May 25-June 1, 2002 "We had our checkout dive at a dive site called 40-foot Point. The visibility was better then we'd ever see here. Without exaggerating, the visibility had to be at least 120 feet. Our divers jumped in and got all the kinks worked out of the gear and the weight adjustments made. We had our second dive of the day here as well. This was a perfect start to a fabulous week. During the afternoon we moved to Taviana's Wall on the west end of Roatan. Mark and Karla spotted a "Stick Crab" also known as an Arrow Crab. All of our divers saw the Ocean triggerfish. We did have one unusual sighting, a dead Thresher shark. This shark, according to our books on board, is abundant in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. But we all saw this one. The tail was 10 feet long and the body was about 12 feet long. Although the book says this shark is considered harmless to man, the corpse was still very intimidating. We moored here for the night and were visited by the resident 6 foot barracuda, named Tweety. The seas were calm and everyone had a restful night after their first day of diving.

On our second day we left Roatan and headed for Turtle Bay off the island of Utila. Here everyone jumped in around 8:30 am. Again the visibility was spectacular. The water temperature was around 81 degrees. Bob and Amy saw an eel. Glenn told us this was a cool wall dive. Karla saw another "Stick" crab. Julie saw many Trumpet Fish. We had a second dive in the morning here and then headed back for Roatan where we moored up at Dan's Wall. Everyone thought this was an excellent dive site as well. Jim, Tim, and Jeff reported Squid, octopus, and a hogfish. Mark and Karla saw octopus, clinging crabs, and lobster. Julie saw a spotted eel out hunting. On Tuesday we headed for the Agila Wreck. This is a wonderfully dual site. Divers can go to 100 feet and venture around the sunken vessel and then come up along a beautiful wall. The reef here is spectacular. There's even a cave divers can explore if they're daring enough. There is a free-swimming eel here that will come out and greet divers. Everyone made it back to the boat with all fingers in tact. For our afternoon dive we headed for Half Moon Bay. This was an exquisite dive site. Sherri and Tony reported 2-spotted drum. Eileen and Kim told us of about 30 butterfly fish all-congregating around a coral head. Julia and Tony saw a yellow-headed jawfish and a turtle on the second dive. Amy also reported a spotted eel. On the night dive Bob reported that all the fish were sleeping. He did manage to see a very awake octopus. Tim told us of octopus and abundant fish. Mark and Karla found a tiger tail anemone.

After a very calm night on the seas again we headed out over open water for the Coco Sea Mounts. Here our divers got to see a large abundance of sea life. Eileen and Kim reported Yellow Coney and a big turtle. Amy saw a nurse shark. Mark and Karla found that big turtle also. Julia was involved in a vicious war with the shampoo. Every time she had her hair rinsed, someone was pouring more on her. Finally she caught on and demanded the culprit unhand the shampoo. Julie told us this was the best dive yet. Tony commented on the large numbers of horse-eyed jacks. Everyone saw the barracuda, Atlantic triggerfish, and Atlantic spades. Glenn reported a stingray on the last dive. For our afternoon dive and night dive we moored up at Toon Town off the island of Cayos Cochinos. The visibility was excellent here and on the night dive lots of creatures were spotted. Eileen and Kim were inked by a school of squid. They also saw many basket stars. Jim, Tim and Jeff reported starfish, big shrimp, sleeping parrotfish, squid, and baby slipper lobster. Mark, Karla, and Niki saw a Manytooth Moray, a starfish, a Fire worm, a large porcupine puffer, a scrawled filefish, and 2 adult drums. This was a wonderful dive and some divers were out for more than an hour.

On Thursday we were back near Roatan at Valley of the Kings. This is the dive site for finding sea horses. Glenn saw mating balloon fish and all our divers saw the yellow sea horse. Tim reported finding a green sea horse. On our second dive here Tim and Jeff rented our scooters and headed out on a wild ride. Before our first afternoon dive there was a small celebration on the dive deck. Karla passed 100 dives, Amy became Nitrox certified, and Jim passed 250 dives. In honor of these outstanding accomplishments, a cake was made out of them. A little birdie told them of the secret plans and before they could be doused with flour, eggs, and beer, they all jumped into the water to foil the plans of the cake decorators! The problem was they all still had to get back on the boat and suit up for the dive. As they climbed the ladder each was sprinkled with ingredients, until the deck was slippery with eggs, and flour. Everyone was a good sport about the festivities and we congratulate them all. We dove at Charlie's Choice and Mark and Karla told us of a puffer fish and large crab. We headed back to Valley of the Kings for our night mooring and remaining dives of the day. Julia and Glenn ventured out on the scooters. Both returned with huge grins on their faces. We think they've counted the exact number of days until Christmas, if you get our drift. After dinner, the buddy slide show and charter video was shown. Everyone had a good time laughing and poking fun at each other. This was a wonderful way to wind down a full day of diving.

Friday morning we had our first dive at Valley of the Kings and then headed to Caribe Point. The frowns began to appear around lunch as everyone realized they must leave paradise and head back to the workplace and routine in just a few days. After we docked, 10 of our guests took a land tour of Roatan. One guest got a massage and a couple of guests just relaxed in the sun. Our wine and cheese party was at 6 pm and we presented certificates and awards to our guests. After the party, a van from Gio's, a local restaurant came and carried everyone off for a night of scrumptious dinning. All guests returned safe and sound. Saturday morning was filled with last minute packing and hugs goodbye. We hope everyone has a safe and speedy trip home. Thank you for spending your week's vacation with us! To all our upcoming divers, hurry down, the diving's GREAT!"

Captains Willard and Niki Newbern