Atlantis Dive Resorts
Registered
Atlantis Azores Captain’s Log July 19-26, 2014
Bohol itinerary
Weather: Cloudy, breezy, a bit rainy, but WARM!
Water Temp: 80’s F
Air: 80’s F
Log Entry by: Capt’ Todd
This week we had a nice, small, intimate group that was a family affair. Theresa, who is a long time dive tour operator, her husband Mike and lovely daughters Dani and Roxanne, along with Gene and his son Beau, and Richard who all joined us from the bay area of California.
Sunday dawned and the high winds and seas from a nearby tropical storm didn’t deter us as we made our way to Apo Island for our first diving day. Here there are plenty of leeward calm dive sites that kept everyone happy. The nice soft coral gardens and some of the jagged cliff topography was explored - and all with good visibility. We then returned to our sheltered mooring directly off Atlantis Resort at Dumaguete for the afternoon and night dives and then settled in for a calm night.
Monday began and by now the seas had backed off enough for us to make our cruise to Balicasag Island. We arrived in time to enjoy two dives before lunch and saw plenty of turtles and a wide assortment of fish. The night dive on the top of the reef was a hoot for Danielle, Richard and Beau. We saw an assortment of nocturnal critters, including several species of eel and a gang of anemone crabs.
Tuesday we stayed around Balicasag Island for the morning dives where dive one included a sighting of the world famous “Jacknado” - the local school of bigeye trevally that performs an underwater ballet that includes a tight swirling formation resembling a tornado! Afterwards we headed north to Cabilao Island and took refuge from the prevailing south winds on the north side of the island where we enjoyed a nice wall dive before the day was done.
Wednesday everyone woke up to beautiful sunny skies and light breezes. Some new sites were explored on the backside of the island (while we are here) with the help of some local info, before we headed over to our usual mooring and enjoyed our usual dive sites.
Thursday we splashed in for couple more morning dives here at Cabilao Island and then we were off to Panglao for the afternoon. A leisurely 20-mile cruise down the Cebu Strait was just the thing and got everyone re-charged for the afternoon. DM Ambo took us all to the wall east of our mooring first off and we all had a good time exploring the caves, along with the nooks and crannies this area is known for. Along the dive were sightings of a large zebra moray, a banded sea crate and quite a few pairs of striped pipefish. Everyone traded the night dive in for a trip to the town at Alona Beach to sample a cocktail at a local pub, but returned in time for Chef Xtian’s “Filipino Night”.
Friday started with an early morning arrival at Oslob to snorkel (in a crowd-free weekday session) with the whale sharks. Naturally, everyone was STOKED! A stop at Sumilon Island followed and we wrapping up our diving with a high-speed drift dive at Liluan. Everyone liked that! Afterwards we dropped our departing guests all off at the pier, where a van was waiting to take them first to Moalboal and then on to Malapascua for still more diving to follow!
Bohol itinerary
Weather: Cloudy, breezy, a bit rainy, but WARM!
Water Temp: 80’s F
Air: 80’s F
Log Entry by: Capt’ Todd
This week we had a nice, small, intimate group that was a family affair. Theresa, who is a long time dive tour operator, her husband Mike and lovely daughters Dani and Roxanne, along with Gene and his son Beau, and Richard who all joined us from the bay area of California.
Sunday dawned and the high winds and seas from a nearby tropical storm didn’t deter us as we made our way to Apo Island for our first diving day. Here there are plenty of leeward calm dive sites that kept everyone happy. The nice soft coral gardens and some of the jagged cliff topography was explored - and all with good visibility. We then returned to our sheltered mooring directly off Atlantis Resort at Dumaguete for the afternoon and night dives and then settled in for a calm night.
Monday began and by now the seas had backed off enough for us to make our cruise to Balicasag Island. We arrived in time to enjoy two dives before lunch and saw plenty of turtles and a wide assortment of fish. The night dive on the top of the reef was a hoot for Danielle, Richard and Beau. We saw an assortment of nocturnal critters, including several species of eel and a gang of anemone crabs.
Tuesday we stayed around Balicasag Island for the morning dives where dive one included a sighting of the world famous “Jacknado” - the local school of bigeye trevally that performs an underwater ballet that includes a tight swirling formation resembling a tornado! Afterwards we headed north to Cabilao Island and took refuge from the prevailing south winds on the north side of the island where we enjoyed a nice wall dive before the day was done.
Wednesday everyone woke up to beautiful sunny skies and light breezes. Some new sites were explored on the backside of the island (while we are here) with the help of some local info, before we headed over to our usual mooring and enjoyed our usual dive sites.
Thursday we splashed in for couple more morning dives here at Cabilao Island and then we were off to Panglao for the afternoon. A leisurely 20-mile cruise down the Cebu Strait was just the thing and got everyone re-charged for the afternoon. DM Ambo took us all to the wall east of our mooring first off and we all had a good time exploring the caves, along with the nooks and crannies this area is known for. Along the dive were sightings of a large zebra moray, a banded sea crate and quite a few pairs of striped pipefish. Everyone traded the night dive in for a trip to the town at Alona Beach to sample a cocktail at a local pub, but returned in time for Chef Xtian’s “Filipino Night”.
Friday started with an early morning arrival at Oslob to snorkel (in a crowd-free weekday session) with the whale sharks. Naturally, everyone was STOKED! A stop at Sumilon Island followed and we wrapping up our diving with a high-speed drift dive at Liluan. Everyone liked that! Afterwards we dropped our departing guests all off at the pier, where a van was waiting to take them first to Moalboal and then on to Malapascua for still more diving to follow!
