Carib Dancer Captain's Logs

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Oct 6 – 13, 2012
Water Temperature 79-84 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Saturday afternoon late after some delayed flights, with everyone boarded the Carib Dancer and its guest Luis, Antonio H., Antonio S., Francisco, Carrie, Charles, Jon, Laura, Angel, Greg, Marta B., Paul, Ana and Marta H. departed its home dock at Elizabeth On Bay and started our trip out to the Exuma Islands. On the way to the Exumas from Nassau there’s an area called the Yellow Banks. The Yellow Banks is a very shallow area of spotted coral heads that should only be crossed during daylight hours. The Carib Dancer anchored for the night just on the outside of the Yellow Banks. It was a very nice night under the stars.

Sunday morning early we pulled anchor and headed across the Yellow Banks for our first dive site Pillar Wall. The top of the reef is only about 40 feet and is covered with soft corals. While diving Pillar Wall we saw sharks, mackerel and a schools of Atlantic spadefish near the mooring line. We nest headed to a shallow dive site called Lobster No Lobster. We could have stayed here all week and enjoyed the colors and diverse marine life on Lobster No Lobster. We took pictures and video of lobsters, rays, and beautiful nurse sharks. As we entered the water to enjoy the night dive about 30 juvenile reef squid greeted us at the dive platform.

Monday our first dive site was Crab Mountain Wall. This dive site is so big we have two areas. One is near the wall and the other in shallow waters. On this dive we were diving near the wall where we enjoyed swim thrus full of silversides, sharks and a very colorful wall. After shooting some excellent video and pictures on Crab Mountain we made the short 4-mile run to the wreck of the Austin Smith. The top of the wreck sits in about 40 feet of water. The main attraction on the Austin Smith during the day is Caribbean reef sharks, lots of Caribbean reef sharks. While swimming along the wreck some of these sharks and other marine life swim within a few feet of us. We could easily fill a memory card with video and stills of sharks, groupers and schools of tropical fish. We finished this Monday on one of my favorite dive sites called Hammerhead Gulch. As we were pulling into the Gulch we saw several turtles on the surface. While underwater we again saw several turtles as well as crabs, rays and schools of juvenile tropical fish. It was like swimming in an aquarium.

As we continued the week of diving the Exumas, Black Tip Wall was where we really enjoyed swim thrus and a beautiful wall full of colorful sponges and sea whips. We ventured further south into the Exuma Park to Danger Reef where as we pulled up to the mooring several sharks and large black groupers swam straight up to the boat and dive platform. Diving Danger Reef is always fun with the sharks and grouper, however swimming along the high profile corals heads you can find just about any creature in a Marine ID book. Our last dive for the day was 3 Peaks Reef. Lobster, lobster and more lobsters were seen while diving on 3 Peaks, especially on the night dive. Too bad we were in the park and a no take zone, but that’s also the reason these creatures were so big.

Amberjack Reef was our first dive on Wednesday Morning. Amberjack is close to Danger, so it was no wonder the sharks and groupers met us as we pulled up to the dive site. The sun was just right this morning for some great pictures of channel clinging crabs, schools of horse-eye jacks under the boat and Atlantic spadefish near the mooring line. Slowly making our way back North we stopped and enjoyed Cracked Coral Head. The wall here is awesome, but I really like going thru the swim thrus when they are covered with little silversides. When the light comes in from the hole in the top of the reef, shooting pictures inside the swim thrus is all fun.

The wreck of the Austin Smith is such a fun dive that a lot of time guest want to repeat the dive. Today was one of those days. As divers we love being underwater, but there’s something about being underwater when a five-foot shark swims within six inches of you and you feel ok about that experience. On the wreck of the Austin Smith we feel that on ever dive. So many people sit in an office or at home wondering what it would feel like to be that close to such a powerful creature. Ok, it feels nice and lets not forget the huge loggerhead turtle. When you come to the Bahamas and dive with us on the Carib Dancer make sure you ask about diving the wreck of the Austin Smith. To finish a great week of diving we went to Barracuda Shoals. This shallow dive site has beautiful coral head that are covered with hard and soft corals. Today we enjoyed wonderful visibility and very warm waters.

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, 2^nd Captain Mario, Instructor Gregory, Instructor Nicole and Chef David.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Water Temperature 77-80 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Due to Hurricane Sandy we had a few flight delays, however Carib Dancers guests Zurab, Levan, Alexey, Galina, Lidia, Matvey, Otari, Svetlana V., Pavel, Elena, Andrey and Sertlana G., were onboard and ready to depart our home port of Elizabeth On Bay to make the short journey to enjoy a week in the Exuma Islands.

We knew this week enjoying the Exuma Islands was going to be a little different because of Hurricane Sandy. In the first part of the week on dive sites like Crab Mountain and Jewfish visibility wasn’t the best, but we still enjoyed. The fish seemed a little more friendly and I had a bar jack swim to within a couple of inches of my mask while I was on the morning line doing my safety stop. One of the good things about the Exuma Islands is the dive sites are tidal. This worked to our advantage, because every time the tide changed visibility improved.

After having lunch on one of Highborne Cays beautiful beaches we did a wonderful dive on a shallow reef that was near our anchor. After spending over an hour on the shallow reef we headed out for a nice dive on Blacktip Wall. On this site we enjoyed schools of Horse-Eye Jacks, Spanish Grunts and a few Caribbean Reef Sharks cruising near us.

After diving Blacktip we headed south into the Exuma Park where we enjoyed diving and exploring the island. Our first dive site was Amberjack Reef where the Caribbean Reef Sharks swim up to the Carib Dancer as we pulled up to the mooring. Underwater we saw Sharks, Huge Parrotfish, Large Black Groupers and lots of small tropical fish near the coral heads. After diving Amberjack we headed to the Exuma Park head quarters and did a short walk up to Boo Boo Hill. The view from Boo Boo Hill is one of the best around the Exumas. After enjoying some island time we headed back to Amberjack for an afternoon and night dive.

Early the next morning we did the short trip to one of my favorite dive sites, Jeep Reef. The tide was in our favor so we were able to enjoy two dives on this beautiful reef. The afternoon was spent diving on Danger Reef. Like Amberjack, Danger Reef is known for the sharks. The Caribbean Reef Sharks came by and came close, a very fun dive. After Danger Reef it was time to head north and enjoy the wreck of the Austin Smith.

We did a late afternoon and night dive on the Austin Smith. Swimming with more Sharks, Groupers, schools of Snappers and huge Channel Clinging Crabs. Everyone enjoyed it so much we stayed to do an early morning dive on the wreck. Our last dive of the week was on Pillar Wall. We saw Stingrays, Spadefish, Caribbean Lobsters and some Channel Clinging Crabs.

Even Hurricane Sandy didn’t stop us from having an excellent trip on the Carib Dancer enjoying the Exuma Islands from underwater and topside.

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, 1^st Mate Mario, Engineer Ernie, Instructor Gregory and Chef Shea.

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[Dancer Fleet]

Water Temperature 77-80 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guests Jeff, Bob, Jason, Greg, Rudi G., Rudy S., Fran, David, Simona, Sabrina, Julie, Tammy, Sharon and Christiane departed our home dock at Elizabeth On Bay and started the trip out to the Exuma Islands.

Sunday our first dive site was Pillar Wall. The top of the reef on Pillar Wall is only about 40 feet and is covered with soft corals. While diving Pillar Wall we saw sharks, lots of small shrimps, crabs and a schools of Atlantic spadefish near the mooring line. After Pillar Wall we headed to a shallow dive site called Lobster No Lobster. During the dive we did see Caribbean spiny lobsters, but the find was about 8 different types of nudibranchs, most of them in one area. Because of the tide change we had to move for our night dive. Tonight the dive was on Closemon Reef. This dive site is like diving inside an aquarium, with colorful corals, schools of juvenile fish and shallow water, which made for a long night dive.

Monday we started making bubbles on Blacktip Wall. The visible was very good, which helped us spot Caribbean reef sharks, channel clinging crabs and enjoy short and long swim thru’s. After having a spotted eagle ray swim near us, during the safety stop under the Carib Dancer we took pictures and video of a school of nearly 30 Atlantic spadefish. After enjoying a pair of dives on Blacktip Wall we headed south to the Exuma Park and the dive site called Amberjack. Just like the last time as we pulled up to the mooring several Caribbean reef sharks swam right up to the dive platform. During the dives here we swam with sharks, large black groupers, schools of horse-eye jacks and we even had a loggerhead turtle come by for a look.

Tuesday morning the conditions were right for the Carib Dancer to make its first trip to Eleuthera since starting in the Bahamas. I haven’t been there in a few years and was very excited about getting back to those dive sites. Our first stop was Split Coral where the visibility was some of the best we’ve seen since Hurricane Sandy came through; easily over 100 feet and clear blue. Just a few feet from the mooring we enjoyed the wall that was covered with colorful sponges, coral whips, hard and soft corals. Also covered with fish I came face to face with a juvenile spotted moray eel. Just a short ride north we had dive site number 2 for the day, which was Knucklehead. From the deck of the Carib Dancer we could see ripples in the sand 35 feet below on the bottom. The clear visibility made it very nice to enjoy all the swim thru’s and schools of fish. Our last dive of the day was Monolith. The later afternoon dive was awesome with schools of fish, and a colorful wall and reef area. However the night dive was unbelievable, not only seeing the usual creatures on the reef but under the Carib Dancer schools of silversides gathered. That brought in several types of fish and 8-10 reef squid, which were feeding under the vessel. It was an awesome show.

Wednesday morning we continue north near the island of Eleuthera and dive site number one, Hole In The Wall. On the edge of the wall were lots of fish and colorful sponges and sea whips. Starting about 75 feet I entered the hole and exited at 92 feet over looking a beautiful wall. I enjoyed the hole so much, I had to do that swim thru two more times, and it was just too nice. Our last dive in Eleuthera before headed back to the Exuma Islands was Cave Rock. We swam around scattered coral heads with lots of juvenile fish; a couple of sharks and a hawksbill turtle swam near to saw “hello”. It was very nice swimming around this dive site and going through the swim thru on Cave Rock made the dive even better. After crossing back to the Exuma Islands we finished the day on Jewfish Reef. Lots of swim thru’s and schools of fish. As we were diving we even share a swim thru with one of the Caribbean reef sharks that just kept going back through the same swim thru. That was a little different, sharing a swim thru with a Shark!

Thursday morning and Up Jump The Devil was our first stop of the day. I enjoyed swimming near large groupers, next to huge channel clinging crabs with other creatures near by. But the best sighting was by one of our guests who saw a Hammerhead shark swimming just off the wall. Next stop was Madison Avenue, a shallow dive site. Madison Avenue has lots of ledges to explore while diving here as well as schools of tropical fish. This is one of the dive sites that before you know it, some of us were underwater over an hour. It was time to see more Sharks, up close and personal. We made the short journey to the wreck of the Austin Smith. While diving the wonderful wreck we enjoyed close encounters with at least eight Caribbean reef sharks. Some of the encounters were less than a foot from us while we took pictures and video.

Friday’s last dive of the week was on Whale’s Tail. The top of the wall has lots of hard and soft corals and Whale’s Tail has the longest, most colorful swim thru’s we have in the Exuma Islands. While diving this morning we saw schools of snappers, grunts and Caribbean reef shark came swimming in for a closer look. It was a good way to end a week of excellent diving on the Carib Dancer.

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, 2^nd Captain Mario, Engineer Ernie, Instructor Gregory and Chef Shea.

Total Dives: 26

Sunday: Pillar (2), Lobster No Lobster (2), Closemon (1)
Monday: Blacktip (2), Amberjack (3)
Tuesday: Split Coral Head (2), Knucklehead (1), Monolith (2)
Wednesday: Hole N Wall (1), Cave Rock (1), Jewfish (3)
Thursday: Up Jump The Devil (1), Madison Avenue (1), Austin Smith Wreck (3)
Friday: Whale’s Tail (1)

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Nov 10 – 17, 2012
Water Temperature 77-80 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended


Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guests Irfan, Michael P, Terry, Paul W., Samantha (Sam), Michael S., Julie, Brenna, Chris, Becca, Martha, Dianne, Joyce & Paul W. departed our home port of Elizabeth On Bay for a trip to the Exuma Islands.

Sunday morning we started making bubbles on the dive site called Lobster No Lobster. Lobster No Lobster is a very large shallow dive site with three mooring in different areas to dive. For the morning dive we were on the far eastern mooring, surrounded by shallow colorful coral heads. While diving we saw Caribbean Spiny and Spotted Spiny Lobsters as well as a Hawksbill Turtle. After enjoying Lobster No Lobster we made our way to Closemon Reef. Closemon is one of the reefs we dive during an incoming tide. Diving this site is like diving inside an aquarium that’s covered with soft corals and small underwater creatures, like Pederson Cleaner Shrimp, Banded Coral Shrimp or Yellowline Arrow Crabs.

Monday it was Barracuda Shoals. Several dive sites that we visit have large Barracudas, but this site has to have the biggest. We have a Barracuda that hangs out under the Carib Dancer that is easily 4 feet long. We found lots of tropical fish but the best was seeing 9 Red-Tip Sea Goddess Nudibranch on one small coral head near the mooring line. Flat Rock was next and this dive site was covered with schools of fish. Spanish Grunts, Yellowtail and Gray Snappers. To end the day we did an afternoon and night dive on a small plane wreck just off Ship Channel. The wreck sits in about 15-20 feet of water and surrounded by sand and grass. Lots of fish, lobsters and crabs hang out on the wreck, which makes it easy to get good pictures of marine life. However, sometimes when you can explore the grassy areas you will find some very interesting creatures. We had several guest to just that, but exploring the grassy area around the plane wreck they found an Ogcocephalus nasutus, yes that’s right a Shortnose Batfish. Nice job everyone!

Tuesday morning we headed to Eleuthera and our first dive site of the day was Cave Rock. We found lots of Yellowhead Jawfish, Queen Angelfish, Tiger Groupers and a few Nassau Groupers. Tunnel Rock was next on the list and the swim thru’s here are amazing. Lots of Lobsters, several Spotted Moray Eels and more Golden Crinoid then I could count. Doing the safety stop under the Carib Dancer is always fun but that night we were treated with about 50 Greater Amberjack swimming a circle around us.

Wednesday it was time for a wall dive and the dive site was Hole in the Wall. A hole starting about 75 feet in the reef that curves to come out through the wall around 90 feet. The bight blue color we saw as we swam out the hole was awesome. Cut thru City was our early afternoon dive site. Cut thru City was like an underwater playground, with swim thru’s, turtles and schools of fish. One of the best night dive site in Eleuthera is Knucklehead. It’s shallow and has lots of swim thru’s and lots of marine life. You can spend hours on this site and never see it all; in fact we did just that enjoying every minute of our time underwater.

Thursday morning before headed back to the Exumas we stopped at one of my favorite dive site call Split Coral Head. Split Coral Head dive site is huge coral head that has a large crack down the side and a nice swim thru, where we found lots of marine life to shoot some nice video. Just off the coral head is a beautiful wall and in between is lots of Sharks. Back in the Exumas our first stop was Pillar Wall, which is always a nice dive site. Swimming through the small canyons to the open blue wall is awesome. As we swam thru all the canyons and swim thru’s we saw several types of Feather Stars my favorite being the Golden Crinoid. After Pillar Wall we made our way to the Wreck of The Austin Smith. This dive site gets everyone’s blood pumping, because the Caribbean Reef Sharks swim very close to us we take excellent pictures and video’s. At one point we had at least 8 Caribbean Reef Sharks near us, sometimes within a few inches.

Friday is our last dive day of the charter and this morning we started at a wonderful dive site called Jewfish Wall. We enjoyed lots of swim thru’s, canyons and a very colorful wall. Lots of fish and creatures to see and several guest said it was a great pre breakfast dive. The best part was the colorful swim thru’s. Our last stop of the week was at the Blue Hole. Around the rim of the hole there’s a few coral heads that Angelfish, Snappers, Wrasse and other creatures hide. As our guest Terry said, “That was a fun dive”.

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, Engineer Ernie, Instructor David, Instructor Nikki and Chef Shea.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Nov 17 – 24, 2012
Water Temperature 77-80 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

This Saturday afternoon started a very special charter for everyone on the Carib Dancer. This was Carib Dancer’s first Thanksgiving in the Bahamas. After everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guests from Planet Scuba in Colorado: Fred, Bev, Carol, Mark, JD, Chris, Jerry, Trent, Ann, Heidi, AJ, John P., Ken and Rob cruised out under the stars to the Exuma Islands for a week of exploring and diving.

Our first dive on this trip was Sunday morning on an Airplane Wreck just off the island called Ship Channel. On the wreck we found schools of snappers, grunt and several types of angelfish. Lets not forget about the lobsters, stingrays and other creatures that we started the week swimming and taking pictures of. After finishing filling our memory cards we headed to Pillar Wall. The top of Pillar Wall is only around 40’, so divers don’t have to go over the wall to enjoy a colorful reef. On this dive I was on top of the wall looking at white spotted and scrawled filefish. A beautiful, healthy Caribbean reef shark swam near several divers while I played hide and seek with a long spine squirrelfish. We finished this Sunday on a shallow reef called North House. It had been a while since I was at this dive site and I’m not sure why I waited so long. Like a lot of the shallow dive sites in the Exumas it’s like diving in an aquarium, with small tropical fish all around you. Then add a few other creatures including a moray eel, lobsters, and stingrays and it becomes a wonderful dive.

Monday morning and it’s back at the office, but here on the Carib Dancer it’s no suit, no tie day. In fact everyday is no suit, no tie. Just put on your wet suit and make a couple of dives in the beautiful Bahamian waters. After finishing at North House near Highborne Cay we made our way south into the Exuma Land & Sea Park. This is the oldest Land & Sea Park in the world covering 176 square miles. Shroud Wall was our first stop into this “no take zone”. As I made my way with a couple of guests to the edge of the wall, we found ourselves swimming near a large school of horse-eye jacks. Once on the wall, we swam around colorful sea whips, black coral and huge basket sponges. It was an excellent way to start a Monday morning. Next up was Amberjack Reef, which is one of the favorite dive sites for the crew. As we pull up to the site several Caribbean reef sharks were ready to greet us. Once in the water, it’s not long before large black groupers and schools of jacks joined us for a dive. What can we shoot on this dive site, pictures or video? We did both, and a lot of pictures and video were taken as some of the sharks passed with a few feet us. We ended the day with an awesome brilliant red and orange sunset and a dive at 3 Peaks. Under the ledges of the dive site we found all types of small creatures like banded coral shrimp, reticulated brittle stars and golden crinoids. WOW! What an extremely nice dive.

Tuesday morning everyone had a chance to see a little of the topside in the Exuma Islands. We did a nice walk on Warwick Wells, which is where the Exuma Land & Sea Park Headquarters are located. Overall the walk only took about an hour, but the view from Boo Boo Hill and the Blow Holes was awesome and well worth it. From the top of Boo Boo Hill we could really see the different shades of blue the waters of the Bahamas has to offer. This is by far one of the best views in the Bahamas. After enjoying a little land time we headed to our next dive site called Wall City. The mooring on Wall City sits in 70 feet of water and is surrounded by huge high profile coral heads. We found a variety of marine life, but the find of the dive was a Huge Black Grouper, one of the biggest I’ve seen in the Bahamas. Our next stop was one of my personal favorites, Jeep Reef. Jeep Reef is always a nice dive site and today was no different. The colorful shallow reef system makes it so easy for anyone to get some excellent pictures. We swam near schools of yellowtail snappers, had Stingrays pose for private pictures and a juvenile blue tang, which is actually bright yellow. Our late afternoon and night was on Danger Reef. It’s nice to have Caribbean reef right sharks swim up to us. We tried to get some nice pictures, but the large black groupers were getting in the way. We found a highhat hiding in the reef with its black and white striped body. Danger Reef is still inside the Exuma Park, so as a “no take area” we found bigger fish and bigger creatures.

Wednesday morning we headed back north to Cracked Coral Head. If anyone wants a near perfect picture of a brain coral, this is the dive site to visit as near the mooring line there’s one about 6 feet across. Cracked Coral Head has swim thrus and a beautiful wall filled with lots of soft and hard corals. Next was The Wreck of the Austin Smith and another dive with Caribbean reef sharks. If someone really wanted some close up pictures or video of the reef sharks, this is the dive site to visit. During the dive on the Austin Smith we had some of these sharks come within a few inches of us. When diving the wreck we also get a chance to swim up close and personal with a few Nassau and tiger groupers. We also had a gray angelfish that love the camera. During night dive on the Austin Smith we also encountered lots of crabs and other creatures.

Thursday morning’s first dive was at Whales Tail. This dive site has to have the longest swim thru in the Exuma Islands. Along the wall I found at least 8 neck crabs and a couple of clams. Blue water, colorful swim thrus and a beautiful wall make for a very nice dive. After Whales Tail we headed north to Madison Avenue for a long shallow dive with lots of marine life to swim around including channel clinging crabs, lobsters, rays, and we even spotted a jawfish with eggs in his mouth. We finished this awesome day of diving on Crab Mountain West. This dive site has a deep end toward the eastern part of the reef near the wall and a shallow reef area. Some of the guest spent over an hour underwater on the west end, which is the shallow reef area. Garden eels covered the bottom, lobsters, crabs, Pederson cleaner shrimp and another beautiful highhat was spotted swimming under a ledge.

Friday our last dive site for the week was Jewfish Wall. We had several swim thrus to choose from while diving this site. Once we enjoyed the swim thrus we swam along the edge of the wall enjoying the colorful sea whips, sponges and star corals. A Caribbean reef shark swam near as well as a turtle. Taking pictures of this colorful wall and all the marine life was a good way to end a nice week of diving the Exumas.

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, Engineer Ernie, Instructor David, Instructor Nikki and Chef Shea.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captains Report – December 1 - 8, 2012

Water Temp: 76 – 79F / 26 – 28 C
Exposure Suit: 3 – 5mm Full length Wetsuit

Saturday 1 December – Welcome & Embarkation
Thirteen divers descended on Nassau for an action packed week of liveaboard diving aboard the Carib Dancer. Julie, Richard, Cathy, John, Kendall, Warren, Gina, Marsha, Mike and the Spanish quartet of Daniel, Belen, Blanca and Elisa arrived at our homeport at Elizabeth on Bay where they were met by one of our crewmembers and welcomed onto the yacht. Guests busied themselves setting up their dive equipment, sorting out weights, getting to know their fellow divers and settling into their staterooms. Once everything was squared away and they had unpacked completely it was time for the captain’s briefing. Captain Mario and his crew introduced themselves to the guests, Mario then covered the all important safety aspects about the boat and what to expect from a week of diving around the Exumas. Our chef Shea then treated our hungry group of bleary-eyed weary travelers to a beautiful dinner of braised short ribs, roasted potatoes and vegetables. Due to the fact that some of our guests arrived on a later flight, we decided it would be best to stay the night on our home dock and leave early the next morning. To reach the Exumas we must cross an area known as the “Yellow Banks”. This shallow area is scattered with extremely shallow coral heads making it impossible to pass through once darkness is upon us.

Sunday 2 December 2012
The crew woke early on Sunday morning and a little before 5am we slipped the lines and left the dock to head toward the open ocean and ultimately the Exumas. We arrive at our first dive site Lobster No Lobster a few hours later than expected due to the heavy swells, but we are prepped and ready to immerse ourselves in the turquoise blue aqua and explore the delights of this truly wonderful piece of Caribbean paradise. The guests gather around the camera table for the weekly dive deck briefing by our Captain, all the while the excitement is building inside them as they anticipate what lies ahead.

For some of our divers it had been a while since they had been diving, some had bought new equipment since they last dived and for some they just wanted to have a nice shallow check out dive as a prelude to the ‘deeper’ stuff later on in the charter. Named for the plethora of lobster that live here, Lobster No Lobster was a perfect way for us to start our week of diving. Right near the mooring pin we sight a school of French grunts tightly packed together swarming round in bee like fashion. As we head in an easterly direction we notice a Caribbean spiny lobster hanging out under a coral ledge. Guests took pictures of this timid crustacean and venture off to explore more of the site. Only a short swim away we see a nurse shark nestled in the sand. He seemed unafraid of the divers advances in fact he seemed to enjoy the attention that the divers heaped on him. As we board the boat divers exchange stories of the epic creatures they saw; the big question on everyone’s lips was “when’s the next dive”?

There was the small matter of lunch to contend with however and once guests started to smell the amazing flavors wafting from Chef Shea’s galley they quickly turned their attention away from diving and to the dining room for a spot of lunch. Shea prepared and amazing lemon chicken and shrimp dish with Mediterranean bread salad and fruit couscous. After an awesome meal most of our divers decided to grab some rest and have a lie down before the next dive… food comas all round!

With two dives complete we trek south to our next dive site of the week, Flat Rock.
We completed one dive here at Flat Rock and as ever it was a stunning dive. Beautiful healthy corals untouched by the masses leave you in awe at the sheer magnificence and splendor before you. Four huge Barracuda hang out beneath the boat awaiting their next feeding opportunity. Big schools of parrotfish graze away unassumingly near the mooring line while yellow tail schoolmasters in their fervent yellow pack together in tight groups; safety in numbers is their mantra. Yellow headed jawfish are sighted poking their heads from their sandy hole just enough to peer at the divers above them. Two gorgeous yellow rays rounded off our dive at Flat Rock and indeed our diving for the day. After another sumptuous dinner by Chef Shea we sang “Happy Birthday” to our Spanish guest Belen. We then stayed the night sheltered behind Highborne Cay so we could enjoy a good night’s sleep, after all a day of adventure was in store tomorrow.

Mon 3 December 2012
Capt. Mario started the engines up a little before 5am and the crew instantly sprung into life. After a three hour crossing we made it safe and sound to Eleuthera and to our next dive site of the charter. Eleuthera is part of the Bahamian archipelago and is located 50 miles to the east of Nassau. Split Coral is a beautiful wall site, named for the large crevice like split that runs down the middle of the site. At the bottom of the mooring pin we find and expanse of beautiful white sand that is home to a bunch of reef fish and crustaceans, but for us we have come to enjoy some “Pelagic Magic”. We see a lot of reef sharks here at Split Coral. This is largely due to the fact that we dropped the "triangle of love" into the sand flats. This triangle contained some fish scraps that we did not use during dinner. The sharks swim by the triangle to get a closer look at what’s on offer. Reef sharks circle us and zoom by us only mere feet away. The adrenaline rush this gives you is quite astounding. To see a wild animal cruise by you within touching distance is quite an epic experience, one that our guests raved about at the end of their dive. As well as the hoards of sharks we see on Split Coral we also saw a scorpion fish chilling out on top of the wall. Queen triggerfish and green lipped parrotfish each vie for position and the perfect piece of reef to nibble on, quite the sight to see! We are privileged to see a school of oceanic triggerfish cruising around in the blue. These amazing fish were within arms reach of our divers, some amazing photos were shot, the fish must have been dazed and bleary eyed from the flashbulbs popping off around them from our budding photographers powerful strobes.

On our second dive here we see schooling horse eyed jacks off out over the wall. These creatures are very neat to see. The younger fish in the group follow the huge male as if their life depends on it, they mimic his every move, very interesting indeed. Black durgeons graze on the reef, apparently still hungry from breakfast, southern stingrays being harassed by big bar jacks swoosh by us at break neck speed….Epic! Our guest John reported seeing both the orange spotted and scrawled file fish in the shallows near the mooring line, quite a mammoth find, he impressed us, thanks John. We were also surrounded by the customary 10 – 15 sharks that had hung around since the first dive. This was an awesome couple of dives and a brilliant way to introduce our guests to the delights on offer at Eleuthera.

We grabbed a spot of lunch, which was again impeccably presented by Chef Shea and after a brief rest it was time to hit the water again, Knucklehead was next up. This fabulous shallow dive is full of swim throughs and wonderful critters to check out. As we descend to a depth of around 40ft we encounter schooling Bermuda chubs, schoolmasters and French grunts. The kaleidoscope of color is breathtaking especially in the gorgeous glorious mid afternoon sunshine that beams down through crystal clear blue skies. Dive conditions were near perfect for us here at Knucklehead. We see a few lionfish scurrying around the reef, a plethora of blue chromis and schooling yellowtail snapper cruise around us. A huge barracuda peruses the shallows looking for some lunch; he must have been at least 5 feet long; he was huge! Dolphins were spotted jumping and playing on the surface before our dive, some of our divers and crew reported hearing them communicating underwater; this is one of the most amazing things you could ever wish to hear, its nature at its finest. No dolphin sightings however, we will bide our time on that one! This dive was topped of with the sighting of a short-nosed batfish. That makes it the 3^rd sighting in as many weeks. This is a very difficult and uncommon creature to find so to see 3 in 3 weeks is an amazing feat.

After a snack and a brief rest its time to dive again on Knucklehead. Our divers report seeing a black and white moray eel poking its head out of the hidey hole in which it resides. Further down the reef we spot a beautiful Spanish lobster, a bunch of yellow rays hang out in the cool shade of a gorgeous December afternoon in the eastern Bahamas. As we meander our way around this cool site we see a group of blue striped grunts, a huge dog snapper and a mutton snapper. Divers complete their dive with the sighting of a nurse shark swimming in the shallows. As our group of fearless underwater explorers climb the ladder their faces are awash with beaming smiles; quite content with a day filled with remarkable fish encounters. Dinner of pork tenderloin, poached potatoes and corn on the cob was enjoyed in the salon. We had no takers for the night dive, so our guests relaxed watching a movie while others took the chance to grab an early night.

Tuesday 4 December 2012
We woke to find another magnificent sunrise far off to the east. The magnificent, majestic, jaw-dropping sunrises are something to behold here in the stunning Bahamas. For the early risers in our group they were fortunate enough to witness this impressive sight. With breakfast complete we then hopped in to our next dive site – Hole In The Wall. Hole In The Wall is a beautiful site famed for its sheer drop off and its abundance of swim throughs. Divers drop into the blue and level off at the max depth of 100ft. As we look up we are impressed with the clarity of the water, we could see the Carib Dancer clearly from 100ft down. As we traverse down the wall we see a queen triggerfish munching on the coral and schools of parrotfish are swarming around a small piece of reef. After two wonderful dives at Hole In The Wall we move up the coast to a dive site called Tunnel Rock. Named for a crevice that runs through the rock structure this is a fantastic dive site with a plethora of fish life and an abundance of color.

Once lunch is over with we hop into the inviting blue water to explore the reefs of Tunnel Rock. We drop below the glass-like surface and head toward the mooring pin. We are met by a bonanza of barracuda! There were at least 15 of these snaggle tooth beasts swimming around the rock. A garrison of French grunts pack together on top of the reef. Juvenile queen angelfish are spotted in a crevice on the south side of the rock. A black and white moray sits in its lair watching the divers go by. After a splendid dive we ascend and board the Carib Dancer to go over pictures and talk about the beauty that is Tunnel Rock. After our surface interval is up its time to dive again. Mutton snapper fly by us looking for a late afternoon meal, barracuda dive toward the reef tops zooming towards the damselfish; it looked like the damsel was in distress. Yellow tail snapper swarm around us in at a frenzied pace, eager to check us strangers out. A southern stingray ends the dive perfectly. Divers board the boat happy with the sights they saw. After they had showered and dried off it was time for dinner. Chef Shea prepared a wonderful meal of rope viejo with steamed rice and spaghetti squash. This was finished of with homemade cheesecake; quite delicious! The night dive here was stunning. Schools of amberjack cruised around our divers at a frantic pace. One of our guests spotted an octopus and we also saw a green moray eel. A sleeping turtle rounded off a fabulous dive. As we ascended to the safety stop level we are again surrounded by the amberjacks looking for a handout from our divers. As we board the yacht we rinse, dry off and relax for the night, recharging the batteries for tomorrow.

Wednesday 5 December
Our guests wake to the smell of bacon and fresh coffee wafting from the galley; what better wake up call could you wish for. As they enjoy a hearty breakfast prepared by Chef Shea they are excited at the prospect of the sights to see only feet below them.
Breakfast is complete, the bell rings and the gaggle of divers crowd round the camera table to listen to the dive briefing. Monolift is our next dive site of choice. Monolift is a gorgeous wall site that has a majestic drop off into the abyss. Divers float down over the dark blue azure to the max depth of 100ft. We see a green sea turtle swim by us, schools of barracuda hover there menacingly in mid water and schools of reef fish zoom by us evading the divers advances in a break for freedom they plunge into the sanctuary of the reef system – divers move on to check out other areas of this awesome site. An eagle ray cruises by us in the blue; what an epic site this was. This wonderful pelagic creature is a permanent feature that will be forever ingrained in the memories of our divers. He stayed for a considerable amount of time, hopefully we see more of him on our next few charters. We complete two dives here at Monolift. On our second dive we are fortunate enough to see a black and white moray eel and also a southern stingray resting in the sand flats atop the wall. We also see a plethora of blennies pinging around the various coral heads that are scattered in the shallows. The sheer color and vibrancy here is amazing! We also see a Spanish hogfish slope by us pecking away at the coral as he goes.

After two awesome dives here we move the Carib Dancer to the second and final dive site of the day – Cave Rock. On this shallow site we have a beautiful cave that divers can enter with ease. The cave is awash with color from the various sea rods and sea whips that hang freely from the caves ceiling. Cleaning gobies adorn the coral heads, ready to offer their services to the needy fish around them. Huge dogfish hang out not far from the mooring pin, their teeth glistening in the mid afternoon sun. A plethora of parrotfish plough past our divers at lightning speed, a flash of color and they disappear into the distance and out of sight of our underwater mouth breathers. We complete two dives here and our night dive after which we make our crossing back to the Exumas. The crossing is as smooth as silk and after 3 hours we are tied up to our next dive site of the week – Pillar Wall.

Thursday 6 December 2012
We wake up and enjoy a beautiful home cooked breakfast by Chef Shea. Divers then shuffle out onto the dive deck to be briefed by Captain Mario. Pillar Wall is a splendid dive site, named for its towering ‘pillar’ like coral that rise like huge mountaintops from the depths below. These pillars are teaming with color and life; our divers were in for a treat. We were not wrong! We saw an eagle ray cruise by us in the blue, a green moray eel poking out of its crevice on the wall, we even saw a school of 15+ Atlantic spadefish - quite splendid! We saw a nurse shark sleeping in the shade atop the sand ridges that sweep into the shallow areas of Pillar Wall. This site also has one of the highest populations of reef fish in the Exumas; tons of colorful reef fish swim past only feet from us. This was a beautiful dive and one we enjoyed immensely.

We then moved a little further south to The Wreck of The Austin Smith. We put down our trusted “triangle of love” onto the deck of wreck and waited for the men in grey suits to appear; appear they did! We were surrounded in 10-15 Caribbean reef sharks of various differing sizes. They zoomed by our masks, over our shoulders and by the sides of our divers. This was an adrenaline rush to the cortex, a 15 shark high! Definitely one that was enjoyed immensely by our bunch of neoprene clad shark warriors! How proud we were! With all that adrenaline pumping through the divers systems we thought a more sedate afternoon should be in store. We cruised out of the Exuma Sound and over to the Exuma Banks to enjoy a wonderful site named – Hammerhead Gulch. This pristine shallow site is one of the most colorful you could imagine, every reef critter from blenny to stingrays are on display at this underwater paradise. Some of divers commented that it was like diving in an aquarium and they are not wrong. The sheer color we saw down there is breath taking. This due to the location of this dive site. Its remoteness means that the local day boats do not come here, only live a boards ever dive this site. We saw huge dogfish on some of the coral fingers, yellow stingrays float by us, and yellow tail and Mahogany snapper peer over cautiously at the divers. Schools of barracuda travelling in packs frequent the shallower parts of the site, one of them was around 5 ft long, he was huge!!

After a wonderful day of diving the Exumas we travelled up north after dinner to get closer to Nassau for our final day of diving. The next site on our radar was The Lost Blue Hole. The Blue Hole is a deep pit of gorgeous blue water that is full of reef fish and occasionally pelagics swim through here. We saw a family of purple crowned sea goddesses, tons of parrotfish, a plethora of Nassau grouper and whole host of other reef fish. After one dive here we moved a ways up north to the final dive site called Periwinkle. One of our guests, Mike from Idaho, expressed his delight at this site. Some people said that this was the best dive site of the week. Divers were surrounded by an abundance of colorful fish of all species. This dive was topped off by a turtle flapping by our group of intrepid wanderers. This was a fantastic way to end our week of diving.

All that was left was to wash the gear off and relax over a spot of lunch.
We then headed back to Nassau and back to our home dock at Elizabeth on Bay.
Captain Mario then hosted a cocktail party on the sundeck prior to our guests taking dinner ashore. This was a very enjoyable week spent aboard the Carib Dancer, wonderful guests, brilliant diving and a pocketful of happy memories.

Come back and see us here in the Bahamas to see for yourself why these islands will be calling you back time and time again.

Safe Diving Always,
The Carib Dancer Crew
Trip Report Written by David Patterson

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Jan 5 – 11, 2013

Water Temp 72F – 77F (23C – 25C)
Wetsuit 3mm – 7mm

Guests this week: Jesse, George, John, Linda P, Michael, Bettina, Linda S, Paul, David, Fred, Greg, Martha and Fran

Saturday 5^th January 2013
Warm sunny day here in Nassau, the crew ready the boat for 13 guests who will be arriving shortly. Once on board the guests become familiar with the boat, set up their gear and present their C Cards. After a briefing of the boat and its procedures we cast off and are under way. Dinner consisting of salad, short ribs with polenta followed by pound cake in then served to the guests. After dinner everyone makes their way to their stateroom to sleep before the diving commences tomorrow.

Sunday 6^th January 2013
The sun rises today on what is Armenian Christmas (the 12^th day of Christmas). It’s a lovely morning and our guests wake up for breakfast looking forward to getting under water. The first dive site is Barracuda Shoals. A nice shallow site to begin the trip and do the checkout dive. After the dive deck briefing its into the water. Mario and Greg joining our guests on this first dive. Seen on this dive are barracuda, sleeping nurse shark, yellow tail snapper, a couple of lobster, a couple of southern stingray, a huge nudibranch, queen angel fish, French angel fish, Nassau grouper, as well as blue chromis, hamlets and damsels. Visibility was about 60-70ft and there was no current. It all made for a good first dive.

We move on from the first dive to another shallow site. This one is called Close Mon. Our divers don equipment again and drop down into the clear light blue water. On this dive reports back of huge gray angel fish, grouper, yellow tail snapper, damsels, hamlets, lizard fish, a turtle right at the beginning of the dive, some bar jacks, blue chromis to name but a few. A dive that is very much like an aquarium, with a lot to see. Divers return from the dive ready for lunch, which consists of lemon chicken, shrimp and couscous salad. This leaves everyone satisfied and fuelled for dive three.

Dive three is on a dive site called Basket Star. Another shallow site with a wonderful array of coral heads scattered over a wide area. Only half our dive group venture in for this dive, with the others take a well-earned rest. On this dive we are greeted by southern stingray, a turtle, a remora, queen angel fish, French angel fish, a spotted trunkfish, flamingo tongues, Christmas tree worms, yellow tail snapper, bar jacks, goatfish both spotted and yellow striped, reef butterfly fish, spotfin butterfly fish and sergeant majors. An abundance of life to see on this dive with lots to video and to photograph.

Dive four and the final dive of today is on Hammerhead Gulch. Again a shallow dive for our first day of diving. This will be an afternoon into dusk dive for the adventurous group that head out. On this dive they see a nurse shark, a turtle, a hermit crab, some lobster, French and blue striped grunts, grouper, blue tangs, lionfish. An exciting dive to say the least. After the dive its dinnertime, and delighting everyone tonight is baked snapper with pineapple salsa. Rice and broccoli with banana bread pudding for dessert. After dinner we head off to make the crossing over to Eleuthera.

Monday 7^th January 2013
Warm bright morning here in Eleuthera. We are already at our first dive site; it’s called Hole in the Wall and has a lovely wall that drops off into the deep as well as a great swim through that sits about 90ft down. After breakfast our divers prepare for the day and then drop off into the deep. On this dive they see a cool looking sea cucumber, a lettuce leaf sea slug, two adult spotted drum, lots of big lionfish, queen angel fish, a puffer fish, big barracuda and a trunkfish with the tiniest remora attached to it. After the dive everyone enjoy the strawberry muffins that are fresh out of the oven.

The second dive today is also done on Hole in the Wall. On this one the divers see more lionfish, barracuda, angelfish, gobi at the cleaning stations with grouper, a small southern stingray in the sand and some grunts both French and blue striped.

The third and fourths dive of the day are done on Cave Rock, so named due to the cave that is in the middle of a big mound of coral just below the surface. Marine life on these dive is plentiful, with amber jacks, bar jacks, yellow tail snapper, blue chromis, rock beauty, yellow headed damsel, lionfish, a small lemon ray, sergeant major, blue tang and flamingo tongues all reported back on the dive deck. Seasoned chicken wings are waiting for the divers in the salon when the divers dry off and begin warming up after dive three. After dive four, it’s dinner; spinach salad, grilled pork loin with BBQ sauce, roasted potatoes and a New York style cheesecake for dessert.

The night dive is also done on Cave Rock. Only two divers take the plunge tonight, but they do enjoy it for its nocturnal creatures. Tonight they see shrimp, lobster, reef crabs, hermit crabs, a stingray, lionfish, blue tang, grouper, angelfish, amber jacks and yellowtail snapper, as well as bloodworms and various hydropods.

Tuesday 8^th January 2013
We awake today on a warm but breezy morning and move the boat to another dive site called Monolith. This dive site has great pinnacles and an amazing drop off wall down to the abyss. We do two dives on this dive site and each diver enjoys the site below. On this dive the array of species that are seen consist of a spotted moray eel, lionfish, schools of French and blue striped grunts, grey snapper, a flaming scallop, southern stingray, a lemon ray, bar jacks, yellowtail snapper, blue chromis, queen angel fish and hundreds of garden eels, After the first dive our group enjoy chocolate chip cookies, and after the second dive they enjoy a buffet lunch of create you own subs and tomato and basil soup.

After lunch we move to a shallower dive site called Tunnel Rock, a lovely mound of rock and coral with a Y-shaped swim through tunnel running down the middle. We do the next two-day dives on this site and the night dive. On the day dives lots of large lionfish are seen, queen angel fish, squirrel fish, a large puffer fish, schoolmasters, grunts, grouper, snapper, jacks and a lemon ray are all spotted mulling around. On dive four, Paul, a guest, is on his 50^th LiveAboard with the Aggressor Fleet and Dancer Fleet, and it marked his 3000^th dive today. Well-done Paul.

The night dive on Tunnel Rock and once again only two divers brave the dark waters. On this night dive they see a nurse shark, arrow crab, amber jacks, sleeping parrotfish, yellowtail snapper, butterfly fish, hermit crabs, lionfish, basket stars and shrimp.

Wednesday 9^th January 2013
This morning we move dive sites to Split Rock. This dive site is the scene of the shark dive, with regularly 10-20 reef sharks swimming around. The shark feeder triangle is taken down on this dive with some left over fish inside to entice the sharks closer. We do two dives on split rock, with most of the time being spent with the sharks. Some divers move over to the split rock to see other marine creatures. They see lionfish, snapper, blue tang, blue chromis, flamingo tongues, grouper, fairy baslet, yellow headed damsel, angelfish and some lobster. Today’s lunch is BBQ cheeseburgers, hot dogs, salad and beans.

After lunch we move to Knucklehead, a dive site with numerous swim throughs. We do two more day dives here and on these dives our divers see lots of lionfish, cleaning gobi, grouper, snapper, chromis, angelfish, hamlets, damsels, sergeant major, some squid were spotted. Our divers mainly enjoyed the tunnels and ledges that you could play around in. After the 3rd dive it was back in the salon for Thai noodles with peanut sauce, and following the 4^th dive it is time for dinner. Lots of wine is drunk at dinner, leaving only 1 brave soul for the night dive that is also done on Knucklehead. Martha is joined by Ernie on the dive where they see a huge crab and some really big basket stars, as well as amberjacks, horse eye jacks, blood worms and sleeping parrot fish.

Thursday 10^th January 10^th Jan 2013
We leave early from Eleuthera to move back over the Exumas, casting off at 4.25am. We are heading for a dive site called “Up Jump The Devil”. It has canyon ways, swim throughs, a lovely wall and some awesome pinnacles. Also down at about 100ft there is a sun lounger sitting on the reef that makes for some fun photos. On these next two dives our divers see a giant crab, grunts, lionfish, blue chromis, angelfish, grouper, gobi, snapper, goatfish, flamingo tongues and Peterson cleaning shrimp, as well as some great sea fans, flaming scallops, banded coral shrimp, Bermuda chubs and a huge barracuda. All this while enjoying the spectacular wall and beautiful canyon ways. Mid-morning snack of double chocolate chip muffins and lunch of spaghetti squash and breaded pork steaks was enjoyed by all.

For dive three after lunch we move to Flatrock, a shallow site protected by a small island, that makes it a haven for lots of fish and other marine life. Divers report back a really healthy reef and on it, grey snapper, yellow tail snapper, blue chromis, blue tangs, rock beauty, angelfish, trumpet fish, yellow headed damsel, blue headed wrasse, yellow headed wrasse, Creole wrasse and some grunts. After the dive its up into the warmth for a cheese and meat snack platter.

We move from here to the Seaplane Wreck for the next two dives. Dive four today brings a whole host of critters. A huge green turtle with a couple of remora in tow, Peterson cleaning shrimp, arrow crab, banded coral shrimp, southern stingrays, lemon rays, grunts, sergeant majors, yellow tail snapper, grey snapper. Dinner tonight is again thanksgiving dinner, with lots of wine, followed by chocolate rum cake. After dinner we have the viewing of the DVD and the outgoing briefing. Then it’s onto the night dive, with only one brave soul venturing out with Mario tonight. On this dive they see a sleeping oceanic triggerfish, banded coral shrimp, reef shrimp, arrow crabs, hermit crabs, southern stingrays and lemon rays. Once back on deck, hot chocolate warms our guests up.

Friday 11^th of January 2013
Every wakes up early today for the pre-breakfast dive. Today it is on Lobster No Lobster. Those willing and able for the dive take to the water to enjoy their last day. On this dive they see schoolmasters, barracuda, grunts, snapper, arrow crabs, nudibranch, flamingo tongues, southern stingray, blue and silver chromis, the coral is really healthy and they also see a spotted moray. After the dive it breakfast time, and also cleaning the equipment time. We make our way back to Nassau just in time for lunch. Relief chef Dave has roasted some chicken, made a salad and also some spaghetti bolognese. Everyone has eaten and is full by the time we make it back to Elizabeth on Bay. At 6pm we have our weekly cocktail party where we discuss the week, future plans and also relax a little. We give out a couple of awards to Paul, who is on his 50^th dive trip with out fleet, and also did his 3000^th dive. Afterwards the guests make their way out to dinner, most of them visiting a local haunt called the green parrot. Another great week with a lovely bunch of people aboard.

Crew this week: Captain Mario, Engineer Ernie, Chef Dave, Instructor Greg and Instructor Nicki.

---------- Post added January 31st, 2013 at 05:06 PM ----------

Carib Dancer, The Bahamas: 19^th January – 26^th January 2013
Water Temp: 73-78 Degrees F
Wetsuit: 3mm – 7mm

Guests this week: Kevin S, Kenneth, David, Christopher, Robert L, Alex, Rose, Lucy, James, Robert G, Dallas, Kevin F and Steve

We have a wonderful group this week from the Blue Horizons Dive Center in Philadelphia, lead by the amazing Course Director Chris. A lot of the divers hail from elsewhere, with most from the New York area, some from Baltimore, one from New Jersey, one from the UK, with the rest from Philadelphia. This group are really camera hungry, with half of them having new Go Pro Hero 3 cameras. There is so much footage from all the dives, and especially from the second shark dive in Eleuthera, where 5 of the cameras were attached to the “Shark Triangle of Love”, where they filmed the entire dive, and the sharks coming in an attacking the bait. There are a number of ‘down the throat’ camera shots of sharks and full sets of teeth that are pretty amazing. We had one diver hit 1000 dives this week and another, an ‘Instructor in Training’ hitting his 100^th dive. Four of the divers took their Nitrox course this week with Chris and all passed with flying colors, which we were all delighted with. We had one diver in a dry suit, and another diver introducing us to side mount usage that made for some instructing viewing and learning for us aboard the Carib Dancer. The weather most of the week was sunny and calm, and we got to view some amazing sunsets and sun rises. A really fun group this week, which we hope to see again aboard the Carib Dancer. Thanks to Chris and his crew.


Saturday 19^th Jan
Guests arrive: 4pm
Dinner: 630pm – Salad, Short Ribs, Cheese Grits and Ice Cream
Depart 645pm

Sunday 20^th Jan
First dive site: Crab Mountain (two dives) (wall dive)
Marine life seen: Hawksbill turtle, southern stingray, reef shark, tube sponges, vase sponges, brain coral, snapper, grouper, blue tang, parrot fish, goatfish, grunts, angelfish, gobi and lionfish

Lunch: Minestrone Soup, Stromboli and Fruit Salad

Second dive site: Madison Avenue (three dives) (shallow reef)
Marine life seen: snapper, lionfish, angelfish, damsel fish, hamlets, fairy basslet, blue chromis, Nassau grouper, trumpet fish, parrot fish, yellow-headed jaw fish, coral crab, flamingo tongue, spotted drum.

Dinner: Salad, BBQ Chicken, Broccoli and Tres Leche

Monday 21^st Jan
First dive site: Up Jump the Devil (two dives) (wall dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: 4ft barracuda, lots of yellow striped goatfish, silverside being attacked by lionfish and bar jacks, trumpet fish, parrot fish, hog fish, black coral hanging off the wall, reef sharks, snapper, grouper, blue tang, blue chromis, fairy basslet.

Lunch: Tomato and Basil Soup and Cottage Pie

Second dive site: (three dives) (shallow reef & wall dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: reef shark, parrot fish, elephant ear sponge, vase sponge, Elk horn soft coral, lion fish, amber jacks, bar jacks, horse eye jacks, rock beauty, gray angel fish, French angel fish, queen angel fish, yellow-headed damsel, grunts, school masters, spiny lobster, stone crabs, southern stingray, yellow stingray, blood worms, queen trigger fish, oceanic trigger fish.

Dinner: Salad, BBQ Blackened Swai, Seasoned Rice with Carrots and Peas and Whoopi Pies

Tuesday 22^nd Jan
First dive site: The Austin Smith (wreck dive / shark dive) (two dives)
Marine life seen on this dive site: Reef sharks, grouper, lionfish, queen trigger fish, French angel, spiny lobster, oceanic trigger fish, school masters, parrot fish, banded coral shrimp, Peterson cleaning shrimp, bar jacks, blennies, arrow crabs, horse eye jacks.

Lunch: Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Second dive site: Whale’s Tail
Marine life seen on this dive: Stone crabs, spiny lobster, Nassau grouper, grunts, fairy basslet, reef shark, trumpet fish, spotted eel, tube sponges, lion fish, angel fish, queen trigger fish, oceanic trigger fish, arrow crab.

Dinner: Salad, Seasoned Pork Loin, Black Bean Salsa and Banana Bread Pudding

After dinner we crossed over from the Exumas to Eleuthera.

Wednesday 23^rd January
First dive site: Split Rock (wall dive / shark dive / shallow reef) (three dives)
Marine life seen on this dive site: Reef sharks, lionfish, southern stingray, bar jacks, black jacks, horse eye jacks, gobi, grouper, queen trigger fish, rock beauty, beaugregory, grunts, coney, angel fish.

Lunch: BBQ Chicken & Cajun shrimp with Salad

Second dive site: Cave Rock (shallow reef) (two dives)
Marine life seen on this dive site: Clams, Peterson cleaning shrimp, spiny lobster, gobi, blenny, stone crab, arrow crabs, banded coral shrimp, southern stingray, yellow stingray, lionfish, angel fish, grouper, grunts, coney, gobi, damsels, hamlets, barracuda, spotted moray eel, spotted drum.

Dinner: New York Strip Steak with Roast Potatoes and NY Cheesecake

Thursday 24^th January
First dive site: Hole in the Wall (wall dive) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: lionfish, squirrel fish, French grunts, Nassau grouper, blue tang, cow fish, spotted drum, yellow tail snapper, trumpet fish.

Second dive site: Monolith (wall dive) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: yellow tail snapper, grey snapper, French angel fish, queen angel fish, lionfish, barracuda, schoolmaster, Nassau grouper, black grouper, gobi, blenny, fairy basslet, rock beauty, yellow-headed damsel, coral crab, spiny lobster, yellow stingray, blue chromis, blue tang, parrot fish.

Lunch: Fish Sandwiches & Lentil Soup

Third dive site: Flatrock (shallow reef) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: flamingo tongue, nudibranch, school masters, barracuda, parrotfish, angel fish, grouper, blue chromis, blue tang, gobi, arrow crabs, banded coral shrimp, sergeant major, rock beauty, sea cucumber, tiger tail, southern stingray.

Fourth dive site: Plane Wreck (wreck dive / shallow dive) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: arrow crabs, banded coral shrimp, starfish, and hermit crabs.

Dinner: Thanksgiving Dinner with Chocolate Espresso Rum Cake for dessert

Fifth dive site: Lobster No Lobster (shallow reef) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: trumpet fish, barracuda, yellow stingray, lionfish, parrotfish, butterfly fish, flamingo tongues, arrow crabs, reef shrimp.

Friday 25^th January
First dive site: Blue Hole (sink hole / deep / shallow reef) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: Wahoo, nurse shark, loggerhead turtle, sergeant major, four eye butterfly fish, spotted goatfish, French angel fish, lionfish, parrot fish, horse eye jacks, yellow striped goatfish.

Second dive site: Periwinkle (shallow reef) (one dive)
Marine life seen on this dive site: parrot fish, sergeant major, green turtle, angel fish, grouper, nurse shark, porcupine fish, scrawl filefish, barracuda, queen trigger fish, large starfish, spiny lobster and yellowtail snapper.

Crew this week: Captain Mario, Chef Shea, 1st Mate Dave, Instructor Greg and Instructor Nikki.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Feb 2 – 9, 2013
Water Temperature: 72-75 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded the Carib Dancer and its guest Andrew, Max, Claudia, Teresa, David, Patty, Willem, Mollie, and Hugh - and because he had such a good time with us in September, back for another fun trip was Phillip. Once everyone was on and we finished our ‘Safety and Information Briefing’ we departed our home dock at ‘Elizabeth On Bay’ and headed for the Exuma Islands. After cruising around the shallow waters of the Yellow Banks and the skies full of stars we anchored next to Highborne Cay. After securing the vessel I did a walk around the boat and notice a lot of cameras, both still and video. Which reminds me to let you know that you can win all types of prizes from the Dancer Fleet and Aggressor Fleet by entering the photo or video contests. A free dive trip will be given away to someone with the best underwater video. Check Welcome to Dancer Fleet - LiveAboard Excellence since 1989 or Aggressor Fleet-The Ultimate in LiveAboards Since 1984 for details. Of course, if you want to win you’ll have to come to the Carib Dancer in the Bahamas to get the best footage.

Sunday morning we made the short ride tour first dive site called Crab Mountain West. The ‘Crab Mountain’ dive site is so big we divided into two-separated dive sites; one to the East (Deeper Site) and one to the West (Shallow Site). We started the day on the shallow end or the west side of ‘Crab Mountain’. The water was clear and we were welcomed underwater by a school of Horse-Eye Jacks in formation under the vessel. While diving we came across large Channel Clinging Crabs, Caribbean Spiny Lobsters and a few small Yellow Rays. This was an excellent dive site to get our feet wet, so to speak. The afternoon was Pillar Wall. Now just because it’s called ‘Pillar Wall’ doesn’t mean it’s all a wall dive. In fact under the Carib Dancer and along the top of the wall is an excellent dive with Rays, Queen Angelfish, small canyons and a few swim thru’s along with an array of hard and soft corals that could easily fill up a one hour dive for several dives.

Monday morning we headed north to Up Jump The Devil. When you think of this dive site you think ‘BIG’. Big Canyons, Big Pillar Coral just on the edge of the wall, Big Swim Thru’s and of course a Big Colorful Wall with a chance of swimming near schools of Jacks, Snappers and colorful Sea Whips and Sponges. However, don’t get so caught up in looking to the large Barrel Sponges or under ledges, slow down and look out over the wall because you may see the 6 to 7 foot Hammerhead Sharks that swam just off the wall. I’m not sure how you started you Monday morning but ours was Awesome! We continued north to Dog Rock/Church Wall. I have to say this is one of my favorite dive sites in this area and it’s very nice when the weather agrees and lets us play underwater at this dive site. We swam under ledges, in canyons, inside of large and small swim thru’s and along a very colorful wall. We took pictures and video of large Orange Elephant Ear Sponges, Purple, Green and Red Sea Whips. Also nearby were Moray Eels and a swim thru with thousands of Silversides. Wow, this was a fantastic day of diving!

Tuesday we started at Hole In The Wall. I didn’t think the water could get any clearer, but it did for us. We enjoyed flat calm seas as we entered the water and made our way through a large hole in the wall. The hole started just under the Carib Dancer in about 40 feet of water and exited out through the brightly colored wall around 88 feet. The different shades of blue that we enjoy on this dive were amazing. After enjoying ‘Hole In The Wall’ we headed south to Cave Rock. Cave Rock is a huge Coral Head with a swim thru’s and large hole to see inside. Some of the divers didn’t go inside any holes or swim thru’s, but enjoyed a beautiful dive site while swimming around the colorful coral. When we slowed down and looked at some of the sponges and on side of the coral we saw small Banded Coral Shrimp, Brittle Stars and lots of small tropical fish. The afternoon and night was on Tunnel Rock. This dive site is a high profile coral mound with a few swim thru’s and open cracks through the reef. We shot pictures and video of Channel Clinging Crabs, large Caribbean Lobsters and schools of Black Jacks and Snappers. On the night dive a Turtle stayed near us, then as it exited stage right a Common Octopus entered stage right. Another Octopus, changing colors and swimming nearby along the reef, soon joined the octopus. The Turtle did join us again later as well as a beautiful four and a half foot Nurse Shark. While doing our safety stop under the vessel we were surrounded by no less the a dozen large Amberjacks and about 20 or so Blackjacks. This was one of the best nights dives I have done in a long time.

Wednesday started with a wall dive on Monolith. This huge Coral Mound is always fun to be around, because it’s covered with a variety of Marine Life. It’s always nice diving along the top of the wall, but with the huge mound covered with coral, it seemed sweeter. Our next dive site Cut Thru City had several swim thru’s and overhangs, which is the perfect place to find Lobsters and Crabs. Some of the Stoplight Parrotfish let us get very close for that perfect picture. A couple of big Gray Angelfish near us and a Turtle made its present for some video shots. Our last dive site of the day was Split Coral Head. At ‘Split Coral Head’ you have a choice to take the short swim to a large coral head that goes from 45 feet to about 14 feet or a short swim to the edge of the wall. No matter which one you swim to you will have Caribbean Reef Sharks near you for most of the dive. During the dive we had about eight of the beautiful creatures swimming by us the entire dive, it was awesome! Yes, it did get better because on the night dive we had some of the Sharks swimming in and out of the lighted area. We also saw large Southern Stingrays and while doing our safety stop we saw Squid near the back of the boat.

Thursday morning and the first dive site is Jewfish Wall. We enter the water with very light winds, calm seas and excellent visibly. The dive site ‘Jewfish’ offers a variety of marine life, today not only fish, but Caribbean Reef Sharks and lots of color. Our guest Willem put it best when after the dive he said, “I could not leave from under the boat. I was going to swim off but I kept seeing more and more things”. It was one of the best dives we had this week. Willem, that’s why we love the Bahamas, variety, variety, variety. Our next stop for the day is the Wreck of the Austin Smith. I love diving the ‘Austin Smith’. It’s a small wreck about 80 feet in length. Going slow while diving on and around the wreck we saw a variety of small creature, like Clams, Blennies and Brittle Stars. This could have been a nice slow dive but while underwater trying to enjoy a slow dive about eight Caribbean Reef Sharks kept swimming within sometimes a few inches of us. Then on the wreck several small Nassau and Black Groupers kept getting in front of the camera wanting their picture and video taken. The wreck of the ‘Austin Smith’ was a Fantastic Dive!!! There was so much excitement on that first dive we did the dive again after lunch. The late afternoon and night dive was on Whales Tail Reef. Here we had a chance to swim with Turtles, Lobsters, Crabs, schools of Snappers, Pufferfish and a small Reef Shark near the edge of the wall.

Our last day of diving started with a pre-breakfast dive on Black Tip Wall. This is always a fun dive site to play on. There are so many canyons and swim thru’s that you could stay all day diving this one site. Doing an early morning dive we saw the Colorful Reef and Wall come alive with Marine Life. Our last dive of the trip was the Blue Hole. It’s always fun diving the ‘Blue Hole’ because we never really know what we will see underwater. Today one shot some nice video of a very colorful wall. While swimming around the top of the hole we saw Rays, a beautiful healthy Nurse Shark and a few Angelfish. Today diving the ‘Blue Hole’ was an easy relaxing dive, the perfect way to end a Wonderful Week of Diving on the Carib Dancer in the Bahamas

Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, Engineer Ernie, Photo Pro David, Video Pro Greg and Chef Shea.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Feb 9 – 16, 2013
Water Temperature: 72-75 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guests Stephen, Doris, Carol, Mike J., Andy, Christine, Mike N., Charles and Terry left the our home dock at ‘Elizabeth On Bay’ and headed for the Exuma Islands.

Sunday morning our guests woke up for their coffee and breakfast and we were already in Eleuthera. Because of the winds, the Carib Dancer had traveled through the Exumas and across the Exuma Sound to Eleuthera to start our week of diving. Our first dive of the week was at Hole In The Wall. The one thing I never get tired of seeing is that dark blue color of the open ocean you see as you swim through a swim thru and come out the other side. Exiting out over the wall you’re swimming next to beautiful wire coral and hair net black coral. Add in some colorful tropical fish and we had ourselves a wonderful first dive site. Knucklehead was next for some bubble making. Knucklehead is a shallow reef system that has lots of swim thrus. It was very easy to take pictures of smooth flower coral, knobby cactus coral and scroll coral. All three types of these coral are hard corals and can be found in a variety of colors. Sometimes pictures like these with lots of color makes it easy to win the photo or video contest that the Dancer and Aggressor Fleet has going on monthly. Just check out the web sites for details and maybe you too can win a trip and come dive the Bahamas with the Carib Dancer Crew. To end our first day of diving we finished the day at Cut Thru City. Cut Thru City has a few large coral heads that have several swim thrus that cut through the coral head. Cut Thru City is a fun dive site to enjoy swimming around marine life and colorful corals.

Unlike most people’s jobs, we have fun Monday morning activities and I have to say that sometimes it’s very different and special. Without suits or ties or even dress clothes - well, we do have nice wet suits. Our different and special Monday morning started with diving on a Cobia Cage. The local students on Eleuthera raise cobia for several reasons and we get a chance to dive around this wonder place. The bottom of the cage sits in about 60 feet of water, while the top is in about 30 feet. The entire structure sits on the edge of a nice wall. Inside the cage we can usually see hundreds of cobia and also see part of a nice wall. Next we headed south to one of my favorite dive sites, Monolith. I can’t dive this site enough, with clear water, huge colorful coral mounds scattered along the edge of the wall. All I can say is ‘WOW’ and I can’t wait to dive it again. Our last dive site we visited for the day and in Eleuthera was Split Coral Head. Here we swam shallow to a nice big coral head or something a little larger and longer, like the top of a wall. The Carib Dancer was moored between the two areas, so it was very easy to see it all. Not only did we see creatures like decorator crabs and yellowline arrow crabs, but also large channel clinging crabs. While we were swimming and enjoy all this we also had a chance to shoot pictures and video of groupers that were both large and small, schools of jacks and snappers, and also several Caribbean reef sharks. The sharks would swim up close, sometimes within a couple of feet. Swimming next to a beautiful shark, snapping a picture or two and seeing the shark eye-to-eye is a wonderful feeling that I hope someday everyone can enjoy. As a good friend would say - “It’s Awesome”!

Tuesday in the early morning hour we made our way south into the Exuma Land & Sea Park. Our first dive site, once we entered the park, was Danger Reef. Just like every time before when we arrive at Danger Reef the Caribbean reef sharks swim up to the Carib Dancer. Swimming around the large profiles coral heads that are prevalent at this site we can see feather black coral, dwarf cup coral and lots of robust ivory tree coral. We had to keep reminding ourselves to look away from all the colors to see the Caribbean reef sharks and large groupers that were swimming near. After Danger Reef we drove just a few minutes east to a dive site called Wall City. The reason it’s called Wall City is because the coral heads are stacked on top of each other like tall building you may see in the city. This ‘city of coral heads’ sits just on top and on the edge of a magnificent wall. We ended our day of diving at Shark Reef. Normally we see lots of sharks here but unfortunately today we had only a few. However, we swam on top of lots of soft corals like white-eye sea spray and angular sea whip.

Wednesday morning we got an early start on the day and headed back north to Shroud Wall. Like all the walls in the Exumas we see lots of colors. Today the big stuff was parrotfish. Huge stoplight parrotfish and midnight parrotfish that would swim close by for a quick smile. Basketstar Reef was our next dive site. Diving Basket Star Reef is very tide dependant, however today we were able to schedule the dive just right for the tide. Most of the diving here in around the 25-40 foot mark. All of the diving at this site is simply beautiful. Because of the continuing flow of the tide it keeps the reef very clean and colorful. Large nurse sharks, turtles, schools of tropical fish and very, very clear water all adds up to a great dive site. After a wonderful lunch and a nap taken by some of the guests, we headed to Black Tip Wall. I could dive Black Tip Wall all day and never see the same area twice as there are lots of swim thrus scattered amongst the numerous hard and soft corals. I shot some video of queen angelfish, orange sea fans, black coral, corkscrew anemone and lots of swim thrus. Today I had a great time with our guest Carol, who was my dive buddy, as she followed me through some very nice swim thrus. A few I thought there was no way she would follow, but even at _____ years young, she was right there have a great time. Thanks for an awesome dive Carol!

We ended the day with a night dive on the Wreck of the Austin Smith. Normally I see lots of crabs on this night dive, however today they were replaced with a large selection of small cleaner shrimp. I have been very lucky to have lived and worked in the Bahamas and the Caribbean for many years and I have to say on the night dive tonight I saw (and a guest took pictures) of one of the Largest Caribbean Spiny Lobsters that I have ever seen! This Caribbean spiny lobster’s body was well over two feet long and its body larger then any soft ball is round. He was just swimming out in the opening and even posed for a lot of guests to get pictures.

Thursday started on Up Jump The Devil. We enjoyed this dive site because of the size of some of the canyons and swim thrus. Swimming on the edge of the wall we could easily swim around huge coral mounds that were covered with colorful corals and sponges. After Up Jump The Devil we headed back south to a site called Madison Avenue. Madison Avenue is covered with several coral ridges that we swam around, over, and even through a few holes. It was easy to shot pictures of the marine life here because of the amount of fish and creatures that were swimming around the coral mounds. Madison Avenue is a beautiful and easy dive site to enjoy, whether you take pictures, video or are just looking around. After lunch we splashed in for a dive on Pillar Wall. Here you have the chance to swim over the wall if you choose to, but the shallow canyons are so much fun. We were able to swim within a few inches of a large barracuda and schools of horse-eye jacks and snappers. Swimming inside the canyons and swim thrus we found lots of gray and queen angelfish. We ended our day of diving shooting video and pictures of about eight Caribbean reef sharks, a couple of very large black groupers and several small Nassau groupers back on the Wreck of the Austin Smith. As we were down enjoying the marine Life, some of the sharks would swim as close as a foot away from us. Diving the Austin Smith with the sharks was a good way to end a day of diving.

Friday morning was an early dive on the Blue Hole. Diving the Blue Hole as the sun comes up is always interesting, because we never know what we may see during the dive. Swimming along the rim of the Blue Hole we spotted a large loggerhead turtle and beautiful nurse sharks. As the sun comes up the reds, greens, blues, purple and a mixture of other colors come alive inside the Blue Hole along the wall. The last dive of the week was on Periwinkle Reef. If you ever wanted to experience diving inside a nature aquarium this is an excellent dive site for that experience. Periwinkle Reef is a large shallow coral head with very colorful hard and soft corals. Lots of tropical fish swam within inches of us, which made it easy to shoot excellent pictures and video to enter into the Dancer and Aggressor Photo or Video contest.

A Big Thank You goes out to Doris P. of ‘Diving With Doris’. This week Doris had a wonderful group of friends onboard the Carib Dancer enjoying the diving in the clear blue waters of the Bahamas. Thank you Doris for introducing us to Charles, Mike J., Christine and Mike N., Stephen, Andy, Terry and my best dive buddy this week at the young age of 74; Carol. The crew of the Carib Dancer had a wonderful time.

Crew for this charter was Captain Dennis, Engineer Ernie, Video Pro David, Photo Pro Greg and Chef Shea.

 

[Dancer Fleet]

Carib Dancer Captain’s Report Feb 16 – 23, 2013
Water Temperature 72-75 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended

Saturday afternoon guests Bob, Marc, Mario, Ian, Renee, Jim, Susan, Rob, Karen, Herbert, Melissa, Lu Ann, John and Elizabeth boarded the Carib Dancer for a wonderful week of diving in the Bahamas.

Due to strong winds from a cold front coming from the Northwest, the Carib Dancer wasn’t able to leave its home dock until 6:00am Sunday morning. However it wasn’t long before our guests and I was making bubble at Periwinkle Reef East. Periwinkle is a very large area of shallow colorful coral heads with tropical fish, just a short distance from Nassau and our home dock. A lot of these fish were swimming within inches of us while diving. After a nice long Sunday morning dive, we pulled the anchor and headed for the Exuma Islands.

Our first dive site in the Exuma’s was Pillar Wall. I really like this dive site, because of the choices you have when diving. We had divers stay just under the Carib Dancer and enjoyed a garden of soft corals while swimming thru little canyon ways. Some of the guest enjoyed hanging out just on top of the wall taking pictures of schools of fish and other creatures like Christmas tree worms, arrow crabs, and banded coral shrimp. Pillar Wall is a big area and everyone had a chance to mix up his or her type of diving and picture taking. Our last dive site was North Wall, a shallow site just off Highborne Cay. The low profile coral reef spreads out like your hand when open and your fingers would be the low profile coral heads that are covered with marine life.

Monday morning the winds was blowing, so we headed East to Eleuthera. It was just right, the island was blocking most of the wind, which made it nice and easy for us to dive. Our first dive was at the Cobia Cage. The cage looks like a huge spaceship hovering in the water next to nice wall. The local students on Eleuthera raise cobia for several reason and we get a chance to dive around this wonder place. The bottom of the cage sits in about 60 feet of water, while the top is in about 30 feet. The entire structure sits on the edge of a nice wall. Inside the cage we can usually see hundreds of cobia and also see part of a nice wall. But the best part had to be the 6 plus foot Hammerhead Shark that swam near several of the guest. Not bad for a Monday morning!

After leaving our Hammerhead friend and Cobia Cage we made our way south to the dive site Hole In The Wall. The hole that we swim thru for this site is awesome. Starting at about 40 feet it turns a little to your left as you swim down and the awesome part is the blue color that you see of the open ocean as you get to the end of the swim thru around 90 feet. A picture coming out that swim thru with that dark blue color could win you a prize in the Dancer/Aggressor photo contest. It is my favorite color of blue. We ended the day on my favorite night dive site called Tunnel Rock. The last few dives we have done here have been spectacular. Lots of shrimps, huge channel clinging crabs, spotted drums, moray eels and everyone favorite the common octopus. Somehow I always stay underwater longer then I plan, just too much to see. Great Night Dive!

Tuesday morning our first stop was Cut Thru City. This dive site is named for all cuts going thru the reef over the wall, like alleyways in a city. While swimming through these cuts we enjoyed seeing Caribbean spiny lobster and channel clinging crabs. However while I was looking at a cream-light tan colored smooth star coral, moving just under the star coral was a green-pale white lettuce sea slug. It was a hard find, but this one inch beautiful creature had its picture taken by several guests.

As we traveled a little south along Eleuthera, Knucklehead was our nest dive site. A shallow reef structure with lots of swim thru’s and lots of small creatures. We ended the day on Cave Rock where our guests enjoyed a very colorful afternoon and night dive. The late afternoon sun and the lights of the night dive really showed the colors of artichoke coral, smooth flower coral and clusters of brain coral. Most all the guest and crew were also able to see a new friend of the Carib Dancer, a short nose batfish. Because the Carib Dancer has an underwater light mounted under the dive platform the safety stop for the night dive is as good as the night dive. Small fish and creatures gather under the light and bigger fish and creatures come in to feed. A lot of action happens under the boat.

Wednesday started with another dive at Hole In The Wall. We did one dive here earlier in the week and it was so good we came back for seconds. Everyone was very glad we did because not only did we enjoy an incredible dive, but also midway thru the dive a HUGE Loggerhead Turtle swam between the divers right into the center of the group. Anyone who had a camera near had a chance to get excellent pictures and video.

For the late morning dive we tried a new dive site call The Barge. The Barge was sunk just over a year ago to form an artificial reef. While there’s little growth yet on the Barge we found lots of small creatures such as crabs, shrimp and reports of a Red-Tipped Sea Goddess! However my favorite was a very small juvenile queen angelfish. We were able to get some nice video for our video of the week and LuAnn snap a few good pictures.

We enjoyed a fantastic afternoon on Spit Coral Head, plus it was a very special dive for our guest LuAnn. LuAnn completed her 1800^th logged dive! With the magic pyramid in the water, lots of Caribbean reef sharks came by to have pictures and video taken for Thursday night’s onboard entertainment. We also enjoy a very colorful wall with schools of Creole wrasse in their initial phase, which is a dark blue color. The night dive on Split Coral was amazing. Caribbean spiny and Spanish lobsters were out, as well as the huge channel clinging crabs. Colorful soft coral with gorgonians polyps were open and feeding. Also we saw several Atlantic thorny oysters along with one of my favorites - the rough fileclam.

Thursday morning’s dive site was Monolith Wall. Monolith is a large mound of coral next to a beautiful wall. Not only did we enjoy this great wall, but also when we slowed down near the edge of the coral and sand we saw the thin fan-shaped valves of the amber penshell. The Wreck of the Austin Smith was our afternoon dive. Again we had several Caribbean reef sharks swimming within a few inches of us. I really like diving the wreck not only for the sharks but we found lots of small creatures. The late afternoon and night was at Lobster No Lobster and today there were lobsters to be seen. Lobster No Lobster is a shallow dive site that is coved with color. While diving here we took pictures and swam near turtles, lobsters, stingrays, angelfish, groupers amid an array of colorful corals and sponges.

Friday morning started with a pre-breakfast dive at the Blue Hole. It is always nice when we can be in the Blue Hole before anyone else. As we entered the water a nice turtle and several angelfish visited us. Our last dive of the week was on Periwinkle Reef. This a shallow dive so it’s like doing a long safety stops at the end of your week. Doing a long safety stop inside of an aquarium with lots of small tropical fish swimming right at you. My favorite on this dive site is the amount of Christmas tree worms you can find. It seems like every couple of feet there were several of them on top of different kinds of coral heads. The best was Rob finding two large channel clinging crabs fighting over a small area of reef.

It was a very good week of diving on the Carib Dancer in the Bahamas. We look forward to several guests entering their pictures and video in upcoming months on our Facebook Photo Contest and quarterly Video Contest in hopes to win great prizes.

Crew for this charter was Captain Dennis, 2^nd Captain Mario, Engineer Ernie, Instructor Nicole and Chef Shea.