S/Y Juliet Trip Report - 14 - 23 May 2008

[Nesher]

I just returned from a six night/seven day liveaboard trip to the Bahamas on the S/Y Juliet.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Juliet let me attempt to give you some information.

The Juliet is a 104ft three masked schooner based in Miami, FL. The Juliet is docked next to the Hard Rock Cafe at the Bayside Marketplace & Marina.

The Juliet carries only twelve passengers w/a crew of five. The crew of the Juliet sets the standards for liveaboard vessels as far as I’m concerned.

They are excellent in professionalism, courtesy, safety and care of service.

The onboard marine naturalist presentations far surpass many of the dive seminars given at dive festivals.

The Juliet is a sailing yacht so don’t expect a traditional dive platform. There are five to six foot drop entries from either side of the vessel.

The port side has a small platform from which you can take a giant stride.

The exit from the ocean is from a small staircase also on the port side. You must take your fins off in the water before you can negotiate the staircase.

The Juliet is sturdy as a rock....once used in the artic she is every bit capable of handling rough seas and weather.

The accomodations are comfortable for two persons. However you must be mindful that this is a sailing yacht that has been in service since the late 50’s, early 60’s.

The diving: The diving was good but not excellent this time around. Last time I was in the Bahamas I saw an abundance of marine life.

That was noticeably absent this year. I wasn’t the only person who took note of this fact either.

Something is happening in our oceans that ’s not all good.

We did do a shark dive (my first) at Bull Run and that of course was exciting to say the least.

One thing really disturbing was the advanced number of lionfish I saw on this trip. Last year I saw only one the entire trip. On this trip the lion fish were everywhere.

We dove three wrecks and each wreck had it’s fair share of those critters. It’s important that we understand the danger to our ecosystems that these critters present.

Anyways, let me wrap it up by saying this. I can’t wait until I’m aboard the Juliet in Aug/Sep of 09 going to Puerto Rico.

I highly recommend that you find a way to get aboard this vessel. I went on this trip alone and I met the other guest onboard the first day. (Alabama & Floridian Contigents)

I was very fortunate to find a great group of people to be with. So I strongly suggest you either know how to make friends or bring someone with you.

Better yet, if possible, just charter the entire vessel.

It was a great trip for me to develop my dive skills and I loved every bit of it.

I prefer liveaboard diving above all others and after ths experience I"ve added the Juliet to my list of "WILL DIVE, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE"

Dive Safe Always

 

[scubafanatic]

...I too have fond memories of JULIET (Bahamas)...it was my very first liveaboard experience and got me hooked on that style of dive trip as my favorite ! I too read with interest the Puerto Rico iteninary they recently added......I lived in Puerto Rico in my youth, 1973-1976, for 3 years.....and I think it would be interesting to check out the diving off the islands just off the west coast.....given the ever increasing cost of airfare, fuel, and travel hassles, Puerto Rico on JULIET sounds like a close to home (TX) and relatively affordable trip.

Karl

 

[jimdiverman]

I have made two voyages on the Juliet, one in the Bahamas and one in Turks. I was disappointed in the Bahamas due to the advancement of construction and its side effects. Construction runoff, man-made waste and runoff from stripped foliage are combining to pollute the waters and kill the reefs. It makes me wonder what the Gulf of Mexico may have looked like 100 years ago, and what we have been doing to all the other oceans, and especially those areas that are now in new growth like China and other areas in Southeast Asia.

By killing the oceans, we are not only destroying our planet, but we are destroying our own futures as well.

 

[robint]

Nesher - sounds like a great trip! Do you have pictures?

It sounds like you were up in the northern Bahamas, correct? The lionfish seem to have taken hold up there and are eating all the juvenile fish. We were just on the Nekton doing Medio Reef (southwest Bahamas) and only saw one lionfish on the first day just south of Bimini... none sited the rest of week down south from there and the fishlife was very good. From all the reports, it sounds like they are moving southward but I really hope not. I can't imagine how ugly it could get if they make it around Cuba! Does anyone know what fish eats lionfish in the Pacific to keep them in check?

robin

 

[RonniesDiverGirl]

I totally agree with my good buddy Nesher about the Juliet. They provide a great trip and they definitely set the bar high for liveaboards. The Juliet is all about safety. You do every dive as a group. Also while you are in the water there are people on board watching bubbles to keep a pretty good idea of where everyone is at. You will never have to worry about being left behind . You also get to port for a night. I have done the Bahamas trip twice. The first time we went to Bimini but this year we went to Nassau. John B.(the Captain) is always up for suggestions. Getting to go on land is always a treat. There is a chef on board to cook all of your meals. If you have any special food requests you should let them know in advance and they will do their best to accommodate your needs. They give you a range of different dives. We did wall dives, wrecks, reefs and of course my favorite, Bull Run with it's friendly reef sharks. As far as the crew goes, I don't think their could have been a better crew. I am pretty sure that I have met everyone that works for the Juliet during my two trips and they are all great. They are the nicest people you will ever meet. Both trips for me have been an absolute dream. I hope anyone that reads this will consider a trip with them because it is truly an awesome experience.

 

[deepstops]

I had a report all written up about a week ago and was ready to add my image links to Flickr when I left for work and when I came home, we'd lost power during the day (and the computers all rebooted).

I'll try to get them posted into this thread tonight.

 

[Nesher]

Nesher - sounds like a great trip! Do you have pictures?

It sounds like you were up in the northern Bahamas, correct? The lionfish seem to have taken hold up there and are eating all the juvenile fish. We were just on the Nekton doing Medio Reef (southwest Bahamas) and only saw one lionfish on the first day just south of Bimini... none sited the rest of week down south from there and the fishlife was very good. From all the reports, it sounds like they are moving southward but I really hope not. I can't imagine how ugly it could get if they make it around Cuba! Does anyone know what fish eats lionfish in the Pacific to keep them in check?

robin

Hey Robin:

I believe Deepstops will fill in the blanks with the specifics of the dive sites when he posts his trip report tonight on this thread. But for the most part the answer to your question is yes I believe so.

From the marine naturalist presentations given aboard the Juliet the lionfish has no natural predators in it's own habitat in the Pacific.

That makes it almost impossible to determine at present if there are any predators/enemies that will prey upon the lionfish in the Caribbean.

I've given this some thought and will contiinue to research this but every animal on this planet has a natural predator or a natural enemy.

Some type of enemy that can/will kill it even if it doesn't eat it. We just have to find out what and who that is and then how it's done.

In the mean time I strongly suggest we (divers) attempt to monitor their numbers and get that information to www.reef.org. I'm going to join that organization because I am very concerned about the marine life on the reefs.

Robin, at present I don't take pictures because I need to develop my buoyancy & navigation skills further.

(A guy named Synderman gave me this good piece of advice when I first started diving a year ago. "Learn how to dive first before you put anything in your hands" ) So after I get to 200 dives I'll start underwater video production

However, Deepstops will upload some photos for us later today or tomorrow I believe.

BTW - You can't find a nicer guy to share a liveaboard and to dive with than Deepstops. Actually everyone on our trip was fantastic... really cool people. That's one of the things I love about liveaboards; the people we meet and invest a week of our lives with.

 

[deepstops]

BTW - You can't find a nicer guy to share a liveaboard and to dive with than than Deepstops. Actually everyone on our trip was fantastic... really cool people. That's one of the things I love about liveaboards; the people we meet and invest a week of our lives with.

Thanks for the kind words, and yes, I'd have to agree, everyone on the boat was great to hang out with. I only had two friends on the boat when we left the dock but I got off the boat with eleven friends.

And I too am looking fwd to that Puerto Rico itinerary, except I'll have to wait until 2010 since I already have Australia, the Cook Islands, Tahiti, and HI on the books for 2009

 

[deepstops]

Okay, here's the list of dive sites we did on the trip.
I'll also point out I skipped the third dive that would have been around 400pm on 5/18 (I took a nap ) so there seventeen dives available on the trip.

Dive Site Dive Start Max Depth Bottom Time Visibility Charter Op

1. 897 Bahamas - Ginger Bread Grounds - Swiss Cheese 5/18/2008 8:53 AM 52 1:10 50 Juliet
2. 898 Bahamas - Ginger Bread Grounds - Wounded Knee 5/18/2008 12:56 PM 49 1:08 60 Juliet
3. 899 Bahamas - Ginger Bread Grounds - Leilani 5/18/2008 8:13 PM 46 1:06 50 Juliet
4. 900 Bahamas - Nassau - Lampton Wall 5/19/2008 8:51 AM 132 0:51 100 Juliet
5. 901 Bahamas - Nassau - Three Ships 5/19/2008 12:12 PM 88 0:54 60 Juliet
6. 902 Bahamas - Nassau - Cutter Wreck 5/20/2008 8:51 AM 121 1:00 60 Juliet
7. 903 Bahamas - Andros - Lady Moore 5/20/2008 2:11 PM 81 0:58 60 Juliet
8. 904 Bahamas - NW Channel Light 5/20/2008 6:12 PM 70 0:45 60 Juliet
9. 905 Bahamas - NW Channel Light 5/20/2008 8:41 PM 63 1:02 60 Juliet
10. 906 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Triple Seven 5/21/2008 9:19 AM 63 1:07 100 Juliet
11. 907 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Tuna Alley 5/21/2008 1:59 PM 77 0:45 100 Juliet
12. 908 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Bull Run 5/21/2008 6:24 PM 58 0:47 70 Juliet
13. 909 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Bull Run 5/21/2008 9:02 PM 59 1:13 70 Juliet
14. 910 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Krispy Kreme 5/22/2008 8:12 AM 137 0:54 150 Juliet
15. 911 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Lunkhead 5/22/2008 10:44 AM 56 0:58 50 Juliet
16. 912 Bahamas - Cat Caye - Cubera Cliffs 5/22/2008 3:56 PM 78 0:48 150 Juliet

As you can see, I did my 900th dive on this trip

The next post will have some pics and detail on each site. Hopefully I'll get it out tonight but it was a long day at the office

 

[skuba_girl]

I was on the same trip as Deepstops and Ronniesdivergirl...amazing stuff. Would do the Juliet again today if i could. Just plain good stuff..and fantastic company.