For divers with 100+ dives - do you have a "happy place"?

[hebrideskid]

Once, in the winter of 1984, in the summer of my life, I had the great good fortune to visit the Rum Cay Club on Rum Cay, Bahamas. The diving was memorable. That was also the first dive trip I made with my then-thirteen-year-old son, who has now been my constant dive buddy for 25 years.

The Rum Cay Club is long gone, and there is no dive operation at all on the island any more. Rum Cay is often the subject of fitful rumors of development, but none has yet come to fruition. A yacht harbor, a general store, a few hundred people, some private homes: that's about it.

Once in a while a liveaboard stops by, or a dive boat makes a run over from the Riding Rock Inn on San Salvador. But for the most part, Rum Cay lies dreamily in the sun, the mail boat comes and goes, and time passes slowly. And that's all right with me.

Because I know, on a night with a sky full of stars, when the moon is bright as a new silver dollar, I can go there again in my memory, and lie on the sandy bottom 90' down, watching my bubbles slowly rise. With my son, my dive buddy.

And now, in the winter of my life, that's what is important to me. That's when I'm happy.

 

[cappyjon431]

Once, in the winter of 1984, in the summer of my life, I had the great good fortune to visit the Rum Cay Club on Rum Cay, Bahamas. The diving was memorable. That was also the first dive trip I made with my then-thirteen-year-old son, who has now been my constant dive buddy for 25 years.

The Rum Cay Club is long gone, and there is no dive operation at all on the island any more. Rum Cay is often the subject of fitful rumors of development, but none has yet come to fruition. A yacht harbor, a general store, a few hundred people, some private homes: that's about it.

Once in a while a liveaboard stops by, or a dive boat makes a run over from the Riding Rock Inn on San Salvador. But for the most part, Rum Cay lies dreamily in the sun, the mail boat comes and goes, and time passes slowly. And that's all right with me.

Because I know, on a night with a sky full of stars, when the moon is bright as a new silver dollar, I can go there again in my memory, and lie on the sandy bottom 90' down, watching my bubbles slowly rise. With my son, my dive buddy.

And now, in the winter of my life, that's what is important to me. That's when I'm happy.

Wow do I have a great memories or Rum Cay. I visited Rum Cay every week for a few years when I worked on a liveaboard in the mid-nineties. Great diving and a fascinating island. I seem to remember a sleepy little town (Port Nelson?) with less than 100 residents. My most vivid memory of Rum Cay was when exceptionally high tides allowed a 12 foot tiger shark to swim into one of the small salt ponds on the south side of the island. The locals were afraid of a child accidently going in to the pond, so about a dozen residents went down to the pond to kill the tiger shark. They spooked it so badly it managed to escape through an opening which was less that 3 feet deep.

 

[diver 85]

You really need to get to Little Cayman-----& I'm saying this after 25 trips to Roatan...Bloody Bay Wall is 2nd to none---yes---better than the south side of Roatan(& the north side is better than the south side).....

see some of my pics of LC @ my photobucket site below...


IMO, listen to your friend.....

 

[Grant R]

That Happy place for me is hanging up the tanks and free diving. Severing all responsibilities for others and being alone and vulnerable to the sea. My favorite moment diving was a free dive where I was enveloped by a hundred parrot fish that were moving along in 10 feet of water somewhere on the Great Barrier Reef. I would dive down among them and they never scattered, but made a spot for me among them. Easy free diving, lots of color since its shallow, no worries. A happy place for sure.

 

[John_B]

You really need to get to Little Cayman-----& I'm saying this after 25 trips to Roatan...Bloody Bay Wall is 2nd to none---yes---better than the south side of Roatan(& the north side is better than the south side).....

I have two friends that I met last year (at CCV on Roatan LOL!) who just booked an October trip to the Caymans on the Aggressor. I have half a mind to join them. Can you compare diving Little Cayman from a land based op against doing a few days there on a liveaboard with the other days on Grand Cayman and possibly a day on Cayman Brac? Would you just dive Little Caymen for a week instead?

FWIW, the south side of Roatan (and a day-trip to the West End) are a huge part of what makes diving Roatan so incredible IMO, but a lot of the appeal of CCV for me is that the entire experience there is designed around the diving. I'll be back to Roatan in June (my "happy place" for certain), I'm just deciding for a fall trip.

 

[Gina/TeamKas]

I'm with team casa. I may be a little bit biased but I love diving on Kauai. With over 300+ dives on this one little island in the middle of the pacific. After 7 years since my first discover scuba that lead me to my new career as a dive pro I'm still in love and I still see crazy new critters! And everytime I go on the boat I just get a kick at being out on the water having fun and diving off the beaten path dive sites. My heavan is here. Blessed beyond belief

 

[belcuzco]

It has to be tahiti - Rangiroa for me. I've dived for 12yrs and been all over the world ( including Maldives, Sipadan, Lembeh Straits, the Red Sea, Carribean islands - Belize, Cayman, Bahamas etc including the Yucatan caves) I have many favourites but nothing tops Rangiroa ( if you like some adventure, the distance is worth it ). It is the last paradise on earth - probably how Hawaii looked like 100yrs ago when it was undeveloped and uncrowded with tourists. You won't find your Starbucks coffee, but you will have amazing sunsets and crystal clear waters. I stayed in the local village where the regular fun activity on an ordinary day for school children is jumping into the sea at the jetty.

On my dives, I saw dolphins, mantas and countless species of sharks. It's far and hard to get to..and with so many more places to explore, I don't know if I would have the chance to travel there again.. But go at least once in your lifetime if you've never been.

 

[kmfvs]

Where did you stay in Rangiroa? Did you also try Manihi or Fakarava? We're planning a trip next spring. Any pointers you can give us would be appreciated!

As far as "happy places" go -- Little Cayman or Babylon on the North Wall on Grand Cayman, or West Point, Lighthouse Reef Belize for the Caribbean and Blue Corner, Palau for the Pacific.
Great dives!

 

[cowdog77]

Yep, that would be my choice.

Followed by good liveaboards all over the Pacific.......I'd never come home.
Happy place thus far......mantas in Fiji, just me and my buddy and the dive boat. Sigh.............

(Gotta figure out how to get some of those stimulus bucks)

 

[Splash-X]

I love diving in Jupiter or West Palm Beach Florida, the drift diving over there is amazing.