The Explosive Growth of Live-Aboards

1984 was a watershed year. A half-dozen major vessels, each worth nearly a million dollars, were suddenly devoted to divers. Clients no longer had to trade away their comfort and privacy to achieve more diving on better reefs. Air conditioning, sun decks with chaise lounges and barbecues, freezers to make any fine food possible, on-board E-6 processing, water makers to allow far larger capacity, private double cabins, queen sized beds, private baths and showers, air conditioned dining rooms, ice makers, camera tables, private dive gear storage and other amenities are now widely available on the world's leading live-aboards.

During the past decade, the facilities of hotels and live-aboards have converged. You may now enjoy the characteristics of a hotel and yet be literally hundreds of miles from civilization. Most quality live-aboard cruisers can easily travel a hundred miles while you enjoy a good night's sleep.

This evolution of live-aboard vessels had two profound consequences for international dive travel:

1. The market expanded enormously, as women, children and couples enjoyed the sensational diving adventures once restricted to only the hardiest explorers;
2. The horizons of diving expanded exponentially to include entire new areas of the globe, each representing thousands of new sites. This is truly the great seafaring era of dive travel, and the new treasures you see among our programs were in many cases only discovered within the past two years.

At this point it is important to offer a basic caution. Not all live-aboards are great live-aboards. The current boom has caused owners of boats that have failed at everything else to run up a diver's flag. After a few frenzied seasons these marginal vessels are now disappearing from the market. The value of a service company like mine is to have up-to-date knowledge about the real choices you, the customer, face.

There are live-aboards that we admire, but many more that we totally reject. The reasons are fundamental: many clients have followed our recommendations for over twenty years. We never want to jeopardize that relationship with a questionable offering. That is why we personally visit vessels and reefs we offer you. We want you to have the facts to make an informed choice.

I am is dedicated to offering the finest service, and the finest products, in dive travel. Let us welcome you to our worldwide family of traveling divers.

As we were building a fleet of large floating hotels, we discovered a persistent need for smaller, top-quality live-aboards for 3-6 divers on flexible schedules.

Couples and families wanted to pick a date and have a completely equipped dive cruiser all to themselves. For this market we developed Ocean Hunter, an opulent 60-footer that anchors right on Palau's greatest sites for direct diving off the main boat (no long chase-boat rides), Elias Mann, a 68-foot motor/sailer in Baja, California, and The spectacular 60 foot yacht The Inzan Tiger for the schooling hammerheads of Malpelo.

Wherever and whenever you want to dive, I can recommend a personalized adventure for you!

I hope these pages have communicated to you our attitude toward your diving vacation. I understand that you've waited months for it! I understand that you have a lot of emotional energy invested in it. I care about your vacation as no one else does. Entrust your diving vacation to me, and you'll have one of the great adventures of your life. You'll become one of the growing family of divers who contact me again and again for advice on their diving vacations.

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