slingshot
Contributor
Well now this is something remarkable. First trip report in 5 years. Thats what a pair of kids will cost you youngsters thinking of starting a family, that and a whole lot of lost sleep. But it is sometimes possible to sneak in a trip as they start growing up. So with the children tucked safely away with grandma, and with lots of hugs and kisses and a fair measure of parental fretting, off we went for our first adventure diving in quite some time. Destination: the Caribbean, and the siren call of the lush volcanic isle of Saba.
After a redeye to Miami, we boarded the flight to St. Maarten, and watched as sandy green islands passed underwing, amidst the blues and greens of the warm tropical seas. We cleared customs, and were met by a van service for travel to our home for the week, the well-seasoned but well-cared for Caribbean Explorer II, moored at Billys Marina. Built originally in 1978 as a gulf crew boat, and initially converted as the Sea Dancer dive boat, she joined the Explorer Ventures fleet and appears to be in nice shape, no doubt due to the tendings of engineer Robert who kept all the mechanicals running smoothly. The engines are the original marine diesels. On board desalinators provide 1500 gallons a day of fresh water, and onboard generators supply 110v power to the rooms, though it is requested that batteries other than laptops and cellphones be charged at the dive deck charging station, under a water resistant canvas cover. As our driver explained, traffic on the island is dense even outside of winters yacht season. It took almost an hour to get to the harbor, but once there, we boarded and got straight to work assembling dive gear and getting settled in. Polly the purser took our passports and papers, to pursue proper port passage. That evening, after a lovely steak dinner (two barbeques were lashed to the rail on the top deck), we were briefed by Captain Ian, and introduced formally to the crew and dive staff. In addition to the aforementioned, this included Jane the chef, and divemasters Tuna and Claire.
Each day fell into a typical liveaboard pattern. Breakfast around 7ish, with a briefing and morning dive around 8 or 8:30. Then a morning snack, such as blueberry muffins or brownies, followed by a midmorning dive around 10:45 or 11, and lunch around 12:30. Lunches and dinners were buffet style, and there was plenty of food and variety to satisfy. Back in the water for more diving around 2, then again about 4:30, with dinner at 6:30, and the option for a night dive around 8pm. On our boat, most divers averaged 3-4 dives of the 5 dives offered daily. Night divers were treated to towels hot from the dryer, and a pot of hot chocolate flanked by bottles of Kahlua and Baileys for those who wanted their beverage suitably fortified. Which of course, I did. There was a full bar as well, included in the tab, stocked with the usuals, for those done with diving for the day, and a cool case held Carib, Heineken, juices, milk, and yogurts. A soda gun and icemaker adjoined the sink, and there was a hot water and coffee dispenser on the counter, next to cabinets for glassware, and a place for labeled plastic drinking cups, which were provided for each guest.
The dive deck was busy with the full loadout of 18 guests on our trip, but it was well laid out for the task. There was a large central camera table, with towels and weights provided for cameras, and an air hose. A nitrox meter could be used to check your tanks, and signing for tanks was required before each dive. Dive stations went fore and aft on both sides of the boat, where tanks could be filled in the racks with air or nitrox, which typically ran 31.5% at a nice 3100-3200 psi per fill. Under the bench was a storage cubby for fins and masks, and astern just forward of the boarding ladders there was a rack for drying wetsuits, and a port-side hot shower. Entries were from a gate on the port side at the front of the dive deck. There was about a 4-5 foot drop to the water, which was quite easy. Each diver was checked into the water, with time of entry, exit, max depth, and exiting psi charted. The dive deck crew physically but unobtrusively checked that each diver had an open tank valve. Cameras were lowered over the side on a line with a quick release fitting. A tag line ran fore and aft and could be used to get to the mooring line at the bow. The vessel was always moored for dives, there was no live boat or skiff diving done, thus no drift diving. At the stern were two weighted 20 foot hang lines, and twin ladders with flat steps up to a water level transom deck, and twin angled stairs back up to the dive deck. While a tank was not hung in the water, a tank and reg was kept at the ready near the stern on the starboard side if additional air needed to be sent down to a diver. A surface trail line went from the stern out to the dingy, about 50 feet or so, supplemented when currents required with a second line on a buoy. The crew preferred that after handing up cameras, you use the line to remove fins, then pull yourself to the ladders, where you could hand fins to the dive deck crew and haul out of the water. Cameras went into a large fresh water rinse tank, which was refreshed several times during the trip.
For diving at night, the dive deck was well lit with fluorescent lights, and two large floods illuminated the stern. A strobe was hung off the stern between the hang lines, and the divemaster would typically place a strobe at the base of the mooring line until it was time for him or her to ascend. If sea wasps were sighted, the floods would be turned off and a red marker hung off the stern, but fortunately this was not needed on our trip.
Ours was the St. Maarten to Saba to St. Kitts itinerary. On this trip there are 27 offered dives, only one night dive was cancelled from lack of interest, mainly due to a squall which hit on what was to be our last day diving Saba. Typically, diving is done Sunday-Tuesday at Saba, with the second afternoon dive held for those going ashore for a land tour on the island. As weather on Tuesday was blustery, preventing landing ashore, and limiting us to the more protected inshore sites, our group elected to stay at Saba an extra day when offered the option by the captain. This proved to be an excellent choice, as Wednesday dawned clear and calm, allowing us to go out to the pinnacles to dive Third Encounter, and to complete calm inshore dives at Tent Reef, site of strong winds and current the day before. A landing was also possible, and a shore party was ferried by dingy to the main dock at the base of Fort Hill.
The Saba land tour is well worth taking. You board a minibus and get whisked up the road that couldnt be built first to the Bottom, then through Windwardside, and on to Hells gate. We stopped briefly at the Bottom to poke around, then went to Hells gate and stopped at an overlook to see the spectacle of the Juancho E. Yruasquin airport with its clifftop 1200 foot runway, shortest international airport runway in the world, before returning to Windwardside to visit Jo Beans glass shop. Sabans, of which there are about 1500, are known for the clean kept white painted houses with red roofs and green trimmed windows, and for two main historical local crafts. The first is saba lace, with roots that can be trace to the handiwork of the women whose husbands spent long months at sea. The second is saba spice, a hearty rum based local liquor, mulled with local spices including cinnamon and ginger. Jo Bean is a more modern Saba institution, handmaking glass jewelry and figurines from imported venetian glass which she fires and shapes herself. A night dive was offered after our return to the ship. The vessel remained at anchor at Saba for the evening, and set off at 5am Thursday for the 3 hour run to St. Kitts, after having visited the following sites: Customs House, Tent Reef, Tent Wall, Big Rock Garden, Ladder Labyrinth, Tedran Wall, Torrens Point, and Third Encounter.
At St. Kitts, we anchored south of Sandy Point, whose sand was long ago washed away by a hurricane or two, one of which was said to have accounted for the rusting car-carrier wreck seen protruding from the waters near shore. We were moored just north of the imposing bulk of Brimstone Hill fortress, now a national park, once the symbol of British military might in the region. Dives during our shortened time at St. Kitts included Paradise reef, Anchors Aweigh, the River Taw, and the Corinthian. Diving at St. Kitts isnt why you sign up for this trip, the sites are less dramatic than those found on Saba, and the reefs less pristine due to the lack of prohibition on local fishing. The vis is generally lower. On our trip it ranged from 20 at its worst to 40 at best. But the wrecks offer some welcome variety, and the conditions tended to be easier with more protection from prevailing winds and minimal current to contend with.
Ashore St. Kitts felt more raw than the polished gem of Saba. Streetside bars and vendors selling locals food grilled on halved steel drums abounded, there was loud pulsing music along the waterfront, and a chaotic feel to the city streets that contrasted with the tidy streets and brightly painted windows of Saba. St. Kittss largest town, Basseterre, alone boasts a population about 10 times that of the entire island of Saba, and while the downtown area was alive with restaurants, some areas outside the main square were decidedly more coarse, and we were advised against traveling afoot in some parts of town after dark. Port Zante was artifice and kitsch catering to the crowds ashore from the cruise ships. Taking the land tour allows you to appreciate the beauty of the farther flung reaches of the island, with beautiful coastline and fetching greenery. Our visit to Brimstone Hill Fortress National park was the highlight for me, both out of historical interest and to see the restored ramparts and old citadel with commanding views over the sea approaches below. Much like another fortress with ties to the old British Empire, Gibraltar, primates can be seen at Brimstone Hill, though we only chanced to see one at a distance while driving down from the fortress. After dinner together with some of the crew at Ballyhoo restaurant, with decent food served at near glacial pace, we returned for one last night aboard ship before catching a very early taxi to Robert L. Bradshaw International airport. After checking your bags at the counter, you must pay a $22 departure fee in cash, before going through cursory security screening and entering the non-airconditioned passenger lounge. Functional, but no flash. Walking out to board an ATR to Puerto Rico, you were reminded of the fierce tropical heat, and asked to keep window shades drawn aboard the aircraft to help keep it cool. A short takeoff run, and we were aloft leaving the islands and the Caribbean Explorer II behind for the new adventures of its new complement of fortunate guests. As we left, we felt the turbulence and saw the clouds of an incoming storm, which was to develop into Hurricane Irene after passing over the leeward islands, and is even now as I write this churning through the Bahamas and threatening the US east coast. So our timing was excellent, and the trip memorable. With regards, Slingshot
After a redeye to Miami, we boarded the flight to St. Maarten, and watched as sandy green islands passed underwing, amidst the blues and greens of the warm tropical seas. We cleared customs, and were met by a van service for travel to our home for the week, the well-seasoned but well-cared for Caribbean Explorer II, moored at Billys Marina. Built originally in 1978 as a gulf crew boat, and initially converted as the Sea Dancer dive boat, she joined the Explorer Ventures fleet and appears to be in nice shape, no doubt due to the tendings of engineer Robert who kept all the mechanicals running smoothly. The engines are the original marine diesels. On board desalinators provide 1500 gallons a day of fresh water, and onboard generators supply 110v power to the rooms, though it is requested that batteries other than laptops and cellphones be charged at the dive deck charging station, under a water resistant canvas cover. As our driver explained, traffic on the island is dense even outside of winters yacht season. It took almost an hour to get to the harbor, but once there, we boarded and got straight to work assembling dive gear and getting settled in. Polly the purser took our passports and papers, to pursue proper port passage. That evening, after a lovely steak dinner (two barbeques were lashed to the rail on the top deck), we were briefed by Captain Ian, and introduced formally to the crew and dive staff. In addition to the aforementioned, this included Jane the chef, and divemasters Tuna and Claire.
Each day fell into a typical liveaboard pattern. Breakfast around 7ish, with a briefing and morning dive around 8 or 8:30. Then a morning snack, such as blueberry muffins or brownies, followed by a midmorning dive around 10:45 or 11, and lunch around 12:30. Lunches and dinners were buffet style, and there was plenty of food and variety to satisfy. Back in the water for more diving around 2, then again about 4:30, with dinner at 6:30, and the option for a night dive around 8pm. On our boat, most divers averaged 3-4 dives of the 5 dives offered daily. Night divers were treated to towels hot from the dryer, and a pot of hot chocolate flanked by bottles of Kahlua and Baileys for those who wanted their beverage suitably fortified. Which of course, I did. There was a full bar as well, included in the tab, stocked with the usuals, for those done with diving for the day, and a cool case held Carib, Heineken, juices, milk, and yogurts. A soda gun and icemaker adjoined the sink, and there was a hot water and coffee dispenser on the counter, next to cabinets for glassware, and a place for labeled plastic drinking cups, which were provided for each guest.
The dive deck was busy with the full loadout of 18 guests on our trip, but it was well laid out for the task. There was a large central camera table, with towels and weights provided for cameras, and an air hose. A nitrox meter could be used to check your tanks, and signing for tanks was required before each dive. Dive stations went fore and aft on both sides of the boat, where tanks could be filled in the racks with air or nitrox, which typically ran 31.5% at a nice 3100-3200 psi per fill. Under the bench was a storage cubby for fins and masks, and astern just forward of the boarding ladders there was a rack for drying wetsuits, and a port-side hot shower. Entries were from a gate on the port side at the front of the dive deck. There was about a 4-5 foot drop to the water, which was quite easy. Each diver was checked into the water, with time of entry, exit, max depth, and exiting psi charted. The dive deck crew physically but unobtrusively checked that each diver had an open tank valve. Cameras were lowered over the side on a line with a quick release fitting. A tag line ran fore and aft and could be used to get to the mooring line at the bow. The vessel was always moored for dives, there was no live boat or skiff diving done, thus no drift diving. At the stern were two weighted 20 foot hang lines, and twin ladders with flat steps up to a water level transom deck, and twin angled stairs back up to the dive deck. While a tank was not hung in the water, a tank and reg was kept at the ready near the stern on the starboard side if additional air needed to be sent down to a diver. A surface trail line went from the stern out to the dingy, about 50 feet or so, supplemented when currents required with a second line on a buoy. The crew preferred that after handing up cameras, you use the line to remove fins, then pull yourself to the ladders, where you could hand fins to the dive deck crew and haul out of the water. Cameras went into a large fresh water rinse tank, which was refreshed several times during the trip.
For diving at night, the dive deck was well lit with fluorescent lights, and two large floods illuminated the stern. A strobe was hung off the stern between the hang lines, and the divemaster would typically place a strobe at the base of the mooring line until it was time for him or her to ascend. If sea wasps were sighted, the floods would be turned off and a red marker hung off the stern, but fortunately this was not needed on our trip.
Ours was the St. Maarten to Saba to St. Kitts itinerary. On this trip there are 27 offered dives, only one night dive was cancelled from lack of interest, mainly due to a squall which hit on what was to be our last day diving Saba. Typically, diving is done Sunday-Tuesday at Saba, with the second afternoon dive held for those going ashore for a land tour on the island. As weather on Tuesday was blustery, preventing landing ashore, and limiting us to the more protected inshore sites, our group elected to stay at Saba an extra day when offered the option by the captain. This proved to be an excellent choice, as Wednesday dawned clear and calm, allowing us to go out to the pinnacles to dive Third Encounter, and to complete calm inshore dives at Tent Reef, site of strong winds and current the day before. A landing was also possible, and a shore party was ferried by dingy to the main dock at the base of Fort Hill.
The Saba land tour is well worth taking. You board a minibus and get whisked up the road that couldnt be built first to the Bottom, then through Windwardside, and on to Hells gate. We stopped briefly at the Bottom to poke around, then went to Hells gate and stopped at an overlook to see the spectacle of the Juancho E. Yruasquin airport with its clifftop 1200 foot runway, shortest international airport runway in the world, before returning to Windwardside to visit Jo Beans glass shop. Sabans, of which there are about 1500, are known for the clean kept white painted houses with red roofs and green trimmed windows, and for two main historical local crafts. The first is saba lace, with roots that can be trace to the handiwork of the women whose husbands spent long months at sea. The second is saba spice, a hearty rum based local liquor, mulled with local spices including cinnamon and ginger. Jo Bean is a more modern Saba institution, handmaking glass jewelry and figurines from imported venetian glass which she fires and shapes herself. A night dive was offered after our return to the ship. The vessel remained at anchor at Saba for the evening, and set off at 5am Thursday for the 3 hour run to St. Kitts, after having visited the following sites: Customs House, Tent Reef, Tent Wall, Big Rock Garden, Ladder Labyrinth, Tedran Wall, Torrens Point, and Third Encounter.
At St. Kitts, we anchored south of Sandy Point, whose sand was long ago washed away by a hurricane or two, one of which was said to have accounted for the rusting car-carrier wreck seen protruding from the waters near shore. We were moored just north of the imposing bulk of Brimstone Hill fortress, now a national park, once the symbol of British military might in the region. Dives during our shortened time at St. Kitts included Paradise reef, Anchors Aweigh, the River Taw, and the Corinthian. Diving at St. Kitts isnt why you sign up for this trip, the sites are less dramatic than those found on Saba, and the reefs less pristine due to the lack of prohibition on local fishing. The vis is generally lower. On our trip it ranged from 20 at its worst to 40 at best. But the wrecks offer some welcome variety, and the conditions tended to be easier with more protection from prevailing winds and minimal current to contend with.
Ashore St. Kitts felt more raw than the polished gem of Saba. Streetside bars and vendors selling locals food grilled on halved steel drums abounded, there was loud pulsing music along the waterfront, and a chaotic feel to the city streets that contrasted with the tidy streets and brightly painted windows of Saba. St. Kittss largest town, Basseterre, alone boasts a population about 10 times that of the entire island of Saba, and while the downtown area was alive with restaurants, some areas outside the main square were decidedly more coarse, and we were advised against traveling afoot in some parts of town after dark. Port Zante was artifice and kitsch catering to the crowds ashore from the cruise ships. Taking the land tour allows you to appreciate the beauty of the farther flung reaches of the island, with beautiful coastline and fetching greenery. Our visit to Brimstone Hill Fortress National park was the highlight for me, both out of historical interest and to see the restored ramparts and old citadel with commanding views over the sea approaches below. Much like another fortress with ties to the old British Empire, Gibraltar, primates can be seen at Brimstone Hill, though we only chanced to see one at a distance while driving down from the fortress. After dinner together with some of the crew at Ballyhoo restaurant, with decent food served at near glacial pace, we returned for one last night aboard ship before catching a very early taxi to Robert L. Bradshaw International airport. After checking your bags at the counter, you must pay a $22 departure fee in cash, before going through cursory security screening and entering the non-airconditioned passenger lounge. Functional, but no flash. Walking out to board an ATR to Puerto Rico, you were reminded of the fierce tropical heat, and asked to keep window shades drawn aboard the aircraft to help keep it cool. A short takeoff run, and we were aloft leaving the islands and the Caribbean Explorer II behind for the new adventures of its new complement of fortunate guests. As we left, we felt the turbulence and saw the clouds of an incoming storm, which was to develop into Hurricane Irene after passing over the leeward islands, and is even now as I write this churning through the Bahamas and threatening the US east coast. So our timing was excellent, and the trip memorable. With regards, Slingshot
Great video - we did this trip 2 weeks before you, saw the same guys so this brought back good memories.
