September 2008 – Saba, Netherlands Antilles – The Caribbean Explorer II was moored at Tent Reef, a favorite dive site in the Saba Marine Park, not far from Saba’s small harbor. Jan den Dulk, the Manager of the Saba Marine Park was aboard to have a chat with our guests before dinner. Our guests were enjoying a dusk dive when local commercial fisherman, Rob Hurrell, hailed the CEXII on the marine radio and asked if Jan was aboard.Rob explained to Jan that he had caught a frogfish in one of his fish traps (which are located outside the boundaries of the marine park) and currently had it in a plastic bucket. He wanted to know if a diver aboard the Caribbean Explorer II would be willing to take it back down to the reef and release it.

There was no hesitation on the part of the crew and plans were quickly made. Rob delivered the frogfish, swimming warily in the plastic bucket, to the back deck of the Caribbean Explorer II. Chef Zach Rohn brought a plastic Ziploc bag down to the dive deck to transport the frogfish and Dive Instructor Dawn Pearce donned her SCUBA gear. Dive Instructor Jay-sen Phang, just returning from the dusk dive, accompanied Dawn, and they released the small frogfish on Tent Reef in about 17 feet of water.

The Caribbean Explorer II continued their Exploratory trip from George Town, Great Exuma  to Freeport, Bahamas.

From the Captain & Crew:

“Wednesday, 2^nd September 2009

We got an early start to the morning, as several guests had requested that we do a dawn dive. At six a.m. five guests and the Captain hit the water at Wooden Wreck Wall in nearly pitch darkness.  Low profile coral at 40-feet gradually sloped down to 50-feet, where the wall plunged into the abyss … As dawn began to break, the reef started coming to life and we headed back into the shallows … the reef was fully alive … At the hangline on the boat, two TINY baby Trunk Fish had taken up station.  These little guys are about the size of a pea, and about a third of their body is all eyes!  Their little fins are moving like a hummingbird as they struggled to remain in the safety of the hangline weights…    

The dolphins were not the only visitors to the site … This area includes the remains of sets from the movie Thunderball, old pens that once housed 60’s TV star Flipper, two airplanes, and several wrecks …  Our third dive was at Razorback, a sharp profile ridge that dropped steeply on a wall … We moved a little farther to the south for our fourth dive at Shark Wall.  The site lived up to its name … The most unusual sighting of the day was a juvenile African Pompano.

After the night dive, we enjoyed a beautiful crossing to Andros Island, where we will make a wall dive on one of the largest barrier reefs in the world!

A complete Captain’s Log can be found at www.explorerventures.com

From the Captain & crew of the Caribbean Explorer II

“Tuesday, Sept 1^st

We awoke to another beautiful day in the Exumas with a light wind, light chop, and lots of puffy cumulus clouds, a few of which threatened rain, but none delivered on their threat.  We pulled off our mooring and motored up to Crab Mountain Wall, a site off of Pimlico Cay in the far northern Exumas.  The visibility was not as good as previous days, but was still 80-feet!  Crab Mountain Wall has some spectacular coral formations, wonderful swim throughs, and a great wall.  It was the favorite site (so far!) of several of the guests.

Our second dive was chosen by the Captain because he liked the name; Up Jumped The Devil.  Again, no one was disappointed with the spectacular wall, great formations and very cool swim throughs.  One pot hole took you down to 94-feet, where a small arched “door” dropped you out onto the wall.  Fantastic.  There were many intersecting canyons with connecting swim throughs and you could get enjoyably lost exploring them.  Critter sightings included lots of Spanish lobster, Atlantic Spade fish, big Grouper, Horse Eyed Jacks, and a school of Mackerel. 

We departed the Exumas by way of the Yellow Bank, a VERY shallow area of water between Nassau and the Exumas.  The guests enjoyed Jane’s lunch as we made a very smooth two-and-three-quarter hour run across the bank to the Lost Blue Hole.

The Lost Blue Hole was another favorite.  About 60-feet wide, the hole opens at about 30-feet and drops down to over 185-feet!  Needless to say, our divers did not explore the bottom, staying within recreational limits.  But those limits did not limit the number of animals sighted. Sharp Nosed Sharks, Mutton Snapper, a school of Bonito, Southern Stingrays, Nurse Shark, and a Loggerhead turtle were all part of the highlights.

We made a quick stop in Nassau to drop off some tanks for Hydrostatic testing; important to keep our gear up to snuff! Then headed to the north of Paradise island for a stop at the Helena Sea, a collection of three wrecks.  Visibility was poor, maybe 40-feet, but the wrecks were spectacular.  Atlantic Spade Fish, schools of Snapper, plenty of Grouper, and a pride of lion fish were all hanging about the wrecks.  The highlight of the dive was a huge bait ball that swirled in the cargo area of one of the wrecks.

Our group decided to forgo a night dive in exchange for a dawn dive the next morning.  So, we pulled up anchor and scooted around to the west side of New Providence Island. 

Tomorrow: More wrecks, James Bond, Flipper, and Airplanes!”

Read the entire report online at www.explorerventures.com

From Captain Dave & Crew…

“MONDAY
We started the day at Saddleback Wall and were treated to some very nice formations.  Two guests were lucky enough to see a Shovel-Nosed Shark on this dive, which featured a clay plain at 65-feet, turning to sand at 70-feet, and then a coral ridge and the wall.  The weather remains nice with a light SE wind, light chop, great visibility, and 84-degree water.

Our second dive was at Blacktip Wall off of Highburn Cay and it was an amazing sight.  Starting at 50 feet amongst the coral, there are many swim throughs and twisting channels to choose from as you head out toward the wall.  There was a school of Atlantic Spade Fish, a large Nurse Shark, a turtle, large grouper, Culebra Snapper, Bermuda Chub, and lots of Black Coral.  The whip coral here was also prolific and absolutely beautiful.

Whaleshark Wall, just south of Blacktip, also had nice coral formations and quite a few critters.

Dive #4 at Pillar Reef was perhaps the highlight of the day.  Stunning coral formations at 50-feet, sand channels and low profile coral at shallower depths, and a stunning wall just a short swim from the boat were all fantastic.  Spotted on this dive, and spotted is the operative word, were two Spotted Eagle Rays, two Spotted Moray Eels, a Orange Spotted File Fish and a Spotted Drum!  We also saw lobster, lots of Grouper, Horse Eyed Jacks, a Caribbean Reef Shark, French and Queen Angels, and Yellow Tailed Damsels.  The cleaning stations were doing a brisk business throughout the dive keeping the fish neat and tidy; our guests helped with the cleaning as well by bringing up several pieces of monofilament line with hooks attached.

Another great day of weather, with just enough breeze to keep things cool.  Slight chop on the water and great visibility.

The night dive was also held at Pillar Reef and was enjoyed by those who made it.  Lobster, Octopus, a juvenile drum, lots of snapper, and plenty of hermit crabs kept us all entertained.  A nearly full moon high overhead illuminated the water nicely and made for a very pleasant dive.  We’ll remain on the mooring overnight. 

Tomorrow: Crab Mountain, Up Jumped The Devil, The Lost Blue Hole, Nassau, and an evening wreck dive!”

More to come each day… read the entire report at www.explorerventures.com

The Caribbean Explorer II departed George Town, Great Exuma on their way to Freeport Sunday.

This is from Captain Dave & Crew:

“Sunday morning we departed on the high tide at Georgetown at 2:30 in the morning to catch the tide.  After a six hour journey we tried several dives off Staniel Cay. The first 2 exploratory dives on Sunday were great for everybody to get back in the water and get familiar with their equipment. Lots of reports of Lionfish and while they were not spectacular sites, they were a good start.

In the afternoon we stopped to see the swimming pigs at Big Major Cay; they were fantastic. Such a bizarre sight to see pigs on a white sandy beach with a backdrop of palm trees, swimming in the crystal clear blue waters of the Caribbean. They enjoyed a feast of apples and Jane may have given them the odd slice of ham … we had a total of 4 adult pigs and 2 piglets. Even the Pigs dig the Bahamas!

Everybody loved Thunderball Grotto and commented on it. Featured in the Bond movie by the same name (as well as Splash with Daryl Hannah) it is an amazing hidden treasure.  What appears to be a simply rocky islet is actually a shell for a fascinating underwater grotto. A short swim through an under water passage and you pop up INSIDE the rock!  Lit by natural skylights, Thunderball Grotto is unique!  It is a great little cavern – lots of schooling reef fish, and the surrounding reef and mini wall is very healthy. The structure inside the cavern was quite remarkable – stalactites, and openings in the roof where beams of sunlight came streaming through – making for some very nice lighting effects, as well areas where divers and snorkelers could explore with flashlights, and lots or crevices and cracks to squeeze through! About half the group chose to snorkel it and about half chose to dive it. The fish at Thunderball are used to being fed by visiting boaters so they show no fear!  We had clouds of Burmuda Chub, Sergeant Majors, Angel Fish, and Hog Fish swarming us throughout the dive.  Awe inspiring! The dive was best at slack tide since currents can get quite strong as the tide changes.

We departed Thunderball Grotto for a four hour run up north to Norman’s Cay and dropped anchor for the night.  A beautiful day of weather with 10 kts of wind out of the SE, partly cloudy skies, a light chop, no current, great visibility, and 84-degree water.”

More to come each day the vessel has internet access.

From Captain Dave Guldin – “We had a great group this week and enjoyed a wonderful dinner over at St. Francis with our guests.  When we returned, the guests retired to the salon and began their goodbye celebrations.  Earlier in the week Demi had asked Ken our engineer for a length of PVC pipe, which Ken readily provided, assuming that Demi needed it for the dive deck.  Actually, Demi needed it to make a dijeridoo (no idea how you spell that – the Australian musical instrument).  The guests were enjoying their after dinner drinks when Demi appeared in the salon with his dijeridoo and wearing a dreadlock wig!  He proceeded to play the dijeridoo and soon all the guests were giving it a go!  Next thing you know, he also has them playing a snorkel, vacuum parts, and the conch! Out of control!  I probably have the only Japaboriginal Rastafarian in the entire live aboard fleet!

I spoke with the Captain of a mega yacht tied up down the dock.  He stated wistfully that it sounded like our guests were having a ball…he had stainless steel to polish.  I win.”

This week will be an amazing week for our guests. On Wednesday evening there will be a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse visible in the southern Bahamas and in the Turks & Caicos. This is the last eclipse of this type for 2009; the next will be a partial eclipse. Our guests will have a great view of this three hour event aboard either the Caribbean Explorer II or the Turks & Caicos Explorer II.

The Turks & Caicos diving seldom disappoints divers. Amazing walls, great sightings, healthy reefs and more.

Here are a few reports from the Turks & Caicos Explorer II:

“The guests sighted bat fish at elephant ear, octopus’ at french cay and west caicos, eagle rays at french cay, flying gurnard at driveway.  The tube sponge are spawning !!  and it was an INCREDIBLE DIVE at G Spot – giant nurse sharks, reef shark, giant dog snapper, all within a 50 foot radius …

Three divers went in to see a very large Octopus that they played with for most of the dive. And about a 18” lobster. Pictures were taken and shared with the rest of the guests…

West Caicos … at French Cay reef sharks, hammer head sharks ,eagle rays and turtles. The schooling Eagle Rays were amazing …

Some wonderful experiences with Turtles at many of the dive sites. A huge green moray was sighted free swimming at G spot. Also a few close encounters with Eagle Rays…

A large Eagle Ray was sighted at Elephant Ear Canyon on the sandy area. Got fairly close and it looked like it was trying to get rid of the remoras. Another large Eagle Ray with similar behaviour was spotted at Brandywine. Again up on the top of the reef. Also saw a couple of Yellow headed jaw fish with eggs in its mouth-that was great … a gorgeous Purple Mouth Morat at EEC- captured on video as it was feeding. An enormous Turtle at the Gully. Feeding at top of the wall biting chunks of sponge – seen by several guests and we got quite close to it without any disturbance. Also saw a school of Atlantic Spadefish-about 15/20.  There was quite a bit of Shark activity at West Caicos and also French Cay…

Eagle Rays at Stairway at Northwest Point …A baby turtle was spotted and filmed at the Gully-its shell was about 12” in length…absolutely fantastic watching it try to maneuver  around the corals.  A couple of quite big decorator crabs at Amphitheatre … a lovely flatworm about 3” long and very colourful at G- Spot…

Good sighting of small critters, pipe fish, pipe horses, mushroom scorpionfish… hammerhead on the Gully…

The Turks & Caicos Explorer II departs Providencials, Turks & Caicos each Saturday.

WOW where do we start.

This summer the southern Bahamas itinerary has provided guests with some amazing sightings and experiences. We have a month left on this itinerary before we move the Caribbean Explorer II to Freeport and offer “Diving & Wild Dolphin Expeditions.”

Here are some excerpts from the Caribbean Explorer II:

“Great diving this week.  A dozen or so Reef Sharks joined the guests at Shark Reef.  There was very good diving at the rest of the Long Island sites with the usual suspects: Lesser Barracuda, Black Durgeons, French and Queen Angels, and an amazing number of Rock Beauties…

We had three first time night divers … Right off the bat we had a huge turtle and a smaller turtle crawling around, a spotted Moray, Lobster, and quite a few hermit crabs schlepping their conch shells along the bottom … finding a big Octopus that most of the guests had the chance to see and photograph!  Great Cut had a MONSTER clinging channel crab as well as a large Hammerhead…Our dawn dive at Conception island included several lobster, Tile fish, a turtle, Midnight Parrotfish, a school of Sennits, and many juveniles.  The diving at Conception was good all day.  Reef Sharks, Fileclams, Tile Fish, Midnight Parrots, Ocean Triggers, Queen Triggers, and Yellow Rays were all seen along with the usual suspects. We finished the week off at Long Island, with a dive on the Comberbach Wreck and again at Shark Reef….

The sharks at Shark Reef did not disappoint again this week and we had good dives at Joe’s Reef and Hog Cay Reef…

Had a great big green Moray at Telephone Pole for the night dive, along with some voracious jacks and a couple of lobster. Several Hammerheads were spotted during dives along San Salvador, and several guests reported seeing a shark with an unusually long tail…may have been a Thresher Shark, which would be unusual for these waters.  Spotted Morays were fairly common and we had large schools of Creole Wrasse, Blue Chromis, and quite a few Oceanic Triggerfish.  The Lobsters were out and about competing for scraps with the Clinging Channel Crabs.  We had several turtles while at San Salvador as well…

It was a good shark week, at Telephone Pole we had a group of four hammerheads that buzzed some of the guests, and plenty of reef sharks at Shark Reef. A few sightings of the elusive lion fish!?!”

Our southern Bahamas itinerary runs through August 22-29, 2009.
August 29-September 5 – northbound Exploratory Expedition departing George Town, great Exuma and disembarking in Freeport.
September 5 through October 3- Diving & Wild Dolphin Expeditions out of Freeport.

Great walls, lots of marine life, large pelagics, black coral, sharks – average water temperature 79(F). A large Eagle Ray was sighted at Elephant Ear Canyon in a sandy area. We were able to get fairly close. It looked like it was trying to get rid of the remoras. Another large Eagle Ray with similar behaviour at the top of the reef was spotted by several guests and crew at Brandywine. We also saw a couple of Yellow headed jaw fish with eggs in its mouth, which was a great sighting. One of the crew found a gorgeous Purple Mouth Morat at EEC and was able to captured it on video as it was feeding. An enormous Turtle at the Gully was feeding at the top of the wall biting chunks of sponge. Several guests were able to get quite close without any disturbance. A school of Atlantic Spadefish, about 15 to 20 of them and a bit of Shark activity at West Caicos and also French Cay.