Saba Trip Report Oct 18-25

[peeweediver]

Our LDS (Scuba Sensations) traveled to Saba with the amazing help of Sea Saba Dive Center. Our trip from Chicago to Saba was uneventful except for the fun landing at the airstrip in Saba. Take off was even better than landing. From arrival to departure every aspect of the trip was well arranged by Sea Saba. We stayed at Julianna's Hotel which was a good hotel with good food for breakfast and dinner when we ate there. Because it was Sea and Learn October we attended a few of the seminars and ate at a different restaurant every night. Amazing food and locations, especially the Eco Lodge restaurant.
Diving was very well run. Bus picked us up at the exact same time every morning. We opted for a box lunch that we ate on the boat while changing tanks in the harbor between dives 2 and 3 each day. Our dive guides, instructors Caroline, Aaron, Mike and Vickie were all very good and just great to have around. Seeing on the white board "Max Dive Time: NDL" was so nice to see. We did well over an hour on almost all dives except the pinnicles/sea mounts when we were at 100 or below at the beginning of the dive. Diving was varied from biological (lots of reef and fish) and geological (the sea mounts and pinnicles). We all enjoyed the diversity of the diving and the reefs were very healthy and full of life. Tropical Storm Gustalo had just visited and there was a lot of sand on the reefs which will disipate soon. Viz was only ok due to a northern swell, but we did not mind and enjoyed everything. On the deep dives, viz improved dramatically below 75 feet making those dive very clear and very cool.
Lynn, co-owner of Sea Saba with husband John, paid attention to every detail and was so flexible to meet our needs. We asked to change the night dive with no notice and she just smiled and said sure as long as she could russle up staff.
Caroline was the instructor most in the water with us and her infectious excitement about diving played out on every dive. I give her very high marks as a guide and group leader. She and the whole staff learned our skill levels and let us dive accordingly.

Thanks to Sea Saba for an outstanding trip.

Rob

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Thanks for the trip report. I was actually looking to join you guys on this trip but these dates did not workout for me. A few questions:

What do you mean by "Vis was ok!" What is OK to you? 25 feet? 5 feet? Numbers here would be good. Also what did you see in terms of marine life and how does it compare to other destinations that you have dived? Any sharks, rays or big animals?

It seems to be a fascinating place with the plane landing and the island. I always wondered how different diving would be in comparison with other Caribbean destinations.

 

[peeweediver]

Captain:

Viz was 25-40 feet shallow and closer to 50-60 feet on the pinnicles. We're Lake Michigan divers so that's great for us. The crew was more disappointed for us on the viz than we were because of the swell. One of our group who had been there a few times before said he experienced 50-75 normally. One to 4 sharks on half the dives but not like San Salvador and never closer than 20 feet. Rays on half the dives. Schools of decent sized jacks. Groupers of decent size. Good sized schools of wrasses and other smaller fish. Biggest daytime octopus I've seen in the Caribbean.
Combination of underwater geological formations and varied fish life ranks it about even with San Salvador (lion fish spearing in San Sal brought close and frequent shark encounters and I'm not sure how I feel about training sharks to equate humans with food) as most interesting we've been in the Caribbean (only 7 spots to compare with).

Rob

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I have seen some pictures of the pinnacles and they seem to be amazing feature terrain wise. I am always excited about deep walls crawling with marine life so this would be totally my kind of dive. Thanks for the info.

 

[LarryHinDC]

I guess we just missed you. My wife and I were there between October 3 and 20 and got to do a bit of diving, which was excellent. Hurricane Gonzalo went through while we were there and we (and all of Saba) were lucky that its path turned just slightly to the north at the last minute. Instead of passing just south of Saba, it passed just north, between Saba and St Maarten. St Maarten got clobbered and all we got was a bunch of rain and some gusty winds for a while. It was still an enjoyable time; we cooked dinner for two of the Sea and Learn experts during the storm and really enjoyed their company.

As you said, vis was not great for Saba, though I'm guessing that while we were there it was around 50 feet for most of the dives, less than you often get there. I remember diving one site on the windward side of the island a few years ago and looking up from 90 feet to see waves breaking on the rocks above. And we were definitely seeing sharks (mainly Caribbean reef) and rays (southern sting rays). There was also a sea horse on one of the sites and a frog fish or two. It's possible that Gonzalo rearranged that kind of sea life so you might not have found them.

 

[peeweediver]

Larry:
A large yellow sea horse was still there but we could not find the frog fish. Caroline, Aaron and Mike, our guides for the days we were looking said that big storms tend to cause the frog fish to go awol for some time. We heard all the stories about the storm and I'm glad you came through ok. The Sea and Learn experts were fun to hear and chat with later one on one.

Rob

 

[Bearkeley]

Great post! Thank you! Leaving next week for a St Kitts -Saba - St Maarten liveaboard (our first) and wondered what Gustavo may have done. Also didn't realize Saba was as big as you described...airstrip and a few restaurants? We have an option to take an island tour of Saba, missing a dive or two if we did....maybe it's worth checking it out?

 

[peeweediver]

Very interesting hiking but you shouldn't hike to the top post diving. I'd tour if it gives your ears a rest and you like quaint houses and beautiful scenery. If you're doing then Explorer Ventures trip, we saw that boat for three days and they dove everywhere we did. One of our group describe the town as "hobbit-like". Not quite, but some great views and a few nice shops. Best chicken tacos ever at the Saba Snack Shop.

Rob

 

[LarryHinDC]

Great post! Thank you! Leaving next week for a St Kitts -Saba - St Maarten liveaboard (our first) and wondered what Gustavo may have done. Also didn't realize Saba was as big as you described...airstrip and a few restaurants? We have an option to take an island tour of Saba, missing a dive or two if we did....maybe it's worth checking it out?

Gonzalo didn't do much damage to either the island or to the surrounding reefs except stir up a bit of sediment. A tour of Saba is interesting, but may not me your cup of tea. The island is only 5 sq. miles and VERY hilly, and the story of how the road was built is fascinating in itself. You can get a bit more information here: Saba History If you do want an island tour, we highly recommend contacting Peddy, one of the taxi drivers on the island. He was part of the crew that built the last part of the road and, once you get used to the accent, is a lot of fun and very knowledgeable. You can reach him at 599-416-7062. Tell him Larry from Flamboyant Cottage recommended him.

 

[jdkerner]

I will have one day during a meeting on St. Maarten to go and dive Saba. Any recommendations for dive company to use?
Thanks!