2000 Chapbook

The Bahamas chain contains some 700 atolls and cays in the western Atlantic Ocean. It's easily accessible from Florida and excellent for long weekends, with pretty reefs, decent tropicals, and resorts that feed sharks.... Winter weather from December to March means mid-70s, cooler water -- heavy wetsuit water -- and sweaters in the evening; average nighttime temperature is in the mid-60s, but can drop into the 50s if winter air blows off the continent. . . .Nassau is full of big restaurants and expensive restaurants. Out-island resorts are small and personal.... Of the islands with land-based resorts (primarily Abaco, Andros, Bimini, Cat Island, Eleuthera, Great Exuma, Grand Bahama/Freeport, Long Island, New Providence/Nassau and San Salvador) the latter offers frequent small hammerheads .... and a lot of algae on the reefs, which is now plaguing the Bahamas. . .Keep hurricane season, June through October, in mind; Hurricane Wilma devastated Grand Bahama in October 2005. Average time between hurricanes is nine years. Liveaboards occasionally have to change plans or cut trips short in the bad weather.

Abaco

Abaco Island, September 1998, Tom S., Huntington Beach, CA. Vis: 70-100 ft, Water: 83-85 degrees. Great shore diving. Very different.

Dive Abaco/Lofty Fig Resort, July 1999, William H. Wallace, St. Charles, MO. Vis: 75-100 ft. Water: 84 degrees. Coral heads had great fish life. Sharks, spotted rays, turtle or two. Thousands of silversides. Good owner interested in helping everyone improve technique. Experienced enough to give real advice. Most dives 25-40 ft. through great coral gardens. Some to 55-60 ft. through wide coral tunnels. Well-run organization. Lofty Fig Resort: 150 ft. from dive shop/dock. 6 good restaurants within 300 ft. No telephone or TV in room. Telephone 8:00-5:00 office. Good Internet access from resort office or restaurant (Sapodilly's) next door. See Oii.Net for access. Hot 95 degrees plus 80% humidity; April/May better. Cabs $10 from airport for two. $4-$5 around town for two. Good shopping within 150 ft. and food shop close at Conch Inn. Reasonable prices. Big serving dinners for $25pp. Great people nice and helpful. Great place for photo and video divers. (Ph: 800-247-5338 or 242-367-2787, Fax: 242-367-4779; e-mail: dive@dive-abaco.com)

Dive Abaco/Abaco Towns, August 1999, Sheila McIntyre, Brunswick, OH. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Depths 20'-60', 1 hour dive. Met Keith Rogers of Dive Abaco at DEMA. Took 2 group of 15 divers. First 2 days all on 1 boat, boat fumes were outrageous. Dive operation unorganized; made my task as tour leader difficult; divers had a good time though. He managed to insult everyone at least once. Steve and Noddy were great on the 2nd boat and divers on that boat were very pleased with them.

Andros Island

Seascape Inn, July 1999, David & Debra Batzer, Belair, MD. Vis: 50-60 ft. Water: 83-84 degrees. Laid back; just the two of us all week. Fabulous trip! New (2 yrs.) operation owned and operated by a husband and wife, Micky and John McGowan. Five rooms accommodate 10 divers. Large boat (no shade), white tanks visible in the water. Primarily shallow dives. Great for beginners. Some caves and tunnels. Blue holes in walking distance but we did not dive them. Clean accommodations reasonably priced. Owners did all cooking. Big portions, inexpensive! Breakfast included in package. Lots of fresh fruit, homemade cakes and breads: mango, banana nut, apple. Enough to take on boat for snacks. Bikes and kayaks available. No a.c. in rooms but nice breeze and fans. Hose on deck of each unit was wonderful! Value excellent. (242-369-0342; e-mail relax@seascapeinn.com; website www.seascapeinn.com)

Small Hope Bay Lodge, April 1999, Dr. Debra Levine, Brooklyn, NY. Vis: 80-150 ft. Water: 77-79 degrees. Great cave diving. Great walls. Great experience! Not much fish life, some dead coral but walls rival those of Palau and Cozumel and the inland caves (part of specialty diving) are amazing! People are wonderful, helpful and courteous staff. Great diving crew. They make you feel special and give you a certificate acknowledging your accomplishments. Rooms are utilitarian and clean. Good food. Many sand flea bites. (Ph: 242-368-2013, Fax: 242-368-2015, e-mail: shbinfo@smallhope.com, Website: smallhope.com)

Small Hope Bay Lodge, July 1999, Jean & Bob Kirkpatrick, Russellville, KY. Vis: 50-75 degrees. Water: 84 degrees. Dive restrictions: depth and time limits. Third family trip with 21 people ranging from 3 to 65; haven't found another place with comparable ambiance. Family atmosphere leads to interaction with others, an interesting cross-section from around the world. Shaded terrace is the center of activity; lunch and dinner buffet style from the bar and the BBQ grill. Three meals, three dives/day and drinks in the package. Next to the terrace is the dock where you board the boats. The main dive boat has improvised cover on half the boat, with tank racks in the center and under-seat storage. Nitrox. Shark dive with a "chumsicle," which was fun; many specialized dives. AM dives are a deep dive, short surface interval and shallow (10-30') and long second dives. PM dive is 50-60'. Sites are 10-20 min. away. Diving not the best we've done, but interesting. Snorkeling under the dock is fun, especially for little ones. A long beach with calm water and a creek running into the sea. Fishing excellent; kayaks and a windsurfer are available. Accommodations are basic, like summer camp and no AC can be unpleasant in July heat. Take plenty of bug spray. They can be a problem. SHBL is a special spot!

Small Hope Bay Lodge, July 1999, Dennis & Sharon LeTendre (plan2dive@aol.com), Baton Rouge, LA. Vis: 75-125 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Sunny, rainy. Restrictions: liberal for advanced divers who showed proper skills. Resort is isolated a plus for clean coral, relaxing atmosphere. 20 cabins (rustic but clean), geared for diving and fishing. Families with children welcome. Very informal, comfortable. Trade winds blew gently, keeping bugs to a minimum; sleeping was a dream. Food buffet style all you can eat, variety of fresh salads, vegetables, and meats/seafood very good. Service friendly, "open bar" at night, with liquors, beer. Atmosphere promoted conversation with others. Diving very good to excellent. They make everybody do skills test (mask clearing, regulator exchange) near docks before first dive. Plenty of shallow (20-60ft) reef diving for beginners, great advanced diving. Some coral bleached, but recovering. Most dives 10-15 minute boat ride. Blue holes, pristine walls, caverns and a bioluminescent night dive were great. Dive your own profile if you discuss with divemaster. Advanced specialty dives (extra charge- but worth it) need to book in advance. Went "over the wall" to 185 feet (required decompression). Did "second level blue hole" - a cavern with fresh water transition to salt water amazing dive, dependent on tides. Elevator shaft free fall down natural crack in wall to 200 feet like sky diving. Shark dive twice per week; they hang frozen chum ball; well planned and organized. 8-9 reef sharks, some get very close. Divemasters helpful and friendly, patient with beginners, allowed advanced divers liberal diving. Did not rush, and were knowledgeable regarding sea life. Air/Nitrox fill station is one of the cleanest, best designed I have seen. Went bonefishing with guide. He worked hard and was patient as we learned to catch and release the wary "grey ghosts."

Bimini

Bimini Undersea, June 1999, C. van Gontard, Roswell, GA. Vis: 70-100 ft, Water: 80-82 degrees. Wild dolphin excursions a must! One morning we had 30 dolphins with 10 babies (Atlantic Spotted). On the way out we had bottlenose, then a huge manta that we swam with on the way back! All this before 11:00 AM. (Ph: 945-462-3400, Fax: 954-462-4100, e-mail: nealwatson@aol.com, Website: www.nealwatson.com)

Scuba Bimini/South Bimini Yacht Club, May 1999, Hank & Lillian Epstein, Clearwater, FL. Divemasters knowledgeable about local water and attempted to show us the "best" of Bimini. First dive was from a refurbished life boat with 25 divers; limited room for pre and post diving activities. Clients had to insist on adding an additional boat with qualified, adequate crew. Did get the additional boat with a divemaster, captain and crew all in one. We pitched in to retrieve buoys and lines! Scuba Bimini did the best job it could with the available resources of the South Bimini Yacht Club ("Yacht Club" is a misnomer; the only yachts visible were sunken boats). Grounds laden with garbage and assorted refuse. Rooms dirty, extra towels were difficult to come by and the food was bad and poorly served. (One meal took two plus hours and was incorrect). Not enough plates and cups for the "buffet" at breakfast nor was there an alternative breakfast menu. We were told that the group was too large. Certain regular menu items and specials were unavailable. Hotel management skills were sorely lacking. (Telephone 800-848-4073 or 242-347-4444 or 954-462-3400; Fax 242-954-4624100 or 954-462-4100; e-mail: info@scubabimini.com, website: www.scubabimini.com)

Scuba Bimini/South Bimini Yacht Club, September 1999, Ceci Allen, Orlando, FL. Vis: 30-50 ft., Water: 81-83 degrees. Beautiful diving, wonderful people. Rustic, quiet, unspoiled, personalized service, excellent food.

Cat Island

Greenwood/Cutlass Bay Club, December 1998, Gary Trommer, Austin, TX. Vis: 70-100 ft. Water: 75 degrees. Not a lot of fish. The biggest were in fish traps, which were everywhere. Nice beaches, but not the place to do a dive vacation. (Greenwood Beach Resort/Cat Island Dive Center, Port Howe, Cat Island, Bahamas; Telephone 877-CAT-7475 or phone/fax 242-342-3053; e-mail: gbr@grouper.batelnet.bs; website: www.hotelgreenwoodinn.com/default.html)

Grand Bahama Island

Sunn Odyssey/UNEXSO/Lucayan, May 1999, Victor (vbary@yahoo.com), Cranford, NJ. Vis: 50-75 ft. Water: 81-83 degrees. Restrictions: Your own computer profile. Since sites range from 15' to 85' maximum depth, depth limitations were irrelevant. Our initial dive was with UNEXSO, a widely advertised long-standing operation. The divemaster and captain were good, their rental equipment shoddy. My wife refused the first three regulators she was offered one had the flange around the exhaust valve crushed onto it. My BC was missing its cummerbund and a weight belt had been substituted - installed right-hand release. The counter staff had all the charm of fast food restaurant employees. Boats were aging. . . .Sunn Odyssey, owned by Nick and Karen Rolle. For the same price as a cattle boat operation, we had a 40' boat and Nick to ourselves, new equipment, and sites selected to our specifications (40'-65' for photography). Nick was a terrific guide. Saw large reef sharks, large rays, big pelagics (a 4' Cobia, 4'-5' Amberjack, large groupers and morays) and learned a great deal about the island. Deep trenches on the other side of the fringing reef provide more big fish than we have seen on any previous dive trip. Island of friendly people, and the Mall across from the recently renovated Lucayan (great facility and staff) offers countless restaurants overlooking the Channel Bay marina. (Telephone: 242-373-4014; Fax ·242-373-4014; e-mail sunnody@grouper.batelnet.bs; website: www.bahamasvg.com/sunnodyssey.html)

UNEXSO/Pelican Bay, November 1998, Roger Clark, Midland, TX. Vis: 80 ft, Water: 78 degrees. Reefs in good shape, few fish, no crustaceans. Shark dive very intense 12' from 17-20 feeding reef sharks. Dolphin dive enjoyable. Dives well managed and professional. Pelican Bay excellent. (Ph: 800-992-3483, Fax: 954-351-9740)

UNEXSO/Pelican Bay, March 1999, Terry Ekdahl, Oscoda, MI. Vis: 60-100 ft. Water: 74-75. Sunny, dry. Deep dives 100ft limit. Boats all had rinse tanks. Pelican Bay was excellent and quiet, next door to UNEXSO. Service outstanding. UNEXSO has extensive dive shop, staff friendly and fun. The Brass Helmet at UNEXSO has good food at reasonable prices. Staff on the boats made dives enjoyable. Angelo deserves recognition for his attitude and service, my 7-year-old son quickly had a best friend. Theos wreck is the one dive not to miss, although the shark and dolphin dives were fun.

UNEXSO/Port Lucaya Resort and Yacht Club, May 1999, Roger Gray, Annandale, VA. Vis: 20-50 ft., Water: 70-82 degrees. Restrictions: Depth and time. Resort nice but no beach. Food expensive, $12/person/day tax. Good dive organization. Divemasters let you go on your own. Must have been a bad week for the female divemasters. Only one was friendly. Rest had bad attitudes. In 17 years, first time I had unfriendly divemasters.

Green Turtle Cay

Brendal's Dive Shop/Bluff House, June 1999, Jane McArthur, Hollywood, FL. 1st day nice, second day rain and thunderstorms. Water: 83 degrees. Viz: 60 ft. Did 4 dives as part of the trip we won from Scuba Radio. Fed conch to ten 40 lb. groupers (they tried to snatch my hand and glove). Reef was 45-50 ft. in a steep profile, coral was out of the water at low tide. Swam thru a cut at 10 ft. and dropped to 45 ft. where tarpon were waiting. Lots of swim-thrus filled with copper sweepers and silversides. Eels and turtles, cleaner shrimp, flamingo tongues, fish cleaning stations. Brendal and his son BJ were wonderful guides, urging us to go slow to see stuff. On one dive BJ took my knife, cut up a conch while we were surrounded by ever-increasing numbers of yellowtail, angelfish and grouper looking for the handout. No current. Bluff House (the hotel of 1,000 steps) is laid back and funky. Pool is on the top deck with a wonderful view of Abaco Sound and White Sound. Our room had 10 steps from living room (downstairs) to bedroom (upstairs). Your legs get in shape fast (tho' the rum punches ease the pain). Beach BBQ Thursday nites with a live band. Evening meals were a choice of 5 dishes (fish, chicken, or meat) prepared in Bahamian and Continental styles. Had ostrich one night! (not bad). Breakfasts eggs, omelets, pancakes & French toast or Bahamian boiled fish with grits (the eyes were an extra treat!) Laid back island with decent Bahamas diving and close islands to explore (most with resorts or settlements for lunch/drinks). Snorkeling is easy and pretty. Brendal's Dive Center Int'l, Ltd., Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, Bahamas; Phone/Fax: 242-365-4411; e-mail: brendals@grouper.batelnet.bs)

Long Island, Bahamas

Stella Maris Resort, May 1999, Lyle & Karla Helm, (lhlem@nwga.com), Calhoun, GA. Rooms Spartan but clean and well maintained with good beds! Food excellent; chef accommodating, catering to our vegetarian diet. Peter and George eager to help any way possible. Dive staff friendly and low key. Ohmar was helpful and gave brief orientations, but once they knew you could handle yourself you were free to dive as you saw fit. Divers varied from 2-16 (too many for the 30' boat and the big boat was out of commission), no area for cameras. Diving good Caribbean with lots of reef fish and good corals, few pelagics except for reef and bull sharks on shark dive. Water cool 73-75 F with 70-80' vis and no currents. Best diving reported at Conception Island but we were unable to get there because of big boat troubles. Mosquitoes baaaad when there was no breeze. Relaxing 2-3 dives/day good for beginners and intermediate or advanced that want pleasant laid-back diving. (Ph: 800-426-0466 or 809-336-2106 or 305-467-0466, Fax: 305-359-8238)

New Providence

Bahama Divers/Radisson Cable Beach Hotel, September 1999, Vernon A. Jackson, Dumfries, VA. Vis: 30-50+ft., Water: 85 degrees. Making the reservation by 800 number was easy. Pick up and return to hotel by B.D. on time. Boat well handled with a captain and 4 crew members. Computer diving allowed, each dive over 45 minutes. Crew helpful, you sat at stern, they brought your BCD and helped you into it and you went diving. Tanks were Al 80's, fills 2700-3000psi. PM dive was shallow (14') many snorkelers but divers went first. Briefings adequate. Video made of each dive for sale. First time diving the north shore, I prefer the south shore for walls, more interesting reefs and animal life. (Ph: 809-393-5644)

Dive, Dive, Dive/Bungalow, September 1998, Tom & Lucy Woodward, Casper, WY. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 82-86 degrees. Secluded, quiet atmosphere on south side. No night life. Several good restaurants requiring taxi. One good restaurant, for dinners only, within walking distance. Buy groceries for breakfast and lunch in bungalow. Driver stops at grocery store on way from airport. Rides available to store during week. Excellent divemasters, efficient operation. Personnel has been with this shop for years. Ocean beach is a 5-minute walk from bungalows. Sandy shore, public beach. Friendly local people (Ph: 800-328-8029 or 809-362-1143)

Dive, Dive, Dive/Nassau Beach Hotel, David Campos, Zeeland, MI. Water 79-82, vis 70-90. Great dive operators. Coral not much compared to Grand Cayman or Coz. but great pics and lots of contact with sharks. Lots of shark teeth where feedings occur. Small numbers of divers and great service with nice dive boats and friendly crew. North end of the island too populated. Cruise ships come in and the operators do not care about the large and unwieldy numbers they take. Lots of nice wrecks though be alert when penetrating wrecks to the loose wires and lines throughout. Walls not much compared to Cayman or Coz. Diving the southwest part of the island offers much.

Dive, Dive, Dive, May 1999, Tom Harvey, Hillsdale, NJ. Vis: 50-100 ft. Water: 75 degrees. Dive Dive Dive stopped the credit card surcharge. The villas are like home. The staff is friendly. The diving is either strictly tourist or if you can persuade them to take you to the further out reefs some of the best pristine reefs left. They are world class and as amazing as it seems they are not used, Peleliu & Fiji should be in as good a condition as they are "playpen" South West reef, "Shark Canyon" "Razor Back". There is a conspiracy not to dive or use these reefs to promote travel to more expensive but less beautiful sites. I was told that most divers who visited Grand Bahama did not know the difference between pristine sites and "James Bond" wreck or recently sunk Bahama Defense Force vessel. The operators know that most of their clients are happy enough to have good visibility and do not know enough to demand the better sites. So why spend the extra $45 in fuel to visit them.

Dive, Dive, Dive, June 1999, DocVikingo@aol.com. Located in far SW, 20 min. from Cable Beach, 40" from Paradise Island. Accommodations on site with kitchens/utensils. Nitrox and mixed gas training. Free van service, well maintained rental gear, drying room, drinks/snacks. Two boat well maintained; larger is slow. 2AM and 2PM dives, night dives, excursions to Exuma, AUTEC Buoy & Blue Hole by arrangement. Falls down in several categories: Mixes experience levels of divers and adheres to tight schedule. Go down, stay and come up together according to the weakest diver. Severe problem, exacerbated by crowded boat. 20" minutes into a dive at 50' a newbie needs to surface and I had 2,000 lbs too bad. Many dives ho-hum. Viz modest, water low 80s, coral/sponges not colorful/healthy and marine life sparse. Shark Alley and Shark Feed best, though DM videoing badly damaged coral. Drop to rubble bottom, form semicircle, DM feeds from bucket of fish. 20 female reef sharks, 4-7', shutting eyes and extending teeth before striking. Mating season just ended, some females showed wicked scarring/bite marks. Rudely treated by instructor in charge of tanks and rental equipment. Other operation, Sunskiff, probably best for small groups/unusual sites.

Dive, Dive, Dive, August 1999, Robert LaPeer (greerjoy@pilot.msu.edu), Southfield, MI. Vis: 100-200. Water: 80-90. Sunny, no currents. Let the divemaster know if we planned any dives beyond recreation limits. High quality service. All dive leaders are instructors. They lead with good humor and concern for safety. Sharks even without the shark dive. Eagle rays, barracuda, triggers and angels abundant. Lots of little critters. Divers allowed to dive computer. Never felt rushed or cattle called. Accommodations comfortable and clean. Nassau diving operations are far from town, a car is needed for nightlife and town attractions. Have dove with Stuart Cove's before, and will return to Dive Dive Dive.

Nassau Scuba Center/Sandals Royal, July 1999, Les Alan Levinowitz, Brooklyn, NY. Vis: 40-65 ft. Water: 82 degrees. Shark Suit Adventure two tank dive. I wore 24 lb. chain mail suit with wetsuit, hood, gloves. NSC very safety conscious. Good briefing on what to do if things happen. Sharks all over bumping into me. A few easy bites on the suit. Never felt anxious, threatened, or in danger. Fed them from a 3 ft. pole, where the NSC guy fed them by hand. I wasn't in the video as much as I would have liked. Fun and interesting. About 30-40 sharks on the dive. Great boat and dock staff-fine boat. (Ph: 800-327-8150 or 809-362-1964)

Nassau Scuba Center/Clarion Resort, July 1999, Jack Jackson, Fort Lauderdale, FL. Vis: 80-120 ft, Water: 82-85 degrees. Restrictions in force: 130'. Diving great. Nassau Scuba Center was friendly and professional. Helped when needed and let proficient divers to their own thing. Wall diving, wreck diving, and shark encounters great. Clarion Resort facilities good. Service and food average.

Sandals, July 1999, Les Alan Levinowitz, Brooklyn, NY. Vis: 40-65 ft. Water: 76-81 degrees. Their Newton has been out of the water for two months. Replacement was a satisfactory bottom- of-the-line. H2O, fruit, Oxygen/first aid on board. No showers, head, rinse bucket, camera table onboard. Crew and safety okay, but room for improvement. (P.O. Box 39-CB-13005, Cable Beach, Nassau, Bahamas; telephone: 888-SANDALS or 242-327-6400; fax: 242 327-6961; website www.sandals.com)

Stuart Cove's/South Ocean Beach Resort, March 1999, James Kiernan, Coral Springs, FL. Vis: 100 ft. Water: 74-75 degrees. Great time! Wrecks and reefs were terrific. Food at dining room only so-so, at pool side very good. Service super! Sharks on several dives other than shark dive itself. Shark dive second only to Walker's. Other dives better than Walkers. (Ph: 800-468-9876 or 809-362-4171, Fax: 809-362-4528)

Stuart Cove's/Dive, Dive, Dive/Radisson Cable Beach Hotel, March 1999, Ray Mars, Scaggsville, MD. Vis: 60-80 ft. Water: 72-75. Restrictions: maximum depths and time. Air and water colder than expected; would take full 3mm suit next time. Stuart Cove's great shark dive worth the trip. Otherwise poor service, late pick up at hotel one day, early next day. No Nitrox first day though I'd requested day before. Second day, first two tanks of Nitrox short fills and used 80's with only 2800 in them. . . . DiveDiveDive and better service, more customer oriented. Dove Bond Wrecks; great relaxing dives. Nitrox only 36% but 3200 lbs. Dives were reef top so 36% OK. Both operations had fresh water tanks for cameras. Neither offered food/snacks or pop on boat, only water; DiveDiveDive had head on board. Seas choppy during trip and made entry/exits harder than Cozumel. Both shops about 20 minutes ride from hotel. Radisson nice with all inclusive food and drink package. All restaurants had great food. Hotel right on beach and had nice but cold pools. Service slow. Stuart Cove's has great photography service if you are after pictures of yourself.

Stuart Cove's/Clarion, July 1999, Joseph Weisenfeld, Staten Island, NY. Vis: 50-70 ft, Water: 80-86 degrees. Restrictions: depth, time, e.g., 100', 40 min. Operator disappointing. No safety briefing, nor description of site or what to look for. Divemaster said "If you want to follow me you can, but I'm not going to look for you". Felt rushed after diving to 83', we were told we could go back in after a surface interval of 15 minutes. (We preferred to remain out longer). No amenities on boat except water. Nice variety of coral and fish but felt like we were provided a boat rides rather than guided dives.

Stuart Cove's/Clarion, August 1999, Shirley LaMear, Pacific, MO. Water: 80-82 degrees, Vis: 65-70 ft. Great weekend trip. Corals in sad shape but with all the traffic it's understandable. Hadn't been on a day boat in years! 16 divers but the crew did a great job. Shark dive: Some people scoff at the circus atmosphere but my daughter and I loved it; surrounded by 30 reef sharks during the feeding. As close to a lot of sharks we had ever been. Wreck dive had 6 reef sharks no feeding there. You must see Atlantis and its aquariums! Clarion ocean front rooms were lovely though ac never sufficiently cooled. Nice furnishings. Next door to Stuart Cove's, opposite side of island from Cable Beach. Taking the bus to town from the Clarion was a snap. The 4 of us girls never felt uneasy. Downtown Port Of Call for cruise lines.

San Salvador

Club Med, April 1999, John Foster, Waterford, CT. Vis: 50-150 ft. Restrictions: 130' max. first dive. 500 psi on return to boat. Beautiful 60' dive boats which were crowded when 30 of us dived together. Resort was only half-full in April. The water was a chilly 77-78 degrees; wish I had at least a full 3 mil suit. Having checked out previous Chapbook comments, I was prepared for rudeness by French-speaking GO's and wasn't disappointed. Fortunately, our medical group had English speaking DM's assigned to our boat who were terrific with their briefings, helpfulness and good spirits. As we were an experienced group of divers with computers, the operation was relaxed and the diving went smoothly. Accommodations superior to the neighboring Riding Rock Inn. The food was probably the best I've ever eaten at a Caribbean resort. In addition to great wall diving, I got "up close and personal" with an 8 ft. hammerhead which swam up within 10 ft. of us in the deep blue at 100'! (Ph: 800-258-2633 or 809-331-2000, Fax: 602-948-4562 or 809-331-2458)

Riding Rock Inn, 1999, Romina y Jorge Aza, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Vis: 60-130 ft. Water: 70-75 degrees. Restrictions: Depth: 39 m. Air: >500 PSI. Accommodations on the beach, very nice. Villas a little run down (they do not belong to the hotel, which only administrates them). Take package with meals, otherwise you pay a fortune. Supply ship arrives once a week. Only two other places to eat on the island. Tour on island history interesting. Divemasters Colin, George and Jason great dive buddies, we had a great time. Do not miss Jason's class about fish id and behavior. Exceptional balance between diving freedom and safety. Never had to touch our equipment once arrived. When wind blows from the continent, conditions get worse for 2-3 days. In that case, diving is run from the beach on the east side of the island. (Ph: 800-272-1492 or 954-359-8353, e-mail: ridingrock@aol.com)

Riding Rock Inn, February 1999, D. Demming, (demmingfsc@aol.com) Hudson, OH. Vis: 100-200 ft. Water: 74-76 degrees. Facility needs minor repairs. No screens on most rooms. Marine heads inoperative. Few large fish particularly grouper. Need to protect the reef. Coral looked half dead on most dive sites. Restaurant good; very friendly dive crew.

Riding Rock Inn, February 1999, Richard & Joy Visser, Caledonia, MI. Vis: 100+ ft. Nice place. Clean, comfortable Holiday Inn type rooms with good A/C. Cable TV with 6 channels including HBO. Water in the rooms tastes terrible. Bought bottled water at $2/bottle. Food not bad a choice of 2 entrees. Desserts needed help jello one day, fruit cocktail another. No seconds for big eaters. Nice staff. Resort is peaceful and quiet with the exception of Wed, island "disco night". Be prepared to endure the noise of the band in your room until 1-2 AM. Some of the best wall diving in the Caribbean. Several turtles. Friendly groupers eager to be petted. Stingrays allow you to swim 2-3 feet away. One curious hammerhead swam to within 10 feet, causing a few palpitations. Only 7 people here the entire week (5 divers). Great diving, no crowds, super vis (100+ feet), friendly dive staff. No one screamed when I wandered off alone. Coral in great shape. Some exciting swim throughs at 100-130'. Dive limit of 130' is gently enforced. Sites are near the resort. Easy "on/off" dive boat captained well by Bruce. Oxygen on board. If you fly their shuttle, you'll most likely have to stay in Ft Lauderdale overnight since their plane leaves at 10 AM Saturday. Or you can fly to Miami Sat AM and fly Bahamasair at 3 PM. Leave lots of time for connections. Bahamasair looks upon schedules as rough approximations. Our return flight left two hours late.

Riding Rock Inn, March 1999, Janice Culbertson, Seattle, WA. Water: 74 degrees, Vis: 50-80 ft. only limits were on time of night dive had to be back for dinner. Nice operation, nice rooms, great food, though I still have reservations about the neon green Koolaid. Never touched our gear after set up. Lots of swim thrus and great coral formation. Large turtles, friendly grouper, rays and hammerhead sharks on every dive. Some surge and chop as a storm came through on the first day. Need a wet suit in March. Great wall dives.

Riding Rock Inn, April 1999, Frank Rudy (Frudy@pinnaclehealth.org). AA to Miami, Bahamas Air to San Salvador. Checked our bags all the way thru, and none of our luggage made the Bahamas Air flight. Arrived the next day. I would book my bags thru to the first stop, and then carry them to the Bahamas Air counter to be checked in. Weather ranged from sunny to overcast. Daytime air temp 74-84. Water 78 F. Vis 50 to 100 FT. 130 ft maximum depth and be back on board with 500 PSI. Boat Captain recorded the max. depth for each diver. Good operation, well set up boats. Rinse tank on board for cameras. No Nitrox. We saw a few sharks including one hammerhead. Turtles several dives. Many types of tropical fish but no large schools. Numerous grouper on most dives, many are diver friendly and will approach divers though fish feeding was not allowed. Currents are minimal to non-existent. 3 dives/day, 2 tank/dive leaving at 9AM and a 1 tank at 2PM. One scheduled night dive. No shore diving. Hotel has been renovated and rooms are fine, including the rooms facing the pool. AC worked. Plenty of hot water. Good food. Buffet breakfast. 2 choices for lunch and dinner.

Riding Rock Inn, April 1999, Pat McGuire, M.D., St. Louis, MO. Water: 77-80 degrees, Vis: 100-200 ft. Great dive operation. Jason the dive master is a marine biologist and taught us a lot. The boat Captain, Bruce is a native San Salvadorian and was great. Hammerheads on 2 dives. Riding Rock is clean, not fancy. The food was excellent. Nothing to do but dive.

Riding Rock Inn, May 1999, Debbie Pasich, San Diego, CA. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 74-78 degrees. Dive restrictions: 130' max. back at the boat with 500 psi. Jason and Bruce were efficient, helpful and organized. Effortless diving! Dive with or without divemasters. Several hammerheads, turtles and most tropical fish found in Caribbean. Reef in pretty good shape with little diver damage. Food good and plentiful. Complimentary glass of wine with dinner. Accommodations comfortable, but seemed to be a lack of interest of the Inn's staff. Didn't get our full compliment of bath towels every day. No-see-ums and mosquitoes have hearty appetites! Marine life friendly and healthy, dive operation is great, resort could use some attention.

Riding Rock Inn, June 1999, Ray Mars (MARSRP@AOL.COM), Scaggsville, MD. Vis: 50-80 ft. Water: 85 degrees. Restrictions: Can't exceed 130', 3 & 5 minutes safety stops; back to line with 500#. No amenities for nondivers besides beach. Have a long layover between your San Sal and Miami departures; Bahamas Air was late 2 hours. Saw a hammerhead and 3 turtles in 6 dives. Nice gorgonians and barrel sponges. Great walls and swim throughs though most 100+ feet. Inn was OK and most of staff friendly. Meal choices are limited to one or two items at lunch and dinner. Food tasty, well prepared and portions generous. Well run dive operation. George and Dan are great divemasters. Very willing to work with group. Mosquitoes bad at night due to recent rains. 3 boats one older but still OK. Rides to sites short. Once your tank is set up, crew handles your gear throughout stay. Good briefings on day of arrival.

Riding Rock Inn, June 1999, Tom Maloney, Lyndhurst, NJ. Vis: 80-100 ft. Water: 75-80 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced: Recreational standards. Everything great. Everyone on boat helped one another. Divemaster Dan let you dive your computer. Three great meals a day. (Realize you're on an island). Staff from time of pick-up at airport to check-in, at Bar, dining room were excellent. Weather not good, however.

Riding Rock Inn, June 1999, John & Lee Fedor, Austin, TX. Accommodations are Motel 6 (after upgrade to rooms). Cottages you could rent with 2 bedrooms and kitchen. Food adequate to OK - nothing special, Lee loved the pineapple ice cream. Private charter from Ft. Lauderdale exciting. Watch your luggage weight as space is limited if passenger count is low, its only .50 per pound, if space is tight, it may not go. We arrived after 5 heavy rain days, vis (60-70); saw one hammerhead. Algae covering major sections of the reef. Black tip reef shark, Cudas, decent variety ranging from blackcap basslet to schooling ocean triggerfish. DMs pleasant, hardworking bunch, observant and unobtrusive, willing to assist when needed. Depth loosely enforced if they see ya deep, they may check; deeper 2nd and 3rd dive profiles than most operations. Mosquitoes, no-see-ums obvious, especially at dusk. Maid leaves room door open to service remedied by leaving AC on max with ceiling fan on high you think the staff would realize have em shut the door while cleaning. Some of the best diving camaraderie of all the resorts I've been to.

Riding Rock Inn, August 1999, Jacob Rosenstein, San Francisco, CA. Vis: 50-75 ft, Water: 80-83 degrees. Restrictions: 130 ft. Dive crew helpful, changed tanks, brought them to divers. Rinsed gear. Boat terrific. Large table for cameras. Large rinse bucket for camera/video gear. Smaller rinse bucket would be ideal. Numerous dives through caverns. Some saw schooling hammerheads I wasn't so fortunate. Large hawksbill turtle, big reef shark, tropicals and groupers. Facilities adequate, room with cable TV, pool, great beach. Food got better as week progressed, more fish on the menu. Nondivers need more activities. Dining room needs better air conditioning.

Riding Rock Inn, August 1999, Bonnie & Dick McAtee, Pine, CO. Water: 84-87 degrees, Vis: 50-100ft. Restrictions: 130' limit. One of the easiest, laid back diving locations we've experienced. Dive crew excellent. Once you geared up, that's the last time you handle your equipment. George and Sean were knowledgeable about the sites, once they profiled the dive, you were on your own. The wall has some alga, in certain locations, but soft corals, sponges, and general appearance were wonderful.

Riding Rock Inn, August 1999, Frank & Lynnda Kratovil, Upper Marlboro, MD. Water: 82-85 degrees, Vis: 80-125 ft. Restrictions: 130'. Dive operation excellent. Friendly, help with diving gear and change over for 2nd and third dive. Swim throughs great. Slide shows good; film processing and good dive shop. Beautiful beach and rooms fine. Several excellent. 4th time here.

Riding Rock Inn, August 1999, Mark Bryant, Pensacola, FL. Water: 80-82 degrees, Vis: 50-150 ft. Chris, the dive operation manager, is burnt out, no enthusiasm towards diving or the guests. He passed us numerous times without a smile or greeting. Divemasters, especially Jason, were aloof, unhelpful and smartasses. They just wanted to get the dives over. George was the only one who actually showed us a fish hiding in the recesses. Dan went so fast it was hard to keep up. The boat captain Shawn was friendly, helpful and pleasant. Diving good however it appeared that the area had been overfished. Little life other than hard and soft corals. Should have used Club Med.

Walker's Cay

Walker's Cay, October 1998, John & Sandra Quick, East Grand Rapids, MI. Water: 82 degrees, Vis: 60-75 ft. Only resort on island. Rooms Spartan but clean. Food excellent. Dive personnel fun, friendly and competent. "Shark Rodeo" worth the trip. Did it twice in one week. Nothing to do at night - bring books. Island caters as much to fishermen as divers (if not more). The former group are largely male and raucous (inebriated). Small beach at the end of the runway is lovely and quiet (when planes aren't landing!). Great trip. (Ph: 305- 359-1406, Fax: 305-359-1414)

Walker's Cay, December 1998, Ray Barry, Nokomis, FL. Vis: 75-100+ ft. Water: 75-77 degrees. Great operation. Divemasters Bary, Mark & Levi ensured you had fun. Island is nice. People friendly and accommodating. More shark action than you could imagine. Great photo opps. I recommend to any age or level of experience.

Walker's Cay, May 1999, Jim Jackart (jjackart@atlcom.net) Rome, GA. Vis: 40-60 ft. Water: 77-79 degrees. Water calm. Do your own dive or follow the dm, but be back at arranged time. For average diver, probably back with 1000 psi. Rinse tank for photo equip, but no table. Hotel rooms okay (not fancy but adequate). Use the meal plan since prices were extremely high. Dinner averages around $80/couple. Food very good. Dive shop and boats in excellent shape and well equipped. 3 large boats, sometimes only carrying 2 divers. Shark feeds usually three times per week and go to the site each day. Excellent photo ops during feed, usually sharks just out of arms reach in 35 ft of water. 30 to 40 black tips, reef, and nurse sharks averaging 4 to 7 ft. Other sites are less interesting but some large groupers and barracudas. Most sites are shallow 40 ft hard bottom. This is good for about 3 days but a week would be better spent elsewhere.