BEST and WORST dive vacations

[MoonWrasse]

In my case the best vacation was also the worst (talk about extremes...)

Last summer by son and I went to the Marshall Islands, to dive the wrecks of the Atomic Fleet in Bikini lagoon, and the almost unexplored waters of Rongelap Atoll. Our entire gear bag disappeared somewhere between LA and Honolulu, never to be seen again. Fortunately we had our regs and computers in carry-on, but we had to rent everything else (stroke quality of course) at the last minute from a shop in Honolulu. This is after I spent several months assembling the right gear for the deep wreck dives in Bikini...

But the diving in the Marshalls was truly exceptional. The wrecks are historical monuments, and absolutely awesome to dive. The reefs of Rongelap are teeming with sharks and other large critters, we saw dozens of marine species that we had never seen before, and the six of us were the only divers within several hundred miles.

Dive vacation of a lifetime, and frustration of a lifetime.

Sounds wonderful - did you perchance see the battleship Nagato, Yamamoto's flagship during the attack on Pearl harbor? It was also the sister ship of the Mutsu, which there's a thread devoted to diving it on SB.

 

[vjongene]

Sounds wonderful - did you perchance see the battleship Nagato, Yamamoto's flagship during the attack on Pearl harbor? It was also the sister ship of the Mutsu, which there's a thread devoted to diving it on SB.

Yes, we did dive the Nagato. Unfortunately, because battleships are top-heavy, it rests almost exactly upside-down, making penetration difficult unless you are trained for wreck diving. However, the superstructure broke off during the sinking of the ship, so that one can actually visit the bridge from where Yamamato gave his orders. The 16" guns, which were secured with bayonet mounts, are still in place and intact. The screws, several times the size of a diver, are probably the star attraction. I have attached a picture of one of the screws taken by Tim Williams, the manager and head DM at Bikini for the last few years.

 

[Tobagoman]

I'd have to say my best dive are actually 3 dives that are tied for best for various reasons. The 1st is a dive off of Tahiti that put in with a humpback whale that was being rather playful.... a fantastic experience. The second was at Rangiroa atoll at Tiputa pass which was a extremely fast roller coaster drift dive with thousands of fish that looked like the Australian current out of "Finding Nemo". The 3rd was the reefs of of Mona Island in the Caribbean, rich diversity and completely unspoiled (at least at the time in the early 80's).
My worst; some of the dives in the Chesapeake Bay when the visibility drops to a foot or less, but they are still enjoyable dives!

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Best Dive Vacation: Tie 1) Little Cayman; 2) Turks & Caicos; 3) Cozumel.
Worst Dive Vacation: Tie: 1) Antigua; 2) Jamaica.

 

[Nehallenia]

The best dives we've had were probably out of the El Colony Hotel at Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. The reef was absolutley virgin and undamaged, the sponges fantastic, the boats and DM's unhurried and expert. The dives we did with nature Island Dive in Soufriere Bay, Dominica were nearly as good...and one superlative 70 minute night dive was probably the nicest dive I've ever done. Also, the Dominica Dives were the most comfortable and relaxing dives we've done. Short boat rides, chance to come in and relax between dives, small groups and excellent, laid back but expert DM's.

Purely for the Diving British Columbia, Canada's Browning Wall is hard to beat. Every milimetre is crammed with life, some of it relatively gigantic. But this is in 46 F water, in current, in dry suits with HP steel tanks and all the extra fuss and bother these entail.

Worst dive? Some of the local lake diving, not worth going into detail about! The water can be so murkey that no additional courses in night diving are really needed after a few of these.

Unhurried but expert, laid back but expert, sounds like a recipe for life, almost! I am pleased to see a Canadian destination in here! The water is warmer on the East Coast, by the way!

 

[Nehallenia]

Yes, we did dive the Nagato. Unfortunately, because battleships are top-heavy, it rests almost exactly upside-down, making penetration difficult unless you are trained for wreck diving. However, the superstructure broke off during the sinking of the ship, so that one can actually visit the bridge from where Yamamato gave his orders. The 16" guns, which were secured with bayonet mounts, are still in place and intact. The screws, several times the size of a diver, are probably the star attraction. I have attached a picture of one of the screws taken by Tim Williams, the manager and head DM at Bikini for the last few years.

Bikini - one of my dive goals, probably the most distant one at this point!

 

[Kriterian]

The screws, several times the size of a diver, are probably the star attraction. I have attached a picture of one of the screws taken by Tim Williams, the manager and head DM at Bikini for the last few years.

That's completely amazing! It's hard for me to even imagine the engine or motor that could turn those things. What was the depth of the propellers?

 

[SouthEastFloridaDiver]

I didn't really have any bad dive vacations yet. My best dive was in the Abacos, Bahamas, when my 10-year old son and myself, both just certified a few months before, explored some beautiful coral caverns.

 

[scubamate]

I'm another one whose best and worst happened to be the same trip.

June 1998 we went to Bay Islands Beach Resort in Roatan. The best part was marrying my wife, first underwater then the legal ceremony was a traditional Houduran wedding at the resort with the mayor performing the ceremony the next night.

The worst part was the trip there and back. We flew to Houston to catch a TACA flight to Roatan. They were supposed to page us or have the USAir gate attendant notify us that we were to be escorted to the international concourse because the group we were meeting up with arranged an earlier flight that had become available. TACA forgot to relay the message to USAir. When we were waiting for our regular flight I noticed that the plane was generic white, no marking, no numbers, no nothing. When I asked the gate attendant I was informed they were test flying the plane with the intention of buying it. Got on the plane, no more issues going down.

Coming home we got to the airport (Roatan), boarded the plane for a direct flight to Houston, and as we were taxiing the captain stated we had to go to the mainland first because "they didn't stop on the way down". Once we landed on the mainland, the pilot and copilot left the cabin and started down the steps, the pilot returned and tried to open the cock-pit door which was locked and nobody had a key. We waited over an hour for a locksmith who finally opened it. As we were getting ready for take off, the flight attendant informed us that the caterer hadn't shown up with our meals and there would be nothing to eat in flight but they would give us a voucher to use in Houston. When we got to Houston, our connecting flight home had already taken off and that happened to be the last flight out that night. USAir was kind enough to put us up in the hotel and put us on the first flight out the next morning, in first class. We had dinner, went to bed. We got up the next morning and checked in for our flight home. After which we ordered breakfast at one of the airport restuarants. When I handed the cashier the voucher from TACA she replied, "I'm sorry sir, we do not accept anything from this airline." I wrote them about the fiasco, their response, "we're sorry for the inconvienience but we hope your next trip with us is better."

It was all made better the day we got home because my wife's kids (from a previous marriage) asked me to adopt them! Which I did without hesitation!!

 

[Cecil]

Best a tie Tahiti, Bonaire, Belize and my next dive. Worse to many mud hole lakes to mention, one does come to mind Northwood Lake, NH. I swam out from the boat launch a couple 100 yards and looked down and could see bottom, I put my foot down and touched bottom, I stood up in 3' of water. So I keep pushing out into the lake eventually I was in the middle, still 3' of water and 1/2 mile from shore. After a very long swim/walk back I got back to the boat launch and some fishermen showed up and told me the whole lake is only 3' deep with one hole that was 15' deep, but they did not know where it was. What a waste.

Worse tropical dive was Sunrise Beach on St Martin, dead reef. The offshore reefs were fine though.