daval
Contributor
Overall it was a fantastic trip, no major issues aside from the Jellyfish larvae, I cant remember which dive it was on but on one 15 stop I was hit down my entire right side, and since I was wearing a 3mm shorty it was quite painful. They are completely invisible and you just feel this sharp stinging all up and down wherever contact is made. Its pretty uncomfortable for about 30 minutes and then you dont feel it anymore. A week later little bumps rose and it was itchy as hell for about 2 days, but calmine lotion took care of that. Would I go again? Yes, in a heartbeat but not until I can afford it. The cost of living there is ridiculously high.
All dives were done with 7 mile watersports
I would highly recommend diving with them, very professional operation. The boat was large (42') and could easily handle a dozen or more divers, but we never had more than 8 of us on the boat so had plenty of room and nice leisurely dives. They specialize in the North Wall.
pictures and videos can be seen ->> Here <<- password is ontariodiving
Dive 1:-
Lemon Drop-off 35 minutes, 101 max, water temp 80
-First dive off of the boat at the North Wall. Saw an Eagle Ray, Great Barracuda & a Turtle. Great start to the dive trip!
- Was a little underweighted so hung onto line for the safety stop
-Was stung by jellyfish larvae on left hand as soon as I got to bottom of reef ledge approx 50, a bit annoying but not painful, treated with vinegar after dive and discomfort faded after about 30 minutes.
Dive 2:-
Lemon Reef 52 minutes, 54 max
-Second boat dive of Day 1, literally about 100 from Lemon Drop-Off
-Saw 3 turtles, Puffer fish and lots of Trumpet Fish
-Added 2lb and still felt slightly underweight
Dive 3:-
Turtle Farm 40 minutes, 59 max
-third dive of day 1
-Fantastic dive site, took camera for first dive of trip. Saw a huge school of Tarpon and several large barracuda. Also saw and eagle ray & large variety of reef fish
-Forgot to add weight, still felt slightly underweight
Dive 4:-
Turtle Farm 46 minutes, 54 max
-Saw turtle and sting ray, got good pics
-Added 2lb and felt perfect weight wise
Dive 5:-
The Cathedral 33 minutes, 120 max
-First boat dive of day 2
-Descend down a chasm that ends at 115, then swam along wall looking at wildlife
-Saw a very large grouper & buried stringray
-A grey reef shark, & sailfish were sighted by other divers we didnt see
Dive 6:-
Channel End 50 minutes, 54 max
-Second boat dive of day 2
-Saw lots of lobsters this dive and a large crab
Dive 7:-
Turtle Farm night dive - 47 minutes, 58 max
-Third dive of day 2
-Totally amazing night dive with 3 of us
-Saw absolutely loads of life including multiple lobsters, octopus, scorpion fish, etc.
-My favourite dive of my career to date.
Dive 8:-
Hole in the wall 37 minutes, 121 max
-first boat dive of day 3
-Descended down wall and through a swim through that is the hole in the wall
-Saw loads of lobsters on the wall, I wish it was lobster season!
Dive 9:-
Mushroom reef 53 minutes, 61 max
-Second boat dive of day 3
-Saw a huge moray eel finally was free swimming and then went into hole, got lots of pictures closeup and also posed with it
-Also saw loads of various reef fish
Dive 10:-
Sunset House Reef - 43 minutes, 57 max
-third dive of day 3
-Late afternoon dive, loads of fish around.
-We were followed around for about 30 minutes by a couple of very large jacks that literally stayed with us the entire dive
-Also saw the statue of Ariel the mermaid
-Forgot to turn camera on before putting in housing so no pics
-Broke fin strap buckle at end of dive
Dive 11:
Sunset House Reef - 46 minutes, 55 max
-fourth dive of day 3
-Night dive at same sight
-Not as many fish as first dive, but still a lot of fun
-Posed with the statue and took lots of pictures
Dive 12:
White St.roke Canyon " - 38 minutes, 131 max
-First boat dive of day 4
-Descended along wall and toured along looking at all the scenery
-Saw an eagle ray and turtle while on safety stops (damn!)
Dive 13:
Hunting Cat 51 minutes, 64
-Second boat dive of day 4
-Got great pictures of a turtle that hung around us
-Also pictures of lobsters and various reef fish
Dive 14:
Gales Mountain 40 minutes, 101 max
-third boat dive of day 4
-after multi hour lunch break at Rum Point Yacht Club we did a third boat dive
-Did a very leisurely tour along the wall didnt see the mountain, must have gone the wrong way
-Got great video of an eagle ray
Dive 15:-
Blue Pinnacle 39 minutes, 115 max
-First boat dive of day 5
-another wall dive, descended through a nice swim through and then stepped our way back up the wall and across the reef
Dive 16:-
Stingray City 57 minutes, 15 max
- Second boat dive of day 5
- Loads of fun! Fed a huge moray eel some squid and it was eating it out
of our hands
- Also fed and played with 3 young stingrays, very neat, took loads of pictures
Dive 17:-
Turtle Farm 47 minutes, 59 max
-third dive of day 5
-leisurely tour of the now familiar Turtle Farm, took it slow looking into all of the nooks and crannys, taking lots of pictures
-Saw brown spotted eel
Dive 18:-
Turtle Farm 54 minutes, 62 max
-Night dive
-Saw at least 6 spotted eels they were everywhere!
-Also saw the ugliest lobster Ive ever seen walking sideways along wall face Spanish Lobster?
Dive 19:-
Ghost Mountain 38 minutes, 108 max
-First boat dive of day 6
-4 of us dropped down and though we were heading to Ghost Mountain which is a pinnacle about 50 100 out from the all that rises up 150 or so from bottom.
-There was a fairly decent current and the visibility although still pretty damn good was slightly less. We descended down wall and swam along hoping to hit the mountain, but didnt find it, so we went up the wall and swam against current back to boat area, then we saw the mountain in the distance so had just enough time to get to the pinnacle of it and then had to head back to boat.
-Because of the current the buoy was angled a different way than it normally is, and the boat was trailing behind that hence missing it the first time.
-Saw a nice turtle on the dive
Dive 20:-
Mushroom Reef - 57 minutes, 53 max
-Second boat dive of day 6
-Only north wall site that we repeat the entire week fortunately it was our favourite second dive site
-Took our time on this site, was a little bit of current that was non-existant the first time.
-There were two girls (a mother and daughter) who were on the boat and hadnt dove in 3 years so we stuck close to them to make sure they were ok. (they had joined us with their instructor at Turtle Reef the day before)
Dive 21-
Smiths Cove 47 minutes, 51 max
-third dive of day 6
-Late afternoon dive from the beach
-Was a fairly long dive out, but there was nice coral heads when we finally got there.
-Saw several eels, a stingray and two absolutely huge parrotfish, one was literally 3 long and 1 ½ tall
All dives were done with 7 mile watersports
I would highly recommend diving with them, very professional operation. The boat was large (42') and could easily handle a dozen or more divers, but we never had more than 8 of us on the boat so had plenty of room and nice leisurely dives. They specialize in the North Wall.
pictures and videos can be seen ->> Here <<- password is ontariodiving
Dive 1:-
Lemon Drop-off 35 minutes, 101 max, water temp 80
-First dive off of the boat at the North Wall. Saw an Eagle Ray, Great Barracuda & a Turtle. Great start to the dive trip!
- Was a little underweighted so hung onto line for the safety stop
-Was stung by jellyfish larvae on left hand as soon as I got to bottom of reef ledge approx 50, a bit annoying but not painful, treated with vinegar after dive and discomfort faded after about 30 minutes.
Dive 2:-
Lemon Reef 52 minutes, 54 max
-Second boat dive of Day 1, literally about 100 from Lemon Drop-Off
-Saw 3 turtles, Puffer fish and lots of Trumpet Fish
-Added 2lb and still felt slightly underweight
Dive 3:-
Turtle Farm 40 minutes, 59 max
-third dive of day 1
-Fantastic dive site, took camera for first dive of trip. Saw a huge school of Tarpon and several large barracuda. Also saw and eagle ray & large variety of reef fish
-Forgot to add weight, still felt slightly underweight
Dive 4:-
Turtle Farm 46 minutes, 54 max
-Saw turtle and sting ray, got good pics
-Added 2lb and felt perfect weight wise
Dive 5:-
The Cathedral 33 minutes, 120 max
-First boat dive of day 2
-Descend down a chasm that ends at 115, then swam along wall looking at wildlife
-Saw a very large grouper & buried stringray
-A grey reef shark, & sailfish were sighted by other divers we didnt see
Dive 6:-
Channel End 50 minutes, 54 max
-Second boat dive of day 2
-Saw lots of lobsters this dive and a large crab
Dive 7:-
Turtle Farm night dive - 47 minutes, 58 max
-Third dive of day 2
-Totally amazing night dive with 3 of us
-Saw absolutely loads of life including multiple lobsters, octopus, scorpion fish, etc.
-My favourite dive of my career to date.
Dive 8:-
Hole in the wall 37 minutes, 121 max
-first boat dive of day 3
-Descended down wall and through a swim through that is the hole in the wall
-Saw loads of lobsters on the wall, I wish it was lobster season!
Dive 9:-
Mushroom reef 53 minutes, 61 max
-Second boat dive of day 3
-Saw a huge moray eel finally was free swimming and then went into hole, got lots of pictures closeup and also posed with it
-Also saw loads of various reef fish
Dive 10:-
Sunset House Reef - 43 minutes, 57 max
-third dive of day 3
-Late afternoon dive, loads of fish around.
-We were followed around for about 30 minutes by a couple of very large jacks that literally stayed with us the entire dive
-Also saw the statue of Ariel the mermaid
-Forgot to turn camera on before putting in housing so no pics
-Broke fin strap buckle at end of dive
Dive 11:
Sunset House Reef - 46 minutes, 55 max
-fourth dive of day 3
-Night dive at same sight
-Not as many fish as first dive, but still a lot of fun
-Posed with the statue and took lots of pictures
Dive 12:
White St.roke Canyon " - 38 minutes, 131 max
-First boat dive of day 4
-Descended along wall and toured along looking at all the scenery
-Saw an eagle ray and turtle while on safety stops (damn!)
Dive 13:
Hunting Cat 51 minutes, 64
-Second boat dive of day 4
-Got great pictures of a turtle that hung around us
-Also pictures of lobsters and various reef fish
Dive 14:
Gales Mountain 40 minutes, 101 max
-third boat dive of day 4
-after multi hour lunch break at Rum Point Yacht Club we did a third boat dive
-Did a very leisurely tour along the wall didnt see the mountain, must have gone the wrong way
-Got great video of an eagle ray
Dive 15:-
Blue Pinnacle 39 minutes, 115 max
-First boat dive of day 5
-another wall dive, descended through a nice swim through and then stepped our way back up the wall and across the reef
Dive 16:-
Stingray City 57 minutes, 15 max
- Second boat dive of day 5
- Loads of fun! Fed a huge moray eel some squid and it was eating it out
of our hands
- Also fed and played with 3 young stingrays, very neat, took loads of pictures
Dive 17:-
Turtle Farm 47 minutes, 59 max
-third dive of day 5
-leisurely tour of the now familiar Turtle Farm, took it slow looking into all of the nooks and crannys, taking lots of pictures
-Saw brown spotted eel
Dive 18:-
Turtle Farm 54 minutes, 62 max
-Night dive
-Saw at least 6 spotted eels they were everywhere!
-Also saw the ugliest lobster Ive ever seen walking sideways along wall face Spanish Lobster?
Dive 19:-
Ghost Mountain 38 minutes, 108 max
-First boat dive of day 6
-4 of us dropped down and though we were heading to Ghost Mountain which is a pinnacle about 50 100 out from the all that rises up 150 or so from bottom.
-There was a fairly decent current and the visibility although still pretty damn good was slightly less. We descended down wall and swam along hoping to hit the mountain, but didnt find it, so we went up the wall and swam against current back to boat area, then we saw the mountain in the distance so had just enough time to get to the pinnacle of it and then had to head back to boat.
-Because of the current the buoy was angled a different way than it normally is, and the boat was trailing behind that hence missing it the first time.
-Saw a nice turtle on the dive
Dive 20:-
Mushroom Reef - 57 minutes, 53 max
-Second boat dive of day 6
-Only north wall site that we repeat the entire week fortunately it was our favourite second dive site
-Took our time on this site, was a little bit of current that was non-existant the first time.
-There were two girls (a mother and daughter) who were on the boat and hadnt dove in 3 years so we stuck close to them to make sure they were ok. (they had joined us with their instructor at Turtle Reef the day before)
Dive 21-
Smiths Cove 47 minutes, 51 max
-third dive of day 6
-Late afternoon dive from the beach
-Was a fairly long dive out, but there was nice coral heads when we finally got there.
-Saw several eels, a stingray and two absolutely huge parrotfish, one was literally 3 long and 1 ½ tall
