This day has been filled with two great dives, washing our equipment, taking tours, and sunning on the beach or pool. We ended the day with a steak and chicken cook out. We made dives on Double Wall and Buccaneer. I found a rare chain moray eel. This has been a great trip for all of our group of 20. I will be back in the store on Sunday, so all out for now! Don’t forget about Scuba Venture day Aug. 11.
Another great day of diving today. Traveled to Little Cayman to dive “Bloody Bay Wall”. It is a very healthy reef with beautiful corals and sponges teeming with schooling fish. We saw sharks, squids, turtles, rays, and big schools of fish. The weather was cooperative today with a high of 89 degrees. Water temps were 84 to 86 degrees. The “End of Island” dive was the afternoon dive where there was a gigantic pillar coral. Our last two dives are Friday so you will get one more report. If you ever get to Cayman Brac ask for Paul, Beccy, and Helen to guide you on your dives. They have been great as well as the entire Reef Divers Staff. This Dive Resort is top notch. It is fun to be pampered. They offer valet dive service on the boat which is sit down and let them bring the tank to you, take it off of you and get your next tank ready.
Great day today with weather, approx. 90 degrees, slight wind, sunny skies. The wreck was excellent with great vis. The second dive was “Snapper Reef” on the north side. There were loads of schooling fish throughout the reef. The afternoon dives were done on the south sided. There was a little bit of a surge but we did get to see some sharks. Kai Moser and myself tried to feed the groupers with lionfish but we found out we were not fast enough with stones. They didn’t trust us with the spears I guess. Tomorrow we are hitting Little Cayman. Talk with you later!
We did three more dives today. We did not get over to Little Cayman today because it was a little rough. The dive shop may take us there Thursday or Friday. Today we encountered rays, turtles, and big groupers that followed us around the reef, even following us through swim through caves. They follow you like a puppy dog expecting hand outs of lionfish. There are not too many lionfish around. It could be that the groupers have now acquired the taste of lionfish. The water temp was 84 degrees again. Our day consists of breakfast, dive, dive, lunch, dive, dinner, edit pictures and then sleep. Weds. we are going to the Russian Freighter for two of the three dives.
We had a great diving day today seeing large schools of fish, petting groupers…..again, and seeing very healthy coral formations. We also went through tunnel shoots that had us exit at 110 ft. We then traveled along the wall, then went up another sand shoot to the shallows. The water temp was 84 degrees. It was a little breezy today but the dive shop feels the rest of the week will be great. Tomorrow we are heading to Bloody Bay Wall on Little Cayman. By the way, the food is excellent at the resort.
All are having a great time. The weather has been fantastic so far. We are all on one boat which makes diving as a group easy. The water temp. is 84 degrees. Sunday we saw large groupers, a barge with a real gigantic barracuda, green morays, spotted morays, big lobsters and many schools of fish. There have been no currents to speak of so easy diving. The resort is beautiful, pictures later, the food is great. So far, 20 very happy travelers. We will keep you posted daily on what we see and do above and below the water.
July 22: Waves, Tides Currents
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SSI Specialty Course: Waves, Tides & Currents
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Call Scuba Venture to Register!
New Jersey Ocean Dive
We will be diving on the in-shore wreck of the Delaware on June 16. Shawn Kane will be leading the trip. The depth of the wreck is 80 ft. This will be a great dive for new and experienced divers. Artifacts, fish life, photo opportunities, and lobster. This will be a great dive for first timers due to the depth and being inshore. Don’t forget that you can do up to three dives this day and lunch is included all for $100. Sign up now….we only have a few spaces left!
The Delaware was a 250′ long Clyde Line steamer. She was built in 1880, by Birely, Hill & Streaker, in Philadelphia and displaced 1,646 gross tons.
On July 9, 1898, the Delaware, was steaming five miles offshore. At 10 PM, the captain received a report of a fire in her hold. The crew tried to contain the blaze, but it was soon out of control. Captain Ingram gave the order to abandon ship. His crew of 38 and all 35 passengers calmly boarded lifeboats. Captain Ingram was the last to leave the sinking ship. Aside from a few burns, there were no serious injuries.
Today, the wreck sits in 70 feet of water. Her broken down charred remains hold many interesting artifacts. The Delaware is rumored to have been carrying $250,000 in gold boullion. To date no gold has been found but divers can always find a few indian head pennies and artifacts ranging from china and silverware to bottles and brass fittings. One of the most interesting artifacts retrieved is a tomb stone that Captain George Hoffman found on the wreck. The head stone which was egraved ‘Captain John Smith’ was part of the Delaware’s cargo being transported to Florida. The Bell was recovered in 2010.
Hope you can join us!
