rlowe
Registered
I just got back from a cruise to the Eastern VI. I got in two dives in St. Thomas and two dives in St. Maarten. Here is the report:
St. Thomas USVI - Buck Island Point
Date: 06/15/04
Dive Location: Buck Island Reef
Bottom Time: 35
Max Depth: 70
Vis: 40 - 50 ft
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
Comments: This was the first dive of the day. We had two groups with us. One was a group of beginners, who were in a cert class on the cruise. They went as a group with an instructor and DM. We were in a group of experienced divers who went with a DM as a guide. This was a simple dive in very calm and stable water. We basically cruised the reef and explored the sea life. Lots of brain coral, fans and such. The only think to note on this dive was a large ray. This one was about 6' in diameter. I had one of those cheep UW disposable cameras, but did not have it ready for the ray.
This is a reef and wreck in close proximity. We took a local boat out of the bay a short distance to Buck Island.
Date: 06/15/04
Dive Location: Buck Island Wreck
Bottom Time: 40
Max Depth: 45
Vis: 40 - 50 ft
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
This dive was a wreck dive. The wreck was split into three sections with sand between the sections. The wreck was in 40' of water so this was a shallow dive. Scenery was more of the same. When we circled around the rear of the wreck there were two large rectangular openings in the hull. Saw a nice 4' barracuda in one of the openings. At first all you could see were eyes and teeth. Then he decided to great us came out to see what was going on. I got some pics of him that I will upload soon. Pics are sort of unimpressive due to the crappy cam and no gauge of size. The rest of the dive was rather uneventful. We did some swim-throughs and circled back to the boat.
Date: 06/16/04
Dive Location: St. Maarten - Wreck
Bottom Time: 35
Max Depth: 50
Vis: 20 - 30 ft
Wave height: 4 - 5 ft
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
This was a little different experience from the first trip. The wind was up and the seas were more active. To start the day, while we were loading up, we were greeted with a rescue boat at the dock. A middle aged man was beeing administered CPR and rushed to the hospital. He was out and grey, we later learned he died. Nice start.
We went out on about a 35' boat to a wreck in open water. Many of the divers got a bit sick from the rocking. There was a bit of current at the surface so we used a tow line. We were instructed to immediatly swim to the toe line and take it down to the bottom. I took it down as instructed to find myself alone on the bottom. I had mask issues with gel de-fog blurring up my vision. I could not see much at all. Then a diver comes up to me out of the blur with a weight belt about to fall off. I grabed the diver and adjusted the belt for him. Then I removed my mask and gave it a good scrubing. I put my mask on and opened my eyes to find my buddy next to me. There was quite a current and the group was not prepared to deal with it. We poked around a wreck and then into a bowl of coral that was somewhat sheltered from the current. It was not long before my buddy was running short on air from fighting the current. We acended to 15 for our stop and held on to the anchor line. We noticed a fellow diver surfaced at the bow of the boat, which really concerned me. He was right under the bow and the waves were tossing the bow up and down. He managed to swim out and around to the stern. My buddy and I continued our stop and proceeded to the tow line at the stern before surfacing.
We arrived at the surface to many a sea sick tourist. To be honest I did not feel my best.
Date: 06/16/04
Dive Location: St. Maarten - Training bay
Bottom Time: 45
Max Depth: 30
Vis: 15 - 20 ft
Wave height: 1 - 2 ft
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
To the delight of most of the divers the Capitan decided to move into a shelterd cove that they use for training. This was a shallow sand bottom training ground with some platforms and various sunked stuff to look at. There were the usual sea life. Lots of urchins, puffers, eels, etc. This was a very calm and relaxing dive.
After this morning of diving we went into St. Maarten for some shoping. I really felt awefull. I was dizzy and exhausted. To be honest I was a little concerned. Towards the end of the day I was back to normal. We spoke with a fellow diver later on the trip and he felt the same. He said he thought the air was tainted with oil from the compressor. I really did not think of that but it may explain my ill feeling that day.
It was really great to be in clear salty water. I will post pics soon.
Randy.
St. Thomas USVI - Buck Island Point
Date: 06/15/04
Dive Location: Buck Island Reef
Bottom Time: 35
Max Depth: 70
Vis: 40 - 50 ft
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
Comments: This was the first dive of the day. We had two groups with us. One was a group of beginners, who were in a cert class on the cruise. They went as a group with an instructor and DM. We were in a group of experienced divers who went with a DM as a guide. This was a simple dive in very calm and stable water. We basically cruised the reef and explored the sea life. Lots of brain coral, fans and such. The only think to note on this dive was a large ray. This one was about 6' in diameter. I had one of those cheep UW disposable cameras, but did not have it ready for the ray.
This is a reef and wreck in close proximity. We took a local boat out of the bay a short distance to Buck Island.
Date: 06/15/04
Dive Location: Buck Island Wreck
Bottom Time: 40
Max Depth: 45
Vis: 40 - 50 ft
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
This dive was a wreck dive. The wreck was split into three sections with sand between the sections. The wreck was in 40' of water so this was a shallow dive. Scenery was more of the same. When we circled around the rear of the wreck there were two large rectangular openings in the hull. Saw a nice 4' barracuda in one of the openings. At first all you could see were eyes and teeth. Then he decided to great us came out to see what was going on. I got some pics of him that I will upload soon. Pics are sort of unimpressive due to the crappy cam and no gauge of size. The rest of the dive was rather uneventful. We did some swim-throughs and circled back to the boat.
Date: 06/16/04
Dive Location: St. Maarten - Wreck
Bottom Time: 35
Max Depth: 50
Vis: 20 - 30 ft
Wave height: 4 - 5 ft
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
This was a little different experience from the first trip. The wind was up and the seas were more active. To start the day, while we were loading up, we were greeted with a rescue boat at the dock. A middle aged man was beeing administered CPR and rushed to the hospital. He was out and grey, we later learned he died. Nice start.
We went out on about a 35' boat to a wreck in open water. Many of the divers got a bit sick from the rocking. There was a bit of current at the surface so we used a tow line. We were instructed to immediatly swim to the toe line and take it down to the bottom. I took it down as instructed to find myself alone on the bottom. I had mask issues with gel de-fog blurring up my vision. I could not see much at all. Then a diver comes up to me out of the blur with a weight belt about to fall off. I grabed the diver and adjusted the belt for him. Then I removed my mask and gave it a good scrubing. I put my mask on and opened my eyes to find my buddy next to me. There was quite a current and the group was not prepared to deal with it. We poked around a wreck and then into a bowl of coral that was somewhat sheltered from the current. It was not long before my buddy was running short on air from fighting the current. We acended to 15 for our stop and held on to the anchor line. We noticed a fellow diver surfaced at the bow of the boat, which really concerned me. He was right under the bow and the waves were tossing the bow up and down. He managed to swim out and around to the stern. My buddy and I continued our stop and proceeded to the tow line at the stern before surfacing.
We arrived at the surface to many a sea sick tourist. To be honest I did not feel my best.
Date: 06/16/04
Dive Location: St. Maarten - Training bay
Bottom Time: 45
Max Depth: 30
Vis: 15 - 20 ft
Wave height: 1 - 2 ft
Temp at depth: 82 F
Surface Temp: 90
To the delight of most of the divers the Capitan decided to move into a shelterd cove that they use for training. This was a shallow sand bottom training ground with some platforms and various sunked stuff to look at. There were the usual sea life. Lots of urchins, puffers, eels, etc. This was a very calm and relaxing dive.
After this morning of diving we went into St. Maarten for some shoping. I really felt awefull. I was dizzy and exhausted. To be honest I was a little concerned. Towards the end of the day I was back to normal. We spoke with a fellow diver later on the trip and he felt the same. He said he thought the air was tainted with oil from the compressor. I really did not think of that but it may explain my ill feeling that day.
It was really great to be in clear salty water. I will post pics soon.
Randy.
