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Dive Journal - Paradise Island, Bahamas - Bob and Maureen- May 2011
Paradise Island, Bahamas
By Maureen and Bob Kverek
The first of our 2-tank AM dives was to Sunshine Chute. This was a passage to a wall that went from 40’ to 6,500’. The staff at Stuart Cove’s were very helpful since we told them we were amateurs and the photographer was helping Bob with some advice with his camera. The kids especially enjoyed the dive since this was one of their first real experiences since we just got certified last year. The reef was full of colorful coral and lots of colorful fish. It was amazing how quickly we wandered off to 85’+ and were just mesmerized by everything we saw. I saw a reef shark about 30’ below us and swam a little faster! The water was crystal clear and the dive masters let everyone take their time searching the wall. The boat was full, but I did not feel like we were rushed to get in and out of the water, the more experienced divers went in first and came out last. With the kids, we took our time to make sure everyone was ready and comfortable to go.
The second dive of the 2-tank dives was to the BBC Wreck. This is the wreck that is featured in the BBC Life show that Oprah Winfrey narrated. It was used to show how coral grows on an artificial reef. As the dive master explained, the show actually used computer images to speed up the growth of the coral because as we saw on the dive, there still is not much growing on the wreck. We saw a sea turtle on the surface, but did not see it on the dive. This was our first experience going off on our own since the sand and reef were in a straight line from the boat. We saw lots of colorful fish and coral again at this site and enjoyed the freedom of just sticking in our group of 4 and exploring the shallow reef. The lead dive master went over the dive plan and emergency procedures and there was a dive master in front, one in back, and the photographer was also a dive master.:
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