways) – a serious shortfall on the part of planners and architects.
• The fear crime – the dangerous streets are those without pedestrians.
• There’s nothing to walk to – no shops, entertainment venues or services. Who would want to open a retail outlet where there are no people about...

What is required in the long term to make communities more walkable is a change of culture and an injection of political will. In the immediate future, there has to be a realisation that walking is an important part of life. In cities and towns where successful changes have been made to enable walking, car drivers have come to accept that they have a part to play (and give up that sense of entitlement). City planners, architects and roads authorities have a vital role to play in making sure walking is put to the fore of their projects. As for the walking members of the public, we have to walk more and become more strident.