peterjmaerz
Guest
Just back from 7 days at Julianas, diving with Sea Saba. As Doc Vikingo has so eloquently expressed in his post on Saba, this is a unique and lovely island in a number of ways, and the diving aint bad either! I had the fortune to find a seat just behind the doorless cockpit of the WinAir Twin Otter that carried me over from St Martin. From that vantage I looked up, startled, to see the sheer, Lost World cliffs of the island looming in the planes windshield, seemingly close enough to touch. At the apparent last moment, the pilots veered left and flew parallel to the cliff face, lining up for our aircraft carrier-type landing on the purported shortest commercial runway in the world.
After a quick stop at the immigration window in the tiny, spotless and airy airport terminal, I was whisked up the impossibly steep concrete road by taxi driver Bill in one of the islands three Toyota Van cabs (at least those were the only ones I saw) , gazing at the lush oleander bushes, the Greek-island-like white-walled houses with green trim and red roofs (the only color scheme found on all the islands homes), and the sweeping views down to the sea and up to the mist-shrouded Mt. Scenery.
Julianas is a lovely if simple establishment. The view from any of the rooms I saw is divided by lush green mountains and misty blue sea. My room was spacious, with plenty of storage space, a good sized table for laptop and camera work and a great back porch with hammock and that wonderful view. Its more like a motel than a hotel in terms of luxury, but, practically speaking, it was perfect. U.S. configuration plugs and U.S. 110 volt current make power supply hookups a breeze. U.S. Dollars, by the way, are universally accepted., though AMEX is not. The Tropic restaurant, on the grounds, also affords great views with its open air design. Wim, owner of Julianas with his wife Johanna, is an excellent cook; the dinners I had there rivaled those of some of the best South Beach restaurants in Florida. The air is surprisingly cool at night (I pulled up my blankets before dawn), though unremittingly soggy (dont think about doing any laundry in the sink, as I didit wont dry)
The tiny town of Windwardside is a quaint, leafy, cozy jumble of artsy-craftsy shops, a well-stocked little grocery store, the Sea Saba office, and a sprinkling of restaurants and taverns. European expats represent a good proportion of its inhabitants and appear to have integrated well with the local folks, with a very strong sense of responsibility for the good of the island. Theres little in the way of level ground on Saba; the roads all seem to tilt up or down at a 45 degree angle or greater.
The dive routine goes as follows: pickup at Julianas at 8:45 (read: 9:00) , a brief stop at the Sea Saba office where, after a honk of the horn, proprietor Lynn or assistant Caroline checks in on the group, a roller-coaster van ride down the mountain to the town of The Bottom and then on to the port. The ports the least attractive spot in your daily travels, a muddy, rocky, dusty shelf carved out of the shores sheer red cliffs, with carcasses of old boat hulls, engines, and cars mingling with the diesel fumes and roar of the islands power plant and the clanks and squeals of industrial cranes dredging and moving huge boulders about. The saving grace of this less than idyllic spot is Pops Place, purveyor of incredible lobster sandwiches (best consumed with the local fruity hot sauce). Youll find it at the far end of the little waterfront area.
Once on the boat, tied up at one of the concrete piers, the Sea Saba crew takes over with extremely professional boat briefings, Nitrox analysis and documentation, a short trip to a dive site, an excellent, thorough and often entertaining site briefing and, finally, after backrolls off the side or strides off the stern of one of their very large and well-appointed 40s, a well-led dive. As a single diver, once scrutinized for skills, I was allowed to choose my own profile. I could follow the DM (who, as is usually the case, knew where the good stuff was), buddy up with a particular diver or divers, or just loosely hang in the vicinity of the group.
As has been said often, Man o War Shoals and Diamond Rock are the standouts. The former, a twin-pinnacle site with valley in between, was thick with fish life and visually stunning. Lots of sea fans, corals, sponges and other stuff coating its surface. Diamond rock is about as wall-like a dive as youll see, also dramatic in its encrustations of sponge and coral and featuring plenty of sea life as well. The undersea topography is interesting. All volcanic structures on which corals, sponges, gorgoneans, etc have grown.
Morning dives were pretty deep, for the most part, somewhere around 100 feet. Nitrox is a godsend on these dives, yielding well over a half hour of dive time on all but the very deepest profiles.
Surface intervals were just over an hour, usually spent in a sheltered area close to shore, gently rocking on the boat. Second dives, starting close to noon, would average at 75 foot max depths and the optional third, afternoon dives, embarked on after a docked surface interval when the crew would restock the boat, were often in relatively shallow patchy sites. Water and lemonade are served on board, but other food or drink is the responsibility of the passenger. Theres a head and a fairly spacious changing area below in the bow of the boats. A large plastic tub serves as a camera bucket, but is filled with sea water, since fresh is a scarcity. Gear is rinsed each day by the crew before your departure but, again, the water shortage tends to lead to a perfunctory spritzing of BC and reg with the fresh water hose. Further rinsing (as of wetsuits) is up to you.
The crew and operators Lynn and John are first rate, genuinely friendly, very knowledgeable and mature. They treat you like an adult and expect the same from you. I found the diving, overall, to be very enjoyable, though I did not see the abundance or variety of fish life Ive seen elsewhere, such as Bonaire, St. Vincent, Dominica or Little Cayman. Saw a number of relaxing nurse sharks but no white tips, black tips or reef sharks, though some of my fellow divers spotted one or two during the course of the week. Durgeons are in relative abundance, lots of Sgt Majors about the shallower reef tops, some triggers, plenty of Southern Stingrays in the sand, as well as those wonderfully weird Peacock Flounders with their twisted mouths and cockeyed eyes. A couple of spotted morays peeked out of the cracks. One seahorse and one frogfish were reported by other divers. I was surprised to find a couple of nice nudibranchs and I did spot a fish I'd not seen before, a member of the Balloon fish family called a Burr Fish.
One of the highlights of my stay was participation in the annual, month long Sea and Learn program that Lynn and John have organized. Its an impressive group of wildlife and sealife experts who conduct nightly seminars (very informal, while very informative) and lead field studies. I participated in two field studies, bird-watching (a first for me) and seahorse census taking. The presenters were as much fun personally as they were enlightening and a good time was had by all.
If youre on the island on a Friday night, head over to Scouts place in Windwardside for a riotous night of Karaoke. All the locals, expats, dive crews, hotel workers, cab drivers and anyone else around mix joyously and sing their hearts out. The Galalxy Disco is a fun late-night hang, noisy, smoky and silly, with lots of young folks having a ball. Do some hiking if you can; the hike to the sulfur mine is a breathtaking descent down the Oceanside cliffs. You neednt hike all the way up to Mt. Scenerys peak to appreciate the rainforest along the way. And just strolling about the impossibly narrow, quaint streets in the towns is very enjoyable. There is virtually no crime on Saba, by the way. I was not even given a key to my room. By the way, be sure to check out Sea Sabas website. Theres a wealth of information about travel to and stays on the island that Lynn spends a lot of her time updating.
Overall, Sabas definitely a worthwhile experience. Certainly, its unique among the islands and the people, scenery and overall environment make up for any lack of spectacular diving.
Best Regards,
After a quick stop at the immigration window in the tiny, spotless and airy airport terminal, I was whisked up the impossibly steep concrete road by taxi driver Bill in one of the islands three Toyota Van cabs (at least those were the only ones I saw) , gazing at the lush oleander bushes, the Greek-island-like white-walled houses with green trim and red roofs (the only color scheme found on all the islands homes), and the sweeping views down to the sea and up to the mist-shrouded Mt. Scenery.
Julianas is a lovely if simple establishment. The view from any of the rooms I saw is divided by lush green mountains and misty blue sea. My room was spacious, with plenty of storage space, a good sized table for laptop and camera work and a great back porch with hammock and that wonderful view. Its more like a motel than a hotel in terms of luxury, but, practically speaking, it was perfect. U.S. configuration plugs and U.S. 110 volt current make power supply hookups a breeze. U.S. Dollars, by the way, are universally accepted., though AMEX is not. The Tropic restaurant, on the grounds, also affords great views with its open air design. Wim, owner of Julianas with his wife Johanna, is an excellent cook; the dinners I had there rivaled those of some of the best South Beach restaurants in Florida. The air is surprisingly cool at night (I pulled up my blankets before dawn), though unremittingly soggy (dont think about doing any laundry in the sink, as I didit wont dry)
The tiny town of Windwardside is a quaint, leafy, cozy jumble of artsy-craftsy shops, a well-stocked little grocery store, the Sea Saba office, and a sprinkling of restaurants and taverns. European expats represent a good proportion of its inhabitants and appear to have integrated well with the local folks, with a very strong sense of responsibility for the good of the island. Theres little in the way of level ground on Saba; the roads all seem to tilt up or down at a 45 degree angle or greater.
The dive routine goes as follows: pickup at Julianas at 8:45 (read: 9:00) , a brief stop at the Sea Saba office where, after a honk of the horn, proprietor Lynn or assistant Caroline checks in on the group, a roller-coaster van ride down the mountain to the town of The Bottom and then on to the port. The ports the least attractive spot in your daily travels, a muddy, rocky, dusty shelf carved out of the shores sheer red cliffs, with carcasses of old boat hulls, engines, and cars mingling with the diesel fumes and roar of the islands power plant and the clanks and squeals of industrial cranes dredging and moving huge boulders about. The saving grace of this less than idyllic spot is Pops Place, purveyor of incredible lobster sandwiches (best consumed with the local fruity hot sauce). Youll find it at the far end of the little waterfront area.
Once on the boat, tied up at one of the concrete piers, the Sea Saba crew takes over with extremely professional boat briefings, Nitrox analysis and documentation, a short trip to a dive site, an excellent, thorough and often entertaining site briefing and, finally, after backrolls off the side or strides off the stern of one of their very large and well-appointed 40s, a well-led dive. As a single diver, once scrutinized for skills, I was allowed to choose my own profile. I could follow the DM (who, as is usually the case, knew where the good stuff was), buddy up with a particular diver or divers, or just loosely hang in the vicinity of the group.
As has been said often, Man o War Shoals and Diamond Rock are the standouts. The former, a twin-pinnacle site with valley in between, was thick with fish life and visually stunning. Lots of sea fans, corals, sponges and other stuff coating its surface. Diamond rock is about as wall-like a dive as youll see, also dramatic in its encrustations of sponge and coral and featuring plenty of sea life as well. The undersea topography is interesting. All volcanic structures on which corals, sponges, gorgoneans, etc have grown.
Morning dives were pretty deep, for the most part, somewhere around 100 feet. Nitrox is a godsend on these dives, yielding well over a half hour of dive time on all but the very deepest profiles.
Surface intervals were just over an hour, usually spent in a sheltered area close to shore, gently rocking on the boat. Second dives, starting close to noon, would average at 75 foot max depths and the optional third, afternoon dives, embarked on after a docked surface interval when the crew would restock the boat, were often in relatively shallow patchy sites. Water and lemonade are served on board, but other food or drink is the responsibility of the passenger. Theres a head and a fairly spacious changing area below in the bow of the boats. A large plastic tub serves as a camera bucket, but is filled with sea water, since fresh is a scarcity. Gear is rinsed each day by the crew before your departure but, again, the water shortage tends to lead to a perfunctory spritzing of BC and reg with the fresh water hose. Further rinsing (as of wetsuits) is up to you.
The crew and operators Lynn and John are first rate, genuinely friendly, very knowledgeable and mature. They treat you like an adult and expect the same from you. I found the diving, overall, to be very enjoyable, though I did not see the abundance or variety of fish life Ive seen elsewhere, such as Bonaire, St. Vincent, Dominica or Little Cayman. Saw a number of relaxing nurse sharks but no white tips, black tips or reef sharks, though some of my fellow divers spotted one or two during the course of the week. Durgeons are in relative abundance, lots of Sgt Majors about the shallower reef tops, some triggers, plenty of Southern Stingrays in the sand, as well as those wonderfully weird Peacock Flounders with their twisted mouths and cockeyed eyes. A couple of spotted morays peeked out of the cracks. One seahorse and one frogfish were reported by other divers. I was surprised to find a couple of nice nudibranchs and I did spot a fish I'd not seen before, a member of the Balloon fish family called a Burr Fish.
One of the highlights of my stay was participation in the annual, month long Sea and Learn program that Lynn and John have organized. Its an impressive group of wildlife and sealife experts who conduct nightly seminars (very informal, while very informative) and lead field studies. I participated in two field studies, bird-watching (a first for me) and seahorse census taking. The presenters were as much fun personally as they were enlightening and a good time was had by all.
If youre on the island on a Friday night, head over to Scouts place in Windwardside for a riotous night of Karaoke. All the locals, expats, dive crews, hotel workers, cab drivers and anyone else around mix joyously and sing their hearts out. The Galalxy Disco is a fun late-night hang, noisy, smoky and silly, with lots of young folks having a ball. Do some hiking if you can; the hike to the sulfur mine is a breathtaking descent down the Oceanside cliffs. You neednt hike all the way up to Mt. Scenerys peak to appreciate the rainforest along the way. And just strolling about the impossibly narrow, quaint streets in the towns is very enjoyable. There is virtually no crime on Saba, by the way. I was not even given a key to my room. By the way, be sure to check out Sea Sabas website. Theres a wealth of information about travel to and stays on the island that Lynn spends a lot of her time updating.
Overall, Sabas definitely a worthwhile experience. Certainly, its unique among the islands and the people, scenery and overall environment make up for any lack of spectacular diving.
Best Regards,
