Tag Archives: caribbean

wide angle

Have you been to Thunder Dome?

Gallery Leave a comment

Not far off the coast of West Caicos, which is part of Turks and Caicos, is a failed media idea that nevertheless still makes a very interesting dive site. Thunder dome was intended to be an underwater set for a television show that was based on what most scuba instructors would tell you is a fairly dangerous practice; i.e. mixing skin diving with compressed gas. The concept was that contestants would dive down 30 feet to a set which had a bubble system that spilled out pearls. The contestants would gather the pearls and when they needed more air they would go to a “mermaid” with a regulator connected to compressed gas, essentially a scuba system, would take a breath or two and continue collecting pearls. The object was to collect the most pearls and take the fewest hits of compressed gas and that contestant would win the most money. What could go wrong with that? Well, plenty. None of the contestants appear to have been trained scuba divers so presumably they had never heard the number one rule of scuba diving: Don’t hold your breath? Why—- because by breathing compressed gas and changing depth a person risks an over expansion injury; i.e. you could over expand your lungs so much they burst, among other serious injuries. Fortunately, while the production company did make a pilot or two, someone finally woke up to the risks of the project and killed the project. Nevertheless, the production company left the set for Thunder dome where it was in Turks and Caicos. The dome and other set pieces have made an interesting man made reef structure. Thirty years later, the set makes a very interesting site for certified divers.

habitat for fish

While I was exploring the set on scuba, did I look for pearls, yes, but not so much. I figured they would be hard to find and after 30 years had probably been pretty picked over. But there was still plenty to see because in the last thirty years quite a few sponges and corals had claimed the set as their new home.

grunts looking for pearls?

Although Thunder Dome was a failure as a television show, it nonetheless does make for a very interesting dive site to explore. So if you get to Turks and Caicos Thunder Dome is definitely a worthwhile site to dive.

Uncategorized

Have you been to St. Lucia?

Gallery Leave a comment
  • green moray in your face
    green moray in your face

Diving in St. Lucia turned out to be full of surprises. We went in December, 2018 and there were no crowds. We had the reef pretty much to ourselves. We dove with a shop called Scuba Steve’s because we were staying on the north end of the island. I don’t think I have been to any Caribbean island where I have seen as many octopi. On just about every dive I saw at least one octopus and on several dives I saw more than one.

An Octopu Lounging on the colorful reef
An Octopus lounging on the colorful reef

The reef was healthy and exceptionally colorful. You would think that an octopus would be able to do a better job of camouflage than this fellow did, white and brown stands out on these sponges, but it made for a nice contrast for the picture.

Another aspect of the diving in St. Lucia that struck me was the variety of sponges and their incredible colors. There were tons of barrel sponges, vase sponges and tube sponges that added enormous color to the dives.

Tube sponges with diver
Tube sponges with diver

There is only one wreck dive that was available when we were there. Of course we got our wires crossed and we dove it the day I was shooting with a macro lens. I didn’t get any pictures per se of the wreck, but the wreck did provide a healthy environment for a variety of fish and sea critters, (including frog fish) and of course there was the nearly obligatory octopus.

queen angel fish on the wreck
Queen angel fish on the wreck

In the middle of the week we were there we did a tour of the island. We hired a guide who drove us around much of the island, which has a pretty laid back Caribbean vibe. Would I like to go back, yup, it was a very relaxed trip and they do know how to cook.

Delicate vase sponges
British Virgin Islands, wide angle, wreaks

Do you like to dive wrecks?

128 Comments
Airplane wreck in BVI
Although no longer aerodynamic, the airplane wreck is still a hit with divers in the BVI
Although no longer aerodynamic, the airplane wreck is still a hit with divers in the BVI

In the British Virgin Islands there are a number of wreck dives that are available. So why do a wreck dive? One of my reasons is that the wreck often serves as an artificial reef which attracts fish. The wreck also provides good structure for corals and sponges to take hold and grow. At the airplane wreck the fish life is fine, but the sponges that have started to grow on the plane are pretty colorful.

On our most recent trip to the BVI we dove the airplane wreck. It is in relatively shallow water, about 35 feet. When we were there the visibility was pretty poor because a storm had just gone through and stirred up all of the sediment. Nevertheless, for close focus wide angle photo’s the visibility was within acceptable limits as long as you were careful to keep the focus of the shot very tight and close.

In a prior trip to BVI, I was fortunate to dive the RMS Rhone. The Rhone was a packet ship that sank during a late season hurricane. She was thought to be unsinkable just like her sister ship the Titanic. You can read more of what I found on the Rhone in my journal which can be found here:

http://campbelljournal.com/rhone.html

Here is a link to video from the Kittiwake wreck dive:

Uncategorized

The Sea of Abaco

133 Comments

Preserving the creatures of the Sea
Preserving the creatures of the Sea

In the Bahamas is the sea of Abaco. It is surrounded by Little Abaco in part, Great Abaco and several small Cayes. The sea of Abaco is very protected from storms and even when a substantial storm arrived on the last day of our sailing trip, it did not make the water very rough for sailing. Marsh harbor is the largest town in the area and has an airport and a nice harbor. The sea of Abaco is roughly 30 feet deep at its deepest and it appears that most of the diving is done in the “cuts” where water flows in and out of the sea. In the “cuts” the fish life is impressive. One of the fish that we found quite frequently were Nassau groupers.

Although groupers may make great tasting dinners, their stocks are under significant pressure from over fishing. Hopefully, groupers will not go the way of the dinasauers. They are the puppies of the sea, and can be remarkably friendly. Gary, as I referred to this fellow liked my camera and spent several minutes posing.