Article Author:

Captain Rob
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

We don’t exclusively dive here at Rainbow Reef. We have about 100 divers for every one snorkeler that comes through. Even though it’s a Dive Center, we still try to accommodate families who have some members who are not yet divers. The typical case is Dad and 1 of the kids is a certified diver, and Mom and one of the other kids are not. On our shallow trips to places like Molasses Reef, when we have a family like this, we take the non-certified divers along so they can snorkel while the rest of the family dives. Of course, they are always welcome to take the Discover Scuba class and try diving, but as hard as it is to admit, belive it or not, diving is not for everyone?! So our snorkelers/non-divers enjoy the fish and the reef from the surface.

Overall, today was a nice day. No seas or waves, no current and very light winds. Visibility was good, but not great. Everyone had a great time as you can see from the pictures, and many of our snorkelers were so busy in the water, they were worn out for the ride home! The snorkelers got to see lots of critters and when a chocolate chip cookie accidentally fell over board, the snorkelers were treated to s fish feeding frenzy that featured Bermuda Chubs and Sargeant Majors. Thanks for coming out with us, and we hope you enjoy your pictures.

Article Author:

Captain Rob
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

Hello from Molasses Reef on board the Tropical Voyager!

We’ve got some nice conditions out here today. No current, almost no wind, which of course makes for flat seas, and the visibility continues to rebound after that near miss by Hurricane Ernesto. We had our friends from Team Divers (George and Mel Yates, along with Mike Pemberton) out with us again this weekend. As usual they were conducting some open water classes, but they also had some DiveMasters doing some training. The DiveMaster candidates had the pleasure of doing a half mile swim from outside the reef back to where we parked the boat! I was tired just watching. We had a Jr. Open water diver doing some checkout dives today with Instructor Bill. He’s doing a great job and we’ll pass on some congratulations tomorrow when he’s officially certified.

If you didn’t know, September is a great time of year to dive. It’s the beginning of the off-season, so the hotel rates drop like a rock, and the crowds on the boats and in town really thin out. A lot of people are afraid of the hurricane season and don’t come down here in September and October. For the ones willing to take the risk, they are rewarded with some of the best conditions we get all year. The air cools off so it’s not super summer hot, and the water still stays about 83 degrees. The news stations pretty much sensationalize hurricanes with the coverage, but overall, the chances of one directly hitting us while you are here are pretty low.

As you can see from the pictures below, it’s September and the diving is great! Hope to see you on board soon!

Article Author:

Captain Rob
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

Hello everyone!

We have the Sea Ventures Dive Center group with us all weekend and we’ve been so busy, this is the first chance to update you, live (well, sort of) from the Spiegel Grove. They had 6 divers doing certification dives on the previous two days so once that was done, it was off to the wrecks! So today we did the Spiegel Grove with them, and tonight they are going to visit Snapper Ledge for the night dive! Tomorrow morning it’s a trip to the wreck of the Duane before they blast off for Atlanta again, so we’ll be sure to bring you the action from there, so be sure to check back in.

As far as dive conditions, well, all things considered it’s been pretty good… considering we had Ernesto blowing by just a couple of days ago. This afternoon we had 2 and 3 foot waves, and someone forgot to turn off the current machine, so the divers had to contend with a bit of that. They all did a great job though! Visibility has been below average thanks to Ernesto and it’s slowly coming back.

See you tomorrow! Hope to have a video for you from the Duane!

Article Author:

Captain Rob
Master Scuba Diver Trainer

Hey everyone! Another great day out on the reef brings you another great reef report! The pictures today are from the Tropical Explorer with a crew of me (Captain Rob) and David (1st Mate) along with Kevin who was teaching a Discover Scuba Class and D.J. who was the Divemaster. D.J. brought the digital video camera along again so he will probably post a movie later tonight, so check back! Big hello goes out to Terry and Keith McCammon who are return customers and doing a lot of diving with Instructor Bill. This afternoon we took a trip out to the Winch Hole, and Sand Bottom Cave. Along for the ride in was D.J.’s old friend Paolo Buonfante, who brought a few of his friends from Milan, Italy for the Discover Scuba Diving Class! Ciao! We also had Captain Doug back on board finishing the Open Water Certification class he started yesterday. Big hello to David, Marlene, Christine, Erica, Pedro and Lee. Congratulations on your new certifications, we hope to see you back for Advanced Open Water!! We had a great time, and if you are reading this, wish you were here!

Dateline: 10:30pm EDT—> Here is the Video of the DAY!!! CLICK HERE!(Requires RealPlayer)