Scuba diving and sailing are two of the best things to do on the water. Spend a few hours on the open water, anchor your boat then dive into the water to check out the life underwater. Sounds like the perfect way to spend an afternoon, doesn’t it?
Are you on the water for the scuba diving or the sailing? If you are there for the sailing then enjoying the boat for the day with an hour or two set aside for your dive then a sailboat might be perfect. A small group of divers near an isolated beach area or cove is ideal, but sailboats do have their disadvantages as well.
Diving from the Boat
Sailboats aren’t necessarily ideal for diving, you will have to make some allowance for it to work for you. Typically divers want to get from the shore to the dive site in the fastest way possible they aren’t always interested in sailing. Sailboats are built for the ocean and the decks are higher than diving boats. Diving requires gear and the easier it is to get in and out of the water the better. When the boat is more than 6 feet from the water getting in the water can be dangerous.
Diving from the Dinghy
Normally when scuba divers dive from a sailboat they will use the dinghy that comes with the sailboat. It is small and inflatable with a short ladder and it makes getting in and out of the water easier and safer. Another advantage to using the dinghy is you are sheltered by the sailboat. The dinghy can also take you to a different dive spot if need be. There are disadvantages to using the dinghy from the sailboat, you need to transfer gear back and forth and if you don’t have someone with you the dinghy is left unattended.
Space is at a Premium
Sailboats are marvels of engineering when it comes to how the space is used, that being said space is always hard to come by. All the available space is usually taken up by sailing equipment, divers are left with keeping gear in your equipment bags. Sometimes there are racks for you to store your oxygen tanks in the cockpit but when there isn’t storing them is a hassle.
Heading off to the Caribbean and spending a day sailing around the islands and diving to see the reef and tropical fish is the perfect way to spend your next vacation. The right boat can make the trip even more extraordinary, so make sure you add it to your bucket list.