trip report, caribbean explorer ll, saba and st kitts

[smokey braden]

left richmond and traded planes in miami and landed in st martin.
did the same on the return except we flew out of st kitts.
no problems on american airline, ticket was $375.

met the boat in st martin.
everyone was given a private room.
the crew of 7 was happy with only 10 guests.
the chef jane loved her job and this made everyone happy.

we dove saba for 3 days.
my favorite site was diamond rock.
the big stuff was nurse and reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays and sting rays.

we dove st kitts for 2 days.
sites were shallow and small wrecks.
it appeared hurricanes have done a lot of damage to their reef system.

the crew was great.
they did many things to keep everyone happy.
the food was very good with plenty for secounds.
the rooms were kept very tidy.

we were briefed before every dive.
never got a short fill.
everyone dove with a buddy.
there were 2 dm's but other crew members dove with us.
we were asked to give our depth, time and left over gas after each dive.
they kept a close eye on our profiles.
green gas was offered.

all in all i had a blast and made new friends.
the $500 discount was right on time.

i've dove with the explorer boats many times.
it should be noted that the customer service bar has been raised considerably.
everyone from the office staff to the crew could not have treated us any better.
i'd say you can be treated as well or better with this company as any other.

i'll be on little cayman 6/28/11.
still doing research for 2011's lob.
regards,

 

[carriemak]

Great trip report. Thanks for posting. See you in Little Cayman.

 

[divengolf]

You didn't mention Statia. Did they stop there for diving or go straight to St. Kitts from Saba. When I did the CEII a few years ago, the best diving was at Statia.

 

[rongoodman]

Did anyone end up with the rubber chicken attached to their tank? My dive buddy Magda couldn't figure out why I was laughing like an idiot on one dive as she was swimming along with the chicken trailing behind, a small stream of bubbles coming out of its mouth.

 

[smokey braden]

divegolf,
they did not take us to statia.

rongoodman,
we saw the chicken hanging on the dive deck.
never saw it on a dive.

 

[bcaderunr]

Thanks for the report. I dove the same itinerary last year in November and it's exactly as you described. Diamond Rock (and Saba) were the highlights for me as well. I don't think you missed anything in Statia. A local guide was required to accompany us on our one day of diving there - a surly young kid who was more interested in sampling our food and drink. Except for one sandy site that was crawling with Flying Gunards, there wasn't any diving I'd want to repeat there.

Finally, great boat and crew. We also did the Southern Bahamas with them last June. Recommend that as well. Pristine walls and random hammerheads galore.

 

[H2O Gal]

What is the meaning of the rubber chicken? When we dove the Nekton Pilot we would see people with one hanging off their tank and we never found out what it meant...

 

[smokey braden]

h2o gal,
i take the chicken as a joke.
it is made of rubber and is of actual size.
they hook it on the first stage as the diver does their wide stride.
the diver does not have a clue.
they do not know why everyone is taking their picture.
some say the chicken attracts great whites.

 

[bcaderunr]

I, too, knew nothing of the "rubber chicken" until I had it hung on me early in the week on a Bahamas Liveaboard. Figured I was "IT" and happily assumed the obligation of tagging the next "victim". Well, there was one guy (always is) who was big, loud and knew everything about everything -- kind of the playground bully.

I made him my intended target and successfully nailed him on a drift dive the next day. He didn't take it so well and we never saw the chicken again for the rest of the week.

 

[Shasta_man]

What?! A bully who can't take it?! good job runr