2000 Chapbook

Antares III,January 1999, Paul J. Weisbroat. 8 other guests on boat. Vessel is in good shape having undergone a recent overhauling; a/c worked great, separate controls in all cabins. Rooms were clean and adequate. Food was good, breakfast and lunch were buffets, dinner was seated and served. Menu's varied from standard American fare to dishes with a Caribbean flare. Crew: a friendly, hard-working group, from the captain to the divemaster Ron, who took extra time to dive with my wife and another rookie diver who weren't up to diving with the rest of us hard cores. Taking them on separate, low stress dives. Very good Caribbean diving. Lots of schools of reef runners, yellowtails, silversides. Reefs were healthy as you would expect (and as you have mentioned) in a marine preserve. There were some nurse and white tip sharks. Not much in the way of macro but there were morays, stingrays, eagle rays, lots of angel fish, groupers, parrotfish. (Ph: 011-58-95-632211, Fax: 011-58-95-617746)

Antares III,February 1998, Mark Walden, Garland, TX. Upper 80's. Water: 76-78 degrees. Current 0-1/2 knot. Used 3 mm with Polartec hood. Vis 25-75'. Soft and hard corals in excellent condition, except black coral that died of high water temperature. Manta, nurse sharks, octopus, southern rays, scorpionfish, turtles, lots of small/medium reef fish. Only saw another dive operation twice. Crew picked up gear at Los Roques airport, transported to boat and set up. Food varied and good. Chase boat easily held 14 divers. Twelve guests max on boat. Alex, Wilmer, David and Fred were friendly hard working and interested in the guests having a good vacation. No E6 processing as advertised. Small camera table used for everything except cameras. On one dive the chase boat briefly returned to Antares. One diver surfaced early and was alone for a while. Timing and scheduling of meals/dives/snacks inconsistent. Hot water almost nonexistent. No fresh water last day. Took anyone who wanted to into town for a shower. Cook left on day two and was replaced on day four. Crew worked hard to take up slack. Los Roques has mobile phone service. Got tired of hearing the phone ring for crew's personal calls. Antares Dancerneeds more cosmetic upgrading. I had a great diving trip.

Antares Dancer III,January 1999, Paul Buddingh (pbuddingh@ieee.org.) Los Roques is hour flight north of Venezuelan, between the Dutch Antilles and Tobago. Consider overnighting in a posada (contact LTA) on this picturesque isle of 800 people. Antaresis a well worn, clean serviceable boat. First voyage as a Peter Hughes boat; rough edges were evident. Mints on the pillow, first class cuisine, extensive photo services and other touches made famous by Peter were absent. Annibal, the divemaster, worked like a horse. I had worst cabin, down next to the engines. AC, private head and shower, ample storage. Adequate place to sleep. Food OK, chef excelled with local cuisine, dessert flans exquisite. American fare less successful. No seafood. Bottled water, coke, gingerale, beer and liquor, juice available only 2 mornings. Diving is drift, off the wooden Barco or tender, deftly handled by Wilbur. Mandatory checkout dive, then Pinnacles, a rock seamount with huge green morays, abundant tropicals and vibrant marine life. 2 meter waves and a strong current. No traveling at night in the Archipelago. Barco requires one to climb a step and turn in full gear before sitting on the gunwale in preparation for a backroll. Many had trouble, especially in the rolling waves. Vis x20-30 ft. Life on reef during the night dive impressive: huge clumps of coral, several versions of the orange cup, large blue and orange parrotfish slept in cocoons, lobsters 3 ft. long. Salt Cay diving impressive. 100 foot vis, a gorgeous reef with larger numbers and sizes that elsewhere in Caribbean. Stingrays swimming, large hawksbill turtle, mini-wall, pocketed with caverns, Mounds of black coral (actually green). Spent remaining 50 minutes at less than 20 feet, norm for the trip. Visited Los Roques Turtle farm. Boca de Cote (mouth of the cut): anchored on sand flats. 10 minute Barco ride to the ocean side of the reef brought best diving. Final 12 dives fabulous. Large stoplight parrotfish prowled the reef, four foot Groupers, barracuda, eagle Rays drifted over the blue, Christmas tree worms were everywhere and not skittish, red File Clams with white tentacles. Drift diving effortless. Pick us up as we surfaced. Reef bottomed out at 120-130 ft with shallows providing 40 minute, 15 foot safety stop in a coral gardens. One night dive hundreds of bonefish surrounded us with their flashing bodies as they zoomed by. Los Roques - typical Caribbean creatures and coral, just bigger and better. (Peter Hughes Diving, Inc.; Phone 800-669-9391 or 800-932-6237; Fax 305-669-9475; e-mail dancer@peterhughes.com; website www.peterhughes.com)

Antares Dancer,February 1999, Scott Kramer, Los Angeles, CA. Vis: 15-40 ft. Water: 77-78 degrees. Restrictions: 100 ft. My 12th live-aboard. Does not live up to Peter Hughes's reputation. While the steel hull boat is stable, it needs serious work. Main salon is spacious and up to date, but uncompleted dark room and too small dive preparation area. Two rooms on the main deck are suite-like, with door to the outside and three windows, but the four cabins below deck were smaller and heavy into mildew (though A/C worked.) The 5 man crew was informal, family-like. Alex, the divemaster fixed problems without being asked. Food a weak point. Breakfast and lunch were buffet with the same simple selections every day. Lots of pasta and salads. Only had fish once (when the cook got sick). They served dinners after the nite dive, once as late as 10:30. All diving from chase boat, with 10-15 minute rides to dive sites. The boat only moved three times during the week, and during the peak diving times. Almost felt land based. Spent two days in the harbor with beer bottles and boat batteries. Lots of little fish, few nurse sharks, no turtles, moray infestation. Lax dive supervision, no real limits. Did seven dives on one reef, every dive seemed the same.

Antares Dancer,February 1999, Pat Orr, Warrington, PA. Vis: 40-50 ft. Water: 78-79 degrees. Water: Choppy, surge. Basically group diving to 100 ft, drift diving. Boat has no real setup for cameras rinse tank an old cooler had a table that could have been used but always had dive gear on it. No photo development Made promises that were not carried out. No company rep to meet us at Caracas airport that left us at the mercy of locals; cost extra money as a local who spoke English took us to the connector flight area unmarked in the main terminal. Boat does not have all the amenities; crew nice; only 2 of 6 spoke English; tried hard to make us comfortable and be of service. Food adequate but lacked variety and quality. Cook not creative. Never had a morning snack, breakfast always cold, eggs are not good cold! I would have liked better sweets. Diving limited by poor vis and cold water. Boat did not move but 3 times the whole week that meant a lot of diving in the same area. Can be a really great area if Peter Hughes listens to divers like us and spends money to bring it up to the level of his other boats.

Antares,March 1999, Diane Nash, Mechanicsville, VA. Vis: 15-50 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. Sunny, windy. Restrictions: depth limits, surface with 500 psi. Photo lab not set up. Diving fantastic. Fish life prolific. Every dive a wonderland. Vis not the best. Size of the angelfish and parrotfish amazing. Free swimming moray on two dives. Room for 12 people. 10 on this trip. Crowded on the tender. Lot of chicken and fish. Sauces made a ho-hum meal tasty. Crew did their best, though they spoke little English. Ron, the Captain and divemaster, dove every dive, although he was chilled. Top divemaster, great congenial guy. For those who like to use a wash cloth to bathe, bring your own.

Antares Dancer,May 1999, Elaine Wachtel, Burlington, C1. Vis: 30-75 ft. Water: 78-80 degrees. Restrictions: 500 psi and no deeper than 130 ft. Peter was in the middle of upgrading it. Chef was an operations person who was on board to make recommendations for upgrading. Diving good, marine life abundant, corals pristine. Found 198 varieties of fish that week as part of a Reef Foundation survey.

Antares Dancer,June 1999, Lenore Neigeborn, NJ. Only 12 divers, so there is plenty of space for everyone. Had a "Master Cabin" (on the Main Deck - there are 2 such cabins) and it was spacious: my husband and I could both dress at the same time! Lots of drawers and cabinets. Plenty of light for reading. Master Cabins have two doors, so you can get cross-ventilation which gives a nice breeze; two windows. All cabins have twin beds or bunk beds and private heads and showers. Some amenities are "old fashioned," e.g. the toilets can't handle much mass. So, the rule is "put nothing into the toilets unless you have eaten it first." Toilet paper must be put in a pail next to the toilet. The princess in me was a little grossed-out, but the basket was emptied regularly - there was never a smell in our bathroom. Some said cabins below (on the Dolphin Deck - there are 4) were more cramped and a little stuffy. All cabins have air conditioning with separate controls. Beds were always made-up before we returned from our first dive and the linens and towels were changed midweek (towels were changed more often if requested). Lots of clean, dry towels on the dive deck. At night, the beds were turned down (a nice touch). Bathrooms clean tiled floors replaced old carpet. Showers were big and there was a soap and shampoo dispenser and a hair-dryer. Dining area/galley/salon had two big tables and a long couch. TV/VCR and stereo and tapes and books. No E6 processing on the boat. Boat wasn't set up well for photographers. Two small tables (with a recharging station) on the dive deck, but they are cluttered with other stuff. No one in our group had a Nikonos setup - if they had, it would have taken up one entire table. Separate rinse tank for cameras. Off this deck the dive platform is used just for boarding the tender. There is a shower here. Sky Deck spacious and had both sun and shade. Big table and chairs in the shade and several chairs and lounges in the sun (they could add more lounges and cushions). Cooler with cold drinks (water, beer and soda). Here dive briefings were held and wet suits were hung and gear was stowed. The wheelhouse was up here too. Food: three hearty meals were sit-down and served by the crew. Food good. Breakfast was eggs any style and (sometimes French toast, pancakes or interesting Venezuelan corn cakes), cereal, toast, fresh tropical juice and strong coffee. Lunch was soup and a main course (chicken, hamburgers, etc.). Dinner was also soup, salad or green-something, and a main course plus dessert. Different good soups at each meal. Plenty of papayas, mangos, oranges, apples, but not fresh vegetables. One night fresh fish (Cero) that had been caught by locals; other nights were chicken, beef or pork. Desserts were underwhelming (Jello in 20 years). They served wine with dinner (night dives were before dinner) and any other cold drink was available (beer, soda, juice, bottled water). Snacks served between dives. No fried food! Several people were seasick, though the seas were unusually calm. I wondered if they were sick from something they ate, they insisted that it was motion. . . .Diving all from a tender (a "real" boat, not an inflatable). Antaresanchors off one of the islands and then the tender takes you to the dive sites - you enter the water right over the site and then do a drift dive (the current varied from nonexistent to moderate). When you surface, you signal the tender and they pick you up. Gear stays in tender all week. After the dives, the tender would pull up alongside the Antaresand they'd refill the tanks from the onboard compressor. Boarding the tender was no problem - getting back on after the dive was a hassle because the main ladder was broken. No place on the tender for cameras, so you hold it or stow it with the fins and weights. Tender rides less than ten minutes. Always a divemaster towing a buoy in the water and it was up to you if you wanted to hang with him. He was pretty good at finding things. With one exception, the dives were the same: a sloping wall starts at 15-25 feet and slopes down to about 180. Most of the activity is above 50 feet - lots of bottom time with the fish, but not much diversity. Giant gorgonians and sea whips that resemble weeping willow trees. Large brain corals and lots of black coral. Spotted and green morays, lobsters, angels, filefish, drums, trunkfish, parrotfish, squirrelfish, more trumpet fish than I've ever seen anywhere, anemones, barracuda, chubs, and sea fans. Occasionally a nurse shark, turtle or eagle ray, often large schools of cero or jacks. One unusual site: pinnacles off Gran Roque. More diversity and fun to circle different pinnacles. No dive was bad. Night dives were usually to a site that had been visited earlier in the day (the Antareswould move in the morning to a new site and stay there for at least one whole day, sometimes longer - each dive site was just another spot along the wall). Most people didn't go on the night dives. The first one was disappointing and maybe it turned everyone off. Also, they were before dinner, which meant 5 dives before 8 PM. Allowed to dive your own profile - no one ever checked on you - stay down as long as you wanted. Most were 50-60 minutes because were pretty shallow. Water in low 80s, visibility around 75 feet. We had one dive with bad visibility - so they moved the boat and that took care of it. At the end of the week, the crew rinsed and dried all of our gear. Ronald and Max were the divemasters/instructors. Ronald gave the briefings and either he or Max came on the dive. Both had a sense of humor and were attentive to our needs. Our dive bag was delayed and the crew lent us some of their gear because it was better than the rental stuff. (Luckily, we had our regulators and computers in our carry-on. Our bag arrived after 3 days - some local fisherman brought it to us). Ronald took care of contacting the mainland to check on our wandering luggage. We weren't charged for the "rental" gear. Jose was the steward and main meal server - he was very funny. Wilmer was the tender captain - his English was weak, but he was eagle-eyed. The chef came out and took a bow now and then, but he spent most of his time in the Galley. All of the crew spoke English, but the guys behind the scenes were less fluent. Everyone was extremely polite and courteous. Diving was easy and the boat was pleasant. Servivensa is a lot cheaper than American, but it took 3 days to get our dive gear and some stuff was missing from our bag when we finally got it. They are now giving us a difficult time about compensating us because we didn't report the loss when we got the bag, which we couldn't do because we were on a boat!.

Antares Dancer,June 1999, Allen & Cathy Williams, San Angelo, TX. Vis: 50-70 ft. Water: 80-84 degrees. Restrictions enforced: asked to end dives at 45 minutes. The corals were beautiful and healthy, completely undamaged. There were an immense variety and numbers of tropical fish; odd-shaped swimmers trunkfish, filefish, cowfish and trumpet fish on every dive. Saw no other divers besides our small group of 12, the maximum passenger capacity. Max, the divemaster and Wilmer, the small tender boat helmsman, were excellent in helping us in and out of rough waters. Jose, the cabin steward of the Antares, bent over backwards to grant our requests. Bad: the tender boat's original ladder had been broken a few weeks before and the substitute ladder was extremely difficult to negotiate. Wind was high, so waves were big and water was choppy and we'd often bob around awhile before tender spotted us. Irregular schedule. Some days we only had two dives. We never knew exactly when we'd be diving next, or if there would be another dive that day. Consequently, meal schedules were haphazard. The boat itself appears clean, but our room (#4) exuded a terrible odor all week, perhaps due to the coffee can sized hole in the planks beneath one of the twin beds. Ice was a luxury, most cold drinks were lukewarm.

Antares Dancer,June 1999, Wyatt Skaggs, Laramie, WY. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 76-80 degrees. Lot of work needs to be done on service and food. Diving is lousy/no fish. Corals in excellent shape. Vis is fair to poor. It is difficult to get to, locals are unfriendly and do not overnight in Caracas. It is unsafe.

Antares Dancer,June 1999, Bryan Turner, Cotati, CA. Vis: 25-100 ft. Water: 80-84 degrees. Restrictions: deepest dive first (120 ft.) progressively shallower, five dives/day max. Boat has problems. Dive tender: first day, the steering broke, second day, it sank overnight. Gear was in the boat. Equipment was spread for miles on the surface. Heavier stuff remained in the boat. I believe my second stage dragged the bottom in the surge because it never worked right the rest of the trip. Crew worked hard to recover the equipment. I lost one fin. Rooms have unpleasant odor. No attention to special meal requests. I wrote vegetarian on the questionnaire and no mention was made of it. Shower plugged up easily. Service not up to Peter Hughes standard. My fourth Peter Hughes trip.