And for those who just want to see a slideshow of pictures and video from the trip instead of reading, well here you go.
Ok so I know its late, but I decided I would throw together a trip report for my trip to the Bahamas aboard the Morning Star last month.
All in all the trip was fantastic but I will break it down into smaller parts so people who are considering a similar trip will have some insight into what it will be like.
We were a group of cold water divers from Alberta who all got together and booked the trip together so for us the whole boat was booked with friends. There was a good mix of experience from instructors to open water and advanced students. Everyone did really well and had a great time.
When we first arrived at Blackbeard's dock, it was really windy. We were told that because of the wind we would not be able to depart at 3 pm as they usually do and would likely not be able to depart until overnight sometime when the winds die down. We were also told to prepare ourselves for a crappy week weather wise.
Because we were all itching to get wet and we couldn't leave the dock, a bunch of us decided to have our first dive right then and there at the dock. It was only about 15 feet deep but it did allow us to get in the water and check out things like weights and equipment. Besides it was better than sitting around doing nothing.
We were finally able to leave the dock at about 7 pm, it was still windy, but it had died down enough to get the boat out of the channel. With hardly any time left in the day we just pulled out to a place where we could anchor the boat for the night, go ashore and have a bon fire, all in all not a bad first day.
Due to the high winds that continued we spent the next two days diving right in the Freeport area. The wind didnt affect the diving too much, although it did have us fighting some waves and harsh surface conditions. This did make some of our students a little nervous getting back on board the ship, but in the end they managed just fine. The water temperature was 72 F so was quite a bit warmer than our local 44 F waters but was still a little chilly. I started wearing just a 3mm full suit with a hood, and was fine but started to get a little cold after the 30 minute mark of the dive, so I ended up layering my 3mm full with my 2 mm shorty and was just fine after that. There were a few people who brought their drysuits from back home and wore them. Sadly I was not one of them; my drysuit was left in my basement at home. The people in the drysuits were the most comfortable of everyone with just a minimal layer of underwear they were warm during the dive, but with the cold high winds, getting undressed and being instantly dry on the boat was the most advantageous part. Most of us froze while getting out of our wetsuits in the cold wind.
The diving itself was pretty good. The one thing I did notice in comparison with other locations I have dived was the amount of sand on the coral. There was a substantial amount, as well as a lot of damaged coral fans ect. There was still however an abundance of life and the diving was very enjoyable. While on a surface interval just off Freeport we were anchored in about 20 feet of water, when we looked under the boat and saw 6 or 7 large reef sharks. As our tanks were still pumping from the previous dive a bunch of us grabbed our snorkels and went snorkelling with sharks. It was a lot of fun.
After our 2 days in Freeport the captain told us that another storm was approaching with more really high winds and the Freeport area was about to be blown out. Binimi, the normal route for Blackbeards was way too exposed and was out of the question so that night we spent the night under sail and headed for shelter behind the Berry Islands.
As Blackbeards does not normally dive that area of the Berry islands we spent a lot of time scoping out some new dive sites and managed to find a few unnamed gems. We had the privilege of being the first from Blackbeards to div several sites around the Berry Islands. The wind however was still an issue and we even took refuge from it by anchoring and hauling all our gear to shore to hike inland to dive the blue hole.
We kept on the move a lot always looking for the calmest water. The crew did a bang up job of finding places to dive despite the weather. We did 18 dives in all including 3 night dives.
The food on the boat was absolutely amazing and full marks go to the cook on board. Every meal was great and there was always lots of food and drink for everyone no matter what their personal tastes were.
All in all, it was a great trip, even despite the wind and the fact that we all had to wear coats the entire week.
Ok so I know its late, but I decided I would throw together a trip report for my trip to the Bahamas aboard the Morning Star last month.
All in all the trip was fantastic but I will break it down into smaller parts so people who are considering a similar trip will have some insight into what it will be like.
We were a group of cold water divers from Alberta who all got together and booked the trip together so for us the whole boat was booked with friends. There was a good mix of experience from instructors to open water and advanced students. Everyone did really well and had a great time.
When we first arrived at Blackbeard's dock, it was really windy. We were told that because of the wind we would not be able to depart at 3 pm as they usually do and would likely not be able to depart until overnight sometime when the winds die down. We were also told to prepare ourselves for a crappy week weather wise.
Because we were all itching to get wet and we couldn't leave the dock, a bunch of us decided to have our first dive right then and there at the dock. It was only about 15 feet deep but it did allow us to get in the water and check out things like weights and equipment. Besides it was better than sitting around doing nothing.
We were finally able to leave the dock at about 7 pm, it was still windy, but it had died down enough to get the boat out of the channel. With hardly any time left in the day we just pulled out to a place where we could anchor the boat for the night, go ashore and have a bon fire, all in all not a bad first day.
Due to the high winds that continued we spent the next two days diving right in the Freeport area. The wind didnt affect the diving too much, although it did have us fighting some waves and harsh surface conditions. This did make some of our students a little nervous getting back on board the ship, but in the end they managed just fine. The water temperature was 72 F so was quite a bit warmer than our local 44 F waters but was still a little chilly. I started wearing just a 3mm full suit with a hood, and was fine but started to get a little cold after the 30 minute mark of the dive, so I ended up layering my 3mm full with my 2 mm shorty and was just fine after that. There were a few people who brought their drysuits from back home and wore them. Sadly I was not one of them; my drysuit was left in my basement at home. The people in the drysuits were the most comfortable of everyone with just a minimal layer of underwear they were warm during the dive, but with the cold high winds, getting undressed and being instantly dry on the boat was the most advantageous part. Most of us froze while getting out of our wetsuits in the cold wind.
The diving itself was pretty good. The one thing I did notice in comparison with other locations I have dived was the amount of sand on the coral. There was a substantial amount, as well as a lot of damaged coral fans ect. There was still however an abundance of life and the diving was very enjoyable. While on a surface interval just off Freeport we were anchored in about 20 feet of water, when we looked under the boat and saw 6 or 7 large reef sharks. As our tanks were still pumping from the previous dive a bunch of us grabbed our snorkels and went snorkelling with sharks. It was a lot of fun.
After our 2 days in Freeport the captain told us that another storm was approaching with more really high winds and the Freeport area was about to be blown out. Binimi, the normal route for Blackbeards was way too exposed and was out of the question so that night we spent the night under sail and headed for shelter behind the Berry Islands.
As Blackbeards does not normally dive that area of the Berry islands we spent a lot of time scoping out some new dive sites and managed to find a few unnamed gems. We had the privilege of being the first from Blackbeards to div several sites around the Berry Islands. The wind however was still an issue and we even took refuge from it by anchoring and hauling all our gear to shore to hike inland to dive the blue hole.
We kept on the move a lot always looking for the calmest water. The crew did a bang up job of finding places to dive despite the weather. We did 18 dives in all including 3 night dives.
The food on the boat was absolutely amazing and full marks go to the cook on board. Every meal was great and there was always lots of food and drink for everyone no matter what their personal tastes were.
All in all, it was a great trip, even despite the wind and the fact that we all had to wear coats the entire week.
