Utopia Village Resort Year End Special - $1499
Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras
Get a great deal on a 7 night dive vacation on Utila with this year end special. Book before 31 December 2014 for travel December 2014 to February 2015 and your dive package is $1499, non-divers are $1399 per person based on double occupancy. Contact us for availability and details.
TURNEFFE FLATS – DIVE REPORT - 2 to 7 NOVEMBER, 2014
Air Temperatures – Mid to low 80’s
Water Temperature – 80 to 79F
Overall Weather – The weather was a little challenging this week for divers with cooler, cloudier weather and passing showers. Wind speeds switched between the north and then northeast with speeds between 10 and over 15 knots. As a result, water temperatures dropped to 79 degrees F, and 3mm wetsuits need to be pulled out and donned for the winter season.
Crew - Dive Instructor Anne-Marie had Open Water Referral students whom continued on with their Advanced Open Water certification, and Divemaster Denroy joined her toward the end of the week with other divers. Carlton (AKA Capt) was boat captain for the week.
Sightings – Special sightings for the week included a large Great Barracuda that sat under the boat at Jojo’s Split intimidating the new divers on the first day. Permit and Horse Eye Jack schools swirled near the surface at Myrtle’s Turtle just north of The Elbow, and several groupers of varying species – Black, Nassau, Yellow Fin, Tiger and Yellow Mouth – were seen at Creekozene and throughout the week showing up the healthy population of groupers we have here in Belize. To top that off, a 4-foot Goliath Grouper followed divers along curiously for a few minutes at Chasbow’s Corner to the northwest of Turneffe. This was indeed a heart-warming sight. The night dive yielded some welcome, but not often seen, players in the Spotted Sea Hare, and a Beaded Sea Cucumber. Cryptic Tear Drop Crabs were spotted in a number of tube sponges which appear black at depth, but are in fact a brilliant crimson colour. Eagle Ray Wall on the west side of Long Caye on Lighthouse Reef lived up to its name as four large Spotted Eagle Rays came past divers at close range and continued to circle coming back and forth along the wall for over 5 minutes of the dive. Large Rainbow and Blue Parrot Fish were seen on the northeast of Turneffe at Lindsay’s Back Porch.
Sunday 2 NovemberWinds from the N at 15 knots. Mostly cloudy with passing showers, and some sun in the afternoon.Dive Sites: #1 Jojo’s Split N - 40ft visibility / #2 Jojo’s Split S – 40ft visibility / #3 Calabash Caye Wall - 50ft visibility
Monday 3 November
Winds remaining at 15 knots from the N. Morning clouds with showers. Mostly sunny in the afternoon.
Dive Sites: #1 Black Beauty N - 60ft visibility / #2 Black Beauty S - 60ft visibility / #3 Myrtle’s Turtle - 70ft visibility
Tuesday 4 November
Wind speeds increasing to over 15 knots from the NE. Partly cloudy with some sun in the morning and afternoon.
Dive Sites: #1 Creekozene N - 80ft visibility / #2 Creekozene S – 80ft visibility / #3 Amberhead – 80ft visibility
Wednesday 5 November
Wind speeds at 10 knots from the NE, and decreasing throughout the day. Mostly sunny.
Dive Sites: #1 Chasbow’s Corner – 70ft visibility / #2 Elkin’s Bay – 70ft visibility / #3 Night Dive @ Northern Bogue
Thursday 6 November
Winds at 10 knots from the NE and dropping sharply in the morning to less than 5 knots. Heavy cloud cover with showers in the morning, giving way to sunny skies in the late morning and afternoon.
Dive Sites: #1 Blue Hole - 30ft visibility / #2 Half Moon Caye Wall – 60ft visibility / #3 Eagle Ray to Painted Wall – 50ft visibility
Friday 7 November
Winds at less than 10 knots from the NNW. Passing showers in the early morning with patches of sun broadening to a mostly sunny afternoon.
Dive Sites: #1 Lindsay’s Back Porch – 70ft visibility / #2 Lettuce Lane – 70ft visibility / #3 Wishbone – 70ft visibility
We have a FLASH SALE deal on Fiji Airways. Fly round trip from Los Angeles (LAX) to Auckland for $947 USD.
Valid for Sale until 17 November 2014
Valid for travel 01 May thru 08 June 2015 and 24 July thru 17 September 2015
Some restrictions apply.
John M, Rhonda M and David H - Trip to the Atlantis Resort and the Azores Liveaboard - Philippines - Oct 2-11, 2014
"Mr. Greg,
The trip was nice. The resort was wonderful, the Azores was good, but not great. The weather was not ideal, with the typhoon over India."
"The muck diving was very nice, with lots and lots of frogfish. Very comparable to Lembeh resort. Pick up service by the Atlantis team was as good as it could get at the airport."
"Couple of negatives:
1. No schools of fish, only small fish
2. The two captains on the boat had a less than perfect relationship.
3. Captain David was a bit of a know it all, and appeared to have an issue with women (nothing major, but it was apparent)
4. The boat had a higher rate of issues versus other liveaboards we have been on. Probably a function of its age. Sewer smell, leaks, breakdowns, etc.
5. We dove several locations many times. Mostly due to weather, but I believe a more seasoned captain would have known other dive spots even with weather."
"Good points:
1. Local crew and dive masters were awesome.
2. Whale shark encounter, although artificial, was really nice.
3. Saw a blue ring octopus and a hairy frogfish together in one spot!!!
4. Muck diving was great
5. Frogfish galore, especially Giants! Saw at least 20!
6. Food was very good
7. Lots of public room on boat"
"Overall, I give the trip a 6 out of 10. Makes me feel a lot better towards the png trip! Still it was as you advertised, and was our option #4 if I remember correctly. Thanks for your help."
"Regards, John and Rhonda"
Atlantis Resorts DEMA Deal
Our thanks to Kristi Marchetti with Atlantis Resorts for this great DEMA Dive Show Deal. Book a 7 night stay at either Atlantis Dumaguete or Atlantis Puerto Galera and get 2 additional nights FREE.
These resorts treat you like you are on a liveaboard with up to 5 dives a day possible.
Dumaguete travel dates valid Jan 1 - Feb 13 or May 23 - July 4 or Sept 12 - Dec 31, 2015. Must book by Nov 30, 2014.
Puerto Galera travel dates valid January 1 - December 31, 2015. Must book by November 30, 2014.
Matava Eco Resort is offering a 2015 early bird special. Book now and get a 10% discount for travel anytime in 2015. Packages are subject to availability. Contact us with your travel dates, book in November and we will discount the trip an additional 5%…!
Brac is Back with some fantastic Caymankind diving. Get out of the cold weather and into the tropical waters on Cayman Brac, dive with Reef Divers valet-style service, feast on amazing buffet meals, and enjoy an icy cold Cay Beer.
Brac Reef January Special valid for travel from January 1-31, 2015
Package includes:
7 Nights Accommodations, 3 buffet meals daily (breakfast, lunch and dinner), 12 boat dives with Reef Divers, welcome Rum Punch, airport ground transfers, and all hotel taxes.
Beach View Room $1295 per person based on double diver occupancy.
Must book by 30 November 2014
Bula and welcome to Fiji. Now you can fly to Fiji on sale at $999 per person round trip from Los Angeles (LAX) to Nadi. Travel dates are February 1 to June 10, 2015 and September 1-30, 2015. Must book by November 15, 2014. Flights on Fiji Airways.
It goes without saying, we LOVE the Caymans. The people are friendly, the food is good, the dive sites are in excellent condition, the resorts and dive operations are first class, and the islands are easily accessed from the US. Our favourite airlines is Cayman Airways because they LOVE divers and two bags are still free. Get you gear to the Caymans with no hassles.
We are writing this blog entry from our patio at Cobalt Coast Resort in Grand Cayman. The owner, Arie Barendrecht, and his staff have made us feel like we have arrived back home from the moment we arrived. And the Divetech staff is always ready to help in any manner. And they offer full service rebreather and tech-diving equipment rental and classes.
We are working on some great packages with Arie and Dora and when we are back in the office October 20 we will have some deals to offer. Contact us for some Caymankind diving at its best.
Best of Yap Dive Sites 6 of 6
Stammtisch 2
Courtesy of Bill Acker at Manta Ray Bay Resort
