Summer dive in the Caribbean waters of St. Thomas U.S.V.I.
Saturday July 28, 8AM
Non-Fiction
First mate to the captain aboard the diving vessel "Day Off"
finishes his last passenger call on his check list. Minutes later, the vessel
disembarks away from the exotic dock provided by "Hotel El
Conquistador", Marina Lanais, at the city of Fajardo Puerto Rico.
The frothy six foot vessel and its fifteen crewmembers or more, say fare well to the island of Puerto Rico, the vessels diesel engines start to growl, emotions and feelings start to spur among the passengers.
We headed out on this adventure with Jhony, my scuba instructor from Blue Dolphin Scuba , also there were other diving schools such as Scuba Dogs and Extreme Divers making this voyage. So there was another vessel with us, and it was exactly the same model as ours.
Onboard, it seemed like we all had our minds focused on the same thing. And for some of us, it was certainly a spiritual one, and there was only one thing in hour mind: Diving at two exotic locations that we knew , only could be provided by the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Our first location was an
abandoned shipwreck that leveled at ninety feet deep at the bottom of the ocean
floor, two miles away from the "Porpoise Rocks", and south of the
island of St .Thomas. The second one was a frothy five feet dive; the site was
formed by a coral reef, full of marine life and cave formations.
In order to get in the
mood before the diveS, most of the passengers onboard the vessel socialized
among themselves; also it was a means of collecting valuable information to
prolong their dives in a better and more enjoyable way. For most of them,
sharing their experiences was more than a way of getting self-composed for
their descent; those were moments of sharing intense feelings, feelings that at
some point made them glance at their vests, their masks, and at their fins. Stares
that finished mooring over the ocean waves, stares that at the end, brought
them joy in a breath of ecstasy.
I will start by sharing some moments during my first dive. It was over the shipwreck "Wit Concrete", a gasoline vessel that, according to tales… succumbed to the forces of hurricane Marilyn in 1995. It was a descent that lasted approximately more than half an hour.
"Day Off "was
moored into the shipwreck's hull. So, I went down behind the group using the
anchors rode.
Then, I reached more
depth, of thirty feet approximately. Very focused then, I moved my eyes around
to discover the reality of what I was about to see at this site. Everything was
covered by a great blue color that I will have to call "Power Blue."
It paled everything around the site, then, the three hundred and fifty foot
vessel started to show itself.
Enjoyable visibility at
this site was only clinched when you reached over the fifty foot depth mark. In
addition there was a slight under sea current carrying along some sediment
particles and of course, the three hundred and fifty feet structure. From my
perspective it lied at the abyss; it was sunk at the ninety feet mark on the
ocean's floor. What do we have here? Well, for me, it seemed like a
"Mystery "scene, I felt like I was trespassing an unexplored world.
This experience was very
intense for me, and I can recall that I felt very pleasant being there.
When I reached the forty
feet mark, I had to tighten my grip to the rode, the underwater current pressed
on me again like it did often during the descent, subsequently I stared in the
way of my fins, just to realize that my diving crew was hovering almost like in
a waltz rhythm over the shipwreck's top platform. Small bubbles fled out from
their backs, seeming to look like small pieces of diamonds that swirled their
way up to the surface.
Finally I stared to
visualize more marine life. "I made it ", I said to myself, feeling
more comfortable, “I found life”
After decompressing at
forty five feet, I felt like letting go of the anchors rode, and I did, slowly
glancing over the wreck, I thought for a moment about the importance of wearing
diving gloves.
It was an impressive
experience, it roused in me a feeling of discovery, it was an abandoned
structure rotten by time but rescued by every sort of marine life. Comparing
this dive to a reef spot location, this was a completely different experience.
A whole football field
long or more, that's the wreck's length of three hundred and fifty feet, if you
put it in other words, very exciting. And, as I was floating on top of the
stern (back of the wreck) I also realized that the center of the ship was out
of my site, due to the ocean's deep blue colors. It was a tempting space that
invited you to get into. I decided it wasn't such a good idea to go on to
explore down to the bow (front part of the ship), the bow seemed to disappear
in the blue colors of the abyss.
Slowly I glanced ahead,
sliding into a metal structure that seemed to be a storage room, or maybe it
was the lower part of the ship's commanding post.
I joint my hands under my
belly moving my fins very slowly, almost like in a slow pendulum motion. I
finally glanced out of the room, making it to the outside at the end of the
stern. At this point I could see all the way down on to the vessels propellers
and up to its platform where the dark room lied; maybe it was thirty or forty
five feet in height.
Very calmly, I made my
way to the side of the wreck; maybe I was ten feet away from it, looking at the
size of the ship and gazing over the marine life that covered it, wondering.
It was about at this
moment that I decided to join the group. At this time almost all of us ascended
to the fifteen feet mark, therefore making our required five minutes
decompression stop. All of us at this point grabbed on tight to the anchors
rode, for some moments we battled the slow underwater current that suddenly
made its presence.
Later we were all safely
on board and without any one hurt, we called this dive to an end, and for me,
it was an excellent dive!
Our next diving location
was situated at just one mile from the island of St. Thomas, very different
site when you look at the shipwreck's location; witch was situated two miles
away from shore.
My dive buddy made the
descent at this site, and soon enough we were claiming it as an "Exotic
clear water paradise of color and marine life"
On one location I passed
under a coral reef arch that formed just in front of me. When I made it to the
other side of the arch, my diving buddy was waiting for me, pointing me at some
direction and filled with ecstasy. It was a swirl of bright colored fish that
tumbled from side to side at constant speed; it gave the impression of vibrant
energy and multicolored life. It was very impressive to look at; we stared at
it for minutes. We enjoyed this dive site for a while, about twenty or thirty
minutes.
Diving is great, what a
gratifying day of recreation. Finally we packed our gear without any setbacks,
and without any one getting hurt. It was a really nice moment to end our
submarine adventures for the day, and it was another excellent dive. Then, our
diving vessel journeyed to the island of St. Thomas.
As noon settled on top of us, we went onboard “Day Off” again. Minutes later our vessel made its way in front of the afternoon's sun set, and it was a comfortable voyage as we headed east, just like the waves and the wind did their own thing.
Going back to the diving
experience, I will have to accept the importance of the logistics that involves
having all of the correct gear for a dive like this. Out of this diving
expedition, I also learned very important things such as; verifying that I have
all of my recognition equipment for emergencies; under, and on top of the
water. And no less importat is to practice the ventilation of the expanding air
inside my buoyancy vest, in order that I may not have any unexpected ascensions
to the surface. It was my eight and my ninth dive, so I think it went along
very well for me, although I recognize I can do better for up and coming
expeditions.
Diving is a very exciting
thing to do, and you can enjoy it just as much as you enjoy any other
recreational sport with any other person. The island natives and the underwater
marine world will always be your buddies, preserve them.
License: Open Water Diver
Under Water Photography courtesy of: Ocean sports Divcers
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