Memorial Day Weekend found 27 hardy adventurers lead by Scuba Shack instructor, Peter Katz, in Nassau on New Providence Island, the Bahamas.
Using Orange Hill Beach Inn as our base of operations, the long weekend kicked off Wednesday with a pre-dive briefing poolside with a plethora of empty Kalik bottles to attest to the duration of the not so brief briefing. Dinner was held alfresco at Capriccio’s, where everyone was able to meet their fellow divers (and the two snorkelers).
Thursday dawned bright, sunny and calm – quite the departure from last year. The staff at Stuart Cove’s efficiently registered everyone, assigned us our boat and crew. This year we had an entirely new crew, but our reputation had preceded us and we were treated as royalty. Clee J was captain, Kayla and Ryan served as divemasters, and Vicky was our on board paparazzi.
Together with our 28 people, the boat was rather full, but fortunately with the incredibly calm seas, we were able to spread out and never felt cramped. Diving off New Providence Island did not disappoint, we dove on wrecks, Hollywood sets, walls and shallow reefs. Peter Walden was able to complete his advanced open water course and by the smile on his face, seemed to enjoy it. We saw the usual suspects during our dives: sharks, rays, eels, lionfish, turtles and assorted pretty fish. We were entertained by pods of dolphin during our boat rides to the dive sites.
Our routine after diving included the post dive debrief poolside with the ever present Kalik followed by dinner out at Café Matisse, one of our favorite haunts. Friday night dinner found us at Senor Frog’s where Bobby G. entertained the entire crowd with his diving prowess off the porch railing into the briny. This was followed by karaoke renditions by Craig and Bobby.
Perhaps the highlight of the trip was on Saturday, the off island adventure to Exuma, a two hour boat ride south of New Providence. We left early, had a moment of trepidation when we passed through a small rain storm, but arrived to bright sunshine and calm seas. I was somewhat taken aback when the crew asked me where we were supposed to dive, it was their first trip to Exuma and while they had a basic idea of how it ran, they were relying on me to orchestrate the trip. Fortunately, I chose wisely and we did two dives on the same terrific site. I don’t know what was better, the incredible swim through that we entered at 55 feet and put us out on the wall at 95 feet or the hammerhead shark. Perhaps if you see Kevin Krebsbach or Jimmy Drew who were able to get close and personal with the shark, they will give you an idea of what the diving was like. It was an adventure just getting to the lunch site, but with a little creative boat handling we endeavored to persevere. Needless to say, it was a full day of adventure in the sun, yet a diehard group was able to rally that evening for drinks and appetizers at the renowned Compass Point Resort.
Sunday, our last dive day, found us at Bacardi Reef/Port Nelson wreck where we encountered a resting nurse shark, multiple schooling fish, eels, and a lone octopus out for a walk. The other dives included the Shark Arena, where a number of people were able to find shark’s teeth, and the James Bond Wrecks. We packed a lot of adventure in four days of diving. Sunday night was highlighted by a sumptuous barbeque put together for us by Judy, owner of Orange Hill Beach Inn. An impromptu party with the dive staff of Stuart Cove’s followed in the Orange Hill bar and lounge area. Monday arrived far too quickly and people started heading home. Fortunately, this year, those of us flying American Airlines were not delayed in our return to the States. I am happy to report that our two snorkelers, Tyler and Angela, have vowed to return next year as certified divers after having to endure days on the boat listening to excited divers returning from their exciting visits to the aquatic realm.
