January 2011    Download the Entire Issue (PDF)

Vol. 26, No. 1   What's this?

Caribbean Explorer II: Saba/St.Kitts

and a missing jewel in the crown

from the January, 2011 issue of Undercurrent  

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Dive St. Eustatius? Well, you no longer can from the Caribbean Explorer II on its northeastern agenda! I was aboard for two days in mid November before I learned that a jewel of the trio Saba-Statia-St.Kitts had been off the itinerary a few months. More about that in the sidebar, but I should have been told in advance because I think Statia diving is much more interesting than St. Kitts –- better viz, less trash, and more fish. Perhaps CE II can find another jewel to add to the crown.

Hurricane Tomas left the waters churning, with eight ft. seas en route from St. Maarten to Saba in the early morning hours. JF Chabot, the substitute captain and previous operations manager for Explorer Ventures, has plied these waters for many years on both of the CE vessels and handled the craft with grace and good humor. Years ago, CE II was my first liveaboard and now, after several hundred more dives and a dozen liveaboards, I was aboard again. She was showing her age, but a valiant refurbishing with minimally invasive “face” lifts left her clean and tidy. It felt like coming home with JF onboard, but the other crew had, of course, left long ago.

For a while I thought I would be diving buddy-less, as when my buddy John got to his airport, he had no flight reservations. I had made mine at the same time with Reservation Services International, recommended by Explorer Ventures. The agent quickly rerouted him, but with the loss of a day on each side of the trip; but diving time was intact. Seems like he forgot to confirm with his credit card with the agency, a warning for all travelers. Shouldn’t he have been alerted? He had booked a bunk on the boat.

As on my other CE trips, the crew of seven was gracious, friendly, and skillful. For example, we returned in the dark via dinghy from a tour of Saba: no moon, stars or flashlights to guide us past obstacles in the unlit harbor. As the waves were splashing over us, Robert, the engineer, warned the six of us not to move when we got to the vessel and wait for directions. After a halfdozen attempts, the crew secured the boat at the dive ladders and the two crafts surged in tandem. When Dave, alias ‘Tuna’, shouted my name, the safe exodus began....