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Carib Dancer Captains Report Feb 23 Mar 2, 2013
Water Temperature: 74-76 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended
Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guest Fran, Earle, Barbara, Markus, Hans, Stefan, Carl, Liz, John, An and Olivier depart the Elizabeth On Bay Dock and made the easy ride to the Exumas for a week of diverse diving. The ride out to our mooring and first dive site Lobster No Lobster was very nice, lots of stars, a bright moon and smooth seas, we could not have asked for a better night.
Sunday morning while sitting on our first dive site, Lobster No Lobster, we watched a beautiful sunrise come up over the Exuma Islands. Underwater we swam with Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Yellow Stingrays, and Big Southern Stingrays. About a six foot, very healthy looking, Nurse Shark swam right in front of a few guest. Our next dive site was Crab Mountain (East). This is one of many of the dive sites we visit that is large enough for two mooring in different areas of the reef. At Crab Mountain theres one in the shallows and one on the edge of the wall. We were diving on the dive site near the edge of the wall. We swam around medium-high profile coral heads and just down the edge of the wall seeing an array of hard and soft corals. Nearby we had schools of Horse-Eye Jacks and Yellow Tail Snappers. A few Caribbean Spiny Lobsters were out and a couple of Cero Mackerel swam near by. Our night dive was back on the shallow reef of Lobster No Lobster. While waiting for guests to get ready by putting on wet suits and checking computers, I looked over about 15 feet on the port side of the Carib Dancer and watch a small Hawksbill Turtle take a very breathes before diving. During the dive, lots of the normal nighttime creatures were seen including a Parrotfish laying on the bottom near the reef covered with sand made for great camouflage to get a good nights sleep. Always a highlight when diving at night is seeing a couple of Common Octopus. It was great hearing guest come up talking about how the Octopus was showing off its colors when hunting along the reef.
Monday morning we made our way to our farthest northern dive site called Dog Rocks. Dog Rocks is one of the crews favorite. We enjoyed lots of swim thrus and canyons and a wall covered with bight colored Tube Sponges, Sea Fans and Black Coral. One of the largest swim thrus had thousands of Silversides to swim past. Swimming in the small canyons we passed Bipinnate Sea Plume, Yellow Sea Whips and Venus Sea Fans. When I was headed up to finish the dive on my safety stop, I followed about hundred Creole Wrasse in their initial phase with their dark blue body swimming in and out of one of the small canyons. Next stop was south of Dog Rocks called Madison Avenue where we watched a Yellow-headed Jawfish go in and out its hole. Caribbean Spiny and Caribbean Spotted Lobsters were just on the outside of their hiding place. Still headed on southern path we stopped at Black Tip Wall. There are several things we enjoyed about Black Tip Wall. We have lots of swim thrus that start in a shallow area and come out over the wall. However at Black Tip theres no need to go over the wall, while swimming on the top edge we swam through schools of Snappers, Grunts and had a few large Groupers came close in for a picture. We ended the day at Hammerhead Gulch. Hammerhead is a very tidal dive site and one of the nicest of the shallows. In the grassy area we can find small creatures and around the coral lots of color and schools of fish. The night dive with the full moon we had was awesome because the water was clear and the moon bright it was easy to see the Lobsters, Rays and other creatures of the night. Then after the night dive we enjoyed a nice evening under the stars and a bright moon. For a Monday, this was a Very Good Day In The Bahamas.
Tuesday morning we started off on Whales Tail Wall. Whales Tail has more swim thrus and one of the longest swim thrus on any of the walls or dive sites we visit. Its always nice to see the different colors of a wall, but just as nice to see Scrawled Filefish covered with blue to blue-green spots and the Trumpetfish with its trumpet-like mouth. Our next stop was Jewfish Wall. Sometimes when youre shooting pictures you think to yourself I wish I had the other lens on this dive. Theres always something big to shoot on this dive site and see the Caribbean Reef Shark up close and the small Hawksbill Turtle is always nice. But sometime when you slow down you notice the little things and thats what happens to me diving Jewfish Wall. I swam up through a canyon and started watch two Four-Eye Butterflyfish and Barred Hamlet. Thats the moment I wanted the macro lens, because my new little friend swam just a few inches from my mask. I had forgotten how colorful the blues were around the eyes and other parts of the Barred Hamlet. I enjoyed the hour-long dive at Jewfish but the time past way too fast.
Due to the winds picking up, we moved next to the bank side of the Exuma Islands. The first dive site we picked was Barracuda Shoals, which has scatted coral heads covered with colorful sponges and corals. Split-Crown Feather Dusters and Variegated Feather Dusters were everywhere to be found. We were able to swim near lots of Yellow Stingrays and one large Southern Stingray covered with sand, except for his eyes and tail. Everyone had an awesome dive and our guest Earle came up and said Best Dive So Far. Due to tide issues we had to leave Barracuda Shoals, however guests wanted to dive it again so Im sure we will be back Our late afternoon and night dive was on Flat Rock. Swimming around this site is like swimming around an aquarium. We were diving with schools of tropical fish, beautiful soft and hard corals and lots of creatures. Our best find was a Red-Tipped Sea Goddess almost three inches long and our guest John took an excellent picture of this beautiful Nudibranch.
Wednesday morning we started in the Exuma Land and Sea Park at the dive site Wall City. Wall City is made up of several high profile coral heads located on the edge of a deep wall. These high profile corals are stacked like tall buildings in a city with alleyways between. As we swam through these alleyways we saw Spotted Moray Eel near the mooring line, several large Caribbean Spiny Lobsters and huge Channel Clinging Crabs. But this wonderful dive site was also covered with Blackcap and Fairy Basslets, Squirrelfish and more Peppermint Goby with their yellow-gold to translucent body then we could count. Next stop in the park was Danger Reef. As soon as we pulled up to the mooring we had several Caribbean Reef Sharks along side of the Carib Dancer. It didnt take the guests long to get in and start shooting some excellent pictures and video with these Sharks swimming close by. Because the Exuma Park is a protected area and a No Take Park, the marine life in this area is larger. The Lobsters are bigger and the almost two foot long Midnight Parrotfish and Black Groupers swam in close for a picture or two. For the afternoon and night dive we picked 3 Peaks Reef. Having three separate big coral heads to choose from makes it nice. Most of us swam around the largest one, which was where we were moored. During the dive I saw lots of Angelfish and numerous Brittle Stars hiding between the coral and sponges. Towards the end of the dive we saw the biggest Barracuda Ive seen in a long time - reaching a length of almost four feet!
Early Thursday morning we headed back north to our morning dive site called Shroud Wall. It was nice seeing two-foot size Rainbow Parrotfish swim just a few inches away. As I was swimming in 57 feet of water about 15 feet from the edge of the wall looking out over the wall and I was thinking the last time I did a dive at Shroud Wall was just after Hurricane Sandy. Because of the Hurricane the reef here was coved with a thick layer of sand and the only good diving was along side the wall. Now just a short time later Mother Nature has cleaned her reef and it was full of fish and creatures. I was headed for my safety stop at that 57-foot mark I mention earlier when I saw the best view a diver could view. Just in front of me, schools of fish were swimming around a large coral head with Brain Coral, Blushing Star Coral, Button Cup Coral and colorful Sea Fans. As I looked past the coral head and all the marine life, all I saw was the beautiful deep blue color of the Exuma Sound. It was breath taking
Next stop on this Thursday was the wreck of the Austin Smith. If you have been with us before, or maybe you read about the Austin Smith, here we see Sharks! Today we had about 8 Caribbean Reef Sharks, in some cases swimming within mere inches of our guests. Diving with the sharks here is always enjoyable, plus we enjoy lots of fish and other creatures. We ended the day of a small Plane Wreck just off the main ship channel. All around the wreck we had a grassy area where we found a variety of small creatures. On the plane wreck itself we swam with several different schools of fish. With less then 20 feet of water, we had lots of bottom time to shoot pictures and video of more Banded Coral Shrimp then I could count. Big Ocean Triggerfish sleeping under the wreck, several Red Banded and Giant Hermit Crabs and a huge Loggerhead Turtle sleeping with her head under the Plane Wreck. Slowly making our way back to the Carib Dancer, after enjoying the all the creatures on and near the Plane Wreck, we came upon a Flame Box Crab half buried in the sand. And swimming under the vessel as we return were Squid, lots and lots of Reef Squid just waiting for their picture and video to be taken. The Plane Wreck is the smallest dive site we visit; yet this week it was the best dive of the week.
Friday morning we enjoyed a pre-breakfast dive on the Blue Hole. Most of the time its better to dive the Blue Hole first thing in the morning. Its easier to see the large Nurse Sharks, Loggerhead Turtle and watch the coral heads along the rim of the hole come alive with marine life. After enjoying our underwater time at the Blue Hole we slowly made our way to our last dive of the charter while everyone enjoyed a wonderful breakfast prepared by Chef Shea. Periwinkle Reef was chosen as the last dive of the charter because its like doing a long safety stop while swimming in an aquarium. Max depth around 20 feet, we enjoyed a very colorful reef with hundreds of tropical fish swimming near by; some within a few inches. Periwinkle Reef is so nice and sometimes we get a chance to dive it the first and last dive of the charter and never see the same area. It was an excellent way to end a wonderful week of diving aboard the Carib Dancer in the Bahamas.
Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, 2nd Captain Mario, Engineer Ernie, Instructor Nicole and Chef Shea.
Water Temperature: 74-76 F
3 or 5 mm Wet Suit Recommended
Saturday afternoon after everyone boarded, the Carib Dancer and its guest Fran, Earle, Barbara, Markus, Hans, Stefan, Carl, Liz, John, An and Olivier depart the Elizabeth On Bay Dock and made the easy ride to the Exumas for a week of diverse diving. The ride out to our mooring and first dive site Lobster No Lobster was very nice, lots of stars, a bright moon and smooth seas, we could not have asked for a better night.
Sunday morning while sitting on our first dive site, Lobster No Lobster, we watched a beautiful sunrise come up over the Exuma Islands. Underwater we swam with Caribbean Spiny Lobsters, Yellow Stingrays, and Big Southern Stingrays. About a six foot, very healthy looking, Nurse Shark swam right in front of a few guest. Our next dive site was Crab Mountain (East). This is one of many of the dive sites we visit that is large enough for two mooring in different areas of the reef. At Crab Mountain theres one in the shallows and one on the edge of the wall. We were diving on the dive site near the edge of the wall. We swam around medium-high profile coral heads and just down the edge of the wall seeing an array of hard and soft corals. Nearby we had schools of Horse-Eye Jacks and Yellow Tail Snappers. A few Caribbean Spiny Lobsters were out and a couple of Cero Mackerel swam near by. Our night dive was back on the shallow reef of Lobster No Lobster. While waiting for guests to get ready by putting on wet suits and checking computers, I looked over about 15 feet on the port side of the Carib Dancer and watch a small Hawksbill Turtle take a very breathes before diving. During the dive, lots of the normal nighttime creatures were seen including a Parrotfish laying on the bottom near the reef covered with sand made for great camouflage to get a good nights sleep. Always a highlight when diving at night is seeing a couple of Common Octopus. It was great hearing guest come up talking about how the Octopus was showing off its colors when hunting along the reef.
Monday morning we made our way to our farthest northern dive site called Dog Rocks. Dog Rocks is one of the crews favorite. We enjoyed lots of swim thrus and canyons and a wall covered with bight colored Tube Sponges, Sea Fans and Black Coral. One of the largest swim thrus had thousands of Silversides to swim past. Swimming in the small canyons we passed Bipinnate Sea Plume, Yellow Sea Whips and Venus Sea Fans. When I was headed up to finish the dive on my safety stop, I followed about hundred Creole Wrasse in their initial phase with their dark blue body swimming in and out of one of the small canyons. Next stop was south of Dog Rocks called Madison Avenue where we watched a Yellow-headed Jawfish go in and out its hole. Caribbean Spiny and Caribbean Spotted Lobsters were just on the outside of their hiding place. Still headed on southern path we stopped at Black Tip Wall. There are several things we enjoyed about Black Tip Wall. We have lots of swim thrus that start in a shallow area and come out over the wall. However at Black Tip theres no need to go over the wall, while swimming on the top edge we swam through schools of Snappers, Grunts and had a few large Groupers came close in for a picture. We ended the day at Hammerhead Gulch. Hammerhead is a very tidal dive site and one of the nicest of the shallows. In the grassy area we can find small creatures and around the coral lots of color and schools of fish. The night dive with the full moon we had was awesome because the water was clear and the moon bright it was easy to see the Lobsters, Rays and other creatures of the night. Then after the night dive we enjoyed a nice evening under the stars and a bright moon. For a Monday, this was a Very Good Day In The Bahamas.
Tuesday morning we started off on Whales Tail Wall. Whales Tail has more swim thrus and one of the longest swim thrus on any of the walls or dive sites we visit. Its always nice to see the different colors of a wall, but just as nice to see Scrawled Filefish covered with blue to blue-green spots and the Trumpetfish with its trumpet-like mouth. Our next stop was Jewfish Wall. Sometimes when youre shooting pictures you think to yourself I wish I had the other lens on this dive. Theres always something big to shoot on this dive site and see the Caribbean Reef Shark up close and the small Hawksbill Turtle is always nice. But sometime when you slow down you notice the little things and thats what happens to me diving Jewfish Wall. I swam up through a canyon and started watch two Four-Eye Butterflyfish and Barred Hamlet. Thats the moment I wanted the macro lens, because my new little friend swam just a few inches from my mask. I had forgotten how colorful the blues were around the eyes and other parts of the Barred Hamlet. I enjoyed the hour-long dive at Jewfish but the time past way too fast.
Due to the winds picking up, we moved next to the bank side of the Exuma Islands. The first dive site we picked was Barracuda Shoals, which has scatted coral heads covered with colorful sponges and corals. Split-Crown Feather Dusters and Variegated Feather Dusters were everywhere to be found. We were able to swim near lots of Yellow Stingrays and one large Southern Stingray covered with sand, except for his eyes and tail. Everyone had an awesome dive and our guest Earle came up and said Best Dive So Far. Due to tide issues we had to leave Barracuda Shoals, however guests wanted to dive it again so Im sure we will be back Our late afternoon and night dive was on Flat Rock. Swimming around this site is like swimming around an aquarium. We were diving with schools of tropical fish, beautiful soft and hard corals and lots of creatures. Our best find was a Red-Tipped Sea Goddess almost three inches long and our guest John took an excellent picture of this beautiful Nudibranch.
Wednesday morning we started in the Exuma Land and Sea Park at the dive site Wall City. Wall City is made up of several high profile coral heads located on the edge of a deep wall. These high profile corals are stacked like tall buildings in a city with alleyways between. As we swam through these alleyways we saw Spotted Moray Eel near the mooring line, several large Caribbean Spiny Lobsters and huge Channel Clinging Crabs. But this wonderful dive site was also covered with Blackcap and Fairy Basslets, Squirrelfish and more Peppermint Goby with their yellow-gold to translucent body then we could count. Next stop in the park was Danger Reef. As soon as we pulled up to the mooring we had several Caribbean Reef Sharks along side of the Carib Dancer. It didnt take the guests long to get in and start shooting some excellent pictures and video with these Sharks swimming close by. Because the Exuma Park is a protected area and a No Take Park, the marine life in this area is larger. The Lobsters are bigger and the almost two foot long Midnight Parrotfish and Black Groupers swam in close for a picture or two. For the afternoon and night dive we picked 3 Peaks Reef. Having three separate big coral heads to choose from makes it nice. Most of us swam around the largest one, which was where we were moored. During the dive I saw lots of Angelfish and numerous Brittle Stars hiding between the coral and sponges. Towards the end of the dive we saw the biggest Barracuda Ive seen in a long time - reaching a length of almost four feet!
Early Thursday morning we headed back north to our morning dive site called Shroud Wall. It was nice seeing two-foot size Rainbow Parrotfish swim just a few inches away. As I was swimming in 57 feet of water about 15 feet from the edge of the wall looking out over the wall and I was thinking the last time I did a dive at Shroud Wall was just after Hurricane Sandy. Because of the Hurricane the reef here was coved with a thick layer of sand and the only good diving was along side the wall. Now just a short time later Mother Nature has cleaned her reef and it was full of fish and creatures. I was headed for my safety stop at that 57-foot mark I mention earlier when I saw the best view a diver could view. Just in front of me, schools of fish were swimming around a large coral head with Brain Coral, Blushing Star Coral, Button Cup Coral and colorful Sea Fans. As I looked past the coral head and all the marine life, all I saw was the beautiful deep blue color of the Exuma Sound. It was breath taking
Next stop on this Thursday was the wreck of the Austin Smith. If you have been with us before, or maybe you read about the Austin Smith, here we see Sharks! Today we had about 8 Caribbean Reef Sharks, in some cases swimming within mere inches of our guests. Diving with the sharks here is always enjoyable, plus we enjoy lots of fish and other creatures. We ended the day of a small Plane Wreck just off the main ship channel. All around the wreck we had a grassy area where we found a variety of small creatures. On the plane wreck itself we swam with several different schools of fish. With less then 20 feet of water, we had lots of bottom time to shoot pictures and video of more Banded Coral Shrimp then I could count. Big Ocean Triggerfish sleeping under the wreck, several Red Banded and Giant Hermit Crabs and a huge Loggerhead Turtle sleeping with her head under the Plane Wreck. Slowly making our way back to the Carib Dancer, after enjoying the all the creatures on and near the Plane Wreck, we came upon a Flame Box Crab half buried in the sand. And swimming under the vessel as we return were Squid, lots and lots of Reef Squid just waiting for their picture and video to be taken. The Plane Wreck is the smallest dive site we visit; yet this week it was the best dive of the week.
Friday morning we enjoyed a pre-breakfast dive on the Blue Hole. Most of the time its better to dive the Blue Hole first thing in the morning. Its easier to see the large Nurse Sharks, Loggerhead Turtle and watch the coral heads along the rim of the hole come alive with marine life. After enjoying our underwater time at the Blue Hole we slowly made our way to our last dive of the charter while everyone enjoyed a wonderful breakfast prepared by Chef Shea. Periwinkle Reef was chosen as the last dive of the charter because its like doing a long safety stop while swimming in an aquarium. Max depth around 20 feet, we enjoyed a very colorful reef with hundreds of tropical fish swimming near by; some within a few inches. Periwinkle Reef is so nice and sometimes we get a chance to dive it the first and last dive of the charter and never see the same area. It was an excellent way to end a wonderful week of diving aboard the Carib Dancer in the Bahamas.
Crew for this Charter was Captain Dennis, 2nd Captain Mario, Engineer Ernie, Instructor Nicole and Chef Shea.