Bahamas Adventure, April 1995
Nekton Pilot Liveaboard Dive Boat
Nikonos V camera, lenses include 35mm and 15mm Nikonos, single Ikelite Ai strobe, occasional use of Ikelite macro framers and Nikonos closeup system & framer. Fujichrome Velvia 50 and Provia 100 slide film. Dive buddy was always Lori. Lori had always wanted to go on a liveaboard dive boat but I had been so sea sick on a cruise ship once that I was very hesitant. She found an article on the Nekton Pilot liveaboard entitled No More Seasickness and we booked the Bahamas Adventure itinerary for spring holidays. We bought dive computers and took 5mm neoprene wetsuits. I bought a Nikonos V camera system and VHS tapes on how to use it. We caught the boat at the Hard Rock Cafe pier in Miami and had a very rough first night with high waves. I remember hearing a large stack of plates come crashing to the floor the first nights. Our captain was Pete and we would meet long term friends John Sneiderman & Bama on this trip. On our first dive we were both underweighted and couldn’t get down and drifted so far we had to be towed back to the ship. Our second dive was on the shipwrecked Theos and I took my first underwater pictures. We both took our PADI Advanced Diver class and got certifications in night diving, uw photography, and navigation. We did our very first night dives on this trip as well as our first drift dive. We first saw our long time friend the dive site from the wreck of the Hesperus where we would see big sea turtles for years to come. We participated in our first ever organized shark dive. Our memorable last dive was a dusk dive at The Strip where we saw our first scorpion fish and our first free-swimming large green moray eel. My favorite shot of that dive was of a green damsel fish that had been nipping at our fins. We enjoyed Dr. Dave Wilhelm, the marine biologist, who gave excellent lectures, took us on educational dives, and instilled a love for the more unusual tiny reef creatures we would grow to love and photograph. An extremely memorable trip in all respects. I’m glad I have these slides to share!!! /hughClick a photo to view or click first photo to see a slide show.
