As we approached the island, my window seat gave me a great view of the coastline.As soon as we got on the boat, Calum got comfortable with captain’s seat on the flying bridge.Calum didn’t take it well when the captain told him that he couldn’t sit there any more.The crew said that they tow this small boat in case of emergencies. Could be, but it sure looks like the boats that the paparazzi use to follow The Dispensibles everywhere we go.Bob M. and Nic watching the island go by as we leave the harbor. the tables are already set for dinner.The Turks & Caicos Explorer II is set up pretty nice for photographers. This is the table that we used to set up and charge our camera gear.Divemaster Kris had some work to do on the first night out.They had low-placed dim lightign on the upper decks, making for great stargazing. The Milky Way was clearly visible, and David pointed out a bunch of constellations.Bob M getting his gear ready before our first dive.Sunday is always formal dive day for The Dispensibles. David and Calum before putting on their gear.Steve reprised the now famous green leisure suit.Nic went full Transylvania Formal, including the cape. The mermaid is Divemaster Jo. It turns out that the Divemasters dress up according to the theme for each dive site. The Dispensibles were right at home!Before each dive, the Divemaster gives a briefing to let everybody know what to expect. The briefings include a map of the bottom like this one.We heard that sharks patrol these waters, so Bob S modified his tank to help him blend in.We didn’t see nearly as many lionfish in Turks & Caicos as we have in the Western Caribbean, but they’re still around.Calum looking quite dapper in his underwater tuxedo.Nick kept the cape and Dracula headgear on for the dive. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any batfish.David’s bathing suit on the formal dive looks almost kilt-like.this Grouper is only a foot or so long, but they get really big.Bob likes to sneak up on barracudas from behind, and pinch their tailfins. It’s funny, as long as you have lots of bandages and Bactine on hand.Shortly after we dropped over the wall on the first dive, we saw our first shark. We saw sharks on pretty much every dive we did all week. Sharks are cool.The first of many turtles that we saw during the week.Jawfish are the grumpy old get-off-my-lawn guys of the sea. If you get too close they switch from giving you dirty looks to backing into their tunnel homes.Squirrelfish, also known as soldier fish, are common all over the caribbean.We dove at the former set of a French TV game show. This structure used to be a huge spherical cage on the ocean floor. A big storm busted it up, but the pieces are still there.One of the wall pieces curves upward at both ends, like a giant skateboard ramp.It’s amazing and pretty cool how the sea life is reclaiming this structure.
Second Day
Steve C pays close attention as the crew instructs us in using the life jackets and lifeboats on our first night on the boat.There was a great sunset as we were sittign down for dinner. David had a seat by the window.Bob was walking down the hallway to his cabin, and the downlights were casting spooky shadows on his face. I told him to “look creepy”. I think he did pretty good.
