Ed Marshall
Contributor
OK, so I know this is not the Bahamas forum but no one ever posts there, so I figured I'd post the report of my recent trip to Atlantis here.
First off, Atlantis is stunning. Truly spectacular. You can see some of my photos of the resort here.
But I did 6 dives with Bahama Divers while I was there. I chose Bahama Divers over the other major operation, Stuart's Cove, based on proximity to Atlantis. I was happy to be picked up for a 5-minute ride to the boat dock every morning rather than a 1-hour ride.
However, it did not start out well. The first day (Monday, Nov. 26) I was one of 2 divers on a boat with 7-8 snorklers. The first site was called Trinity Caves (although it was really just a series of overhangs in a reef). The depth was about 45 feet. Visibility was near 100 feet and the reef itself was beautiful. There were lionfish everywhere (more on this later). The divemaster even took me to a freshwater spring at about 30 feet. It was just a hole in the reef but the water coming out was cold and I could see the mixing of freshwater and saltwater. The temperature was a comfy 79 degrees and my 3/2 wetsuit was entirely adequate for this 40 minute dive.
First problem: Bahama Divers dives strict tables. I use a computer. I surfaced with about 1500 psi which was a bit frustrating. Second problem: my computer started giving me a low-battery reading during the dive and completely died on me when I reached the surface.
The second dive was terrible. We hit a reef with a max depth of 20 feet. It was pretty, but the surge was awful. My ears took a beating as the surge took me from 15 feet to 8 feet every few seconds. My ears usually get a little worn out over multiple days of diving anyway, so this was irritating. I was also using a reg set from the boat due to my dead computer. This was only my second dive since certification (75 dives) without my trusty regs and I remembered why I paid so much for them. In the end, I felt like I was just taken snorkling. The snorklers all thought it was great, by the way.
Back at the hotel, I disassembled my computer and realized that the battery compartment had leaked, corroding the battery all to hell. I cleaned the battery and resealed the computer. Presto, full battery. I have yet to take this up with Tom's, who serviced my computer in September, but I will.
On day two, things got better. Now there were 6 divers and 2 snorklers. We dove a wreck (the de la Salle) and it was quite nice. Max depth was 68 feet, the temperature was 79, and we stayed down for 30 minutes. I still surfaced with about 1000 psi but this was a vast improvement. On this dive I brought my camera. It's my old digital in a housing I got for $50. There's no strobe or anything, but I got some great photos. You can check them out here.
The second dive was also quite nice, another wreck at about 35 feet and a stunning artificial reef that protects the Nassau harbor. The table diving was again quite frustrating because of all the air I had left, but what are you going to do.
This is where I digress and praise Aldora Divers in Cozumel with their 120-cubic-foot tanks and 80-minute, computer-driven dives.
The third day my computer was still fine after the surgery I performed on day one. This time there were no snorklers at all and we hit the Blue Hole, a collapsed cavern that opens at about 40 feet and plunges to 200 or so. There are a few photos from this dive at the previous link but my camera battery died just before we encountered a stingray about 6 feet across. There were sand-tiger sharks and I saw the distant shadow of a grey reef shark. Unfortunately, the temperature here was 73 degrees at a max depth of about 85 feet. My 3/2 was barely adequate and I surfaced with 700 psi and a chill.
My final dive was a shallow (30 feet), but gorgeous reef. I haven't seen such a nice reef anywhere in the Carribean (admittedly, my experience is limited to Mexico and the Bahamas). It was a nice dive but the 75 degree water took its toll eventually and I was happy to surface with 1500 psi.
The lionfish. From talking to the Bahamian dive crew, I learned that these Indo-Pacific fish had appeared in the Bahamas about a year ago. They were everywhere. I saw 50, at least. The theory is that the fry escaped from Atlantis's impressive saltwater aquariums or a hobbyist dumped them from an home aquarium. Either way, they have devastated the local lobster population and who knows what they'll hit next without any natural predators and near perfect natural defenses (poison, and lots of it). All it took was 2.
In the end, it was a satisfactory dive trip but it did not equal my prior experiences in Cozumel. The Bahamian dive crews were courteous and easy going but the table diving was a little irritating, as was the fact that I felt like I did a day of snorkling and 2 days of diving rather than the 3 days of diving I planned. C'est la guerre.
First off, Atlantis is stunning. Truly spectacular. You can see some of my photos of the resort here.
But I did 6 dives with Bahama Divers while I was there. I chose Bahama Divers over the other major operation, Stuart's Cove, based on proximity to Atlantis. I was happy to be picked up for a 5-minute ride to the boat dock every morning rather than a 1-hour ride.
However, it did not start out well. The first day (Monday, Nov. 26) I was one of 2 divers on a boat with 7-8 snorklers. The first site was called Trinity Caves (although it was really just a series of overhangs in a reef). The depth was about 45 feet. Visibility was near 100 feet and the reef itself was beautiful. There were lionfish everywhere (more on this later). The divemaster even took me to a freshwater spring at about 30 feet. It was just a hole in the reef but the water coming out was cold and I could see the mixing of freshwater and saltwater. The temperature was a comfy 79 degrees and my 3/2 wetsuit was entirely adequate for this 40 minute dive.
First problem: Bahama Divers dives strict tables. I use a computer. I surfaced with about 1500 psi which was a bit frustrating. Second problem: my computer started giving me a low-battery reading during the dive and completely died on me when I reached the surface.
The second dive was terrible. We hit a reef with a max depth of 20 feet. It was pretty, but the surge was awful. My ears took a beating as the surge took me from 15 feet to 8 feet every few seconds. My ears usually get a little worn out over multiple days of diving anyway, so this was irritating. I was also using a reg set from the boat due to my dead computer. This was only my second dive since certification (75 dives) without my trusty regs and I remembered why I paid so much for them. In the end, I felt like I was just taken snorkling. The snorklers all thought it was great, by the way.
Back at the hotel, I disassembled my computer and realized that the battery compartment had leaked, corroding the battery all to hell. I cleaned the battery and resealed the computer. Presto, full battery. I have yet to take this up with Tom's, who serviced my computer in September, but I will.
On day two, things got better. Now there were 6 divers and 2 snorklers. We dove a wreck (the de la Salle) and it was quite nice. Max depth was 68 feet, the temperature was 79, and we stayed down for 30 minutes. I still surfaced with about 1000 psi but this was a vast improvement. On this dive I brought my camera. It's my old digital in a housing I got for $50. There's no strobe or anything, but I got some great photos. You can check them out here.
The second dive was also quite nice, another wreck at about 35 feet and a stunning artificial reef that protects the Nassau harbor. The table diving was again quite frustrating because of all the air I had left, but what are you going to do.
This is where I digress and praise Aldora Divers in Cozumel with their 120-cubic-foot tanks and 80-minute, computer-driven dives.
The third day my computer was still fine after the surgery I performed on day one. This time there were no snorklers at all and we hit the Blue Hole, a collapsed cavern that opens at about 40 feet and plunges to 200 or so. There are a few photos from this dive at the previous link but my camera battery died just before we encountered a stingray about 6 feet across. There were sand-tiger sharks and I saw the distant shadow of a grey reef shark. Unfortunately, the temperature here was 73 degrees at a max depth of about 85 feet. My 3/2 was barely adequate and I surfaced with 700 psi and a chill.
My final dive was a shallow (30 feet), but gorgeous reef. I haven't seen such a nice reef anywhere in the Carribean (admittedly, my experience is limited to Mexico and the Bahamas). It was a nice dive but the 75 degree water took its toll eventually and I was happy to surface with 1500 psi.
The lionfish. From talking to the Bahamian dive crew, I learned that these Indo-Pacific fish had appeared in the Bahamas about a year ago. They were everywhere. I saw 50, at least. The theory is that the fry escaped from Atlantis's impressive saltwater aquariums or a hobbyist dumped them from an home aquarium. Either way, they have devastated the local lobster population and who knows what they'll hit next without any natural predators and near perfect natural defenses (poison, and lots of it). All it took was 2.
In the end, it was a satisfactory dive trip but it did not equal my prior experiences in Cozumel. The Bahamian dive crews were courteous and easy going but the table diving was a little irritating, as was the fact that I felt like I did a day of snorkling and 2 days of diving rather than the 3 days of diving I planned. C'est la guerre.
