Bill's Bahama Trip

The Following is instructor Bill Straus's Log of his Trip to Cat Island Bahamas. I hope you enjoy it.

Cat Island Bahamas has some of the most diverse reef formations I have ever seen. Our first dive called Coral Gardens was from the beach a short ride from the resort. Max depth was 20 feet and it was a good place for novice divers to get their first experience. From there a short boat ride took us to Hammer Reef max depth of 59 ft. The diverse reef made for excellent exploration as there were plenty of nooks and crannies for creatures to hide.
The Resort owner Waldermar, we called him Val, knows every site inside and out so he was always pointing out stuff. Val is 70 yrs old and all he loves doing is diving. The rest of the dives Canyon, Elfie’s Point, The Blue Hole, and The Anchor, were all along different areas of the Island and all as good as the last. And even though we dove each site on 2 dives we never saw the same part of the reef until our exit, extraordinary! Depths ranged on every dive from reef tops around 40 feet to canyon swim-throughs that let you out on the wall around 100 ft. Greenwood Resort is the kind of small facility that will allow divers to make the decisions on the dives. Val set no time limits and we dove on our schedule not a set one. The dive boat can hold up to 8 divers, there are no bungie racks, so tanks laid on the deck but we never felt cramped, and entries are seated entries. Dinners were always appetizer soup salad fish entrée and desert. Breakfast had some fresh fruit, meats and cheese, cereal, and several menu items like Eggs, French Toast, or Pancakes. Lunch menu was basic sandwiches or burgers. The Bar was an honor bar so if you didn’t watch yourself the bar tab could outdo the cost of the entire trip. Whew, thank God I learned hangovers don’t mix with diving. Cat and Greenwood are exactly what the serious diver who wants peace in the evenings is looking for. Also as Greenwood is not a resort dominated by a lot of dive groups you can bank on Val and his staff being totally committed to your group. The Divemaster Pedro was on top of everything, and Tim, Val’s son was great, he put all my pictures and video on 3 copies of DVD for us to take home. Anna, Val’s wife, asked me the first day if there was any liquor I liked they didn’t have, I said yes Captain Morgan and the next day there were 2 bottles behind the bar. Sadly I could only finish one.
All there is left to say is “God I love this job”

PADI'S SPECIALTY OF THE MONTH, ENRICHED AIR NITROX

Hi All,
Sorry it has been a while since my last post but hey, it's winter but here is whats been going on.
Bill Straus and company just returned from Cat Island in the Bahamas and had a great time. They had great vis and alot of fish to see. I should have some pics from Bill soon and I will post them up.
This Month PADI is featuring the Enriched Air Nitrox course. In this course you will learn how to safely use Enriched Air to allow you to extend your bottom time longer than using Normal Air.
Another words more time to hang out and have fun. For more information on using nitrox or if you want to know when we have classes please give me a shout at the store. My next Nitrox class will be held March 7th at 6:30 PM at the store.
Well that is all the news I have for now.
As always
Safe Diving
Steve D

THE RESULTS!!

Well first of all we would like to thank everyone who voted on our Mini Poll, we had a GREAT turnout of results.

And here are the results:

What type of Specialty are you looking to complete this year?
Answers & Percent:

1. Wreck -7 votes 15%
2. Nitrox -3 votes 7%
3. Night - 6 votes 13%
4. Dry Suit - 7 votes 15%
5. Navigation - 0 votes 0%
6. Underwater Photgraphy -12 votes 26%
7. Underwater Naturalist - 1 votes 2%
8. Deep - 4 votes 9%
9. Search & Recovery - 6 votes 13%

For a total # of votes: 46

As you can see Underwater Photography was the winner!! Remember to sign up for your favorite specialty this spring/summer.

Thanks again for your votes.