Trip Report: Sandals Antigua (pt 2)

[Jake]

This is a continuation from the post entitled "Trip Report: Sandals Antigua (pt 1)". The first post has more general information on diving (including what to do and what to expect) and the resort. (See http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?p=1772919)

If you have any questions, pm me. Thanks again to MaraGirl for her help.

General notes: all dives were boat dives and were made on regular air. I dove in board shorts only or with a 2mm Gooru rashguard on as well. Some people wore 2/3mm wetsuits. Here's a low quality pic of the setup as proof :



--DIVE 1

Location: Jettia's Wreck / Jettia Wreck (Sandals dive)
Date: 2006-04-17 11:55
Bottom Time: 37min
Max Depth: 21fsw
Vis: ~50-75ft
Temp at depth: 81° F
Surface Temp:84° F
Comments: This is an ok wreck spread out over a large area. We were told onboard that it sunk in 1917, though most sites list it as 1817. Given the relatively good preservation, the intact boilers, the unlikely presence of an ocean-going steamer in the Caribbean dating to the the formative years of steam power vessels, and the fact that every website I found is a verbatim quote of every other, I find it unlikely that it was sunk in 1817. Then again, I'm no anywhere near an expert on ships.

Nevertheless, it's a neat wreck with healthy plant and animal life. The shallowness of the wreck makes it fairly photogenic, and conditions were generally nice. Visibility was only average on this dive unfortunately, but decent. Veteran wreck divers won't be all that impressed, but it's still a nice dive.

--DIVE 2

Location: Pillars of Hercules (English Harbor dive)
Date: 2006-04-18 10:17
Bottom Time: 51 min
Max Depth: 44 fsw
Vis: ~100 ft
Temp at depth: 81° F
Comments: This dive is located at the base of a cliff that continues underwater. Above water, the cliff is cut into pillar-like shapes, which is where it gets its name I believe. Underwater, the dive is across a large boulder and debris field that has fallen from the cliff over the years. The area reminded me of a large amphitheatre: the cliff continues underwater for about 20-30 feet, and then slowly slopes downward to a sandy bottom. Some very large boulders make for some beautiful visuals, and boulders upon boulders make for a lot of hiding places for lots of marine life.

There's a very large old anchor to be seen, and plenty of fish and plant life. We saw some very large puffers and some medium-sized barricuda. According to Carlo of the Antigua Scuba Center, this is regarded as one of Antigua's premier dive spots. I can't speak to that, but it was very impressive. This was one of my favorite dives on the trip.

Check out the part 1 post for more info on diving with the Antigua Scuba Center. Web-site: http://www.antiguascuba.com/


--DIVE 3

Location: Carpenter's Rock (English Harbor dive)
Date: 2006-04-18 12:08
Bottom Time: 43 min
Max Depth: 61 fsw
Vis: ~100 ft
Temp at depth: 79° F
Comments: This dive was even better than the first. There was a significantly larger amount of life present here with some very large schools of fish, both large and small. We saw more giant puffers and a very large barricuda on the hunt near the surface. The geographic environment is even more attractive than the Pillars of Hercules, with a similar amphitheatre-like feel, but with many more photogenic hills, valleys, and rock outcroppings. I believe this site was the result of volcanic fissures which in turn resulted in a more chaotic and compelling environment. Either we hit random thermoclines, or there was still some seeping heat, but the temperature varied from 79 F to about 85 F in very small spaces of time/distance. Viz was weird at times as though looking through thermoclines, even when no apparent temperature changes were present. This may have still had some thermal vent activity; I can't remember what Carlo told me.

This was coolest dive I've done yet in all of my dives despite some negatives (more in a moment).

My gf got stung by a jellyfish or from fire coral almost immediately upon entry, but it didn't bother her that much until after the dive. Whatever the case, just be careful.

Although my computer had no problem with it, we did a reverse profile this day which probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had. None of us had any physiological problems afterwards, and I suppose the hour-long SI was sufficient. Nevertheless, I probably shouldn't have done it. To further complicate matters, this spot ended up having a ridiculously difficult current start up on us on the return to the boat. There were times when we were kicking and not going anywhere. I finished very low on air, but had enough to make a safety stop and still had a few hundred PSI left in the tank (which was low pressure steel, resulting in more air than on aluminum at the same pressure). Had we not hit the current and had to work our butts off to get back, this could have been a very long dive. When we dropped, and for the first part of the dive, the ocean was absolutely dead calm. Oh well. The ocean's funny like that.

Do this dive. You won't regret it.

--DIVE 4

Location: Ariadne Shoal (Sandals dive)
Date: 2006-04-19 09:19
Bottom Time: 49 min
Max Depth: 52 fsw
Vis: ~100 ft
Temp at depth: 80° F
Surface Temp: 84° F
Comments: Hill-like reef structures that looked a lot like a clear cut forest. Lots of low-lieing plants with some taller coral, plants, and sponges punctuating the landscape. This type of layout seemed to go on for a long distance, and the land was mostly flat with minor height variation. Occassionally, you'll swim up 10-20 foot tall hills that undulate lazily across the plain.

We saw a 4-5 foot black-tipped reef shark, which was poetry in motion as it slowly made its way away from us. A very large, very colorful lobster was found under a low rock, and we came across a few small stingrays lounging about. There were a good number of fish, with frequently large populations of very small fish darting about the brush. Colorful parrot fish were about, and a fair number of trumpet fish made their way through the site.

This was supposed to be a drift dive, but the ocean was as calm as could be.

--DIVE 5

Location: Sandy Island Barge (Sandals dive)
Date: 2006-04-19 11:48
Bottom Time: 42 min
Max Depth: 45 fsw
Vis: ~50-75 ft
Temp at depth: 81° F
Comments: This was a fun dive. We saw an enormous sting ray that was probably 10ft from head to tail. There were many pretty schooling fish, and we saw a very curious and colorful eel that hung out in full view as though sunning. The landscape was a large, straight hill that rose about 20ft from a sandy bottom. The plant life on the hill was fairly abundant, though the damaged coral is apparent here. About half way into the dive we came across the barge, which was maybe 50 feet by 25 feet or so (not sure now as I type this). It looked like a trash or transport barge, and is completely flat and fairly well preserved. There are some collapsed portions that hid some larger fish. The wreck itself is pretty uninteresting, but the dive is worth doing.

--DIVE 6

Location: Rambo's Reef (?) (Sandals dive)
Date: 2006-04-20 09:36
Bottom Time: 39
Max Depth: 57 fsw
Vis: ~50-75 ft
Temp at depth: 81° F
Comments: Unfortunately, I don't remember much about this dive, and I didn't make a good log entry for it. I noted healthy animal life, and the dive group said they saw a couple of small sharks on the outskirts of the visibility. Sorry.

--DIVE 7

Location: Pillars (Sandals dive)
Date: 2006-04-20 11:06
Bottom Time: 45 min
Max Depth: 37 fsw
Vis: ~100+ ft
Temp at depth: 82° F
Surface Temp: 84° F
Comments: This was a really neat dive with great visibility and bright conditions. I was the first to descend and when I hit bottom, I noticed a large shark about 50 feet away. It was probably a black tipped reef shark again, though I can't be certain. It was probably 6 to 7 feet in length and was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, it took off pretty quickly, but it was quite a sight.

This site had diverse terrain that ranged from soft hills to expanses of flat bottom and reefs. In the middle of a small valley we came across a 15' rock structure that sat off the bottom about 6 feet. Underneath, in a little cave, was a 5 or so foot nurse shark resting. We were able to get quite close to it and hopefully got some good photos. This was an attractive animal that didn't seem the least bit bothered by us.

The dive spot is so named because of some large finger-like coral structures that stand up from the bottom. Many were quite striking in the bright conditions and made for good photos. I saw a large number of fish and came across several large clouds of newborn fry circling about in large, protective sponges.

During the SI, our divemaster threw some food in the water, which attracted several dozen large black fish. They looked like parrot fish to me, but I'm not certain. These fish were voracious eaters and fought over the food. It was funny, because during the dive we were encircled by 40-50 of these 1-2 foot long black specters who now associated us with food. It was cool to look around and see them quitely hanging about in the water column.

At the end of the dive, as we were loading on to the boat, a large group of small jellyfish suddenly drifed across us. They were probably 2-3 inches across and had those translucent hair-like structures that rapidly change colors. They were really pretty, but as I was the last one to get out of the water, and as there looked to be several hundred coming my way, I got out kind of quick. I don't know if they would have hurt me, but why take the chance. If any of my photos turn out, I'll post them here.

[Damselfish]

Maybe you can ask a mod to merge this with your part 1. A single post on a thread can only be so long, but the parts can just be separate posts in the thread., instead of creating a whole new separate thread. Makes it much easier for people to find the whole thing.

[Jake]

Unfortunately, our camera flooded on the first dive, so most of the pictures are from $20 submersible one-use cameras. So, that explains the photo quality. Artistic composition, however, is all my fault. I've tried to color correct the images, but everything still doesn't look quite right. Oh well.

Part of the debris field from the wreck of the Jettia


Another section of the Jettia


Part of the boiler system on the Jettia


Some shots of what typical reefs looked like:
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.


A shot from the dive at "Pillars", with one of the samples in the background:


A portion of the big stingray we encountered, compared to our full grown DM:

[Jake]

Oh, and here's a shot of me peeking into the very flat Sandy Island Barge: