master_diver_UJ
Contributor
March 2007 Aruba Trip Report
I just got back from Aruba. My non-diving wife and I, along with my dive buddy Greg & his wife, spent seven days at the Marriott Stellaris Resort & Casino.
The Marriott complex spans three properties. The hotel where my party stayed, is linked to two timeshare properties, the Marriott Ocean Club and the Marriott Surf Club. The complex has all the appropriate amenities, pools, pool bars, restaurants, a nice beach front, watersports, shopping, etc. Happy hour was 3 – 5pm. The hotel was busy, but not packed. My wife and I had a nice Ocean view room, that afforded us great sunrises and sunsets. Everyone at the resort was nice, the room was clean, and yes, the casino kicked our collective ***’s.
I did three days of two tank dives with SEAruba. My dive buddy Greg and I had a great time with them. They have two boats, a multitude of dive masters, and schedule their dives only a few days in advance – so you have the opportunity to influence where they’re going. They picked us up at our hotel at 8:15am, and dropped us off when we were done - usually back to the hotel by 1:30pm – just in time for lunch.
The dive masters gave good pre-dive instructions, and gave history briefs on all of the dive sites which I found to be very interesting.
This was my first trip with my new equipment. I was eager to see how well my stuff would work (Atomic B2, AL Calypso octo, Suunto Cobra, SeaQuest ProQD) , and was very pleased with everything. I wore my 3/2 shorty for all dives.
All of my dives were off of SEAruba’s Sea Queen. We generally set out with 8 – 12 divers, and 2 or 3 dive masters/leaders in the water, meaning the groups in the water were usually 5 or 6 divers per dive master.
Doesn't anybody record their dives in their log books anymore? I was the only one on board with a log. I made some quick notes after each dive, and downloaded from my computer once I got home???? I still like keeping track of what I've seen and where.
Sorry, no pictures.
Dive 1: YS-11
The weather was not cooperating Monday morning when we left the pier for this site. Thunder, wind, waves, and hard rain all the way out.
This site is home to an old twin prop airliner that was sunk for divers and to create an artificial reef. The rumor was that this was one of the original fleet of Aruba Airlines?? The plane is upright on it’s landing gear, and the tail is resting at 75 feet. The plane is in excellent shape, and the cockpit is wide open for a swim through or look around. A swift current cost me a ton of air as I kicked hard to reach the plane. After spending 10 minutes at the plane, we drifted over the reef until the dive was completed. Upon surfacing, the storm had left, and the seas had calmed.
Dive 2: Harbour Reef
Harbor reef is just off of the cruise ship terminal, created in part when the harbor was dredged deeper for the freighters and cruise ships that frequent the Island. This was an easy drift dive. Visibility was about 60 feet, with a little silt in the water – probably from the mornings thunderstorms. Saw a bunch of cool fish, a couple moray eels, lobsters, crabs, and some sort of ray. During the dive, a cruise ship was moving around, and the noise from it’s props/engines was pretty loud.
Dive 3: Antilla Wreck
Second day of diving in Aruba. I was really looking forward to this dive, a lot of history behind this one. Referred to locally as the ghost ship, the Antilla is a German freighter that was scuttled by the Germans in 1945. The Antilla is the largest wreck in the Caribbean (400' long) and was sunk when it was practically brand new. When our boat arrived at the site, the topside was crowded by snorkelers from a pirate/party ship. You could see the wreck pretty well from the surface, and splashing in, my expectations were high. Visibility at 25 feet was excellent – probably 80 – 90 feet. Once we dropped further, we ran into what I can only describe as a sandstorm underwater. Visibility dropped to 10 feet, and it was a little disorientating. I used the compass bearing I noted before descending as a guide, and we made our way in and around the ship. I was glad I brought along my iklite! Upon surfacing, our dive master stated that she had never seen visibility so bad on the Antilla.
Dive 4: Pedernalis Wreck
The Pedernales wreck is what remains of an oil tanker torpedoed by a German submarine during WWII. The wreck of the Pedernales was cut into three pieces by the U.S. military during the war. The center piece, damaged by the torpedo, was left behind, and the two end pieces were towed to the U.S. and welded together into a smaller vessel. The new ship was a part of the Normandy invasion fleet.
The wreck site isn’t that big. Because of the poor visibility, I got really close to everything to see it. A lot of marine life hiding under the blown up ship. Saw some cool fish, a couple small groupers, and some bright orange fish that I still haven’t been able to identify.
Dive 5: Skalahein
Rough seas heading out to this site had a few divers on the boat a little green around the gills. This was a great drift dive. Skalahein is a slope/reef. The majority of the reef is around 60 feet, once you get deeper it thins out a bit. I saw a couple of moray eels, a spotted ray, and big schools of these crazy acting purple fish. A thermo cline around 63 feet was a welcome break from the 80 degree water. A very enjoyable dive. Of note, the first time I’ve ever had a tank slip out of it’s strap on my bcd. The dive master with me was able to quickly re-clamp it in there, but a good reminder to everybody to make sure that their tank strap is tight.
Dive 6: The Palm Slope
The last dive of any dive trip is always sad, and this was no exception. Great visibility greeted us in the water, and marine life was plentiful. Tons of cool fish, the biggest moray eel I’ve seen to date (had to be a seven footer – easy!), and a small shark that cruised by the group.
Overall, my wife and I loved our vacation on Aruba. The weather, other than Monday, was great. The diving is good, but not top shelf – I thought Cayman & Cozumel are better. However, Aruba has beautiful beaches, friendly people, plenty of shopping, great restaurants, and my wife had plenty to do when I was diving.
As Arnold has so often said, I’ll be back!
I just got back from Aruba. My non-diving wife and I, along with my dive buddy Greg & his wife, spent seven days at the Marriott Stellaris Resort & Casino.
The Marriott complex spans three properties. The hotel where my party stayed, is linked to two timeshare properties, the Marriott Ocean Club and the Marriott Surf Club. The complex has all the appropriate amenities, pools, pool bars, restaurants, a nice beach front, watersports, shopping, etc. Happy hour was 3 – 5pm. The hotel was busy, but not packed. My wife and I had a nice Ocean view room, that afforded us great sunrises and sunsets. Everyone at the resort was nice, the room was clean, and yes, the casino kicked our collective ***’s.
I did three days of two tank dives with SEAruba. My dive buddy Greg and I had a great time with them. They have two boats, a multitude of dive masters, and schedule their dives only a few days in advance – so you have the opportunity to influence where they’re going. They picked us up at our hotel at 8:15am, and dropped us off when we were done - usually back to the hotel by 1:30pm – just in time for lunch.
The dive masters gave good pre-dive instructions, and gave history briefs on all of the dive sites which I found to be very interesting.
This was my first trip with my new equipment. I was eager to see how well my stuff would work (Atomic B2, AL Calypso octo, Suunto Cobra, SeaQuest ProQD) , and was very pleased with everything. I wore my 3/2 shorty for all dives.
All of my dives were off of SEAruba’s Sea Queen. We generally set out with 8 – 12 divers, and 2 or 3 dive masters/leaders in the water, meaning the groups in the water were usually 5 or 6 divers per dive master.
Doesn't anybody record their dives in their log books anymore? I was the only one on board with a log. I made some quick notes after each dive, and downloaded from my computer once I got home???? I still like keeping track of what I've seen and where.
Sorry, no pictures.
Dive 1: YS-11
- Max Depth: 65 feet
- Dive Time: 41:31
- Weather: Thunderstorm, wind, rain, waves
- Visibility: 70 feet
- Surface Temp: 79 F
- Depth Temp: 79 F
- Starting Pressure: 3104 psi
- Ending Pressure: 477 psi
The weather was not cooperating Monday morning when we left the pier for this site. Thunder, wind, waves, and hard rain all the way out.
This site is home to an old twin prop airliner that was sunk for divers and to create an artificial reef. The rumor was that this was one of the original fleet of Aruba Airlines?? The plane is upright on it’s landing gear, and the tail is resting at 75 feet. The plane is in excellent shape, and the cockpit is wide open for a swim through or look around. A swift current cost me a ton of air as I kicked hard to reach the plane. After spending 10 minutes at the plane, we drifted over the reef until the dive was completed. Upon surfacing, the storm had left, and the seas had calmed.
Dive 2: Harbour Reef
- Dive Time: 48.35
- Max Depth: 60 feet
- Weather: Cloudy
- Visibility: 60 feet
- Surface Temp: 81 F
- Depth Temp: 79 F
- Starting Pressure: 3155 psi
- Ending Pressure: 870 psi
Harbor reef is just off of the cruise ship terminal, created in part when the harbor was dredged deeper for the freighters and cruise ships that frequent the Island. This was an easy drift dive. Visibility was about 60 feet, with a little silt in the water – probably from the mornings thunderstorms. Saw a bunch of cool fish, a couple moray eels, lobsters, crabs, and some sort of ray. During the dive, a cruise ship was moving around, and the noise from it’s props/engines was pretty loud.
Dive 3: Antilla Wreck
- Max Depth: 54 feet
- Dive Time: 44:19
- Weather: Partly Cloudy
- Visibility: 10-20 feet
- Surface Temp: 79 F
- Depth Temp: 82 F
- Starting Pressure: 2814 psi
- Ending Pressure: 609 psi
Second day of diving in Aruba. I was really looking forward to this dive, a lot of history behind this one. Referred to locally as the ghost ship, the Antilla is a German freighter that was scuttled by the Germans in 1945. The Antilla is the largest wreck in the Caribbean (400' long) and was sunk when it was practically brand new. When our boat arrived at the site, the topside was crowded by snorkelers from a pirate/party ship. You could see the wreck pretty well from the surface, and splashing in, my expectations were high. Visibility at 25 feet was excellent – probably 80 – 90 feet. Once we dropped further, we ran into what I can only describe as a sandstorm underwater. Visibility dropped to 10 feet, and it was a little disorientating. I used the compass bearing I noted before descending as a guide, and we made our way in and around the ship. I was glad I brought along my iklite! Upon surfacing, our dive master stated that she had never seen visibility so bad on the Antilla.
Dive 4: Pedernalis Wreck
- Max Depth: 24 feet
- Dive Time: 55:43
- Weather: Partly Cloudy
- Visibility: 20 feet
- Surface Temp: 81 F
- Depth Temp: 79 F
- Starting Pressure: 3075 psi
- Ending Pressure: 1189 psi
The Pedernales wreck is what remains of an oil tanker torpedoed by a German submarine during WWII. The wreck of the Pedernales was cut into three pieces by the U.S. military during the war. The center piece, damaged by the torpedo, was left behind, and the two end pieces were towed to the U.S. and welded together into a smaller vessel. The new ship was a part of the Normandy invasion fleet.
The wreck site isn’t that big. Because of the poor visibility, I got really close to everything to see it. A lot of marine life hiding under the blown up ship. Saw some cool fish, a couple small groupers, and some bright orange fish that I still haven’t been able to identify.
Dive 5: Skalahein
- Max Depth: 76 feet
- Dive Time: 45:14
- Weather: Sunny
- Visibility: 100 feet
- Surface Temp: 82 F
- Depth Temp: 79 F
- Starting Pressure: 2930
- Ending Pressure: 667
Rough seas heading out to this site had a few divers on the boat a little green around the gills. This was a great drift dive. Skalahein is a slope/reef. The majority of the reef is around 60 feet, once you get deeper it thins out a bit. I saw a couple of moray eels, a spotted ray, and big schools of these crazy acting purple fish. A thermo cline around 63 feet was a welcome break from the 80 degree water. A very enjoyable dive. Of note, the first time I’ve ever had a tank slip out of it’s strap on my bcd. The dive master with me was able to quickly re-clamp it in there, but a good reminder to everybody to make sure that their tank strap is tight.
Dive 6: The Palm Slope
- Max Depth: 70 feet
- Dive Time: 47:40
- Weather: Sunny
- Visibility: 100 feet
- Surface Temp: 82 F
- Depth Temp: 79 F
- Starting Pressure: 2901 psi
- Ending Pressure: 696 psi
The last dive of any dive trip is always sad, and this was no exception. Great visibility greeted us in the water, and marine life was plentiful. Tons of cool fish, the biggest moray eel I’ve seen to date (had to be a seven footer – easy!), and a small shark that cruised by the group.
Overall, my wife and I loved our vacation on Aruba. The weather, other than Monday, was great. The diving is good, but not top shelf – I thought Cayman & Cozumel are better. However, Aruba has beautiful beaches, friendly people, plenty of shopping, great restaurants, and my wife had plenty to do when I was diving.
As Arnold has so often said, I’ll be back!
