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Abaco, Bahamas
March, 2015
We made our annual trip in our 28 ft boat to the Atlantic to dive the end of May thru the first part of June. This year we decided to head to Abaco Bahamas since we had heard so much about the clear waters and the diving. I must admit, it is all they said and more. After 2 nights in West Palm Beach waiting for the water to settle, we started our 54 mile trek across the Atlantic to West End , Bahamas. The ocean was really nice for our crossing – waves about 2 feet. We then arrived at West The first dive was made at the “Center of the world” rock. Saw a lot of great fish and while I had my head stuck in a cave, my wife told me this huge shark came up to my fins, took one sniff and left. Guess I need to wash my feet more often. We did get some nice pictures of a nurse shark. End, enjoyed a quick lunch and refueled for the journey on to Abaco. Then on around the bend to Turtle Cay where we anchored for the night. Next morning it was up early to head for one of 2 dive sites on the eastern side of the island. These were numbered by buoys rather than names but again, great visibility and lots of fish. After dinging a prop on shallow rocks, we decided to head on into Marsh Harbour for repairs and a few days of relaxation. The repair was a reasonable 70 bucks, and the docks we were at were about 35 per night. The food was what took all our money with each meal running about 50 dollars per person for an appetizer, 1 drink and a main entrée. We spent several days in that area diving and visiting around Hopetown and a few other Cays in the areas collecting a few sandollars (to help pay for the expenses) and then down to Treasure Cay where we found the most beautiful beaches in the world. After playing around with an Octopus, collecting our limit on Conchs, we started a slow journey back.We headed up the northern route to make a couple dives near Walkers Cay where it is suppose to be some of the best diving in the world. It was close to as advertised. Rough seas slowed our progress down, but made it back to the West palm Beach Harbor after about 10 days of vacationing. Broke a propeller coupling coming in to the harbor but Towboat US saved us for another day. (At $250.00) It was a great time and I would encourage anyone to make the trip if you ever have a chance.
Keep the bubbles up!
Mark Davies
Below are some pictures from Abaco
March, 2015
We made our annual trip in our 28 ft boat to the Atlantic to dive the end of May thru the first part of June. This year we decided to head to Abaco Bahamas since we had heard so much about the clear waters and the diving. I must admit, it is all they said and more. After 2 nights in West Palm Beach waiting for the water to settle, we started our 54 mile trek across the Atlantic to West End , Bahamas. The ocean was really nice for our crossing – waves about 2 feet. We then arrived at West The first dive was made at the “Center of the world” rock. Saw a lot of great fish and while I had my head stuck in a cave, my wife told me this huge shark came up to my fins, took one sniff and left. Guess I need to wash my feet more often. We did get some nice pictures of a nurse shark. End, enjoyed a quick lunch and refueled for the journey on to Abaco. Then on around the bend to Turtle Cay where we anchored for the night. Next morning it was up early to head for one of 2 dive sites on the eastern side of the island. These were numbered by buoys rather than names but again, great visibility and lots of fish. After dinging a prop on shallow rocks, we decided to head on into Marsh Harbour for repairs and a few days of relaxation. The repair was a reasonable 70 bucks, and the docks we were at were about 35 per night. The food was what took all our money with each meal running about 50 dollars per person for an appetizer, 1 drink and a main entrée. We spent several days in that area diving and visiting around Hopetown and a few other Cays in the areas collecting a few sandollars (to help pay for the expenses) and then down to Treasure Cay where we found the most beautiful beaches in the world. After playing around with an Octopus, collecting our limit on Conchs, we started a slow journey back.We headed up the northern route to make a couple dives near Walkers Cay where it is suppose to be some of the best diving in the world. It was close to as advertised. Rough seas slowed our progress down, but made it back to the West palm Beach Harbor after about 10 days of vacationing. Broke a propeller coupling coming in to the harbor but Towboat US saved us for another day. (At $250.00) It was a great time and I would encourage anyone to make the trip if you ever have a chance.
Keep the bubbles up!
Mark Davies
Below are some pictures from Abaco
Philippines
Atlantis Dive Resort
Puerto Galera, Philippines
April 27-May 4, 2013
First let me say that it was a long way to get there. But it was well worth the trip.
Everybody made their flights without any problems, and we all met in Manila. Rick was correct, the
shopping/touring was great. We met the Atlantis Resort transportation at the hotel, after a day of site
seeing in Manila. That was the last time I handled my own luggage. They took care of it from then on.
The ferry ride to the island on a Baka Boat was pretty interesting. Once there we were treated like Kings.
Room check in was fast and our entire luggage and dive gear was transported to our rooms.
The resort is built into the side of a mountain that runs right down to the water’s edge.
The check out dive was our first dive there. That was the last time I set up my BCD. It was all done for
me and everyone else after that. I never had to carry a thing after once setting up my dive gear.
They cleaned and replaced the tanks and had everything on the boat for us the next day. It was just like
being on a live aboard. After every dive we came back to the resort as the sites were pretty close. Some days
were did 4 dives. We could have done 5, but we were all tired after 4. All entry into the water was via a back roll.
The dive sites were more that I had hoped for. Where else can you see a giant turtles and a Titan Trigger fish
on the same dive? One time we went off the boat into a giant bait ball. The schools of fish were twice as large
as any I have ever seen in the Caribbean. We saw Octopus and eels along with large sea horses on the same
dive. Giant clams about the size of a 42 inch TV. The most interesting thing was the eclectic clams. Hard to
explain how they look but really interesting to see. The coral color is as vibrant and different from any here in
this part of the world. I have to say, it was the dive trip of a life time.
The Guam based pilots that dove with us were really pleased we came out to dive with them. They
were glad to see us and wanted me to say to everyone, come on out, you will not be disappointed. I am glad
I went.
The trip back home was via Hawaiian Airlines to HNL. From there we all went on United to IAH, ORD
and LAX. No problems getting on I was in First Class all the way on United.
Chris Serra
Atlantis Dive Resort
Puerto Galera, Philippines
April 27-May 4, 2013
First let me say that it was a long way to get there. But it was well worth the trip.
Everybody made their flights without any problems, and we all met in Manila. Rick was correct, the
shopping/touring was great. We met the Atlantis Resort transportation at the hotel, after a day of site
seeing in Manila. That was the last time I handled my own luggage. They took care of it from then on.
The ferry ride to the island on a Baka Boat was pretty interesting. Once there we were treated like Kings.
Room check in was fast and our entire luggage and dive gear was transported to our rooms.
The resort is built into the side of a mountain that runs right down to the water’s edge.
The check out dive was our first dive there. That was the last time I set up my BCD. It was all done for
me and everyone else after that. I never had to carry a thing after once setting up my dive gear.
They cleaned and replaced the tanks and had everything on the boat for us the next day. It was just like
being on a live aboard. After every dive we came back to the resort as the sites were pretty close. Some days
were did 4 dives. We could have done 5, but we were all tired after 4. All entry into the water was via a back roll.
The dive sites were more that I had hoped for. Where else can you see a giant turtles and a Titan Trigger fish
on the same dive? One time we went off the boat into a giant bait ball. The schools of fish were twice as large
as any I have ever seen in the Caribbean. We saw Octopus and eels along with large sea horses on the same
dive. Giant clams about the size of a 42 inch TV. The most interesting thing was the eclectic clams. Hard to
explain how they look but really interesting to see. The coral color is as vibrant and different from any here in
this part of the world. I have to say, it was the dive trip of a life time.
The Guam based pilots that dove with us were really pleased we came out to dive with them. They
were glad to see us and wanted me to say to everyone, come on out, you will not be disappointed. I am glad
I went.
The trip back home was via Hawaiian Airlines to HNL. From there we all went on United to IAH, ORD
and LAX. No problems getting on I was in First Class all the way on United.
Chris Serra
More on Atlantis Dive Resort
Puerto Galera, Philippines
April 27-May 4, 2013
I want you to think of a picture in your mind of where you would be and what you would be doing when saying
the word, “pampered”. Does it bring a mental picture of scuba diving, or any athletic activity?
But for those who attended the spring club dive that is the word spoken to describe our experience not only as
a group but to each person individually.
Let me give you comparisons from a person who’s been diving for 40 + years.
When I get ready in the morning of a planned dive I carry my gear to the boat or whatever transportation being
used to get to the dive site, this may include tank(s). I then setup my gear and start getting dressed for the type
dive we are going to be doing. This involves weights, tank(s), BCD, and the rest of my additional gear.
At Atlantis Dive Resort I set up my gear once in their staging area and I never touched the setup of my dive gear again. It was always waiting on me in the boat ready to slip into and drop into the water for a casual, fun,
exciting dive. When we got back to the resort I didn’t touch my gear, it was taken back to the staging area by
Atlantis personnel and put into their organized line of setting up tanks and gear for the next dive and processed.
When it came time for the next dive I showed up at the boat assigned and my gear was there ready for me.
A secure dressing area with cubby at the resort near the boats is where I stored my personal gear and didn’t have
to haul BCD et al. back and forth. It was just extremely easy to walk from the dressing / cubby area through the
staging area and direct to our boat which already had our gear ready and waiting for us, set up ready to go
diving.
Bottom line, I’ve dove a lot of dive locations and with a lot of dive operators in 40 + years, but Atlantis Dive
Resort raised the bar when it comes to being pampered by a dive operator.
Clifford Albury
Puerto Galera, Philippines
April 27-May 4, 2013
I want you to think of a picture in your mind of where you would be and what you would be doing when saying
the word, “pampered”. Does it bring a mental picture of scuba diving, or any athletic activity?
But for those who attended the spring club dive that is the word spoken to describe our experience not only as
a group but to each person individually.
Let me give you comparisons from a person who’s been diving for 40 + years.
When I get ready in the morning of a planned dive I carry my gear to the boat or whatever transportation being
used to get to the dive site, this may include tank(s). I then setup my gear and start getting dressed for the type
dive we are going to be doing. This involves weights, tank(s), BCD, and the rest of my additional gear.
At Atlantis Dive Resort I set up my gear once in their staging area and I never touched the setup of my dive gear again. It was always waiting on me in the boat ready to slip into and drop into the water for a casual, fun,
exciting dive. When we got back to the resort I didn’t touch my gear, it was taken back to the staging area by
Atlantis personnel and put into their organized line of setting up tanks and gear for the next dive and processed.
When it came time for the next dive I showed up at the boat assigned and my gear was there ready for me.
A secure dressing area with cubby at the resort near the boats is where I stored my personal gear and didn’t have
to haul BCD et al. back and forth. It was just extremely easy to walk from the dressing / cubby area through the
staging area and direct to our boat which already had our gear ready and waiting for us, set up ready to go
diving.
Bottom line, I’ve dove a lot of dive locations and with a lot of dive operators in 40 + years, but Atlantis Dive
Resort raised the bar when it comes to being pampered by a dive operator.
Clifford Albury
Fiji & the Koro Sea
Ok, so paradise really does exist. You just really have to go a long way to get there. I recently returned from a 10 day-11 dive trip to Savusavu, on Vanua Levu, Fiji, which is one island and a million mental miles from the highly touted Beqa Bay on the biggest Fijian island, Viti Levu.
We dove with Koro Sun Divers out of the Koro Sun Resort, and from that location you can get to two very famous and fabulous dive areas: Namena Marine Park, where the clownfish and all other anemone fish are so numerous you find yourself looking for something – anything!- else of interest, and the Somosomo Strait, home of the famous Rainbow Reef, including the White Wall and Purple Wall.
I have been diving in a lot of wonderful places: Kona coast of Hawaii, Cozumel, Key Largo, Roatan, Belize and the Truk Lagoon & Ant Atoll in Micronesia, but still, nothing prepared me for the colorful wonders of the Koro Sea.
Namena is between the two large islands, and I have not seen many more beautiful sights in my life. We dove a site called Two Chimneys, which are two “bommies” side by side, topping at 15 feet, for a safety stop that you hope will never end. So many colorful fish species are milling around that I got annoyed when tarpon, parrotfish and drum dashed in front of my perfect clownfish shot!
During the Namena dives we came up on a sleeping stingray as big as a Volkswagen bug…the pictures don’t do him justice because you can’t get the scope, but…holy cow!
At the Somosomo Strait, which runs between Vanua Levu and the smaller island of Taveuni, it’s all drift diving, and can be an express train (but nothing very hard on the day we were there) is required to see the soft corals open to feed, and OH, the White Wall really looks like the pictures! Like iridescent snow descending until darkness. Then you take a small swim through at the end of that ride and yikes! Now EVERYTHING is purple!
On our second dive at the Strait, we dove End of the Rainbow, where we found the elusive and unbelievably iridescent blue and yellow ribbon eel and a red lionfish that seemed to be posing for us. A few kicks on were two juvenile white tip sharks in a shallow cave who also seemed to be doing a swim show for us, as we settled down to watch for a few moments….next niche, Sam, our divemaster, pointed out a leaf fish, which I NEVER would have seen on my own!
Even during surface intervals, the excitement kept on. While I was trying to snap a photo of the bright blue starfish at the beach reef, a very beautiful and very venomous banded sea snake popped up about 5 feet from me and surfaced for air. Apparently, he found me interesting and headed right for me! My dive boat friends said they’d never seen anyone walk on water, but they thought they might see it that afternoon! That’s one sea creature I’d rather see from a distance.
The night dive 5 minutes from the resort did not disappoint, either…..Lionfish, crabs, scorpionfish, iridescent sea slugs (and I mean plurals of all of them!) and feeding soft corals abounded.
On land, Fiji is truly paradise. Beautiful, lush, a friendly rainforest. The people are the most welcoming and friendly anywhere in the world, and what is theirs (and it’s not much, by our standards) is yours. On our off gas day we kayaked a mountain river, hiked to a spectacular waterfall and visited a village to participate in a kava ceremony…. All in one day!
Colin at Koro Sun Divers and his fabulous crews (our group filled two boats to overflowing!) gracefully and cheerfully took care of our every need, down to cleaning and storing all our gear every evening.
Some other very impressive stats: Average water temp (per my computer, not the tourist bureau!) was 84 degrees at 70 feet! Most days we were diving in glass, with only one rough day on the boat. Dolphins regularly run with the boats and sightings of sharks and manta are frequent any time of year. February is their August, so it was hot on land, but that means nothing to those of us from Houston – felt like home with fabulous diving just 10 minutes away! Now, THAT’s paradise.
25 very spoiled divers came home from Fiji. But 25 very satisfied divers. Go to paradise if you can. It won’t disappoint you.
Kathleen Quill
Continental Dive Club Member
Houston, TX
Ok, so paradise really does exist. You just really have to go a long way to get there. I recently returned from a 10 day-11 dive trip to Savusavu, on Vanua Levu, Fiji, which is one island and a million mental miles from the highly touted Beqa Bay on the biggest Fijian island, Viti Levu.
We dove with Koro Sun Divers out of the Koro Sun Resort, and from that location you can get to two very famous and fabulous dive areas: Namena Marine Park, where the clownfish and all other anemone fish are so numerous you find yourself looking for something – anything!- else of interest, and the Somosomo Strait, home of the famous Rainbow Reef, including the White Wall and Purple Wall.
I have been diving in a lot of wonderful places: Kona coast of Hawaii, Cozumel, Key Largo, Roatan, Belize and the Truk Lagoon & Ant Atoll in Micronesia, but still, nothing prepared me for the colorful wonders of the Koro Sea.
Namena is between the two large islands, and I have not seen many more beautiful sights in my life. We dove a site called Two Chimneys, which are two “bommies” side by side, topping at 15 feet, for a safety stop that you hope will never end. So many colorful fish species are milling around that I got annoyed when tarpon, parrotfish and drum dashed in front of my perfect clownfish shot!
During the Namena dives we came up on a sleeping stingray as big as a Volkswagen bug…the pictures don’t do him justice because you can’t get the scope, but…holy cow!
At the Somosomo Strait, which runs between Vanua Levu and the smaller island of Taveuni, it’s all drift diving, and can be an express train (but nothing very hard on the day we were there) is required to see the soft corals open to feed, and OH, the White Wall really looks like the pictures! Like iridescent snow descending until darkness. Then you take a small swim through at the end of that ride and yikes! Now EVERYTHING is purple!
On our second dive at the Strait, we dove End of the Rainbow, where we found the elusive and unbelievably iridescent blue and yellow ribbon eel and a red lionfish that seemed to be posing for us. A few kicks on were two juvenile white tip sharks in a shallow cave who also seemed to be doing a swim show for us, as we settled down to watch for a few moments….next niche, Sam, our divemaster, pointed out a leaf fish, which I NEVER would have seen on my own!
Even during surface intervals, the excitement kept on. While I was trying to snap a photo of the bright blue starfish at the beach reef, a very beautiful and very venomous banded sea snake popped up about 5 feet from me and surfaced for air. Apparently, he found me interesting and headed right for me! My dive boat friends said they’d never seen anyone walk on water, but they thought they might see it that afternoon! That’s one sea creature I’d rather see from a distance.
The night dive 5 minutes from the resort did not disappoint, either…..Lionfish, crabs, scorpionfish, iridescent sea slugs (and I mean plurals of all of them!) and feeding soft corals abounded.
On land, Fiji is truly paradise. Beautiful, lush, a friendly rainforest. The people are the most welcoming and friendly anywhere in the world, and what is theirs (and it’s not much, by our standards) is yours. On our off gas day we kayaked a mountain river, hiked to a spectacular waterfall and visited a village to participate in a kava ceremony…. All in one day!
Colin at Koro Sun Divers and his fabulous crews (our group filled two boats to overflowing!) gracefully and cheerfully took care of our every need, down to cleaning and storing all our gear every evening.
Some other very impressive stats: Average water temp (per my computer, not the tourist bureau!) was 84 degrees at 70 feet! Most days we were diving in glass, with only one rough day on the boat. Dolphins regularly run with the boats and sightings of sharks and manta are frequent any time of year. February is their August, so it was hot on land, but that means nothing to those of us from Houston – felt like home with fabulous diving just 10 minutes away! Now, THAT’s paradise.
25 very spoiled divers came home from Fiji. But 25 very satisfied divers. Go to paradise if you can. It won’t disappoint you.
Kathleen Quill
Continental Dive Club Member
Houston, TX
