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Trip Reports: Cayman Subprise
Bonaire Talk: Trip Reports: Archives: Archives 2000 to 2005: Archives - 2001-11-30 to 2002-09-25: Cayman Subprise
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andy Keely on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 3:55 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I'm a little strapped for time over the next few days. So in the absence of Chapter 15, here's a story for you to choke on your breakfast cornflakes over, that I was fortunate (or maybe unfortunate) enough to have published by our UK "Diver" magazine a couple of years ago. The first prize for this story competition was a ten day trip for two to Manado in Indonesia. I was heartbroken when I was named runner up & given £50!
After getting over the disappointment at coming so close, Marcia & I stumped up the necessary sackful of cash & did the exact same trip anyway.
It was simply wonderful!
I know this isn't the right place, what with it being a Bonaire dedicated site and all, but does anyone object to me posting a few pics of the amazing critters that we saw there?
Anyway, the story...It was entitled CAYMAN SUBPRISE

Marcia and I were nearing the end of a leisurely two weeks holiday on Grand Cayman. We had already packed in over 30 shore dives. Everything on the island was so expensive that we were finding it cheaper to stay in the water. If there had ever been anything there that we could afford to eat, then it had already been consumed by Andy Blackford* on his earlier investigative visit and the locals hadn’t got around to restocking it yet.
The diving was becoming a little tedious now and for a little variety we were spending this one looking for “the submarine”. This was a locally run venture which picked up about 50 tourists from the visiting cruise ships. Took them down to 20 metres and toured the reef for 30 minutes or so before returning them to their ship and picking up the next “load”. The usual 30 metre viz had closed in to only 10 after a day of rough weather and despite hearing the constant drone of the subs engines (which we could hear on every dive) it was nowhere to be seen. We had been in the water for just over an hour and were at least 15 minutes from the shore when I decided that I was going to have to pee before we reached land. I carefully positioned some reef between myself and Marcia (we’ve been married 20 years, but she was carrying a camera!) and gently eased my wetsuit zip down through my jacket straps and weight belt. As relief washed over me I looked up contentedly to see Marcia waving frantically at me over the erg that separated us. Mistakenly believing that she had rumbled me, I hastily turned my back to her. It was a big mistake. Suddenly, I realized why she was waving and her lone camera became the least of my worries. I was exposed to over 20 “snap happy” submarine passengers who were so close that I could almost touch them (or worse). As I reeled backwards from the blinding glare of the photographic onslaught my basic training kicked in. I still can’t believe it ------ I gave them an OK sign!
Thankfully, we were back in England before the next monthly island magazine was released. However, it’s been a slow recovery and there are still times when I struggle to undo my zip, even in my own bathroom.
Every time that I retell the story Marcia gleefully chips in with “Things look bigger underwater!” For some reason I don’t find it even slightly comforting.

*Andy Blackford has a regular humorous column in the magazine.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kay Powers on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 4:15 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

What about the photos?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Sarah on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 9:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Andy, yes, some nice "clean" photos would be appreciated!..S:)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 11:22 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

And who's Andy Blackford?

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Faith M. Senie on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 1:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

After having read that story (wonderful!) I have to ask: just what sort of "amazing critters" do you have pictures of? Especially with Marcia's quote running through my mind... :)

We found the smallest of the submarines on one of our dives in Grand Cayman last January. Unfortunately, both of us had just run out of film! The site was called "Aquarium", and was well-named -- the fish life there was rather impressive, and we'd gone wacko clicking shots. Just as the film runs out, out pops this giant bubble with yellow tail! The passengers were inside the bubble, the driver was in full scuba gear on the outside, riding the tail like a motorcycle -- rather bizarre to watch, but it seemed to work quite well. He had full face mask with communications gear, so that he could talk with his passengers and do the tour guide thing...


Faith

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brian on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 1:21 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Andy

At least you had a good chance that the people on the sub would'nt have macro :-}

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cynde Lee on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 3:28 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

andy, i have come up with yet another nickname for you, however i won't even go there! Another pee story from losepants...and marcia is correct, things do APPEAR larger underwater...maybe that is why everyone was snapping thier flashes with such a frenzy...hadn't seen anything quite like it before (did i really type that?)...suffice to say that you probably are the 3rd best diver in the world if you can actually manage to get your wetsuit down and weight belt off while at 80 feet and then manage to get it all back on...that would be one for the training videos i believe...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carole Baker on Sunday, December 30, 2001 - 11:40 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Twenty Thousand Leagues Beneath the Sea.....what a sight to see, I'm sure! You're right about the prices on Grand Cayman, too....just a tad expensive one might say. Even a bucket of the KFC was outrageously priced. Thank goodness Joe and I didn't drink...the cocktails were wildly expensive, too...the folks with us were spending more in their dinner wines than the four of us on the actual meal! Loved the raw oysters at the little place on the main drag right near the Hyatt Regency. Looked like a double-decker bus...can anyone pin down the name?

I'll bet you still hear those submarines engines running thru your head, eh Andy?! Carole

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andy Keely on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 4:06 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I wish Jake!
I'm not certain Faith, but I think the little sub you mention goes really deep & the highlight of the "dive" is the sight of a brand new (well it was at the time it fell in) VW Beetle lying in 1000 or so feet of water having fallen off the ship that was carrying it, or maybe went down with it, whilst being delivered to the island. The diver with the coms equipment is simply there for support when the sub returns to the surface, when he aids it's recovery. I think it is towed on the surface back to "port". (I'm guessing over the details here & doubtless one of you will know the full story & tell it better than me)
No Cynde...I'm afraid that they were flashing with "such a frenzy" as you put it because they felt they might need to run off half a roll of film to be sure of "catching" it. A little like trying to film a pigmy sea horse on a fan coral...you feel sure it's in the viewfinder but you still can't be certain.
However....had I been fortunate enough to be as well endowed as Martin, it would have been unecessary to undo the zip. Simply rolling down his wetsuit neck seal would suffice!
Where has he got to again, bless him?
I'll try & find up a pic or two later today.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andy Keely on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 9:21 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

OK....Iv'e found a few pics taken on that fateful day of revelations.
I'm sure that knowing my modest & retiring personality as you do, you'll understand my reluctance to post any of the "over exposed" shots.
As mentioned in the story, you'll see that the viz was very poor...thank the Lord!!

sub a sub b sub c sub d sub e sub f

I'll post some Indonesian sub-aqua shots tomorrow, which will bring back far happier memories to me than the above!

Happy New Year to you all!

Andy & Marcia

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daniel Senie on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 11:17 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Andy,

You're thinking of one of the other subs. There are several on GC. The one Faith talked about goes to around 60 feet at the deepest. It's got a lexan sphere in which two passengers ride, and a motorcycle seat out back where the driver rides wet.

The passengers can be given control to drive if they want to, and if the driver wants (though he can switch that off in an instant).

The sub has two tenders on the surface. One of them runs clients back/forth to hotels on 7 mile beach, and the other manages the sub. They seemed to be doing a good business.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Andy Keely on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 3:34 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for that Daniel. Any more info on the one that I vaguely recall?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Carole Baker on Monday, December 31, 2001 - 8:31 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Pretty large sub, Andy! If there weren't a diver in the foreground of the pic, I never would have guessed the sub to be so large....the SUB, Andy, the SUB!

PS I remembered the name of the GC restaurant after I logged off....it was Decker's, of course! Carole

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Daniel Senie on Tuesday, January 1, 2002 - 12:08 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Andy,

The one you're thinking of is a 3 person deep sub. They can take that one down past 1000 feet. It holds the pilot and two passengers. Locals on the island told us there's a waiting list for locals who want to go... if there's only a single passenger, a local can fill the other spot at a much-reduced rate. Nice touch. Sounded like the dive masters were all on the waiting list.

The fellow who owns our local dive shop took a dive in this sub a few years ago, and had some great pictures. There are some wrecks that sub visits, and of course the marine life at 1000 feet is quite different.

 


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