St. Croix is one of those places that one minute you are baking in the sun, and the next it is pouring down rain. You absolutely do not leave any hatches open when leaving the boat, even if there isn’t a cloud in the sky at the time.
It was a cold and wet Christmas Eve for us.
4:30 Christmas morning was dry, but it was hard to see if there were clouds in the sky.
Sun still wasn’t quite up yet, but there were new water toys to be played with.
Got a new swing for the boom, but there is some debate over whether it is better than the fender swing I usually make for them.
The new sea scooters were a big hit. They are surprisingly fast. Lowe came up once saying, ” I could run over the fish!”
For our first dive together without an instructor along we decided to take it easy and dive the pier. Max depth was only about thirty feet so we were able to spend a good long time down there searching for creatures. We found our seahorse again, as well as some nice fat lobster.
Back at the boat the kids ripped around on the sea scooters while I used up the last of my morning scuba tank on scraping the bottom of the boat. It’s almost a pleasurable job when you don’t have to hold your breath.
Later in the afternoon we took the dinghy over to Butler Bay where the Northwind tug sits on the bottom in about fifty feet. It’s so cool to have things like this all to ourselves. The kids did amazing, and looked like they’d been doing this sort of thing their whole lives.
While we were down there I realized I’d forgotten GoPro cameras need a housing on them below about 33 feet. The buttons would stick down below that, so I’d have to leave the camera sitting on top of the pilothouse whenever I dived to the bottom. Fortunately, it survived the outing.
Hanging out at 15 feet for a few minutes before surfacing after our first wreck dive. We’re all feeling great about our new hobby.
16 Comments on “Underwater Activities”
Awesome! Happy New Year!
Wow! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Bum’s. Those Sublue scooters are going to be game changers for your range and stamina. Well played.
We were just talking about that. They can hold their breathes forever, doing tricks, racing… There hasn’t been a day they haven’t exhausted the batteries on them. That’s a good gift. We couldn’t let Santa get credit for that one – good old parents get all the lovin’ this time.
Happy New Year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! The kids are scuba diving already. How cool. Fabulous pictures also. I wish you all safe travels and good health.
Totally awesome. 🙂
Brilliant! Make sure the kids record each dive in some sort of log book (there are many free ones -see Subsurface), if they continue on it will look amazing when they look back and show when they did their first dives.
They are and got a free PADI one from the dive shop. I’ll print some photos and throw them in there too. Be a fun keepsake.
Pat and Ali,
Been a longtime reader and finally caught up on every post since Day 1. Good on you for raising your kids to see the world and enjoy the ‘small’ (aka meaningful) things in life. Look forward to your posts.
Since you’ve mentioned (and proven to be) environmentally aware, I’d like to make a suggestion. Tank consoles, if not kept close to the body, can drag along sea coral or bottom, damaging or breaking coral. Might I suggest either a) tethering the console to your vests via a big carabiner, or teaching the kids to dive with their elbows at a 90ish degree angle with hands clasped at their stomachs (tucking the the console line between the trunk and their arms) ? Either will help keep the coral from being broken , but the latter also helps one be more streamlined in the water, minimizing air consumption.
Also, in giving back to your family…have you ever considered visiting Belize? Since you liked Honduras, your crew may enjoy Belize City and the small southern coastal towns, including Placencia, Dangriga and Hopkins (the first is pretty discovered nowadays, but is still charming in its own right). Laughing Bird Caye National Park has some great scuba-ing.
Just my 2 cents (and feel free to ignore this advice) as something I’ve picked up along the way during my scuba training.
Thanks, Jen O. Will definitely get the equipment sorted, correct sizing when renting stuff can be a bit tough. But we will definitely keep the console in mind.
Pat and I have been over to Belize and enjoyed it. We skipped it on this boat after Isla Mujeres, Mexico as so many cruisers gave bad reviews about all the rules for clearing in, where you can go, etc. (others love it). We didn’t feel the urge and just keep going by. Maybe when we make it over that way again. https://www.bumfuzzle.com/bumfuzzle-november-2008/
Absolutely, incredible adventures! Ooooh the stories they will tell! Excellent parenting, same same for me and mine. It’s ALL about the experience and memories! Go get’m tiger (s)!
Do you have your own tanks and compressor, or are you hiring equipment at the moment?
It wasn’t a pre-planned thing to get certified, it just happened. So for now, we are just renting. Buying here on island would be expensive. If we find some good deals on used equipment, we will start getting our own gear together.
Very cool diving. Your kids are naturals. This makes my heart happy!
Great pix! I miss diving so much, such fun to tag along with youse!
Happy New Year!