Trip Report Bahamas Cat Ppalu & Stuart Cove’s Dive Trip Apr 25 to May 5, 2008

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Scubasw

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Scuba Instructor
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Maryland
# of dives
Bahamas Cat Ppalu & Stuart Cove’s Dive Trip Apr 25 to May 5

Sorry but this pretty lengthy. I'll try and post some video's when I get back to the state's.

Disclaimer: This is my personal trip report and your mileage may vary. I do not work for Blackbeard’s, but I have taken 3 week long trips on their sailboats and this is my first trip on the Cat Ppalu. Blackbeard’s also owns the Aqua-cat. All dives were made using a computer and were within recreational limits. All dives were no-decompression using a computer. Tables will not allow you to make many of these dives. The Cat Ppalu crew requests all dives be made as no-decompression dives. They gave detailed site/dive briefings before each dive, but allowed each diver to plan and execute their own profile.

9 of us booked the Cat Ppalu (part of Blackbeard’s fleet) for a week long dive trip out of Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas. We decided to come in one day early (Friday) and dive with Stuart Cove’s on Saturday Morning before joining the Cat Ppalu and then to dive with Stuart Cove’s for 3 days on returning from the live aboard.

I along with 5 of the others flew in on the US Airways direct flight out of Reagan National to Nassau. No problems with the flight. We were 10 minutes late leaving the gate but still arrived in Nassau 10 minutes early. The flight was smooth and it was nice not having to make any connections. The other 3 came in out of BWI taking 2 different routes and also experienced no problems. All luggage arrived safely and it cost $30 for 6 people and 14 dive bags plus carry-ons for a cab from the airport to the Orange Hill Inn where we were booked through Stuart Cove’s for 1 night before and 3 nights after the live aboard. The rooms are basic, but clean with AC, 6 channels on the TV, coffee maker & refrigerator in the room. They have a pool on site, and are on the shore across the road from the beach. Restaurant with bar on site. Friday night we ate at the hotel, and I had the seafood combo with blackened grouper, fried conch and a half a lobster tail with mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, black beans and rice, plain rice, cauliflower, macaroni and cheese for $30. The food was very good and it was serve yourself for the side items. Other menu items ranged from Baked or BBQ’d chicken for $12, Chicken Marsala for $15, blackened grouper for $24. The staff in the restaurant and hotel were very friendly and service was quick by island standards. The bar is on the honor system with beer for $4 and canned soda for $1.50.

Saturday, Apr 26, 2008. Dove with Stuart Cove’s on New Providence Island for the AM dive. Stuart’s put us on our own boat which was great. After asking what kind of dives we were looking for and hearing “Wrecks!” Dive master Vivian and Captain Eric took us to Steel Forest for our first dive. Steel Forest is actually 3 ships sunk on the same site in a triangle. The largest an island freighter is right next to the wall at 70+ feet with the other 2 at shallower levels. You can easily see all three on a single dive. Swim out the bow ramp of the freighter and you’re over the blue in 6,000 feet of water. Besides the wrecks, Lionfish were the big attractions and were every where on all three wrecks. Dive time was 40 minutes with max depth of 98 feet. Wall goes to 6,000+ so watch your depth. Second dive of the day was a double wreck again, Ray of Hope, an island freighter and Bahama Mama, a barge. This site is very close to where Stuart’s does their shark feed, and we had about 20-30 sharks in the water swimming around the area. When a snorkel boat anchored next to us and put a chum bucket in the water, the activity really picked up in the area. Wish I had brought my camera down with me, but with a new 5mm suit I was working on one thing at a time. Glad I brought a 5mm, water temp was 74F on my computer. Other computers said from 71 to 76. We’re diving with them the end of the week after our trip on the Cat Ppalu and requested Vivian and Eric when we come back. Very good dive’s to start the trip.

Dive 1 with Stuart Cove’s was Steel Forest with 98 feet for 40 min.
Dive 2 with Stuart Cove’s was Ray of Hope with 56 feet for 46 min.

Stuart’s did take us back to the Orange Hill Inn to get the rest of our luggage and then took us on to the Cat Ppalu. The driver was a little unsure exactly where the Cat Ppalu was docked and initially took us to the wrong marina. We finally got straightened out and to the right Marina, The Nassau Harbor Marina and found the boat. The crew got us all aboard, gear stowed and we left the dock just after 3. No diving this afternoon, as we have to cross a very shallow area during daylight to get over to the Exuma Chain for our diving. The crew consists of Captain Gavin, from Ireland, Cook Michelle from Ireland (also an Instructor), Engineer Robert from Florida and Divemaster/Instructor Stuart from England. We were all impressed with the accommodations and room on board after having done the Blackbeard’s sailboats. There is a lot more room on the Cat Ppalu. Dinner was Pork Loin, Black beans and rice, salad, and summer vegetables. Good Food was had all week and I’ll mention the high points as I go along.

Sunday, April 27, 2008, breakfast at 7:30 then 1st dive briefing at 8am and 1st Dive at 8:30. Today the weather was sunny, 80 and very windy. Due to wind direction and force we were forced to stay in the lee of the islands and dive shallow.
Dive 1 was Closemon’s Reef with 20 feet for 62 min.
Dive 2 was Flatrock Reef with 27 feet for 49 min.
Dive 3 was Baracuda Shoals with 30 feet for 62 min.
Dive 4 was a night dive on Closemon’s Reef with 20 feet for 52 min.

All these sites are relatively close together in the area of Allen’s Key in the northern Exuma chain. On each of the dives we saw the usual reef fish and unless we see something very unusual or exciting, I’m not going to comment on all the ones we saw. We did make a short afternoon stop on Allen’s Key to feed the Iguana’s grapes. They are brazen little beggars and are not afraid of taking them from your fingers. They do have sharp teeth and poor eyesight so you may want to put the grapes on a short stick to protect your fingers.

A warm shower after the night dive was a welcome change. (Blackbeard’s sailboats have one shower and you’re only allowed 30 seconds a day.) The Cat Ppalu has 2 showers and they don’t restrict your shower. Dinner was baked fish, salad, black beans and rice, Squash, fried plantains, with peach/fruit cobbler for desert after the night dive. Excellent dive day.

Monday, Apr 28, 2008. We started in the middle Exuma’s off Highborne Key at a site called Pillar Wall.
Dive 5 was Pillar Wall with 104’ for 36min
Dive 6 was Pillar Wall again with 106’ for 39 min
After lunch we moved down to the Exuma Land and sea Park in the Southern Exuma’s off Cistern Cay.
Dive 7 was Three Peaks Reef with 53’ for 55 min.
Dive 8 was a night dive on Three Peaks Reef with 52’ for 50 min

Pillar wall starts about 30-40 feet and drops off into the blue. Several sand chutes along the wall drop off into over 150 feet so watch your depth. Several swim throughs and canyons along the walls. Look along the wall for huge lobster. I did see a shark here at the end of the dive, but he didn’t hang around. Three peaks is a large patch coral and sand area between 30 and 55 feet. I did see one lionfish here. Capt Gavin said he hadn’t seen any this far south before. During the night dive several of the lobsters were out on the reef moving around.

Dinner before the night dive was Thanksgiving at sea, Roast Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and fresh rolls. After the night dive Michelle had hot apple crisp with ice cream waiting for us. Another good day in the book.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008 The day started Beautiful, Sunshine, warm weather and Denver omelet for breakfast. We spent the night in a protected anchorage at the Marine Park HQ. Aqua Cat moored right next to us. So far they seem to be following us to the same areas, which makes sense considering both boats come out of Nassau and do the Exuma Cays.

Dive 9 was Danger Reef off of Cistern Cay with 56 feet for 53 min.
Dive 10 was again Danger Reef off of Cistern Cay with 65 feet for 45 min.
Danger reef is near where a shark feed is done and several Caribbean Reef sharks were in the area for both dives. At least 10 large groupers and over 100 horse-eyed jacks hung under the boat during both dives. Got some good video of them all.
Dive 11 was Shroud Wall off Shroud Cay with 126 feet for 40 minutes. Shroud wall starts at 50 feet and drops off vertically into the blue. Again watch your depth.
Dive 12 was a night dive at Hammerhead reef off Long Cay with 23 feet for 45 min. No, there were no hammerheads.

Tonight was pasta night with spaghetti bolognaise, Spinach and cheese tortellini, Caesar salad and garlic bread. Raspberry torts were for desert.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008. We started with wall dives today.
Dive 13 was Blacktip Wall off Long Cay with 120 feet for 35 min.
Dive 14 was Dog Rocks Wall north of Ships Channel with 100 feet for 36 min.
Dive 15 was Dog Rocks Wall again with 96 feet for 47 min.

Both these sites are walls starting in 30-40 feet and dropping off into the abyss. Both have multiple swim-thrus, cuts and tunnels dropping out onto the wall at 85-100 feet. Watch your depth as the bottom is a long way off. While traveling from Blacktip to Dog Rocks we were trolling for fish and caught 2 ½ dolphin (the fish) and a mackerel. It would have been 3 dolphins but just as the 2nd dolphin was being brought alongside the boat, a shark came up and took the back half of the fish. We quickly learned to land them as quick as possible. Engineer Robert showed what he learned on commercial fishing boats and cleaned all the fish up. Michelle is going to do fresh fried fish and sushi on Thursday for lunch.

Dive 16 was Lobster No Lobster for a night dive with 30 feet for 46 min. Found 2 lobsters and 3 stingrays in the sand.

Dinner tonight was chicken cordon bleu, salad, mixed vegetables and roasted potatoes with marble cake for desert.

Thursday, May 01, 2008. Today started with the crossing from the northern Exuma’s back to New Providence Island. We arrived at our first dive site just before lunch.

Dive 17 was the Blue Hole off New Providence Island with 130 feet for 29 min. The Blue Hole is nearly a perfect circle 100 feet across and goes down 200 feet at the edges with a mound at the center at 150-160. There is a crack/tunnel at 75 feet that goes back over 60 feet before narrowing down to 2-3 tall. It appears to go back another 50+ feet. Most of the fish we found were in the tunnel. The blue hole was pretty neat, never having done one before, but again watch your depth as it’s easy to just start down and not realize how deep you are.

Lunch was baked fresh fish and sushi from the fish we caught yesterday. Potato salad and French fries rounded out the meal.

Dive 18 was Periwinkle reef just off New Providence Island. IT was a shallow dive on a reef with 23 feet for 1:04. The big treat here was taking a small box of corn flakes to feed the sergeant major fish. As we swam up to the reef, at least 200 sergeant majors came swimming towards us. They just swarmed the guys with the cereal bags. Large starfish were in the sand around the reef. Turn one over to watch it right itself. Make sure you have 20-25 minutes to sit and watch.

After the last dive we made it into the dock at the marina by 4:30 and had some time to walk around the local area before dinner. Dinner tonight was surf and turf with steamed shrimp, roast beef, salad, rice and rolls. For desert it was fresh baked brownies topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup. After desert we were able to watch the fireworks from Paradise Island sitting on the boat. Tonight is on the boat and then in the morning we debark and move back to the Orange Hill Inn. We dive with Stuart Cove’s tomorrow afternoon with their Shark Dive.

Some final thoughts on the Cat Ppalu trip. Our group was nine people, 7 singles and 1 couple. The boat has 4 single bunks in 2 cabins and 4 double cabins, so they can take a maximum of 12 guests. With our 9 we never felt crowded on the boat and the main salon was big enough to seat all of us together along with all 4 crew to eat together which was nice after eating in shifts on the Blackbeard’s sailboat. The dive deck is well laid out and Stu was very good about always giving full 3000psi fills. They have Aluminum 80’s and 63’s for those who want them. Each person has their own locker under the bench to store fins/mask/gloves/lights and all those other wet things. They kept a bucket full of fresh water for cameras and each side of the dive deck has a fresh water hose for rinsing masks before dives and heads after dives. There was always someone, usually 2 on the dive deck while divers were in the water to assist in getting you off and back on. They didn’t restrict your diving other than to remind everyone that it was recreational diving and not to go into deco or below 130 feet. Since all our guys were diving with computers and experienced divers this was not a problem, Capt. Gavin runs a good ship, and it’s not often you see the Captain cleaning the head most days. Michelle is a very good cook and always had more food prepared than we could eat. Engineer Robert was very responsive to fixing anything you broke or that quit. Stu always filled tanks right after the dive, so we were ready for the next dive. Like most live-aboards you set your gear up once and only have to remove the first stage for them to re-fill your tank. The overall opinion of our group was very positive and we’re already discussing a return trip next year. I’m not sure I can get any of these guys back on the Blackbeard’s sailboat.
 
Part 2
Friday, May 02, 2008. We departed the Cat Ppalu this morning after breakfast and returned to the Orange Hill Inn for our remaining 3 days. We dove with Stuart Cove’s in the afternoon. 6 of us did the Shark feed dive and 2 did the regular afternoon dive. The 2 on the afternoon dive advised it was a cattle boat, 25 divers on their boat and many had not been diving in some time. They did the James Bond DC-3 airplane movie set and a wall dive. More about that tomorrow when our whole group does the regular dives. On the Shark Dive the boat had about 20 divers on it. It is a two tank dive, with both dives done on the same site. The first dive is to familiarize you with the site, let you look at the sharks before the feed, and then do a short wall dive. Time was to be 35 minutes. The second dive is on the same site. They have everyone descend together, where 2 of the divemasters (actually the video and still photographers) position you in a circle kneeling on the sand. During this time the sharks are all gathering and some good photo ops abound. After everyone is settled, the divemaster with the steel crate of food comes down and the action starts. The shark feeder uses a spear to pull one fish at a time from the crate and feed it to the sharks. He moves around the circle several times bringing the sharks up close and personal to everyone. The sharks are everywhere!!! The feed lasts about 25-30 minutes and when all the fish is gone the divemaster ascends. The sharks realize at this point the feeding is over and start departing the area; however several continue to hang around for more video and photos. You can search in the sand for shark teeth for about 5 minutes before they signal everyone to ascend. Total dive time was 46 minutes. Stuart Cove’s insists on a full wet suit for everyone on this dive and you can rent one there. I was glad I was wearing my 5mm since you don’t move around much on this dive and it started getting cold near the end. I had a water temp of 72F. Overall it was worth the $150 price tag at least once.

Dive 3 with Stuart Cove’s was Runway Wall with 95 feet for 43 min
Dive 4 with Stuart Cove’s was a shark feed with 38 feet for 46 min.

More to come as I'm still in the Bahamas
 
excellent trip report! Thanks for posting. Can you also put a link down on the Liveaboard Forum? There hasn't been a single report for this boat and I am sure other divers might consider it after your report. :DWhere are the pics?:D

Thanks!
robin
 
Great report! I will be on the Cat Ppalu next month with 11 other ladies form my LDS. This is their 5th year of diving the Cat Ppalu, but my first with this shop. I'm really looking forward to it. We will have quite a mix of divers from those just recently certified last year, to an Instructor & 2 Dive Cons. Anything else to keep in mind for the trip? I have also been on Blackbeard's & the Caribbean Explorer I, so am relatively familiar with live aboards. Any suggestions would be quite welcome.
 
Nice report. Sounds like a great liveaboard.
 
Part 3
Saturday, May 3, 2008. Dove with Stuart Cove’s both morning and afternoon dives.

Dive 5 with Stuart Cove’s was the Sea Viking wreck with 63 feet for 37 min.
Dive 6 with Stuart Cove’s was the Twin Sister’s wreck with 73 feet for 37 min.
Dive 7 with Stuart Cove’s was the David Tucker wreck with 114 feet for 49 min.
Dive 8 with Stuart Cove’s was the James Bond site with 44 feet for 38 min.

We lucked out again this morning with getting Vivian as our dive master on the boat. She asked us what we wanted to do and we all said wrecks. The first, the Sea Viking was to be a combination wreck and wall but the current was so strong we all stopped at the wreck, explored that and then did the shallow reef adjacent to it. The current was stronger near the sand than 20 feet up and it brought most of us to a halt. The wreck was pretty good with a few swim thru’s. The second morning dive was the double wreck at Twin Sister’s. These are 2 island tankers sunk bow to bow within 50 feet of one another. You can explorer the deeper one which has it’s inside opened up and is in easy swim thru condition. The shallower one is not as open and easy to access the inside, but has some interesting superstructure left on it. I found an octopus inside a 4” pipe just forward of the rear structure. This morning we had about 15 people on the boat; 8 of our group and 7 or 8 more other people. The first afternoon dive was again on wrecks by request with Vivian acting as dive master. We were down to 5 as 3 of our group fly home Sunday and 5 other people came aboard for a total of 10 which felt roomy on the boat. Vivian was used to our group by now and would give our group a quick profile of the site and then kick us off the boat while she gave the full briefing to the new people on the boat. The David Tucker is a small Bahamian Patrol boat sunk near the wall. We did the wall first, and then returned to the patrol boat to explore it more fully. The last dive today was the “James Bond” wrecks, named for the 2 props from the Bond movie “Never say Never” from the 70’s. The first is the Tears of Allah boat wreck which has 2 fake torpedo holes in it that you can swim from one side of the boat to the other through. Coming out the starboard side hole you swim straight out about 100 feet and you will come to what’s left of the “Vulcan” bomber. The underwater set was actually scaffolding covered with canvass, with only the landing gear being real. The canvass is long gone but the scaffolding is just covered with coral and growth. Look in the Purple gorgonians and you will find basket stars all balled up waiting for night. A note on the wrecks; even though most are opened and make for easy swim thru’s, the wrecks seem to attract Lionfish like anything. Every wreck we visited had Lionfish on them. They like to hide in corners and just inside doorways so look before sticking your hand anywhere or just blindly swimming into a compartment. All in all a very good day diving. The wind died down some from yesterday and the seas were a little calmer, but still 2-3 foot waves. One more day to go.
 
I'm not shooting stills this trip, only video. When I get back to the states, I'll try and post some parts of the shark feed and other cool video.
 
Sunday, May 04, 2008, last diving day.

Dive 9 with Stuart Cove’s was the Palace Wall with 130 feet for 43 min.
Dive 10 with Stuart Cove’s was the Ray of Hope again with 62 feet for 50 min.

Again we had Vivian as the Divemaster, but we didn’t get our own boat. The group was down to the last 5 hard core divers and there were 12 other divers on the boat. Vivian was still good about getting us into the water quickly and letting us max out our bottom time. The Palace Wall is a a sheer wall starting in about 50 feet and dropping off into the blue. Found lots of fish life along this wall including a very large hawksbill turtle along the top of the wall. Vivian took us back to the Ray of Hope by request to get a few more shots with the sharks. They were waiting for us under the boat as we went in and stayed in the area throughout the dive. I was able to get some really good video with them I believe. Flushed a very big grouper out of the stern of the Ray of Hope while doing swim throughs. Lionfish are abundant on this site so watch were you put your hands. The sharks hung out swimming through the group while doing our safety stop which was hard to leave even after 10 minutes as the sharks just kept swimming among us. Oh well air doesn’t last forever.

Final thoughts; 28 dives over 9 diving days, doing 4 dives on each of 5 days and 2 dives on each of the other 4 with a travel day on each end makes for a very satisfying 11 day trip. We are already discussing a return trip to the Cat Ppalu and/or a week just diving with Stuart Cove’s. Stuart Cove’s runs a good organization and all their staff seemed very friendly. 2 of our group wanted to skip one of the afternoon dives and we found out that once your on island, there are no refunds. They advertise a 24 hour cancellation period but that doesn’t apply once you’re checked in with them. The two did get a credit voucher good for a future dive, but there was no refund. We had gotten a slight discount due to booking as a group, but if you think you might want to skip a dive it might be better to pay for your diving as you go. Stuarts 2 tank dive is $99, but they have an all-day excursion which includes both the am dives and the afternoon dives for $150 for 4 dives total. The shark dive is $145 and is a two tank dive with the shark feeding being the second dive.

Links to the hotel and Cat Ppalu are here:
Stuart Coves Dive Bahamas
Cat Ppalu Dive Charters
Orange Hill Inn
 
Thanks. I've done some searches on this board and there hasn't been much information on Stuarts Cove, so much appreciated.

I have read that they limit dives to 30 minutes; based on your report that is not the case. Did they ask you to limit dive times in any manner?

Cheers,
Bill.
 
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