Atlantis Dive Resorts
Registered
Atlantis Azores Captain’s Log June 21 – 28, 2014
Bohol Itinerary
Weather: Partially sunny with clouds and pleasantly warm
Water: Low 80’s
Air: High 80’s
Seas: Calm, accented by some “brisk” breezes out of the south occasionally
Log Entry by: Capt’ Todd
Welcome to the Duggan group! John Duggan, diver of more places than anybody, and a life-long advocate of “sharing the adventure” of scuba diving (he’s been teaching handicapped since time began), is aboard along with some of his friends this week. We are doing the Bohol Itinerary this week for him, something he hasn’t done yet in his FIVE previous visits here, so he’s excited!
Sunday: An early morning visit to the Whale Sharks of Oslob ensured that we got to them before the Sunday crowds, as this is a very famous local attraction. We then spent the rest of the day at Sumilon Island. This is a small picturesque spot with only one small resort on the island and lots of great wall diving and beautiful shallow coral gardens.
Monday: Balicasag Island is our stop and everybody loved it here. We discovered a massive school of jacks (Jacknado!) and lots of turtles amid the calm conditions and great visibility.
Tuesday: The Azores ran 22 miles up the Cebu Strait during the night to Cabilao Island. Once again, calm conditions prevailed with great visibility and little current, along with lots of sunshine. :cool2: Guest Ana compared the first dive to…well, it didn’t compare, it was better than any dive she’s had before! Crystal clear with the morning sun lighting up the coral garden in the shallows, a sight to behold.
Wednesday: We weren’t finished with Balicasag Island yet, and we returned to finish diving all the other sites this place offers, with once again great conditions. After a noon departure we headed over to Panglao for the afternoon and next day.
Thursday: We explored quite a ways up and down the Panglao coast in the skiffs, as this place has numerous sites, and they are spread out in both directions from our mooring (no anchoring here!). The variety of marine life we encountered made it definitely worth the skiff rides. And the terrain was a welcome change to all the wall diving we’ve had. Lots of slopes were loaded with critters, punctuated with some wall sections and coral heads. Some of the guests went ashore briefly at Alona Beach for some “Trinket haggling” at lunchtime, returning in time to not miss a dive!
Friday: We were planning on Siquijor Island to wrap up our voyage, but I changed course in the middle of the night and headed to Liluan Pt. for calmer water and everyone got some enjoyable drift dives! Fortunately it slowed to a stop for awhile so everyone could get some pics close up, and then it picked up the other way and we wound up back where we started! We were back to the resort at Dumaguete by mid-afternoon and everybody relaxed. Later we all went ashore to Atlantis for dinner at our Toko’s restaurant and then off to bed early…for more diving was still to come as this group all have another week at the resort, real diving enthusiasts!
Bohol Itinerary
Weather: Partially sunny with clouds and pleasantly warm
Water: Low 80’s
Air: High 80’s
Seas: Calm, accented by some “brisk” breezes out of the south occasionally
Log Entry by: Capt’ Todd
Welcome to the Duggan group! John Duggan, diver of more places than anybody, and a life-long advocate of “sharing the adventure” of scuba diving (he’s been teaching handicapped since time began), is aboard along with some of his friends this week. We are doing the Bohol Itinerary this week for him, something he hasn’t done yet in his FIVE previous visits here, so he’s excited!
Sunday: An early morning visit to the Whale Sharks of Oslob ensured that we got to them before the Sunday crowds, as this is a very famous local attraction. We then spent the rest of the day at Sumilon Island. This is a small picturesque spot with only one small resort on the island and lots of great wall diving and beautiful shallow coral gardens.
Monday: Balicasag Island is our stop and everybody loved it here. We discovered a massive school of jacks (Jacknado!) and lots of turtles amid the calm conditions and great visibility.
Tuesday: The Azores ran 22 miles up the Cebu Strait during the night to Cabilao Island. Once again, calm conditions prevailed with great visibility and little current, along with lots of sunshine. :cool2: Guest Ana compared the first dive to…well, it didn’t compare, it was better than any dive she’s had before! Crystal clear with the morning sun lighting up the coral garden in the shallows, a sight to behold.
Wednesday: We weren’t finished with Balicasag Island yet, and we returned to finish diving all the other sites this place offers, with once again great conditions. After a noon departure we headed over to Panglao for the afternoon and next day.
Thursday: We explored quite a ways up and down the Panglao coast in the skiffs, as this place has numerous sites, and they are spread out in both directions from our mooring (no anchoring here!). The variety of marine life we encountered made it definitely worth the skiff rides. And the terrain was a welcome change to all the wall diving we’ve had. Lots of slopes were loaded with critters, punctuated with some wall sections and coral heads. Some of the guests went ashore briefly at Alona Beach for some “Trinket haggling” at lunchtime, returning in time to not miss a dive!
Friday: We were planning on Siquijor Island to wrap up our voyage, but I changed course in the middle of the night and headed to Liluan Pt. for calmer water and everyone got some enjoyable drift dives! Fortunately it slowed to a stop for awhile so everyone could get some pics close up, and then it picked up the other way and we wound up back where we started! We were back to the resort at Dumaguete by mid-afternoon and everybody relaxed. Later we all went ashore to Atlantis for dinner at our Toko’s restaurant and then off to bed early…for more diving was still to come as this group all have another week at the resort, real diving enthusiasts!
