We normally post a new blog entry when we have a lot of good photos/videos to share and a pretty good story to tell. This time we have few photos but the story is so good we figured it deserved a post just the same.
In 1999, we spent a wonderful week on the south end of St Lucia and got our open water PADI dive certification. That winter and spring we did a lot of diving in the Caribbean and really got comfortable with the diving experience.
The next few year we sailed north along the Atlantic coast then back over to Europe. Every time we talked about diving we thought about the wonderful experiences in the Caribbean and agreed that where ever we were at the moment the water would be much too cold and the visibility would be terrible. Sailing around in the Mediterranean we had the same arguments, plus, there was a lot to do above water and it never seemed the right time to take a dive trip.
Somehow time got away from us and we both agreed that before we went diving again we needed a refresher course to get our scuba legs back.
We arrived at the island of Statia (St Eustatius - Netherland Antilles) a few days ago and noticed a number of dive shops along the shore. We then discovered that the reefs and wrecks around the island were well maintained and protected by "Statia Marine Park". For not much more than it would cost for a meal ashore we could get a refresher course and have an open water reef dive with Golden Rock Divers.
We showed up with our wet suits and flippers and Joel helped us with our gear and took us into the shallow water off the dock to get reacquainted with diving. After 15 minutes of mask clearing, regulator recovery, and buoyancy practice, we boarded the dive boat with 6 other divers and headed out to "Barracuda Reef".
We had done a little snorkeling around the boat the day before and saw a few sand dollars but little else. We were expecting to see some reef and a few fish but, WOW, were we ever surprised. 40 feet down the reef came to life and we saw a number of tropical fish we had not seen snorkeling anywhere else in the Caribbean. Redband parrot fish, Squirrelfish, Bluehead, large Angelfish, Yellowtail Damselfish, Bar Jacks, Yellowtail Snappers, Blue Chromis, and on and on and on.
The reef was not only huge it was incredibly colorful - Bright purple Sea Fans, red Barrel Sponge, Yellow and Lavender Giant Tube sponge, and lots of creepy brain coral.
We swam around the edges of the coral and then down to around 65 feet at the base where we saw a number of lobsters hanging out in the ledges. The Statia Marine Park is protected so the lobsters have few predators in these waters and can get quite big.
As we made our way slowly along the reef and pointed at everything, Joel kept close watch over us and made us feel very comfortable in the water. When our tanks were half empty we headed back toward the dive buoy, skimming over the top of the reef at around 40 feet. We ascended slowly on the rope and watched beneath us as the brilliant colors faded to gray and the reef finally disappeared. As we hung at 15 feet for a few minutes to equalize before returning to the surface, we watched a large Barracuda study us.
Back on the dive boat we made a promise to each other not to let so much time go by before returning to such a beautiful place.
For this blog entry there are no great photos of our experience, you'll just have to use your imagination. Thanks Golden Rock Divers and an extra special thanks to Joel for getting us back under water.