Last Day for Deposits: February 1, 2020
--by Daryl Johnson
In
previous articles about this unique trip I talked a lot about the
bare bones nature of the sailboat journey. I think I may have failed
to talk enough about all of the really magical experiences that can
only be enjoyed when you travel like this. For example, it’s hard to
explain how much I enjoyed relaxing on the bow between dives filling
out my logbook.
From the day you get on the sailboat you will be making new friends, some for a lifetime. While we all received name tags when we boarded, by the end of the day you knew everybody on board.
Or maybe you bring along someone that you want to spend more time with, like your children!! I have taken both of my children on this trip and they have fond memories of everything we did, not to mention having some awesome stories to tell about the things they did with their father!
While it is a dive trip, there are plenty of other
activities, like just doing things you would not think of doing
until the opportunity presents itself. Things that make you feel
alive again, like swimming to shore to go to a little restaurant/bar
where one of the divers (Dan) picks up a guitar and entertains the
group.
You will visit
many locations along the way that you would never ever get to visit
by traveling on a larger ship. Many of the places are simply unique
ocean and island features that only have nicknames and you will
never find on a map.
As the day winds down, there are plenty of opportunities to relax and chat with others in a pristine setting unpolluted by urban sights and sounds. And then after the last dive of the day you can enjoy an adult beverage (anyone like draft beer on tap on deck???). Later on, as nightfall occurs, you will see more stars than you have ever seen in your life!
So here is what you get for $995 plus port fees of $135(see the full story for details at https://activedivers.org/Blackbeard_Cruise.html )
- Up to 19 dives
- Tanks and weight belts
- All meals and snacks
- Beer, wine and rum punch after diving is finished for the day
Time is running out to make your $206 deposit using the convenient button below before I have to surrender unused bunks (by the way, did I say we have the best location on the ship??). You must make your deposit by February 1, 2020 to take part in what is sure to be an incredible scuba adventure trip! Final payment of $930 is due by check on February 20, 2020.
Cozumel Diving
It's November, and I'm already thinking about a trip I'm going on in July, 2020. Active Divers Association will be embarking on another wonderful trip to Cayman Brac. I am already looking forward to it. Active Divers two international planners, Dan Baeza and Daryl Johnson, will again be leading us on yet another fantastic adventure.
To date, I have been to Tobago, Costa Rica, Utila, Bonaire, Barbados, Cayman Brac, Roatan, Belize, Cozumel, Grenada, and Grand Cayman with Active Divers. Every trip has been amazing. .
There are many things that I like about these trips. When my wife Rachel and I book these trips, we do so with confidence that it is going to be a great trip. Dan and Daryl always manage to find the nicest resorts for very reasonable prices. The diving is great, and the resorts are beautiful. We in Active Divers are the lucky recipients of their years of experience traveling around the world. Thankfully, they are well connected to the travel agents who will get us the best deals.
Bonaire Diving
My experience with the diving is that it is wonderful. I'm thinking in particular of the July 2019 trip to Bonaire. I love Bonaire diving. The reefs are in beautiful shape. And, the resort we stayed at Van Der Valk Plaza Beach & Dive Resort was incredible! With very spacious rooms, fantastic food, and great diving with Toucan Diving it was wonderful. .
Divers are always safety conscious. Dan and Daryl always make sure that the dive operators have stellar reputations within the diving community. Every dive boat I have been on has the best crews. I am especially thinking of the operators in Boniare, Barbados, and Cayman Brac. There are other really fine operators, but these seem to stand out in my mind as some of the best. .
The food! What can I say about the food? It's always great. It's important to have good nutrition when diving, and these resorts always provide that. On most trips the food is included in the package, making access to this great food very easy. Last year in Bonaire the resort featured a buffet with a great variety of main dishes and incredible desserts. And, the view of the sunset was just spectacular! What a wonderful way to end a great day of diving. .
The travel is also easy. Usually we travel together on the same plane. This makes it very easy to make connections, and to coordinate transfers from the airport to the resort. Again, Dan and Daryl make this very easy. They set everything up with the hotel. All we have to do is get off the plane, hop on the bus, and we at the resort enjoying a drink in no time. .
If you are contemplating going on a trip with Active Divers do not hesitate. It is an experience that you will thoroughly enjoy. Keep an eye out for the next trip. Dan and Daryl are always cooking up some kind of great experience for all of us divers looking for the next great adventure!
Yet another dive season has come and gone, and just
to punctuate it,it was one of the coldest days so far this Fall.
Congratulations to our raffle grand prize winner,
Geoffe Chaney. Geoffe won the dive computer generously donated by
Austin's Dive Shop.
Our chef, Roy, cooked up burgers, chicken, and hot dogs and, as always, did an excellent job in keeping the gang fed.
Many thanks to all who helped out in organizing the picnic, the raffle, the dive, and of course, all the participants.
(Editor's Note: Walker's Cay is not currently operating as a dive destination)
Sixteen bleary eyed divers arrived at the Walkers's Cay (pronounced "key" by the natives) departure lounge in the Fort Lauderdale airport at 6:30 am on September 2,1994 to pay our departure tax and weigh our luggage. Shortly before 8:30 am, we boarded our Chalk's Airlines turboprop seaplane for the one hour ride to Walker's Cay. As we approached the island, the calm, bluegreen waters beckoned our seaplane downward. The plane touched down on the ocean's surface and taxied up the boat ramp-like airstrip.
After deplaning and clearing customs, we walked to our hotel less than a block away. By the way, everything was less than a block away, including the dive shop, the marina, the nightclub, the restaurant, and the "supermarket". Group leader Lon directed traffic at the hotel registration desk and we were quickly checked in. Twenty minutes later we met in the hotel lounge for a pre-dive day briefing led by Lon.
By 11:00 am, we were boating our way to the first dive site, a "get acquainted, non-feeding" shark dive!! The seas were one to two (that's inches,not feet). Divemaster Gary, who also ran the Walker's Cay dive operation, briefed us about the dive. This would be a preview of the shark dive we would do later in the week when the sharks would be fed. When we arrived at the site, the boat made a tight circle, revving the engine to "call" the sharks.
As we hit the water en-masse, we quickly spotted ten or twelve caribbean reef sharks conveniently cruising the area as if a dinner bell had rung. You could hear 'our rapid exhalation of bubbles as these beautiful creatures glided by, oblivious to us. After several minutes, the sharks gradually left the area. We continued the dive in the adjacent reef called Spiral Caverns, so named for the intricate tunnels that wound throughout the formation. For the next half hour the divemaster led us through the tunnels in a kind of aquatic follow the leader. Afterwards, we surfaced and returned to the marina for lunch.
Lunch choices were limited. We could eat at the Lobster Trap, a combination lunch room and lounge, or we could eat at ……, umm, err...... , the Lobster Trap. Fortunately, the food was inexpensive and good-, the service Bahamian fast.
After lunch we went on dives to Jeanette's reef and Flower Garden, both spectacular experiences. We returned to the dock /' just long enough to grab our dive lights for a twilight/night dive on Pirate's Cathedral, an exciting series of caverns and tunnels made more exciting by the rapidly falling night.
We returned to the hotel in time for the ideal apres-dive meal: an all you can eat buffet. Included was an extensive salad bar, conch creole, Bahamian fried grouper, chicken, ribs, red potatoes, broccoli, and prime rib carved to order. Dessert was your choice of Key lime or apple pie. We rolled out of the restaurant and fell into bed, exhausted but satiated.
At 7:00 am the next morning, "Thor the Punctual", otherwise known as Lon, proceeded to roust us out of bed by gently(??) pounding on our doors. After we shook the cobwebs from our heads and ate a hearty breakfast, we began our dive day.
Starting with a deep drift dive in Shark Canyon, we proceeded to make dives on Split Reef and White Hole, finishing the day with the "Aquarium", a delightful shallow dive with many tropical fish, lobsters and a couple of stingrays.
On our return to the dock, Lon had a surprise for us; a bonus beach entry night dive near the island's power plant. We planned to meet after dinner by the pool to pick up our tanks. After dinner, seven divers and an equal number of well-wishers trudged down to the water's edge. Lon and Dan helped divers into the water, and with a cavalier wave of our lights to the crowd on the shore, we descended to the murky bottom, three feet below. The current was moving us forward but even so, it took fifteen minutes to get us around the point. As we swam to the site in close order single file, an observer might have likened it to a clandestine military operation, intent on assaulting the power plant!
Once at the fifteen foot deep reef, we found an underwater slumber party in progress. Fish of all types were suspended motionless on the ground or in mid-water. One or two lobsters freely ranged, oblivious to us. Several basket starfish sat on top of reefs, feeding. Lon found an octopus hiding in the reef. As we attempted to extricate it from the rocks, it turned from iridescent green to angry red. Finally it slipped out of reach. We also found a friendly (half asleep) scrawled filefish that allowed us to approach and touch it.
Too quiCkly, the dive was over and we had to begin our trek back to the beach. It was then that we re-Iearned a basic lesson: those who start with the current are doomed to end the dive against it! Because of the shallowness of the water(3 feet) we were able to swim/walk/crawl on the bottom towards the beach. After about twenty minutes of "ironman" diving we made it back to our entry point. Total dive time: almost two hours. We fell into bed around midnight, happy but exhausted.
Sunday morning arrived and our spirits were dampened by greyI -- , , skies and rain. Fortunately, this didn't delay our dives or roughen the seas. Our first dive was a deep drift on Porkfish Cracks, literally a crack in the ocean floor with holes for giant crab to grow,_ and a swim through cavern at 90 feet.
Back on the surface, the weather cleared somewhat and we prepared for the excitement of the shark feeding dive. All divers were asked to count fingers and toes, just in case a confused shark came too close! As we entered the water at the feed site, at least 50 sharks were waiting for the "buffet" to arrive. As soon as we were settled on the bottom, a four foot square "chumsicle" was lowered and buoyed in place. The nurse sharks started first, but as the bait thawed, the Caribbean Reef sharks and bulls came in to get their share. The excitement built as bigger chunks were torn off and the competition among the sharks became frenzied. By the end, the 100+ sharks were chasing chumballs like a giant underwater soccer game! Needless to say, with this much action, sharks were above, below and behind every diver, and the result was a very intense experience.
After such an exciting morning we were ready for something relaxing in the afternoon. Sue's Reef and the Magic Kingdom were two enchanting reefs full of swim throughs, caverns and marine life that we were able to enjoy at a leisurely pace. It was hard to believe that many of us finished 13 near perfect dives in only 3 days with upwards of 10 hours of bottom time. At a minimum, every diver had at least eleven dives.
We returned to the Cay for an evening of relaxation, reflection and camaraderie. On the trip back, divemaster Gary and the crew complimented the club members on their well-matched skills and high level of endurance, not often seen on dive vacations.
We all had our own memories of the dives and the time we shared together, but I think what we truly had in common was that we didn't want this trip to end. While we looked forward to going home to see our loved ones, there was no doubt that this trip was one that would not be easily duplicated.
Our sincere thanks go to Lon for another wonderful dive trip!
Just in case you missed this, here is a link to the latest list of Dive Training Grants. Deadlines are fast approaching: Click here
The link will take you to the Scholarships Descriptions and Application Beneath The Sea® – Marine Careers Scholarships page where you can read about past scholarship recipients an view rthe current descriptions for the 2020 Marine Careers Scholarships and Training Grants.
Members who have a dive credit from a dive that ADA cancelled, and/or from a dive that the member cancelled and had purchased the dive insurance, will have two options
- No action is required, your credits will be automatically applied toward extending your membership one year, and the difference will be refunded via a check sent to your mailing address on our records.
- Request a full refund, with no extension of your membership, and a check will be sent to your mailing address on our records. To request a full refund, send an email to lon@diverlon.com, with the dates of dives for which you are requesting a refund.
For questions, call Lon at 305-251-4975
new contact information.Active Divers T-Shirts For Sale
We've revamped our logo! Show your pride in the best dive club anywhere and pick up a tee with a brand new logo. Hover over the t-shirt to see the logo in detail. Sizes small, medium, large, xlarge, xxlarge. Some tank tops available also. All shirts are $10 each, or 3 for $20 in sizes Small to 2XL.
CALL LON AT 305-251-4975 AND PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY!. Lon will deliver it to you on your next dive
If so, please email or call us with your current information. You may send an email to: Dr. Dan Baeza, Membership Chair at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com. You can also call Dan at 954-260-8225 and leave a message with your new contact information.
Did you know that Active Divers offers dive insurance? You may have noticed the "Dive + Insurance" option when purchasing a dive on our schedule page. For a $5 fee at the time of booking your local dive, you may insure your dive fee against any unforeseen problem that could preclude you from making the dive.
If for any reason you are unable to attend a local dive for which you are scheduled and have paid the insurance, Active Divers will credit your dive fee to another date. The $5.00 insurance is non-transferable and non-refundable.
For more information, see the "Active Divers Trip Cancellation Insurance" description at https://activedivers.org/Guidelines.html.If you have additional questions, please send us an email message at ActiveDiversInfo@gmail.com.