Jump to content

  • These forums are for "after booking" trip communications, socializing, and/or trip questions ONLY.
  • You will NOT be able to book a trip, buy add-ons, or manage your trip by logging in here. Please login HERE to do any of those things.

Photo

Dolphin Dive Trip Report (Bahamas Sept 20-27, 2008)


  • Please log in to reply
29 replies to this topic

#1 shadragon

shadragon

    Tech Admin

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,055 posts
  • Location:On De Island...
  • Gender:Male
  • Cert Level:MSD / DM / Solo
  • Logged Dives:534' ish

Posted 20 September 2008 - 08:08 AM

Well, things at the HH started off with DiverBabs getting some heavy Sax action. She reports, "It was not good for me..."

Your freindly neighbourhood Shadragon was delayed, cancelled and diverted, but at least I have my dive gear this time. For the record, carpet covered airport concrete is a remarkably firm mattress. :( More on that later...

Squid, CaptMorgan, DiverBabs and I are waiting to take the same flight. Weather looks great. 83F in Ft. Lauderdale. Slight cloud.

Wish you were here...
Remember, email is an inefficient communications forum. You may not read things the way it was intended. Give people the benefit of the doubt before firing back... Especially if it is ME...! ;)

Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...

"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt

#2 ScubaTex

ScubaTex

    Everyone knows me

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 850 posts
  • Gender:Male
  • Cert Level:Rescue Diver
  • Logged Dives:720+

Posted 20 September 2008 - 11:10 AM

Your freindly neighbourhood Shadragon was delayed, cancelled and diverted, but at least I have my dive gear this time. For the record, carpet covered airport concrete is a remarkably firm mattress. :( More on that later...



With the luck you've having with planes, maybe you ought to try trains, just allow an extra 2 days for delays!!!

Bill

Time on earth is precious, time underwater even more so. Live life one day at a time. Dive your @$$ off!!!


#3 a_fl_mermaid

a_fl_mermaid

    People are starting to get to know me

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 372 posts
  • Location:Loxahatchee, Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:OW. AOW, Nitrox, Night diver, underw. hunter, equip spec.
  • Logged Dives:too many to count, but recently only a few in 2007, some in the Florida keys and 4 days in Utila.

Posted 27 September 2008 - 12:20 PM

Hello everyone!

Well I'm back safe and sound, I saw Kamala get on the first airplane safe & sound.

What a great trip! Snorkeling with those wild dolphins was very exhilarating! My favorite dive sites were Tuna alley and Victory Reef!
It was great getting to meet several new people, everyone got along great & hope to see you all soon again!
Holly

#4 DiverBabs

DiverBabs

    I spend too much time on line

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,223 posts
  • Location:Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:AOW / NITROX
  • Logged Dives:1400 plus....

Posted 28 September 2008 - 02:31 PM

Well, hopefully everyone that headed home from the Bahamas is safely home by now. There were a few that planned an extended stay and I’m sure they are having a blast.

The trip was fun as usual. The highlight for me personally, was getting to snorkel for about an hour with about 7 very playful spotted dolphins. What a treat!!! I couldn't make myself get out of the water until the last one left. :bye: They played the seaweed game ( a game of keep away) with us. They whirled around us clicking and squealing, clearly enjoying the encounter as much as we did! Amazing!

The shark diving - Not a shark feeding - just dove in an area where others do and they are attracted to the sound of the boat. They were awesome. We had about 7 sharks just swimming around/with us during the dive. They are so majestic... always one of my favorite things. After the dive was over they came to the surface in hopes of a hand-out. Several folks got in the water to snorkel with them on the top as well. Very cool!

:cheerleader: to Capt. Lowell and his crew for a great trip.
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)


"Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young." - Dorothy Canfield Fisher

#5 Landlocked Dive Nut

Landlocked Dive Nut

    I need to get a life

  • Inactive
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 6,543 posts
  • Location:Kansas City, MO
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:SSI Master Diver
  • Logged Dives:448

Posted 28 September 2008 - 03:00 PM

DiverBabs, sounds like you had a fantastic time! I'd love to have a wild dolphin encounter like the one you describe. What fun!
Posted Image

#6 WreckWench

WreckWench

    Founder? I didn't know we lost her!

  • Owner
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 53,487 posts
  • Location:FL SC & Dallas, TX
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:DM & Technical certs
  • Logged Dives:5000+

Posted 28 September 2008 - 05:19 PM

Hey everyone...it was AMAZING!

I was a bit skeptical being a DIVER an all but the dolphins and sharks were quite the highlight of the trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat and hope to offer another trip like this again!


p.s. will add more later...just getting back and had to leave the house for open houses and showings. Will be back in the office tomorrow...

Contact me directly at Kamala@SingleDivers.com for your private or group travel needs or 864-557-6079 AND don't miss SD's 2018-2021 Trips! ....here! Most are once in a lifetime opportunities...don't miss the chance to go!!
SD LEGACY/OLD/MANUAL Forms & Documents.... here !

Click here TO PAY for Merchandise, Membership, or Travel
"Imitation is the sincerest flattery." - Gandhi
"Imitation is proof that originality is rare." - ScubaHawk
SingleDivers.com...often imitated...never duplicated!

Kamala Shadduck c/o SingleDivers.com LLC
2234 North Federal Hwy, #1010 Boca Raton, FL 33431
formerly...
710 Dive Buddy Lane; Salem, SC 29676
864-557-6079 tel/celfone/office or tollfree fax 888-480-0906

#7 a_fl_mermaid

a_fl_mermaid

    People are starting to get to know me

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 372 posts
  • Location:Loxahatchee, Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:OW. AOW, Nitrox, Night diver, underw. hunter, equip spec.
  • Logged Dives:too many to count, but recently only a few in 2007, some in the Florida keys and 4 days in Utila.

Posted 28 September 2008 - 06:16 PM

Yes, It was an amazing trip! Those dolphins were the most fantastic creatures!

In spite of having to run north away from Kyle, I managed to get in 19 dives. Victory Reef and Tuna Alley were among my favorites. I loved going thru coral tunnel formations & poking my head into little caves & all. We usually had very good visiblity (oever 50 and up to 80 feet).
The boat crew was the best, Gene was very knowledgable and gave us a lot of insight to the dolphin behaviour. Capt Lowell was great and his crew very friendly and accomodating!

Loved meeting up with and diving with several new people: Kelly, very nice guy, Duncan who is an awesome swimmer and really got close to those dolphins. Squidly is definitely the life of any party! There were others I wish I got to know better! I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the future. Babs, you can room with me anytime, you're the best!

BFN,
Holly

Edited by a_fl_mermaid, 28 September 2008 - 06:18 PM.


#8 DiverBabs

DiverBabs

    I spend too much time on line

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,223 posts
  • Location:Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:AOW / NITROX
  • Logged Dives:1400 plus....

Posted 28 September 2008 - 06:40 PM

Babs, you can room with me anytime, you're the best!

BFN,
Holly


Ditto! You're a great roomie Holly!

By the way... I have your green strap for your suitcase. You left it behind. I'll get it to you soon.

Thanks all for a fun time!!
"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give." Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965)


"Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young." - Dorothy Canfield Fisher

#9 a_fl_mermaid

a_fl_mermaid

    People are starting to get to know me

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 372 posts
  • Location:Loxahatchee, Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:OW. AOW, Nitrox, Night diver, underw. hunter, equip spec.
  • Logged Dives:too many to count, but recently only a few in 2007, some in the Florida keys and 4 days in Utila.

Posted 28 September 2008 - 07:45 PM

Sounds like an excuse to set up a dive together! I forgot I'd left it, thanks!

#10 dive_sail_etc

dive_sail_etc

    Admin, TC, Charlie and Bottle Washer

  • Admin
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 6,062 posts
  • Location:Quitman County, GA (Zip 39854)
  • Gender:Male
  • Board Status:Usually check in daily
  • Cert Level:AOW / Nitrox
  • Logged Dives:1200+

Posted 29 September 2008 - 07:22 AM

Yes, It was an amazing trip! Those dolphins were the most fantastic creatures!
In spite of having to run north away from Kyle, I managed to get in 19 dives. Victory Reef and Tuna Alley were among my favorites. I loved going thru coral tunnel formations & poking my head into little caves & all. We usually had very good visiblity (oever 50 and up to 80 feet). The boat crew was the best, Gene was very knowledgable and gave us a lot of insight to the dolphin behaviour. Capt Lowell was great and his crew very friendly and accomodating!
Loved meeting up with and diving with several new people: Kelly, very nice guy, Duncan who is an awesome swimmer and really got close to those dolphins. Squidly is definitely the life of any party! There were others I wish I got to know better! I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the future. Babs, you can room with me anytime, you're the best!
BFN,
Holly


Holly, thanks for the most descriptive report to date. :canuckdiver: I realize you were probably the first one back home, so let me hastily add that I look forward to reading the experiences and impressions of others as time permits. :birthday: P.S. 19 dives! Girl, you are a :birthday: machine!!

Speaking (er, writing) of looking forward to something, please you guys help assuage the pain of us left ashore with gallery posts when you get the chance. Somehow, scraping barnacles off Miss Magic's bottom last Saturday does not seem to compare.... though feeding the sheepshead I attracted was fun. :birthday:

Living Vicariously through the Lenses of Others,

Brad, the Fledgling Journeyman Master Hedonist
Finally broken to plow and harnessed to the traces. How may I help you today? Questions welcomed to charlies@singledivers.com

"My secret to maintaining this goofy façade? It ain't no façade." - Brad, the Fledgling Journeyman Master Hedonist
"I don't make up jokes; I just observe Congress and report the facts." - Will Rogers

#11 shadragon

shadragon

    Tech Admin

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,055 posts
  • Location:On De Island...
  • Gender:Male
  • Cert Level:MSD / DM / Solo
  • Logged Dives:534' ish

Posted 29 September 2008 - 09:43 AM

Got home last night around 9:30 just as the Ike downpour was hitting full force. Luckily, the rain fell somewhat north of me and I just caught the edge of it. Sunshine starting to appear now...

Great trip. Very memorable. Swimming with Dolphins and Sharks (OK, I didn't do the shark snorkel thing, but a lot of folks did...) and getting in a pile of dives on the Cat Cay, Bimini and just off Freeport. Weather cooperated for the most part. A great crowd of old and new friends. Viz varied from 20 - 100' depending on the site. Lots of drift dive opportunities with the rushing tide and Gulf stream action. Temps varied from 83 - 86F.

Captain and Crew were great with a last minute replacement cook rising to the challenge and serving up some amazing meals. She even went diving for the first time with us on the Bimini barge! Dancing and leg wrestling on the sun deck, getting to a Karaoke bar in South Bimini on a Partridge family bus, and a decent little fish fry on Friday night rounded things out.

Mantas, Stingrays (17 on one dive alone), Turtles, Reef and Nurse sharks. Morays, Scorpion and Rock fish. Tons of Lion and Angel fish. Thanks to Squid for his buddy skills. We had to repair my BC at the end of the 35' mooring line on one dive. Other highlights included an aborted anchor recovery and the discovery of a huge Samsonite bag (nothing inside it except an aero crab unfortunately).

On the trip home the 'Park and Fly' van hit an overhead roof structure in the parking lot which gave us (Babs and I) a momentary start. Topped off the trip with a pleasant water side mini post trip HH with ScubaSki, DiverDeb and DiverBabs in Fort Lauderdale.
Remember, email is an inefficient communications forum. You may not read things the way it was intended. Give people the benefit of the doubt before firing back... Especially if it is ME...! ;)

Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...

"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt

#12 shadragon

shadragon

    Tech Admin

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 3,055 posts
  • Location:On De Island...
  • Gender:Male
  • Cert Level:MSD / DM / Solo
  • Logged Dives:534' ish

Posted 29 September 2008 - 10:46 AM

You may be thinking of the Sand Bar (aka End of the World). Any photos I may be in on the walls, are not me - just someone who looks a lot like me... :birthday:

During the trip we decided to blow off a night dive and head into Bimini for a Karaoke night. I remembered your post above and decided to go for a walk. Look where I ended up...

Posted Image

I am open to bribes to stop revealing what I found there... :canuckdiver:
Remember, email is an inefficient communications forum. You may not read things the way it was intended. Give people the benefit of the doubt before firing back... Especially if it is ME...! ;)

Tech Support - The hard we do right away; the impossible takes us a little longer...

"I like ponies on no-stop diving. They convert "ARGH!! I'M GOING TO DIE" into a mere annoyance." ~Nigel Hewitt

#13 Dive_Girl

Dive_Girl

    I need to get a life

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPipPipPipPip
  • 5,513 posts
  • Location:Portland, OR/Vancouver, WA USA
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:PADI Course Director, EFR Instructor Trainer, DAN DEMP Instructor, rec-Trimix & Normoxic
  • Logged Dives:too many logged, too many not logged...:)

Posted 29 September 2008 - 11:48 AM

I am open to bribes to stop revealing what I found there... :canuckdiver:

Awwwww did you say hi to Sarah?? Did you order a backpack!? Things always get a little hazy in there, so I am certain you cannot really know for sure anything you saw! :birthday:
It's Winter time - you know you're a diver when you're scraping ice off your windshield INSIDE your vehicle...!

Once in a while, it is good to step back, take a breath, and remember to be humble. You'll never know it all - ScubaDadMiami. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve - Lao-tzu. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him - Chinese Proverb.

#14 a_fl_mermaid

a_fl_mermaid

    People are starting to get to know me

  • Member
  • PipPipPipPip
  • 372 posts
  • Location:Loxahatchee, Florida
  • Gender:Female
  • Cert Level:OW. AOW, Nitrox, Night diver, underw. hunter, equip spec.
  • Logged Dives:too many to count, but recently only a few in 2007, some in the Florida keys and 4 days in Utila.

Posted 30 September 2008 - 04:23 AM

I know a lot of you took pictures! I'm waiting to see them posted! How about it?

#15 OTWdiver

OTWdiver

    Meeting folks

  • Removed Per User Request
  • PipPipPip
  • 193 posts
  • Location:Salem South Carolina Lake Jocassee
  • Gender:Male
  • Cert Level:TECH DEEP Instructor, Prefer my single tank.
  • Logged Dives:Active every week since 1983

Posted 30 September 2008 - 11:16 AM

You may be thinking of the Sand Bar (aka End of the World). Any photos I may be in on the walls, are not me - just someone who looks a lot like me... :)

During the trip we decided to blow off a night dive and head into Bimini for a Karaoke night. I remembered your post above and decided to go for a walk. Look where I ended up...

Posted Image

I am open to bribes to stop revealing what I found there... :pray:



OK, I lost my Single Divers T-shirt there three years ago.
I'm not proud but stuff happens :birthday:
Is it still on the wall?
"Those who have never seen themselves surrounded on all sides by the sea can never possess an idea of the world, and of their relation to it" Goethe




0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users