fire_diver
Contributor
Well, I rolled back to my own home after a week on a cruise ship in the western caribbean. I was fine last night, but now the world is still rocking. I have come away with mixed feelings about the diving on this trip. After rough seas on day 1, the diving was cancelled at Key West. Don't blame them either, the water looked like milk when we pulled in. Day 2 saw even worse seas. My stateroom was at least 30ft off the water and I had waves almost even with my window. After arriving at Grand Cayman, we were promptly turned around by the harbor master as the conditions were too rough to allow tendering. 7 total cruise ships left were turned away then. That must suck for their local economy! Finally we had a nice time on the way to Cozumel, where I actually got to dive!! But here is where I feel conflicted as well.
The cruise ship had booked the dive through Sand Dollar. It was a good boat, with only 8 divers so I didnt feel like it was a "cattle boat". The crew were very friendly, helpful, and proffesional. But it was a 'baby sitting' dive. We were told NOT to go below 80 feet, so all I got to do was look over the edge of the wall, not see any of the great stuff down it. I only got a max depth of 77fsw. The shallow reefs we did dive had evidence of a lot of damage. Broken corral was scattered all over the bottom. We were also limited on our bottom time.
The second dive I maxed out my depth at 46FSW, but we were limited by the DM to bottom time again. So when the DM signaled to go the the safety stop, I still had half a tank of air and plenty of nitrogen room on my computer. The only thing sadder than ending my dive then, was that I had burned through my 36 exposures of film FAST. I found several anemanes (SP?) that would have made great macro shots, but my film was full of corrals, sponges, fish, and a green turtle, not to mention a shot of my dive buddy, and one of me
Despite the things I didnt like about the dive, it was still awsome. Vis had to be close to 200 foot. I didnt feel limited to how far I could see at all! The fish were awesome! It really did feel like swimming in an aquarium. The water temp was great too. I dove without a wetsuit, just my trunks and my gear, and never felt cold at all.
You members of SB helped me out too! While doing my first ever blue-water stops, the words of Uncle Pug came to mind as I tried using my depth meter to hold my stop. Yeah, I probably looked like a yoyo at first. Then I remembered someone said to watch the stuff in the water as a guide. BINGO! I knew instantly if I needed to exhale a little more or breath a bit deeper to maintain my depth. Thanks people!
SO, even though it could have been better, it was still an awesome dive, and Scuba board is definately the best place to futher your informal diving education.
PS- On the drive north through Dallas last night I scared my wife a bit when I looked over and shouted "SCUBA TOYS!!!!" LOL. I made her promise to drop me off their when she goes shopping in big D next time.
FD
The cruise ship had booked the dive through Sand Dollar. It was a good boat, with only 8 divers so I didnt feel like it was a "cattle boat". The crew were very friendly, helpful, and proffesional. But it was a 'baby sitting' dive. We were told NOT to go below 80 feet, so all I got to do was look over the edge of the wall, not see any of the great stuff down it. I only got a max depth of 77fsw. The shallow reefs we did dive had evidence of a lot of damage. Broken corral was scattered all over the bottom. We were also limited on our bottom time.
The second dive I maxed out my depth at 46FSW, but we were limited by the DM to bottom time again. So when the DM signaled to go the the safety stop, I still had half a tank of air and plenty of nitrogen room on my computer. The only thing sadder than ending my dive then, was that I had burned through my 36 exposures of film FAST. I found several anemanes (SP?) that would have made great macro shots, but my film was full of corrals, sponges, fish, and a green turtle, not to mention a shot of my dive buddy, and one of me
Despite the things I didnt like about the dive, it was still awsome. Vis had to be close to 200 foot. I didnt feel limited to how far I could see at all! The fish were awesome! It really did feel like swimming in an aquarium. The water temp was great too. I dove without a wetsuit, just my trunks and my gear, and never felt cold at all.
You members of SB helped me out too! While doing my first ever blue-water stops, the words of Uncle Pug came to mind as I tried using my depth meter to hold my stop. Yeah, I probably looked like a yoyo at first. Then I remembered someone said to watch the stuff in the water as a guide. BINGO! I knew instantly if I needed to exhale a little more or breath a bit deeper to maintain my depth. Thanks people!
SO, even though it could have been better, it was still an awesome dive, and Scuba board is definately the best place to futher your informal diving education.
PS- On the drive north through Dallas last night I scared my wife a bit when I looked over and shouted "SCUBA TOYS!!!!" LOL. I made her promise to drop me off their when she goes shopping in big D next time.
FD
