Hi all,
Our trip got off to a slow start. We sat on the plane at JFK for over an hour while they pumped out a fuel tank and refilled it because the fuel guage wasn't working and they needed to know how much was in it.We arrived in Miami in time to see our connecting flight leaving. Last flight of the day.........Bummer. The airline put us up for the night and fed us.We had the first flight to Freeport in the morning.
When we arrived at Ocean Reef Yacht Club and Resort the weather was partly cloudy, around 80 and windy water temp was 75f. The dive boat had already left for the morning 2 tank dive.
For the next 2 days Debbielou and Paul were unable to dive. The seas were rough and only certified divers were being taken out. A couple of times during the trip the morning 2 tank dive ended up being a 1 tank dive because of rough seas and sick people on the boat. The afternoon dives were canceled as were the night dives.
Finally Debbielou and Paul got to get wet! they loved it. Over the next 6 days (we took 1 day off) they we able to complete their 4 c-dives and 2 more. They were amazed at the whole other world beneeth the waves.
One of their dives was at Shark Junction. Debbie wasn't sure she wanted to see sharks. I had been there earlier in the week and only saw 1 shark, well mating season must have ended and the females were back, There must have been 30 or more sharks.Debbie saw one as she was descending. She didn't see anything other than that one shark and a couple of Rays, She never took her eyes off of that one long enough to see the others!
For me the trip was great I logged 10 dives at 8 different sites (not what I planned on but I'm happy ).I Took specialty coarses for navigation and computer,and certified for Nitrox. I got experience with rough seas and strong currents. I didn't take the camera with me for the first 3 days because of diving in conditions I hadn't dove in before.
I saw Sharks, Rays, Barracuda, Grouper, and Jacks. I saw Parrotfish on 8 out of 10 dives, including a queen, and a stoplight.I saw a Queen angelfish, and lots of others I haven't learned the names of yet.Also all of the beautiful Coral.I especially liked the Plate Coral at Plate Reef.
The best day for me was Friday. We dove Theo's wreck on the first dive. 103ft max depth, 2 penetrations. That's my deepest dive yet and the first time inside of something underwater( it was big enought to swim 4 people wide holding hands).We also saw Seacucumbers here.As we were getting ready to leave the mooring a Loggerhead Turtle surfaced. I tried to get a picture for Debbie but it didn't come out.
Next we returned to shore and dropped some divers off and picked up Debbie and Paul. Then we dove Shark Junction. This time I had the camera. I think I got some nice shots. One shark was kind enough to swim right towards me and turn about 8-10 ft away.
After we had a great dinner at Ruby Swiss.
We were diving with Grand Bahama Scuba. They usually have 2 boats , but the big one was getting a new engine while we were there.They are on site at Ocean Reef Resort and Yacht Club. on Sundays there is an intro to Scuba in the Pool.Sunday afternoon is a shallow reef dive or snorkeling (weather permiting).The usuall schedule is a 2 tank morning dive, 1 tank afternoon dive and night dives weather permiting. Certification and Advanced Training are available. There are two full Instructor DMs, and a helper on weekends. They are very Newbie freindly, offering guided tours of the reefs. Certified Divers can do their own thing or stay with the group.
a few of our photos can be seen at
http://communities.msn.com/RickandDebsSite click on Diving Grand Bahama Spring 2001
also you can check out
http://www.grandbahamascuba.com
there is a link there to Ocean reef resort and Yacht Club
As we were leaving in the taxi for the airport Debbie started crying, I was glad we had already booked another trip for this fall.
Tavi:tree:
Our trip got off to a slow start. We sat on the plane at JFK for over an hour while they pumped out a fuel tank and refilled it because the fuel guage wasn't working and they needed to know how much was in it.We arrived in Miami in time to see our connecting flight leaving. Last flight of the day.........Bummer. The airline put us up for the night and fed us.We had the first flight to Freeport in the morning.
When we arrived at Ocean Reef Yacht Club and Resort the weather was partly cloudy, around 80 and windy water temp was 75f. The dive boat had already left for the morning 2 tank dive.
For the next 2 days Debbielou and Paul were unable to dive. The seas were rough and only certified divers were being taken out. A couple of times during the trip the morning 2 tank dive ended up being a 1 tank dive because of rough seas and sick people on the boat. The afternoon dives were canceled as were the night dives.
Finally Debbielou and Paul got to get wet! they loved it. Over the next 6 days (we took 1 day off) they we able to complete their 4 c-dives and 2 more. They were amazed at the whole other world beneeth the waves.
One of their dives was at Shark Junction. Debbie wasn't sure she wanted to see sharks. I had been there earlier in the week and only saw 1 shark, well mating season must have ended and the females were back, There must have been 30 or more sharks.Debbie saw one as she was descending. She didn't see anything other than that one shark and a couple of Rays, She never took her eyes off of that one long enough to see the others!
For me the trip was great I logged 10 dives at 8 different sites (not what I planned on but I'm happy ).I Took specialty coarses for navigation and computer,and certified for Nitrox. I got experience with rough seas and strong currents. I didn't take the camera with me for the first 3 days because of diving in conditions I hadn't dove in before.
I saw Sharks, Rays, Barracuda, Grouper, and Jacks. I saw Parrotfish on 8 out of 10 dives, including a queen, and a stoplight.I saw a Queen angelfish, and lots of others I haven't learned the names of yet.Also all of the beautiful Coral.I especially liked the Plate Coral at Plate Reef.
The best day for me was Friday. We dove Theo's wreck on the first dive. 103ft max depth, 2 penetrations. That's my deepest dive yet and the first time inside of something underwater( it was big enought to swim 4 people wide holding hands).We also saw Seacucumbers here.As we were getting ready to leave the mooring a Loggerhead Turtle surfaced. I tried to get a picture for Debbie but it didn't come out.
Next we returned to shore and dropped some divers off and picked up Debbie and Paul. Then we dove Shark Junction. This time I had the camera. I think I got some nice shots. One shark was kind enough to swim right towards me and turn about 8-10 ft away.
After we had a great dinner at Ruby Swiss.
We were diving with Grand Bahama Scuba. They usually have 2 boats , but the big one was getting a new engine while we were there.They are on site at Ocean Reef Resort and Yacht Club. on Sundays there is an intro to Scuba in the Pool.Sunday afternoon is a shallow reef dive or snorkeling (weather permiting).The usuall schedule is a 2 tank morning dive, 1 tank afternoon dive and night dives weather permiting. Certification and Advanced Training are available. There are two full Instructor DMs, and a helper on weekends. They are very Newbie freindly, offering guided tours of the reefs. Certified Divers can do their own thing or stay with the group.
a few of our photos can be seen at
http://communities.msn.com/RickandDebsSite click on Diving Grand Bahama Spring 2001
also you can check out
http://www.grandbahamascuba.com
there is a link there to Ocean reef resort and Yacht Club
As we were leaving in the taxi for the airport Debbie started crying, I was glad we had already booked another trip for this fall.
Tavi:tree:
