Group at Shark Wall

It didn’t take long to acclimate to the warm weather, the cool pool, and a few cold beers and everyone was on vacation. We followed the tried and true format of great days of diving followed by delightful dinners alfresco at some of Nassau’s premier restaurants.

Diving highlights included a few new wrecks, swim throughs at Tunnel Wall, Hole in the Head, and Eagle Ray Wall (Exuma), and a few Hollywood movie sets. Adrenalin rushes were provided by numerous shark encounters as well as a few eels and rays.

Fortunately, the lionfish population seems to have leveled off. They aren’t gone, but we didn’t count 40 at one dive site as happened in the past. Once again the off island adventure to Exuma was the hit of the trip. The crew; Clee J, Ryan, Allison, Phillip, and photographer Dom worked tirelessly to provide us with a truly incredible experience. They found the swim through we did last year as well as a different wreck for us to dive (complete with sharks, rays, and a turtle).

Kalik time in Exuma

Once we hit Allen Cay, we took the lyrics of the Zac Brown Band’s song to heart and had our “toes in the water, our asses in the sand, nothing on our minds and cold beer in our hands”. Needless to say, our diving was over but the fun didn’t end. Kevin did his best as an iguana wrangler and assured us no animal was injured, but he did have a few scratches for his efforts. After fresh conch salad washed down with cold Kaliks, we reluctantly left the Exumas and had a smooth ride back to New Providence Island.

Our dining experiences included the incredible calamari at Café Matisse followed by an alleged Sean Connery (or his double) sighting in a corner of the garden. It was an unconfirmed sighting and may have been due to too much of the fine wine imbibed. A truly incredible experience was had at Luciano’s. The staff had us set up at three tables under a pergola on the water overlooking the Atlantis Resort. It was a beautiful night, warm with a gentle breeze, with terrific service and delicious food. After two of the tables decided to leave, the wait staff surprised our table with a spontaneous a cappella performance of a number of island tunes. Their performance was topped off with a rendition of the Dollar Dance which got us on our feet and dancing! A truly memorable night for all involved.

Our last night was the traditional Orange Hill barbeque followed by a party for our divers and the Stuart Cove dive staff. As usual, Judy and the Orange Hill kitchen out did themselves and the get together with our old and new friends from Stuart Cove’s was bitter sweet since we were leaving the next day and wouldn’t be diving with them for a while.

And what would a trip to Nassau be without a trip to the Crystal Palace Casino? Although none of us could claim success at the blackjack tables, “Roulette Red”, played in honor of Bobby G., came through for us and helped recoup our losses. Needless to say, another successful trip to Nassau.

The 2011 trip is sold out. If you’re interested in the 2012 trip, ensure you are registered to get our email updates as it will be announced in December 2011.

This custom trip designed by Scuba Shack and Peter ensures you’ll experience the best of Nassau including diving on the southwest side of New Providence (Nassau) with great walls that start at 35 feet and drop – in many locations vertically – to more than 6,000 feet. Again this year will be limited to between 18 and 22 divers which allows Stuart Cove’s operation to provide us their best boat and private bus transportation to and from the dive center each day.

If you’re interested in this trip, ensure you contact Scuba Shack ASAP so we can tell you more and you can ensure your spot is on hold. Call us at (860) 563-0119.

To say you’ll experience the hottest dive and dining spots on the island is an understatement. Peter’s preparation each year includes a personal trip to the island months before the Memorial Day Weekend trip to meet with the dive operator and the staff at Orange Hill to ensure everything is just right. How many dive trip leaders do you know who meets with restaurant owners and managers before the trip to schedule entertainment and ensure your satisfaction? Peter does!

Located in the central Bahamas, the southwest side of Nassau features excellent diving opportunities for every level of diver. With walls starting at 35 to 45 feet and dropping vertically one mile, an advanced diver may cruise the wall at 80 to 100 feet – while novice divers complete open water certification dives at the top of the wall near a recently sunk artificial reef. To fully enjoy this multi-level diving experience, dive computers are required.

Diving along the Tongue of the Ocean is a special experience and we’re certain that you will enjoy the diving diversity offered.

Take advantage of the afternoon Shark Dive. You’ll swim with Caribbean Reef Sharks and watch them feed while experiencing an adrenalin filled rush! A photographer and videographer will be in the water and you can purchase prints at Fin Photo™, Stuart Cove’s full service photo and video center, or purchase them online after your trip from home.

Orange Hill Beach Inn is a family run hotel with 32 rooms. Only 75 steps from the beach, Orange Hill is very comfortable for divers and has been recently renovated. The hotel is conveniently located five minutes from the international airport, 15 minutes from Cable Beach, and 12 minutes from the dive center.

Join group leader Peter Katz, PADI instructor, on this fun adventure back to Nassau. For information, contact Scuba Shack at (860) 563-0119.

Print Information Sheet

Includes:
Top-notch wall diving, wreck diving and beautiful reefs. Great for the novice and advanced diver. The Scuba-Safari to Exuma is included in the price.

Five nights at Orange Hill Beach Inn, all hotel taxes and gratuities, full breakfast each morning. Four days of diving with Stuart Cove’s Dive South Ocean, two boat dives each morning. Tanks, weight, belt and complementary transportation to and from the dive center.

Special Deal:
Nitrox divers can pre-purchase all the Enriched Air Nitrox they need for the entire trip for only $75 when paid and ordered through Scuba Shack in advance.

Package does not include airfare, airport transfers, lunch, dinner, drinks or optional diving.

More airlines then ever are offering service into Nassau’s international airport (NAS) and jet service is available that can put you on the island by 11 a.m.

The trip cost and details are available below, and are subject to change. Keep in mind that this trip has limited space, so book early and don’t miss out!

Rachel sent this great note to Peter after her trip in April, and posted a detailed report on her blog.

Hi Peter!

I passed with flying colors and got the good version of “who trained you?” I think most of my problems during the practice session involved the back style BCD (just not used to it). But I used a jacket for all my training sessions. I LOVE SCUBA!

I had sooooooooooo much fun and it was even more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I am so glad we did the buoyancy exercises on the pool wall during the review. It was so helpful to know you can adjust buoyancy just by breathing differently. I really got the hang of it on my last few dives! It’s amazing how everything you taught us just kind of mentally snaps into place.

My instructor was mad at me because he says I saw more in 3 days than he saw in 100 days of diving. I saw a nurse shark and a moiré eel up close (both were hiding under a ledge—as pointed out by my instructor), I saw a lionfish, tons of huge parrot fish, a lobster, a spotted drum (my favorite) and two turtles! Of course I saw so many different other fish as well…but those were the highlights.

I even went on a deep dive on the last day after being certified. We went to trinity caves and it blew my mind. I wrote all about it on my blog and even gave a shout out to Scuba Shack if you want to check it out.

Thank you so much for the amazing teaching! And I hope to see you back at Scuba Shack for continuing scuba education!!

Take care,
Rach

This custom trip designed by Scuba Shack and Peter ensures you’ll experience the best of Nassau including diving on the southwest side of New Providence (Nassau) with great walls that start at 35 feet and drop – in many locations vertically – to more than 6,000 feet. Again this year will be limited to between 18 and 22 divers which allows Stuart Cove’s operation to provide us their best boat and private bus transportation to and from the dive center each day.

If you’re interested in this trip, ensure you contact Scuba Shack ASAP so we can tell you more and you can ensure your spot is on hold. Call us at (860) 563-0119 or use the form at the bottom of this release!

To say you’ll experience the hottest dive and dining spots on the island is an understatement. Peter’s preparation each year includes a personal trip to the island months before the Memorial Day Weekend trip to meet with the dive operator and the staff at Orange Hill to ensure everything is just right. How many dive trip leaders do you know who meets with restaurant owners and managers before the trip to schedule entertainment and ensure your satisfaction? Peter does!

Located in the central Bahamas, the southwest side of Nassau features excellent diving opportunities for every level of diver. With walls starting at 35 to 45 feet and dropping vertically one mile, an advanced diver may cruise the wall at 80 to 100 feet – while novice divers complete open water certification dives at the top of the wall near a recently sunk artificial reef. To fully enjoy this multi-level diving experience, dive computers are required.

Diving along the Tongue of the Ocean is a special experience and we’re certain that you will enjoy the diving diversity offered.

Take advantage of the afternoon Shark Dive. You’ll swim with Caribbean Reef Sharks and watch them feed while experiencing an adrenalin filled rush! A photographer and videographer will be in the water and you can purchase prints at Fin Photo™, Stuart Cove’s full service photo and video center, or purchase them online after your trip from home.

Orange Hill Beach Inn is a family run hotel with 32 rooms. Only 75 steps from the beach, Orange Hill is very comfortable for divers and has been recently renovated. The hotel is conveniently located five minutes from the international airport, 15 minutes from Cable Beach, and 12 minutes from the dive center.

Join group leader Peter Katz, PADI instructor, on this fun adventure back to Nassau. For information, contact Scuba Shack at (860) 563-0119.

Includes:
Top-notch wall diving, wreck diving and beautiful reefs. Great for the novice and advanced diver.

Five nights at Orange Hill Beach Inn, all hotel taxes and gratuities, full breakfast each morning. Four days of diving with Stuart Cove’s Dive South Ocean, two boat dives each morning. Tanks, weight, belt and complementary transportation to and from the dive center.

Special Deal:
Nitrox divers can pre-purchase all the Enriched Air Nitrox they need for the entire trip for only $67 when paid and ordered through Scuba Shack in advance.

Package does not include airfare, airport transfers, lunch, dinner, drinks or optional diving.

More airlines then ever are offering service into Nassau’s international airport (NAS) and jet service is available that can put you on the island by 11 a.m.

The trip cost and details are available below, and are subject to change. Keep in mind that this trip has limited space, so book early and don’t miss out!

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We were able to try new dive sites such as the BBC’s wreck, Blue Plunder. This year we did dive Hole in the Head and have the pictures to prove it.

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This trip was characterized by juvenile spotted drums, turtles and the ever present lionfish.

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One of our “regular” dive sites, the wreck of the Willaurie, became more interesting with the addition of skeletal remains left by a movie company.

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We were fortunate to have Vivian and Barry back as our crew.

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The Exuma trip was a bit of a trial for our group, but all survived and enjoyed it. All the fun was not limited to the water. We had a great meal at the Marley Resort and Spa surrounded by the memorabilia and music of legendary Bob Marley. I would have to say the “highlight” of the trip had to be the evening at Senor Frog’s. With Craig’s stirring karaoke and Bobby G’s leading the crowd in “YMCA”, the evening was a resounding hit.

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I am happy to report that the hardcore blackjack players did make a dent in the Casino’s bank, with most players leaving the table with more than they started. Roulette Red started out well, but may have been overdone with the Casino scoring numerous consecutive runs of Roulette Black! Sunday night was our barbecue and farewell party with the Stuart Cove dive staff at Orange Hill.

The Three J’s held court in Orange Hill’s bar and although I recall having an adult beverage or two, my bar bill seemed to indicate I treated the entire Island!

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The trip was a resounding success do to a great group of people who really know how to have a good time!

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