Jim Abernethy's Liveaboard

Actually I'm thankful for this thread. I've read many good things about the SW experience and have it on my list of 'wanna do' trips..actually from earlier trip reports I didn't even know it was a liveaboard, I thought it was more of a day-boat experience!! But now that I've read more about the overall conditions from all posters here, I know not to suggest it if my usual buddy (aka The Spousal Unit - non-photographer, and great diver but not comfortable in extremely tight quarters with other people) is the one I'd be traveling with. (Although not a prima-donna or afraid to rough it, and she's been comfortable on other liveaboards, was a chef on a big cruise ship for a year, and we're booked on the Juliet in July, this just sounds like it would be a bit outside her comfort zone.)

Regardless of the validity/non-validity of the initial post, the thread has been very useful. So without taking a side either way I'd like to thank 'ladydianabret' for the post and hope she joins in more often on WP and gets to know everyone. She may have saved my marriage.

Now excuse me while I go hose down the toilet seat and then leave it up...my wife just LOVES surprises like that!!

You'all have left out the very best personal ShearWater luxury service - getting your toe nails painted while sleeping!

I just loved my purple glitter toes

Is Capt. Frank from the Spree sneaking on board?

Is Capt. Frank from the Spree sneaking on board?

Who is he?

There's a photo of him in the wheelhouse if you click through the photos. Sweetest guy, great captain and he does have his toe nails polished. I highly recommend a trip on the Spree.

M/V Spree

Ditto the recommendation, although we're sort of hijacking the thread now. I'm very sorry (for me, not them, as it should be a better market for them weather-wise) that the Spree has left the TX Flower Gardens location for the Florida Dry Tortugas. (The M/V Fling at Flingcharters.com, a very similar boat which used to be in a partnership operation with the Spree, remains in the FG.)

I've been on both and enjoyed the diving on both (and am booked for the Fling again in late May, weather permitting!), but Frank is an overall awesome guy, and his wife Melanie is a superb dive master as well.

Frank goes by 'wookie' on the D2D forums and DiveWookie on SB...not that I'll go back to the latter after the admin fiasco regarding Robyn's DC award.

Is Capt. Frank from the Spree sneaking on board?

Thanks, Ellen.

We do have one of the Shearwater's captains running with us in DT this year, Capt. Zack is a great guy and a lot of fun on the boat.

Frank

Thanks for reminding me of the pedicure, okuma! My toenails ended up hot pink....

Phil

Thanks, Ellen.

 

We do have one of the Shearwater's captains running with us in DT this year, Capt. Zack is a great guy and a lot of fun on the boat.

 

Frank

Still wanna go but so much is up in the air instead of beneath the sea. Speaking of which, it was so nice to see you and Melanie again

David,

 

Actually, the smal plastic tube is more than enough if you abide by the rules. Heck, you don't even use it to poke sharks (which is what I assumed when I first saw one) - you hold it vertically and let the shark bump it; they dislike the feeling and veer away. And even that is unlikely to be necessary unless you/she are within 15 feet of the bait crate when there's lots of action...which no one will encourage you to do. One of the nice things about Shearwater is that no one is required or encouraged to do anything they're uncomfortable about. You can stay plenty far from "the action" and simply watch in awe from a distance. On my first time on the boat, a fellow in our group (an extremely experienced non-photographer diver) just hung out a ways out, sat back against his tank, and used his stick jammed in the sand for support - he was perfectly happy just watching the big tiger sharks swim by 20-50 ft away.

 

As for days without diving, that only tends to happen if Mother Nature whips up the seas...or when first arriving and waiting for the scent from the crates to spread down-current and attract something worth seeing. Even with that, you'll have oodles of uw time...and if your girlfriend is prepared for "roughing it" a bit, you'll both have a GREAT time.

Thank you very much for your reply

Can I ask for a little practical advice:

... bearing in mind my (generous - ask Alex M.) personal dimensions and the limited space on SW, what is the bare minimum lens set to take on a SW trip?

Can I get away with a single dome?

Have I finally got to buy a Tokina fisheye zoom?

Tim

Definitely only need one dome. There are some incidental dives like the Sugar Wreck ( I think that one could do some macro and fish portraits, but not worth the extra stuff in IMO.

The 10-17 is definitely the most versatile lens, but one could manage with a fixed fisheye and a wide rectilinear like the 17-35.

I'm going on my 3rd trip in 2 weeks and I plan to take my 10-17 with TC and my 17-35, and my 70-200 for topside. (D700)

... I plan to take my 10-17 with TC and my 17-35, and my 70-200 for topside. (D700)...

Ahh....

... that's the problem: it suggests two ports to accomodate my lenses (10.5mm and 12-24mm or 17-55mm), not to mention a surface telephoto...

Tim

Ahh....

 

... that's the problem: it suggests two ports to accomodate my lenses (10.5mm and 12-24mm or 17-55mm), not to mention a surface telephoto...

 

Tim

 

I use the same dome, just different extensions. (2)

Using a Nexus housing with D300. FP170 port, 40mm ext, +4 diopter for 12-24mm lens. Custom 12-24 port, 60mm ext, +3 or +4 diopter for 17-55mm lens. I couldn't find a good setup for the 17-55 with 170 port - tested different ext rings & diopters. I tried the 17-55 on my first trip, but decided it wasn't wide enough, so back to the 12-24. Don't have a 10-17, but told it will work with 170 port. Abernethy gets great shots with 10-17 but he usually as a bait box in one hand. You just need to be really close (which isn't necessarily a problem a lot of time).

what is the bare minimum lens set to take on a SW trip?

Can I get away with a single dome?

Have I finally got to buy a Tokina fisheye zoom?

Hi Tim,

This is a once in a lifetime trip. Take what you need, just keep it tidy when you are not using those items. I keep my lenses in my carry-on bag on my bunk during the day - so they are not in anyones way. Regarding lenses - this is my advice from the email I send out before the Sharks and Dolphins trips:

"Photographically this is a wide angle trip, but if you have them, there is definitely a role for a number of wide angle lenses. Particularly if you are new to diving with big sharks, a mid-range lens can be very useful for the first few dives. I have always used a 28-70mm a lot, as well as 17-35, 12-24mm and then various fisheyes. First time on Shearwater it is best to start with the longer lenses and work towards to wider ones as you get more used to the experience. Camera to subject distances are usually longer than standard "reef wide-angle" so long strobe arms really help. We'll talk about strobe positioning on the boat. Filters work really well at Tiger Beach, I'll make sure I have some with me."

Once you get used to the sharks a 10-17mm is the perfect lens. The 10.5mm can be a bit wide and bendy much of the time. I would say a 16mm is more use on a DX body than a 10.5mm. The Tokina is the perfect lens for this trip.

The key to getting good photos is being a safe and attentive diver. Jim sees who is really watching the sharks and who isn't - and if he notices you are alert to what is going on then he will soon be inviting you in close to the action and the best place for photos. The people who get stuck in their viewfinders, with no idea what is behind them, or which direction the current is blowing the bait, will generally be positioned furthest away from the action.

Alex

I'd take both your domes as they are small.

Alex's advice is (as usual) about as spot on as I can imagine. I wish I'd said all that!

The only other thing I'd mention (at the risk of being obvious) is to shoot RAW. You're very likely to want to tweak WB after the fact on many of your photos from this trip. Getting WB right (or your camera correctly doing so) in shallow water can be a challenge, and I found that many of my photos looked far better after I "fixed" the WB in the RAW converter.

Here is a good example. This is our fearless leader, Eric Cheng, looking like he's about to be enveloped by sharks, original and after WB correction. BTW, it was shot with a 24mm on a full frame camera.

Ahh....

 

... that's the problem: it suggests two ports to accomodate my lenses (10.5mm and 12-24mm or 17-55mm), not to mention a surface telephoto...

 

Tim

 

Tim,

I'm a little confused. Would you not use the same dome port just with a different extension for these different lenses? As I said, with my Subal, the only thing that would change for these 3 lenses you mention (and the 10-17) would be the extension ring. I've even used my 60mm behind my 8" dome port, and I might throw that in the bag just in case we get to release some baby turtles.

... he can cook whaaaaaayhey!

Now you're scaring me: if you know my waistline, you would see why I was hoping that a Shearwater trip would encourage my photography and not my gustatory habits...

Tim

I'd take both your domes as they are small.

Ta!

As your advice is good, I could be persuaded not to post my dome-polishing picture....

Tim