We started our journey on paradise island at the Atlantis Waterpark and Resort. One of the main attractions here are the tube slides that plunge into a pool of sharks. It was definitely exhilarating, but we were so excited (and scared)to see Sharks in the free waters. We did some relaxing and beaching it at Atlantis and checked out the somewhat sleepy downtown Nassau our first 2 days.
We anxiously made our way to the docks to check in to our week long home, Blackbeard’s 60’ sailboat. We shared our home with 18 other divers and 5 crew, including Cpt Red!
I had a mini panic attack once seeing our small, shared quarters with room for a bunk bed (shared with a 6’ Englishman, Peter). The head (bathroom) was mini and the galley (kitchen) was crammed with beds, shower,table, stove, small prepping area. After signing in, I quickly realized that my 9 dives was greatly beat out by some 2,000 or hundreds of dives the others’ had completed.
Quickly we got to know our flatmates and entertaining crew! It was really easy to live in a small space with a lot of people surprisingly, we became gears that just moved well together.
My first couple of dives, I depended on James and crew to help me set up my BCD and tank, by dive 3 I was set and independent. It was then that we tried our first night dive and I saw MY FIRST SEA TURTLE! I spotted his little feet with my flashlight and investigated, he swam RIGHT by me and it was one of the most majestic moments of my life. Night diving compared to day diving is incredibly peaceful, and more mindful. You’ve now eliminated one more sense (unless you use your torch) and can feel one with the creatures, and try to get a sense of their environment.
The shark feed was awesome! We went down and held onto a ship to stay in place as they fed the reef and nurse sharkies chum. It was a frenzy and breathtaking (despite the #1 rule in SCUBA, never hold your breath). We fell in love with Charlie, a super friendly Grouper who loved belly rubs and loving caresses. The rays took our breath away with their waving arms, and the antennas on the lobsters and crabs were longer than I could have ever imagined. The lion fish, although invasive, are so intricately designed, the barracudas were friendly and long!, while the parrotfish were colourful and interesting to follow. We spotted one more turtle that week and more sharks just roaming in the wild.
Learning to navigate and plan your dive is something I need to work on, and give kudos to James for being so good at. We did dive throughs, reef walls, and my favourite -the drift dive aka the dishwasher! We jumped off the boat in succession as it moved already and later followed us to our destination after being carried and turned all around with powerful current.
We fed iquanas and bird by hand on an uninhabited island and spent evenings shooting the breeze and drinking rum punch with our new friends.
I enjoyed logging my dives and being proud of what I saw and learned. By the end, it took almost a week to get my land legs back, but we enjoyed a night in Nassau at a brewery playing beer pong and reminiscing. We even got to share a drink with JL and Mike!
We look forward to visiting more creatures and shipwrecks soon!
Ahoy Matey!
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