View from our Room
Day 2: I woke up at 3 am to the sound of rain pounding the
roof... It didn't let up till 2 pm... I found out that it
rained 1 and a half feet! We never left our room until the rain
stopped... I couldn't believe how much rain was falling...
A Nature MeditationYou are sitting by a quietly flowing stream in the countryside. It is spring .....
Then all of a sudden it stopped and the blue sky came out,
much to our relief... I brought along some good Seattle
coffee(thanks Briana) that we brewed up every morning at 6
am and sat on the beach drinking and forgetting about
home... We went into town to get some lunch and get back
into the sun... When I say town you have to understand that
the main street runs from our hotel to town only a mile
away... That's how small Grand Turk is... After getting
baked in the sun I got my snorkel gear on and brought my new
u/w digital camera out and put it through the paces to make
sure I knew how to use it, and that it worked... For dinner
we walked into town and noticed on Sunday everything is shut
down, except for the dive shops and food places... Talk
about peace and quiet! I went to bed thinking tomorrow I get
to dive...
Day 3: The day started off with some damned roosters waking
me up at 5 am... That would be a re-occurring theme the
whole time we were there... I was on the beach drinking
coffee at 6 am and looking out at the open ocean thinking,
what a sight... We went over and had some breakfast and then
got all our dive stuff ready to be put on the boat at 9
am... We meet our dive master(Smitty) and he seems like a
pretty cool dude, very laid back... Everything he said ended
with "Mon"... We're taking an advanced underwater navigation
course so we'll be able to find our way back to the boat
using our compass, and not relying on the dive master...
Smitty taught us some basic compass reading on land and said
"It's the same underwater as on land"...
I actually found my
way back to the boat by myself and felt pretty good about
that... After our first dive we came back ashore to off gas
for an hour and we headed back out for our second dive...
The reason we did that is because on Grand Turk the reef is
only 5-15 minutes from shore, depending on the dive site...
I liked that! While we were heading to the 2nd site it
started raining again, but who cares when it's 85 degrees
out... I actually got cold underwater for the 1st time in
"warmer" waters... It was only about 75-78 degrees
underwater on this dive... I wear a 3mm shorty wetsuit and
it was a little chilly for me towards the end of the dive...
My cuz ended the dive when we got near the boat, but I
stayed under 15 minutes longer... He wears only shorts and a
dri-fit type shirt... There were people wearing full 5mm
suits who got cold too... So go figure... I found my way
back using my newfound navigation techniques, and Smitty
said I was the only one out of us 8 that turned the right
way at the end of the dive... He gave me the "Good job Mon"
speech... I still didn't know(understand) how I was
navigating, but it was working... It was raining pretty hard
now and I was in serious need of food! We walked into town
and got some lunch then came back and took a nap... My cuz
wasn't feeling good(he had a head cold), so after taking a
shower and having a few Appleton's(rum) and cokes I went
into town and had dinner with a few people from our boat...
Dive 1 was at Coral Gardens... A lot of big coral growth,
and lots of snapper and groupers... Depth was 75ft. for 50
minutes... Dive 2 was at Fin Cove... Great color on the wall
and many fish... Everybody seemed to get cold on this
dive... Depth was 60ft. for 60 minutes
Day 4: Up at 6 am for coffee and breakfast at 7 am... No
roosters today cause the dogs(we called them hyena's) chased
them away... I would "tell" the hyena's to get them damned
roosters! Today the sun was out while we were heading out to
dive... Both dives went well, and our navigation was getting
better and better according to Smitty Mon... We had lunch
and then tried to find him some Sudafed, then layed out in
the sun... Then I took a little nap to get rested for my
night dive... There were only 4 of us going out, since some
people don't like diving in the "black"... Actually the vis
was pretty good... I stayed down for 1 hour and 5 minutes,
getting close to the reef/wall to see the small critters...
I came back in and mixed a rum and coke before rinsing off
my gear... Then it was shower, eat dinner, and watch the
Seattle Sonics playoff game... Tomorrow was going to be a
long day...
Dive 1 was at Black Forest... Here as soon as you�??re in the
water, you�??re staring at the wall and the endless bottom...
Huge black coral and sponge growth... Dramatic silhouettes
created by the overhangs on the wall... Depth was 70ft. for
55 minutes... Dive 2 was at English Point... More big coral
growth and a few turtles and some barracudas... Depth was
60ft. for 60 minutes... Dive 3 was at The Library... This
was my night dive and a split crevasse lead us to the
wall... When you turned and looked at the open ocean it was
kinda eerie because of the blackness... A lot of
invertebrate life here... Depth was 50ft. for 65 minutes
Day 5: Same morning drill, coffee on the beach, breakfast,
and then get ready to dive... Little did I know this was
going to be the best dive I've ever done... As we were
getting suited up, Smitty noticed a pair of dolphins in the
distance and said they were heading our way... So he says
"Hurry up and get in the water Mon and start snapping your
fingers"... I was the 1st in and instead of falling
backwards from the boat, I dove in headfirst and made my way
to the bottom... For some reason I didn't have problems
equalizing like I usually do... As I descended to the sand
at 25 feet, I turned my camera on and noticed something out
of my peripheral vision streak right past me... I was
spooked at first until I saw another dolphin swim right by
me... I could've touched him, he was that close! There were
4 of them and they would shoot out of the water and then
dive back down to us... They stayed with us for about 5
minutes swimming around, under, and below us... They left as
fast as they came... I was so mesmerized by what I was
seeing, I forgot to take any pictures...
After they left I
was thinking to myself that I'll never forget what I just
witnessed... Then when we were at about 60 feet they came
back, this time 7 of them... When I watched them shoot to
the surface and dive back into the water, they would swim
towards us like torpedoes... I took a few pics and watched
in fascination as to how close they would get to us... They
left again quickly, but at least I snapped a few photos!
When we were coming back up and were at the top of the
reef/wall, they came back for a 3rd time... This time one of
them was coming towards me and it seemed like he actually
posed for a picture and when he saw the flash go off he
darted away... They were with us a few minutes and then were
gone for good... I could not have asked for a better dive,
ever... To see a pod of wild dolphins underwater has always
been a dream of mine. And to see them 3 different times on 1
dive is unheard of, according to Smitty Mon... They must
have liked my tattoo... Hahahahahahaha...
Bottlenose Dolphins
Bottlenose Dolphins
I was hoping and
praying the pictures turned out! If I had to quit diving
after that dive, I would've been content... I know that I'll
never have a dive to top that one... I saw the one thing(pod
of dolphins) that I've always wanted to witness
underwater... I was just thinking "How cool was that?"...
When we all got back on the boat, we were all in one of
those states... We were all thinking just how lucky we were
to see them 3 times on one dive... After we got back and
cleaned up we headed over to Gibbs Caye for a BBQ and run
punch drinking... 9 of us went and we got to feed some
stingrays and just mingle with them... I fed one while I was
on my back(2-3 feet of water) and he came over the top of me
and just hovered, flapping his wings while he ate the conch
out of my hand... There were a couple big barracuda there
too so I had to keep an eye out to make sure they didn't try
and feed from my hand... That would not of been good! I
actually got pretty close to 1 and snapped a few pics before
he backed up a few feet... We all had a pretty good time at
Gibbs Caye... Drinking those rum punches seemed to do the
trick...
Barracuda
Dive 1 was at Rolling Hills... Large amounts of sponge
coral... We saw turtles, a nurse shark taking a nap, and
some barracudas... Depth was 85ft. for 55 minutes... Dive 2
was at The Landing Approach... We renamed it Dolphin
Approach after our encounters with the pod(3 times in 1
dive)... Depth was 70ft. for 55 minutes...
Day 6: My cuz is getting better from his head cold...
Hopefully he won't have to skip any more dives, or stay in
shallows... We went on seashell hunt after breakfast... The
sun was out and it was a beautiful morning, and the temps
were gonna hit close to 90 today, which more more than ok by
me... For some reason the vis wasn't as good today, maxing
out at 50 feet... Must've been the winds blowing last
night... The divers on our boat were a joy to dive with...
Everyone of them were friendly, which is atypical in my
experience... There is always "that one" who try's to spoil
it for the rest... We had Dale and Gail from Vancouver,
Canada; Hugh and Clare from London, England; Mark and
Marguerite from San Franciso; John Paul and Laura from
Boston via Italy; and Dave and Kathy from Pittsburgh... I
would dive with those guys and gals anyday! We all had a
blast together... Clare called my cuz and I "The crazy guys
from Seattle"... We all planned on doing 3 dives but my cuz
skipped the last one because of his head cold... On the 3rd
dive I stayed at 60 ft. max because of 3 dives in 6 hours...
My cuz had a rum and coke ready for me when I got back... I
was getting to like that Appleton's rum... Dinner and a
early dinner because I've got 3 dives scheduled for tomorrow
with an option to do a night dive...
Dive 1 was at Alien Nation... Saw some friggin huge lobsters
here, and a grouper that must've weighed as much as me...
Depth was 90ft. for 60 minutes... Dive 2 was at Fish Pond,
or Fish Soup as my cuz called it... A lot of fish life
here... A Yellow Tail Snapper was following me the whole
time on this dive... Depth was 65ft. for 58 minutes... Dive
3 was at Black Forest... 2nd time we dove this site because
everybody like the huge coral overhangs... I turned over on
my back several times and shot pics looking back to the
surface... Depth was 60ft. for 62 minutes...
Day 7: Those damned roosters are driving me insane in the
membrane! I wish I had a shotgun so I could go on a hunt...
I made coffee and went on the beach and saw 2 donkeys... We
called them taxi and cab... It started raining hard on the
boat and everybody was saying "I hope today isn't a repeat
of Sunday"... In between dives the sun and blue sky came out
and another 85-90 degree day was in store for us... On our
2nd dive we saw a huge Pompano, and I got to within 10 feet
of it... The thing must've weighed 250-300 pounds! I also
had a stare down with a 4ft. Barracuda that was pretty
cool... Both of us were just hovering and looking at each
other, then he bared his teeth to me... He let me take a few
pics before backing up... After the dive we all met up and
had lunch together... 8 of us had pizza and beverages for
dinner... We were talking about tomorrow, which was our last
dive day...
Dive 1 was at McDonalds... Here you swim thru a good size
coral arch(hence the name) at 30�?? and when you get to the
end you�??re at 60�?? and looking straight down into the deep...
I liked seeing the coral all around you then the next thing
you know, there�??s nothing but the the ocean... Depth was
75ft. for 55 minutes... Dive 2 was at Coral Gardens... It
was a request since we did this dive before... I again, had
Freeport In The BahamasFreeport in Grand Bahama Island is the closest of all the Bahamas to the USA. A quick 45 minute flight from Fort .....
a long stare down with a 4-5 foot barracuda... He actually
let me get real close to him, then he would open his mouth
and bare his teeth to me... Depth was 55ft. for 65
minutes...
Day 8: More roosters today! They are one thing I will not
miss about this place! They drove everybody crazy... There
were only 6 of us on the boat for the 1st dive... Smitty Mon
DivingDefined by adventure, thrill and courage, diving is an adventure sport that refers to acrobatically jumping .....
was going to teach John Paul a class so he asked if I would
buddy up with Laura... I said "As long as you call me dive
master Mark Mon"... He laughed and said "Yea Mon"... So I
got Laura all suited up and checked her out before telling
her she's ok to get in... I went in after her and we talked
for a few minutes at the surface about what to do "in case
of this, or in case of that"... She told me that she has
problems staying neutral(bouyant) at 15 feet for doing
safety stops... I told her we would work on that, and just
do as I do... I told her just to relax on the dive, don't
use your hands to much, and that I'd be close to her... I
think she was a little nervous not being close to Smitty
Mon... No worries Mon was the last thing I said before going
under... She was much improved over her 1st days dive... I
would remind her to keep her hands close to her chest and
relax... At the end of the dive I had her grab the 15ft.
line and get relaxed... Then I motioned for her to let go,
and noticed she was floating up... I pulled her back to me
and the rope, and let some air out of her bc... I finally
got her neutral after several minutes, but she wanted to go
up... I told her to go slow and I'd watch from below...
We
talked on the boat and I said she did great on the dive but
we need to work on her buoyancy on the next dive... On the
beach I told her what we were gonna do on our next dive...
We were the first in and when we got down to 25ft. we played
with a turtle all by ourselves... He swam all around and in
between us... Very friendly he was! Laura was doing much
better and looked relaxed... That to me is one of the signs
of a good diver... We hit the safety stop line and she held
on to it until I gave her the signal to let go... I
purposely swam 10 feet away from it so that she would have
to get neutral by herself... She held on to my BC for a
minute and then let go... She was floating all by herself at
15ft. I gave her the "OK" sign, and timed us for 5
minutes... Then I did something that I usually do at the end
of my safety stops to practice my skills... I took the
regulator out of my mouth and slowly exhaled, watching the
bubbles make their way to the surface... When I looked at
Laura she was wide-eyed... She must've thought I was crazy!
I wonder what she would've thought if I would've taken my
mask completely off then put it back on? She asked if I was
OK, and I said yes... When we got back on the boat she asked
"What in the hell was I doing"? After I told her, she seemed
to understand... She did give me a pretty good compliment
afterwards... She said she felt completely relaxed and safe
diving with me as her buddy... That made me feel pretty
good! She still doesn't understand how I can take u/w pics
so close to the reef without touching it, or get as close as
I get to the "scary" fish... All I said was "Practice,
practice, practice Mon"...
Dive 1 was at Cecil�??s Reef... Saw some more huge lobsters
and great coral life... Depth was 85ft. for 57 minutes...
Dive 2 was at Chief Ministers Place... Huge number of garden
eels on the sandy bottom as we descended... They seemed to
go on forever... As you make your way to the wall you see
nothing but corals of all types and colors... We somehow got
mixed up with a school of barracudas for a few minutes... I
thought that was cool, but you could tell others didn�??t like
it that much... Depth was 50ft. for 70 minutes
We all agreed to meet for drinks and dinner later that night
after we rinsed and cleaned our gear... As we were having
beverages(several) , we all said how much we liked diving
with one another... All throughout drinks and dinner I was
getting eaten alive by mosquitoes... I still have the bite
marks from them on both legs from my chins down to my
feet... We were still talking about the dolphin dive and how
amazing that was... We were treated to a pretty spectacular
thunder and lightning display over the water, with some of
the biggest lightning bolts I've ever seen...
It rained
pretty hard that night too, but not as much as the previous
Sunday... The next day after we were all packed up we went
to the dive boat to say goodbye to Smitty, and all he said
was "You two guys better come back soon Mon"... Man of very
few words he is... I know he will miss the people on our
boat because we had him laughing all the time... We also saw
John Paul and Laura before they were heading out to dive and
said our goodbye's... Laura thanked me again for watching
out for her underwater... I told her again to keep your
hands/arms close to your body and just relax... Hugh and
Clare stopped by to say goodbye to us two crazy Seattle
guys... Now I just have to download all my u/w pics... I
have a feeling there's going to be several good ones! I
wonder where the diving will take us next year?
Delta lost my luggage on the way back home, and I finally
received it 3 days later... Thanks Delta!
We stayed at the Osprey Beach Hotel... From my research that
was the best hotel on the beach, plus the dive shop was
directly across the street... The hotel was pretty nice and
simple... The only thing I would've liked to see was an
outdoor shower to rinse off after diving... The people who
ran it were nice and friendly...
We dove with Sea Eye Diving... I did a lot of correspondence
with Johanna in the main office to make sure everything
would go smoothly... She made everything go very smoothly,
and was a very big help... The dive operation was next door
to the main office and I learned not to be deceived by how
it looks from the outside... Smitty is one heckuva dive
master... He stressed reef awareness, the requirement to do
safety stops after every dive, and let us dive our own
profile... Even the 2 other dive operations told me that he
was the best dive master on the island... When he was
teaching the course to us, he'd tell us what to do, and then
step back to see if we did it right or wrong... I liked the
hands off approach that he used... When we were done he said
we should never get lost underwater... The boat would pick
us up on the beach in front of our hotel... That was kinda
cool I thought... Grumps was the other dive master and BBQ
genius... He sure whipped up some good food... All in all,
Sea Eye Diving scored an A in my book...
We ate breakfast everyday at a place called the Courtyard
Cafe, which was run by two ladies from England... Lunch and
dinners were ate at the Sandbar and the Waters Edge...
Pretty good food, and filling too... As I said before, Grand
Turk is a small island that caters to diving and not much
else... If you're not a diver you wouldn't like Grand
Turk... It's a world class dive location, but not much else
to do except lay in the sun... Carnival Cruise Lines is
building a dock and hotel there and will be open next
year... I wonder how much that will spoil the diving with
the influx of people? I hope it doesn't end up like
Cozumel... Grand Turk needs to keep that small town charm
that divers enjoy...
