Title: Cat Ppalu Trip report Part 1
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Blog Entry: 2008 Cat Ppalu “Cat Girls” Trip Fri. June 6,2008- I met up at the airport with 6 other ladies going on the trip (there where 5 others who we met up with in Nassau)- Rena Schleter (trip organizer), Karen Stenstrom, Barb Brown, Beth Taylor, Terri Cheviar & Trena Fichter. We caught our flight & after a bit of a layover in Chicago, we landed in Nassau about 6pm EST. We met up with the others- Vicki White & her 2 daughters Maria & .There was also Lisa Stephens & Debra Burke. By the time we got to the resort we were staying at it was suppertime. We went to a nearby bar & grill & had a good meal. Afterward ½ went on to the Atlantis Resort & the rest (including myself) went back to our rooms & to bed, worn out. Sat. June7, 2008- Woke up early, got dressed & went to breakfast served at the resort. Met up with Trena & we decided to go on to Atlantis & play at the water park & aquarium. Did a couple slides (no, I didn’t do the big one seen on TV, I’m afraid of heights) & Periodically ran into others in the group & everyone met at 11:00 to catch a taxi & go on to the boat. Once on the boat, we unpacked & the crew took our unused luggage & stored it. The crew Consisted of Des Greyling (captain), Ronnie Wakefield (Engineer/ Captain- in- training)- I had Ronnie as a captain a couple of years ago on a diving sailboat, good to see him again, Stephanie Tester (Dive Master) & Kelsey Grant (cook). We also set up out gear in our assigned spots on the dive deck. Once settled, we ate lunch & the boat launched. In a couple of hours & a couple of safety briefings, we arrived at our first dive site Called Captain Jack’s Reef. It was a shallow, tune- up dive with a maximum depth of 15ft. & bottom time of 50 min. I dove with Vicki & her two daughters on that dive. It was a good dive, but nothing special. After the dive we relaxed for the rest of the day. Sun. June 8, 2008- We got up at 7:00am & ate a good breakfast. Our first dive was Closemon Reef. Another shallow dive with a maximum of 21ft & a bottom time of 71 min. I was with Vicki & her daughters again. Not too bad a dive. Was getting my buoyancy down pat. Got caught in a current after missing the marker to find the boat, low on air & wound up running out trying to get back (I was just below the surface). Wound up having to get a ride back in the dinghy (how embarrassing). The second dive was on Flatrock Reef. The maximum depth was 21ft with a bottom time of 39 min. Trena flooded her camera on this dive, so I let her use mine for the rest of the week (same camera, different strobe) to learn how it works. Also a nice reef. We ate lunch & most everyone went ashore to feed the lizards of Allen’s Caye. I wasn’t feeling very good (headache) & so took a nap instead. Our third dive was Pillar Wall. I went with Rena & Karen because I wanted to do some deep diving. I had a maximum depth of 98ft with a bottom time of 37 min. After that dive we ate supper & motored back to Flatrock Reef for a dusk/ night dive. Very cool to see the day critters go to bed & the night critters to come out. I used my 10 watt HID canister light for the first time & was it bright!!! That dive was a maximum depth of 21 ft for 51 min. Mon. June 9, 2008- Arose again at 7:00 & ate breakfast. The first dive was Blacktip Wall. I dove with Rena & Karen again because I wanted to go deep again. I decided to take my canister light with me & a good thing I did. I was able to peer up under ledges & crevices & see some really cool things. I did a maximum depth of 92ft & a bottom time of 29 minutes. Saw lots of lionfishes. They seem to be everywhere now & are not native to the Caribbean. The second morning dive was the Washing Machine. It’s a little hard to explain. It’s a trench in a narrow channel between 2 islands. When the tides are right, it sets up a strong spiraling current that’s a blast to ride. We went through the current & followed the continuing current as it slowly lessened in intensity. You just drift along with the current, no effort at all. The dive was a maximum depth of 55ft for 45min. That afternoon we stopped at a station in the Exuma Water Reserve Park & I got a t-shirt & hand fed wild finches some sugar from my hand & we reserved the beach & fire pit for a bonfire the next evening. After lunch, we made our third dive of the day on Cracked Head Reef. I had a maximum depth of 71ft for 30 min. Nice dive again. After supper, we made another night dive on ParrotFish Reef. Very cool dive with lots of critters around to see. Did see a HUGE sea turtle swim by. Maximum depth of 21ft for 75 min. ( a record time).
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