Sky Dancer December 2003

Galapagos was one of the legendary dive locations – I had not gone because the description was very similar to Cocos Island. Since my trip to Cocos had not been very good, the lure of hammerhead sharks was not enough to get me to go. However, this time, I did not have enough time to make a trip to the western pacific or beyond and wanted something more than Caribbean diving, so I decided to venture to Galapagos.

Having decided, it was only a matter of choosing which live aboard dive boat. There were two Aggressors, the sky Dancer and the Lammer Law. I heard that the aggressors frequently traveled together – that would put too many divers on a site at a time. I heard the Lammer law frequently did not travel to Wolf and Darwin islands, so I chose the Sky Dancer. I turned out to be an excellent choice. IT was very comfortable (no bunks for the double rooms). The food was good and the crew was excellent.

The worst part of my trip was continental’s failure to get my baggage to me before the sky dancer moved away from the airports. Apparently they had priority cargo and left most of the passengers’ baggage in Houston. I was not alone. Another sky dancer passenger also was without her clothes and dive gear. She had arrived a day earlier than I and it still did not help. Apparently this was not an uncommon experience for continental. I was especially disappointed because continental frequently told their top tier fliers (I was one), about the priority treatment their baggage would receive. I was not satisfied even after contacting customer service on my return and have not flow Continental since except to use up my frequent flier miles on free trips.

The sky dancer did rent me equipment and even a video housing and camera (without lights) so I was able dive and record the trip. However I would have been much more comfortable with my own gear – especially my dry suit.

I enjoyed both the above water excursions and the beneath the sea life, but did not get close to the big critters. We did not see any whale sharks; apparently, they are seasonable visitors, July-September being the best months to see them.

Warning the water is cold and the currents are strong – all Year round. This is not a location for those not comfortable in those conditions.

Click here to see the video

Click here to learn more about Galapagos

Click here to read about the Sky Dancer