After stowing my gear in a very small berth in the bow of the boat, the dive group went to the evening BBQ at the other end of the marina. Menu was hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken with coleslaw and three-bean salad. Kirk, the Sea Safaris organizer, was the cook.

Anticipating departure at midnight, we were informed that the boat would not depart until daybreak. Seems the Captain didn't want to risk navigating a "changing channel" at night.

All members of the dive party arrived by 11:30 p.m. and the Captain gave us the "rules of the boat." Captain Joe Schanze assigned watch duties and explained that the boat cruised easily at 7 knots.  Watch duty was a time assigned to each diver to "steer" the boat.

It took awhile to get to sleep. I shared the berth with Jamie, a tool and die maker from Canada. The A/C didn't work and the engine odor was heavy. However, sleep was good once I fell asleep.

At daybreak the engines were "roaring." It took about one hour to get out of the Intercoastal waterway. The boat sped up to a maximum speed of 8 knots in open water. One could easily understand the captain's comment that the boat could cruise forever at 8 knots: extremely slow. 

The ETA for Bimini was around 2:00 p.m. Everybody was anxious to get into the water. All-in-all the entire group was very cordial and interested in diving.

The Miami shoreline finally vanished over the horizon. The tranquillity of the gentle breeze was abruptly invaded by loud, garish, noise of Jimmy Buffet blaring over the boat's P.A. system.

We arrived at Bimini around 3:00 p.m. and dove at Turtle Rocks and Moray Alley reefs and did a night dive at Turtle Rocks off a coral island south of Bimini.

Monday morning we did two dives and prepared for customs at Cat Cay. Prior to the dives, however, Captain Joe informed us that the boat's generator was broken and we had several options. We could spend the rest of the trip at Bimini so we could dock at night and use the marina facilities, abort the trip and return to Miami, or, dock at Cat Cay and dive there. The entire group was about to rebel against the captain. During the second dive, however, Captain Joe and Brent, the first mate, were able to fix the problem. Now the options were more desirable: along with those presented earlier the trip to Andros was now possible. This what want the group wanted to do. The captain avoided a mutiny! This meant we would have to travel all night since the Andros islands are about 100 miles southeast of Bimini. 

The next item was to get through the Bahamas customs. We docked at Cat Cay and the captain took our passports and $15.00 each to the Bahamas Customs agent. We had an opportunity to walk around for awhile. Cat Cay is devoted to the wealthy. There was nothing to see or do. The island is about 5 miles long and maybe a half-mile wide at its widest point. I tried to call home but was unable to get the phone to work.

The evening dive was at Victory Reef. It was the best dive site yet; similar to Cozumel's Palancar Reef. The surface current was extremely strong: it took significant effort to get to the reef but worth everything.

Tasks were assigned to everyone by the captain. My job, along with three others, was to fill the tanks after each dive (the most important job.) Everyone was assigned a turn at the helm. My time was from 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. After my turn at the helm and a good night's sleep, we dove at several sites "discovered" by Captain Joe. The first and third dives were ok but the second dive was a wall, which was magnificent.  

The third stop was to snorkel at Patdi (Live) Barries reef off the Jolter's, uninhabited islands. We saw an Eagle ray with about a seven-foot wing span. He (?) swam around us in a circle and took off.

We arrived at Morgan's Bluff on the north tip of Andros Island at around 7:00 p.m. There is nothing at Morgan's Bluff except a protected harbor, where we spent the night, and a bar on land. Plans were to start at daybreak tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. 

I did not go ashore with the group. Dennis (the preacher) and I decided to "camp out" on the top deck of the boat. Everything went as planned until about midnight when it started to pour rain. So, after moving inside, I finally got to sleep.

In the morning Captain Joe informed us that we were in trouble: out of fresh water! So, no more drinking water and no more showers. The plan: we would have to cancel the morning dives so we could make it to the Berry Islands to get water. Just so happened, however, that the Nassau "Water Boat" was filling up with fresh water just next to our boat. Captain Joe asked Brent to take the dinghy over and see if they'd be willing to give us some fresh water. Turned out they could and both the drinking water and shower water were replenished. Captain Joe then explained to us that it's "life or death" on the open seas.

We did two dives at Andros and traveled three hours to Whale Cay at the southern most tip of the Berry Islands. The wall dive included a shark encounter plus a 155 foot dive. We swam on the surface of the water to the wall since the boat anchored in shallower water. We dropped to the 90-foot bottom and swam to the wall to 155 feet. Returning to the ship was challenging, but all arrived safely.

Brent informed us that he was running low on food. This trip got more interesting every day!

Dan and Joy were upset because Kirk said a cellular phone would be available to Captain Joe to make contact with him (Kirk) every day. Captain Joe had no phone and no idea that he should have one. That's when he gave us another speech concerning the meaning of a "bare boat," of which this was. A bare boat has nothing except fuel: Kirk or the passengers must supply all other items. So, it was Kirk's fault that we had on phone.

Plan was to dive at Shark Reef again in the morning since everyone was impressed by the night dive. We dove at Shark Reef and four other dive sites that day  (Thursday) before heading back to Bimini.

We awoke in the water facing Cat Cay and did three dives in Bimini. That evening we docked in Alice Town and had supper at the Red Lion. Best conch I've ever had! We left Bimini at midnight for Miami.

I did the 3:00-4:30 shift at the helm and we arrived in Miami at 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning, got fuel, and reached Pelican Marina at 10:00 a.m. 

This was with out a doubt a wonderful dive experience! A few snags here and there but Captain Joe and Brent provided us with a great time. The dive team got along remarkably well considering this was the first time any of had met each other. It was a week of no nonsense diving. I would recommend the Sea Safaris Bahamas trip to any serious diver.