trip reports

Our group of 21 USA Divers enjoyed the gorgeous teal blue water of Bonaire while at Divi Dive Resort.  As nature lovers we found delight in the great ocean views, beautiful landscaping, colorful butterflies and busy humming birds on the premises.  We had sunny weather, reasonable seas, and yummy breakfasts along with helpful and experienced boat crew who graciously let us have a significant say in our destinations, which was much appreciated. 

In the afternoon/ evening  we took advantage of our afternoon boat dive / shore dives on our own time schedule.  Some chose to relax around the pool while others did so at the beach front bar, the casino or on tours to see the salt flats, flamingos, caves and donkey preserves.  Short walks into town let us enjoy the the local restaurants.   Some favorite spots were the Umbrella, At Sea (best oysters ever), It Rains Fishes, Mezze, and C'est La Vie.

Little Cayman Beach Resort Trip Report
May 20-27, 2023

If I was writing an Ebay ad to sell this (slightly used) trip, here is what I would say.

• Sunny weather
• Light wind
• Flat seas
• 100 ft. visibility
• Great diving
• Helpful and experienced boat crew
• Large, comfortable dive boat
• Great food
• Pleasant rooms
• Swimming pool and bar when diving is done

And you can have all of that for six days of two dives in the morning and one dive in the afternoon (except Friday), plus one night dive. Really, we could not get over how well Nils picked the week for the Little Cayman trip this year.

Click here to view the picture album in Google Photos.

Indonesia: Raja Ampat to Triton Bay &

Triton Bay - Forgotten Islands – Banda Sea

 Damai I, Live aboard – 2 trips Mar 13-24; Mar 26-Apr 06

We were on two back-2-back liveaboards – 13 people each trip. 6 people started in Lembeh straits (Sands Resort). 4 people went home via Borneo for an Orangutan river cruise. 3 people stayed behind in Ambon for diving. Several people went to Bali for either land based touring and/or diving the East side Tulamben/Liberty Wreck. There should be several photo gallery folders coming.

We by and large saw all the stuff we came to see: Plenty of soft corals and hard corals; plenty of small schooling fish; all the big animals: Mantas (Ocean, Reef, Mobius), Sharks, even a hammerhead, snorkeled and dove with Whale sharks; Wobbegongs, Napoleons, Turtles, Cuddle Fish; There were also plenty of small stuff: (Ghost) Pipefish, Nudibranchs, Pygmy Seahorses and of course several species of “Nemo” …

Wayne Sullivan is one of our newest club members. He is also the owner of a 117 ft. yacht and likes to go diving with friends. His yacht has three bedrooms for six guests plus a master bedroom for Wayne's family. He joined our club so when openings come up on his dive trips, he can invite club members to join him for diving. That opportunity came in early April for Patrice Marker, Rob Myers, my wife Amy and me when Wayne invited us to join him in Turks and Caicos for a week of diving.

Wayne sailed the yacht from his Fort Lauderdale home to Providenciales and the four of us flew there to meet the yacht. Then we spent days diving around the Caicos Islands. Wayne provides tanks and weights. The yacht has a compressor so tanks can be refilled with air after each dive. Wayne moved the yacht to various locations and we set our own schedule for diving. The crew was extremely helpful, providing cooking (three meals each day plus snacks), cleaning, surface support for divers, and everything necessary in running a yacht. There is no charge to be a guest on Wayne's yacht. You may tip the crew and I am sure you will want to do that after seeing all they do.

Here are some pictures we took inside the yacht.

Something Old – Something New – Something Borrowed – Something Blue

In some ways this was the club’s worst trip ever – a trip from Hell – at least until we got there… We were scheduled for June 2020 at Little Cayman Beach Resort – then due to Covid-19 was pushed out to April 2021 – and when that did not look plausible pushed out again to Sept 2021… Even though the last date looked risky from a weather perspective we felt adequately protected by the policies of Clearly Cayman and Cayman Airways. When we got into the last fray – triggered by the Cayman government’s unwillingness to open on a schedule similar to the rest of the Caribbean – Ronnie and I got “tunnel vision” – and focused only on medical and insurance related Turks and Caicos (TCI) entry criteria.

Clearly Cayman repatriated a fraction of their dive shop – Reef Divers - a flotilla of 4 dive boats - from Little Cayman to East Bay Resort, South Caicos. Despite the less than ideal season a large number of our divers originally committed to Little Cayman accepted the move and on top of that we got several late/additional sign ups – as this was something new and interesting. Except for a few divers that made “half” a Fiji trip in March 2020, most of our divers had not been on a club trip for over 2 years. The general Attitude was “Just Do IT”. In addition we were up against “a wall” – any additional delay would have been equivalent to a complete cancellation – as the trips in 2022 – all looks to be on track/on schedule

We ended up with 28 divers, our second biggest trip this century - second only to a prior trip to Little Cayman. All in all we had a great time – so wonderful to get back the water with our fellow members

Something Old:

Clearly Cayman is famous for the hospitality of their staff. The diving staff delivered Reef Divers famous Valet diving to expectations. Clearly Cayman is also famous for their buffet food service… The chef was actually a new hire – but he performed perfectly to expectations and traditions – including serving Ice Cream to Roger and others – not satisfied with the sweet selection on displays…

Some of our more experienced members have recollections – and pictures – of diving South Caicos around 1980…

Something New:

To most – S Caicos is a new destination – And East Bay Resort is a relatively new (10-12 years old) set of buildings. The accommodations are exquisite all Ocean View suites – excessive space, well-functioning AC. If you need to ride out a hurricane – hunkering in place – this is where you want to do it! – The place is built like a fortress. Because we were the first big group a few things - AC and other amenities - had to be repaired or swapped out and we had a single complete room swap.

Large Infinity Pool with swim up bar. The dining area was hybrid – felt like outside, but under hard roof and well protected in case on inclement weather. The Wi-Fi worked well (almost?) all the time – and a few people were able to attend work events in lieu of diving

Something Borrowed

One thing is slightly different than Little Cayman – because we do fly charters on the last leg from Provo to S Caicos you need to get your luggage – including the heavy camera stuff - for a few people …on the correct (and only) plane. We did request special allowance for 3 “heavy duty” photographers – and we had no problems. The charter operation was smooth and effective.

Some of our divers – facing the 60 lbs. luggage limits - actually did us a favor – by committing to rental gear. For the rest of us packing light was a stressful exercise – mistakes did happen – and there was more borrowing from each other than normal. To maximize payload – I did purchase from Amazon and “official JetBlue” personal item bag – only 8 ounces

Something Blue

We were promised Nitrox (but the compressor was delayed)* – which is a prerequisite for normal healthy blue water diving in the Caicos – the wall crust at 50-60’ and the best pictures – my personal wide angel-only opinion - are only after you drop below the crest – so my assessment of the diving – and the ability to take the kind of pictures I care for – “is wait and see” … On two of the diving days the dive boats took us to Grand Turk. Our club was there last time in 2000 with Peter Hughes and we did dive the same moorings as back then (at least the mooring still left). Especially the first morning dive in Grand Turk is deep dark blue – because the position of the sun keeps the wall in the shade. I did find some nice clusters of Giant Purple Tube Sponges – a characteristic Grand Turk Picture. Because all the diving in Grand Turk is leeward – West facing – the water was flat with little to no current.

For the S Caicos diving a little more practice will help improve things – say picked dive sites with acceptable current and/or choosing to drift dive when appropriate

On the dive map – there were sites – North of South Caicos, e.g. East Caicos. While we were there those sites were all classified as “exploratory” – maybe Bob and Phebe that stayed behind for another 1.5 week got try that area.

At S Caicos we had two shallow dives looking for Eagle Rays. We saw them on both dives – but only close enough for pictures on our last dive. Due to the size of the group – we were split between two boats. The key dive master on our boat, Lee, had a classical European sense of humor and took great care to ensure that Alan was always “adequately” instructed before each dive

*In lieu of Nitrox we had to suffer with the substitution to a free drink card (21 drinks) each. We had only a few complaints on this account

Quoting a past president – “if you missed it – you missed it”

Ronnie and Nils

PS – we should have a folder in the club’s photo achieve shortly

(Copied with permission from https://www.aggressor.com/captains-logs-view.php?id=2037)

Air Temp.  77-86+ F
Water Temp. 81-83 F
Visibility 45-100+ft

CREW:

Captain Dennis
Engineer Simon
Instructor Daniel
Instructor Rocke
Stewardess Elia
Sous Chef Carlos
Chef Jerry

GUESTS:

Roger, Amy,  Frank, Joanne, Ronnie, Nils, Judy, Jeff, Flora, Laura, Rick, Ryan, Alison, Jen, Ashley, Wes, Steve and Brett

DIVE SITES:

Sunday – Zipline, Black Beauty
Monday – Half Moon Caye Wall, Long Caye Wall
Tuesday – Blue Hole, Uno Coco
Wednesday – Silver Cave, Quebrada
Thursday – Long Caye Ridge, Painted Wall,
Friday – Amberhead South

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Saturday July 24^th

It was a picture perfect Saturday as guests boarded the Belize Aggressor IV for a Week Of Exploring The Underwater World Around Turneffe Caye, Long Caye, Half Moon Caye and The Famous Blue Hole.

Sunday July 25^th

It was daylight however; it would be another 30 minutes before the Sun would rise as the Belize Aggressor IV Departed Her Home Port At The Radisson Marina Fort George in Belize City, Belize.   While making our way to our dive sites for the day guests enjoy a Colorful Sunrise and a Wonderful Breakfast.  Today we stayed around Turneffe Caye diving two Dive Sites, one called Zipline, and Located on the Northwest Side and Black Beauty Located on the Southeast Side of the Island.  We knew it would be an Excellent Day of Diving when while diving our first site Zipline Dolphins swam near the Belize Aggressor IV and Yes several guests had in water Encounters.  Just some of the Marine Life We Enjoyed today was Nurse Sharks, Permits, Large Barrel Sponges, Colorful Whip Corals, Huge School of Creole Wrasses, Spotted Moray Eels, Free Swimming Green Moray Eels, Juvenile Spotted Drums, Friendly Queen Angelfish, Spotted Eagle Rays, Caribbean Reef Sharks and White Spotted Toadfish! WOW Great First Day!!

Monday July 26^th

Today started just as yesterday did with Dolphins as we visited our first dive site called Half Moon Caye Wall.  Other Marine Life we enjoyed with the Bottlenose Dolphins was Ocean Triggerfish, Green Moray Eels, Big Loggerhead Turtle, Very Friendly Nassau Groupers, Spotted Eagle Rays and Lots of Caribbean Reef Sharks!  We used the afternoon to Explore Long Caye Wall where we swam with Schools of Tarpon, Huge Barrel Sponges, Colorful Rope Sponges, Wire Shrimps, Arrow Blennies, Angelfish, Chubs, Mackerel, Caribbean Reef Sharks, Spotted Eagle Rays, Octopus, Squids, however the highlight at least for this guest was when a Juvenile Loggerhead swam just inches from his mask for a closer look.  When you take your time and move slowly underwater you never know what the Marine Life will do and here it paid off for our guest!

Tuesday July 27^th

In 1971 ocean pioneer Jacques-Yves Cousteau declared the Blue Hole one of the Top Ten Dive Sites in the World.  Today this 1000 foot across and over 400 feet deep site is still visited by thousands of divers each year.  On this Tuesday it was the guests on the Belize Aggressor IV Exploring This Famous Dive Site First Thing in the Morning!  Swimming around the Huge Stalagmite and Stalactite was the Perfect Way to start the day!  For the afternoon we made our way back to the Long Caye Area and the Dive Site called Uno Coco.  Divers enjoyed a Very Colorful Wall, Large Deep Water Fans and Barrel Sponges; from the small Arrow Blennies to the Large Loggerhead Turtle guest enjoyed a Huge Variety of Marine Life.  Other Creatures and Fish that we enjoyed was Large Black Groupers, Snappers, Spotted Moray Eels, Feeding Tarpon, Atlantic Thorny Oysters, Trumpetfish and Several Caribbean Sharks coming Close for a look.  An Excellent Day of Diving! 

Wednesday July 28^th

Today we started at the dive site called Silver Cave.  Silver Cave is a Colorful Wall where a small swim thru is located in the wall, normally filled with Hundreds of Silversides.  While we only had a few Silversides we did have a very colorful dive encountering Small Loggerhead and Hawksbill Turtles, Queen Angelfishes, Schooling Creole Wrasses, Neck Crabs, Caribbean Reef Sharks and Spotted Eagle Rays.  For the afternoon we visited one of my personal favorite dive sites in the Caribbean, called Quebrada.  This dive site is always Amazing, with a Huge Array of Gorgonians.  You can open up any Reef Coral Book and pick something and it can be found on Quebrada.  I love swimming next to the Large Busy Black Coral or the Colorful Rope Sponges.  We also swam near Caribbean and Spotted Spiny Lobsters, Goldentail Moray Eels, Atlantic Thorny Oysters, Spotted Drums, Caribbean Reef Sharks, stuck in the middle of a school of 16 Big Tarpon, Octopuses and Squids.  Like all the days before we ran out of time before we ran out of Marine Life to Enjoy!

Thursday July 29^th

For our last full day of diving our dive sites along Long Caye were Long Caye Ridge, Painted Wall and Cathedral.  While exploring these three Colorful Dive Sites we Enjoyed Painted Tunicates, Magnificent Urchins, Atlantic Thorny Oysters, Rough Fileclams, Busy Black Corals, Colorful Rope and Tube Sponges, Reef Sharks, Queen Angelfish, Juvenile Spotted Drums, Nassau and Tiger Groupers, Hawksbill Turtle, Large Barrel Sponges, Boulder Brain Corals, During The Day Dives Free Swimming Green Moray Eels, Dimpled Sheet Corals, Spotted Eagle Rays.  However the highlight of the day was when a Small Hawksbill Turtle swam up to our guest and was face to face almost look like it gave her a small kiss.  Another Adventurous Full Day Of Diving! 

Friday July 30^th

Our final dive site to visit was Amberhead South.  Divers enjoyed a relaxing dive swimming with schools of Snapper, Big Channel Clinging Crabs, Spotted Moray Eel and Free Swimming Green Moray Eel, Tiger and Nassau Grouper, Huge barrel Sponges and Array of Soft and Hard Corals, Indigo Hamlets, and a Huge Variety of Marine Life.  It was the perfect relaxing dive to end an Amazing Week Exploring the Underwater World of Belize With the Likes of Moray Eels, Sharks, Turtles, Eagle Rays and Dolphins.  Only on the Belize Aggressor IV Can Enjoy A Exciting Adventure and Relax At The Some Time.  See You Soon!!

The Crew Would Like To Thank Everyone For Joining Us On The Belize Aggressor IV!!!

Until The Next Time Safe Travels…

Best Fishes,

Belize Aggressor IV Crew

We are back from a great week on the Belize Aggressor IV liveaboard, pictured here on our last night in Belize (thanks, Ronnie).

I just wanted to take a minute to let you know about one of the most fun things that happened on the trip. During one of our dives, a turtle got up close and personal with Judy, as you can see in the picture below. Jeff and Judy said that a turtle had approached them on a previous dive. It seemed to like having them scratch its shell. They think the turtle on the pictured dive is the same one, because it picked Judy out of a group of other divers and went right to her. Laura caught the action on video. Click on the picture below to view the video.

All of our adventurers, 9 adult divers, 4 non divers and 4 diving children ages 11-13 had a most wonderful time. The weather was spectacular with clear blue skies and sparkling warm water in beautiful Cozumel. Everyone enjoyed their beautiful beachside Iberostar accommodations. Our location put us close to some of the most beautiful reefs in the area. Five star Dressel Divers provided great care of our group on our roomy boat. We always had 2 attentive dive masters in the water with us who took extra care with our children. When our junior divers were with us the crew made sure our dive sites were appropriately shallow and relaxing. It turned out that our junior divers did not want to dive daily so although we had secured just two morning boat dives per diver, many of us dove in the afternoon using credits from the children.

The lovely spa, the beautiful seaside pool, and the varied dining opportunities entertained everyone when not diving. Some of the group attended the live theater after dinner and a one of our juniors participated on stage. What fun!

Trip leader,
Nancy Styles

I want to thank all 27 participants who went to Grand Cayman. We enjoyed fabulous valet diving at Cobalt Coast Resort with Reef Divers. The water temperature averaged 85 with clear blue water.

We had spectacular oceanfront seating at the open-air restaurant looking at the Caribbean Sea. We also had some excitement when a plane flew right over us while we were eating. We later found out that it was a crop duster. Most rooms were ocean front for all that signed up early.

This trip included 3 dives a day. For us that did not dive the third dive, we had fun exploring the island. We went to Hell and back, visited the rum factory, blow holes and had excitement driving on the left side of the road. My two back seat drivers and navigators, Chary and Kathy kept me on the right track, most of the time.

Please go on the club’s website to see all of the photos or click here.

Your Trip Leader,
Ronnie Farr

BONAIRE DIVI FLAMINGO BEACH RESORT AUGUST 11th-18th, 2018

                          

On August 11th, 2018, seven Under Sea Adventurers were packed and ready to meet at Miami International Airport.

After a delay of 50 minutes, we jetted off to Bonaire Flamingo International Airport. Upon arrival we were met by a van from DIVI. A very friendly driver named Ray safely tucked our luggage away while the group chose seats for the five-minute ride to the resort.

A very delicious Rum Punch welcomed us as we were checking in and receiving our room key, towel card, resort card and event schedule.

I was told Serge, the Dive Shop manager, was waiting for me. I quickly went to meet with him.  I gave Serge all the diver’s completed forms, and there were many!! I was told to have all the divers down at the shop for orientation. After I managed that feat, we were given a tour of the area we would be using all week.  We were told to put all our gear in our preassigned lockers (the picture below is me in my locker) and get ready for a check out dive. Serge wanted us all to be properly weighted to avoid any unsinkable divers in the morning. So after a long day of travel we made a dive.

              

Sunday morning, after a very hearty breakfast buffet, seven wide-eyed USA’ers were  ready for the first day of diving.  Our package included six days of three- tank diving.  Like clockwork we were all on the boat at 8 o’clock each morning and after an enormous lunch, back on the boat at 2 o’clock every afternoon. 

The water was 81-82 degrees F and as we were anchor diving, a bit of a current.

Orlando, one of our Divemasters was always ready to help and show us all the amazing creatures, large and small.  We were treated to the sights of tuna, tarpon, barracuda, squid and all the beautiful tropical fish we see here. The walls were spectacular and the corals beautiful. 

Our rooms were spacious studios with kitchens and small living rooms that opened to lovely screened porches.

              

Happy Hour was usually in my room. Thanks to all we had a great assortment of snacks,  cocktails, beer and wine.

The Resort offered Karaoke Night, at the Beachside Bar, so off we went! Needless to say, it was very entertaining. USA’ers are not shy.

On Thursday, the Beachside Bar had a complimentary Happy Hour with hors d’oeuvres and  more Rum Punch, so off we went again. After many “punches” we enjoyed our Private Dinner. We had a choice of a lovely piece of tuna or a HUGE pork chop. Guess what I chose? It was excellent!!

                                                                                             

After six divers completed two morning dives on Friday, the rinsing and hanging of gear commenced.  

A group of five decided to rent a van and tour the island.  The Food Manager, Henk, packed a lovely assortment of wraps, fruit and drinks in coolers  for us to take along.

We drove to Washington Slagbaai National Park.  After a very bumpy ride over dirt and rock roads we proceeded to the other end of the island to visit the Salt Flats.

                           

Upon returning from our tour, some of us went to a nearby Italian eatery. Capriccio Ristorante was a short walk from DIVI. We decided to dine all’interno vs. alfresco where complimentary Mimosa’s welcomed us.  The food was delicious and the wine was white and crisp.  

After dinner, we returned to DIVI.  We all gathered and realized our long planned week had come to an end.  A few more beers, cocktails and lots of ice were center stage.

                                                                   

Saturday morning, many were packing and getting all belongings up to the Front Office for check out.  Finally our van appeared! Once again our luggage was safely tucked away as we chose a seat to return to Bonaire Flamingo International Airport.

I will always remember my first trip to Bonaire with the Under Sea Adventurers Dive Club!

Sunny regards,

Clare Florio Anthon

Trip Leader