Dive Log

COZUMEL DIVING
Scuba diving in Cozumel is the best in the Caribbean. The last dive I had there included Maricaibo and Barracuda Reef. That was in August, 1997. We stayed at La Ceiba and enjoyed beach diving at the hotel. Del Mar offered great starter dive trips and Deep Blue provided some great advanced diving opportunities. Caballito del Caribe provided great diving the last week in March, 1998. Seas were rougher than usual and the temperature cooler. Most interesting sight was a five foot moray eel out of its hole swimming with the divers. March, 1999: dove with Aldora Divers for three days.Punta Sur was the best dive site we visited. Aldora's steel 120 cf tanks provided lots of bottom time. Aldora has the fastest boats in Cozumel so most time was spent under the water rather that on top. Only problems were that I dove with a new set of novice divers each day and the divemaster was a great guy but new to Cozumel diving. Also, there is now a $2.00/day "donation" to the Cozumel government for "reef protection." It'll be interesting to see how this money is spent. March, 2000: Another great week of diving with Dive with Martin in Cozumel. Martin is located next to the La Ceiba, where we stayed. The wind was unusually strong for the entire week so the farthest we were able to dive was Columbia, perhaps the most interesting dive site in Cozumel. Martin's boats left early, traveled fast, and had great divemasters. March, 2001: We tried something different this year and stayed at the Village Tan Kah. It was a unique and enjoyable experience. Scuba Shack, operated through Village Tan Kah, provided five days of great Cozumel diving. Our divemaster, Servando, led us to sites where eagle rays, sharks, turtles, and eels were abundant. The $2.00 "save the reef" fee is no longer collected: seems the funds were not being spent to protect the reef. September, 2002: Another great week in Cozumel at El Cid La Ceiba (that's right, La Ceiba was sold to El Cid). Well, the first 5 days were spent on the fringe of hurricane Isidore. No cruise ships, no airplanes, no diving (Ugh!). It was fun, however, to walk around San Miguel interacting mostly with the native population. Finally the weather cleared and we dove with Scuba Shack at the San Francisco wall. The current was very strong but Juan, our divemaster, kept the group, two of us, together. Servando took us to Columbia-deep the second day for a wonderful dive: lots of turtles and sharks. The second dive at Paso del Cedral, however, had a strong current: took a lot of effort to stay together. March, 2003: Spent a week in Cozumel at Tan Kah and dove with Scuba Shack. Diving was great, as usual. The first day we were surprised by a tropical storm that showed up without warning. The port was closed for about an hour but not until the dive boats were at their dive sites. All the divemasters were great: Servando, Juan, Raul, and Gustavo. Saw plenty of nurse sharks, eels, turtles, and eagle rays. Visited Tulum just south of the Myan Riviera. Also rented bicycles and enjoyed a self-guided tour of San Migel. FLORIDA KEYS DIVING
The first week in December, 1997, we dove at Looe Key in the Florida Keys. It was about 60 degrees in the air and 75 degrees in the water. The dive was great and was extra special because we were the only boat in an area that is usually over crowded. Underseas, Inc. dive shop is located on Big Pine Key but the dive boat was moored at the Dolphin Marina on Little Torch Key. In April, 1998, we did a wreck dive with SeaClypse Divers in Key West. The Cayman Aggressor at 90 feet and a water temperature of 73 degrees offered a wonderful experience. The shallow dive that followed offered two nurse sharks, 6 feet and 5 feet in length. December 4, 1998: Dove with Subtropic Dive Center to Sand Key and Rock Key. Seas were 5-6 feet and the visibility was at least 12 feet: it was a rough dive! Saw a 5 foot nurse shark, lots of lobster, lots of cuda, and a sea turtle. November 14, 1999: Did a two wreck dive with Captain's Corner Dive Center: Cayman Aggressor and Joe's Tug, what's left of it. The viz was 20-40 feet but we did see a 6' moray eel.

BAHAMAS DIVING
Diving the Bahamas with Sea Safaris on the liveaboard "Barbara L" the week of June 20th, 1998, was fantastic. Starting at Bimini then to the Andros Islands and the Berry's, thirteen of us encountered sharks, eagle rays, wonderful coral formations, and breath taking walls. The Dolphins Scuba Society ogranized the trip through Internet e-mail.Trip log August, 1999: We spent a week at Stella Maris Resort on Long Island in the Bahamas. The diving was great but dive sites were average with the exception of the wall dive at Conception Island. In addition to magnificant coral formations this dive featured 6 to 8 bull sharks. Ohmar, Wesley, and Ducky were great dive masters.Stella Maris Resort is opeated by George and Peter in a most accomodating manner. The Island is sparsley populated and, as my son said, "They're not worried about Y2K here." June, 2000, did a 6 day liveaboard dive trip with Gulf Stream Diver aboard the Gulf stream Eagle. Fourteen of us dove the Northern Bahamas; saw lots of sharks,including a hammerhead shark, eagle rays, pod of dolphins, hawk head turtles, and gigantic lobster. Scrapbook June, 2001, another 6 day liveaboard dive trip with Gulf Stream Diver this time to Cay Sal. Lots of deep dives but the most interesting event was the observation of a "Green Flash" sunset: quite rare, I understand. Scrapbook
SOUTH FLORIDA DIVING
June, 1999, I dove with Adventure Scuba off the Jupiter Inlet. Lots of turtles, sharks, moray eels, and lobster. July, 1999: completed the PADI Enriched Air certification with Blue Planet Dive & Surf in Port St. Lucie. During the Nitrox dive off Juno Beach we saw a group of about 5 sharks, black tail and nurse sharks; one black tail was in a feeding frenzy over a fish.

BONAIRE DIVING
My wife, Alberta, my sons, Rudi and Karl, and I spent the first week in August,1998, diving in Bonaire. In addition to the great diving we enjoyed the donkeys, goats, and iguana that roam freely over the desert-like island. The Plaza Resort Bonaire was our residence and Toucan Diving provided the boat trips and air tanks for shore diving. The reef is only 30 feet from the leeward side of the island providing easy access shore diving. The shore site we liked best was Oil Slick Leap northwest of Kralendijk. Boat dives were off Klein Bonaire, an uninhabited island about a quarter of a mile off shore. There was not much variety in the dive sites where the reef starts at 30 feet and slopes to about 100 feet. Most of the dives are suitable for the novice diver; however, some of the shore dives are difficult to enter. Of special interest was a trip through Washington-Slagbaai National Park giving us a view of the rugged mountain terrain. For the record: we had no difficulty with ALM airline travel; flight attendants were friendly and all luggage arrived safely and on time. BRITISH WEST INDIES DIVING The first week in August, 2000, we took our annual family dive trip at Little Cayman Island. We stayed at the Conch Club and dove with Conch Club Divers. Conch Club Diver's Newton 42' Dive Special boat provided fast travel to the Bloody Bay Wall Marine Park dive sites with a variety of wall dives in 85 degree water. An excelent dive destination and wonderful vacation site: highly recommended.

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS DIVING
This year's family trip in August 2001 was at Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. The Prospect Reef Resort in Roadtown was our home base while we were there. The dive sites were interesting but lacked significant coral formations and lacked fish especially big fish. Baskin-in-the-Sun provided excellent dive support.
Scrapbook

Copyright (c) 2000 Rudy Widman. This document may be freely linked or reproduced provided that: (1) it is quoted in its entirety and with no modifi�cations, (2) proper attribution is given, and (3) this copyright notice is retained.