USVI-On-Line

Now that we are back in the real world it is taking longer to get these ready.

At dawn Saturday we took the trek to Low Key one more time. This time we are certified divers. The boat was nearly full. Counting us there were 12 divers. We sailed out to Congo Cay again. This time we got to go with the rest of the group to the more exciting areas. When we were in class we went down to a sandy bottom about 35 feet below the surface. This time we went into a valley that was more than 75 feet deep. Diana went down to a point near the bottom. When she got there the dive master called her back. When we talked about becoming certified, she said that she didn't need to go below 30 or 35 feet because that was all she needed to see. I guess that idea went out the port hole. We took our first diving photos and we need more work in this area. There are some useable shots, but not as many as we should have. I have a lot to learn about getting relaxed and using my air better. I ran low before it was time to go back and had to leave the group early. I got back with air but not as much as I should have had. Diana, on the other hand, is very good at managing her air. She routinely returns more than 1000 psi after each dive. Her water aerobics class is paying off.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/254 ... c8fb81.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3150/254 ... 8a2b63.jpg


Bob took us to Carvel Rock for the second dive or our very short diving career. The Rock is about an acre of surface jutting out of the water to a height of 50 or 75 feet The dive masters chose to hold us on the boat to allow the rest of the group to form up and then bring us in to shorten our time in the water. The water, coral and animal life were spectacular. We shot more photos and got a few more good shots. I seemed to be managing my air better this time. The first 1500 psi lasted for some time. The second half disappeared as though there was a hole in my tank. This, of course, means another early trip back to the boat.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/254 ... 7dae69.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/254 ... 17a551.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/254 ... 57cc6c.jpg

Upon returning to Cruz Bay, we took our cheese and cracker lunch to the park in front of the ferry dock. There were vendors everywhere in the park. We shopped for some gifts to take home and headed to the beach. We settled on Cinnamon Beach. Having never been there, we had more learning to do. The area between the cay and the beach had some good fish shots. The batteries in the underwater camera were worn out. I headed toward the car to get more.

When I got about 3/4 of the way to the parking lot I found that the car key was not in my pocket any longer. I went to the front desk and asked them to help me call Courtesy to bring another key to me. The man at Courtesy said that it will cost $150 to replace it. I had to have the key and had little hope of finding it in the water. So I told him to bring it to me. I then went back to the beach to tell Diana what a stupid thing I just did. I told her where I thought it fell out of my pocket when I put my fins on for the last swim. With nothing else to do and having no idea when they might come, I returned to the front desk to wait. After about 20 minutes, two men from Courtesy showed up with the replacement key. At the same time, Diana came running up from the beach. She found the lost key in the water on the hard, sandy surface of the beach by making a pattern search of the area that I indicated. We thanked the Courtesy men and Cinnamon staff and went back to the beach. This time we clipped the key to a more secure location. The reason the key was so expensive was that there is a computer chip in the key.

Diana made a full lap around Cinnamon Cay. She was gone so long that I considered getting the Coast Guard mobilized before it got dark. While she was out there she saw a Black Tip Shark.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3047/255 ... e4805d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/255 ... 59f65b.jpg

When she finally found the shore, we drove to Cruz Bay, with our found key, and ended up on the Banana Deck. They were out of scallops so we had the double shrimp fettuccini alfredo. Sorry guys, no food porn. We were too hungry to pause for Forum grace. The food was hot. The shrimp were plentiful. And the flavor was terrific. We walked back to the car with the sight of a beautiful sunset. Although it was posted on another thread, here is our last sunset of this trip.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3132/254 ... 7a4e61.jpg

It's travel time tomorrow.

JIM

What an amazing sunset!!!

thanks I have the same problem if I don't dive that often.

Breathtaking sunset!

I'm so jealous of your diving adventure! That's on my short list now.

Thanks for the great reports. Luna Vista is awesome, isn't it?

Thanks Paula. Just to be clear, although I shot the photo I was not responsible for the sunset itself.

Waterguy, can I use one of your water towers to get in some practice time?

Ccasebolt, you are right. Although it is a small villa, the features, location, access and, of course, the hosts made it outstanding. Perhaps I can get a review together this week.

JIM

I do love that sunset. I already stole it from a different post. I enjoyed reading about your diving adventure. I went to Congo last Nov and it was very nice. You have to quit breathing so hard.

Good stuff were going to try Bannna Deck next time seems to get great reviews. Hey just throw those underwaters in Picasa and hit I feel lucky and hit autocolor its like magic WAAALAAA nor more blue hue.

Beautiful sunset! Thanks for the reports.

Loved the trip reports, especially the diving and your thoughts on Low Key.

BTW, you think you've got problems trying to get some diving practice in? Being as close as we are to the mountains, there's not a whole lot of warm water to dive in! Might just have to invest in a drysuit.

Thanks again!

I sympathize with you air consumption challenges. Its hard to relax. I try looking at my watch and timing my breaths. This is extra important since my left ear is so slow. I need to be the first in the water and I'm usually the last out since I get squeezed on the way down and the way up. I'm about at the place where I either need surgery or give up diving.

Cheers, RickG