2000 Chapbook

Despite Bermuda's pricey, elegant hotels and British manners, it's simply not a tropical dive destination, even for beginners. Reefs are thin and there's sparse fish life, although wreck divers can find dives to get excited about here.... From January to March, the average high is 68 degrees, the low around 58. Summers are balmy, waters chilly. Bermuda's in the hurricane zone, around the same latitude as Charleston, South Carolina....

Blue Water Divers, December 1998, Letitia Paula Bailey, Aiea, HI. Vis: 75-80 ft. Water: 65 degrees. During a nine day stay chanced one day of diving, knowing the water would be cold and I would have to depend on rental equipment. A well-organized dive operation, the Blue Water staff picked one up at a hotel near my B&B in St. George's. Supplied all equipment including two masks (the first had a broken catch for the strap), a brand new and thick wetsuit, oversized fins, and a working regulator attached to an aluminum 80. The bottom is 25', the water is the 3rd most saline in the world, and 22 pounds of lead wouldn't keep me down. I usually carry 4-6 lbs. Dove two wrecks with steady, strongish current. Most of the wrecks are old and marked only by a timber or two on the floor. New divers getting certified had a great time. Would have been great snorkeling. You can't beat Bermuda for a fabulous vacation, however, I'm still looking for a rich man to support me in diving. (Blue Water Divers & Watersports, P.O. Box SN 165 Southampton, SN BX Bermuda; telephone 441-234-1034; fax: 441-234-3561; e-mail: bwdivers@ibl.bm | michaelb@ibl.bm; website www.divebermuda.com)