Utila Trip

Southeastern Divers, Inc.

908-A Bob Wallace Ave. Huntsville Alabama 35801 - Phone: 256-536-8404

"Training the best divers in North Alabama since 1980."

Maria Collins - PADI IDC Staff Instructor

The Utila Adventure!

Early on the morning of December 3^rd 2009, Steve Shickles, Ronda Shickles, Wes Collins, and I started on our journey to Utila Honduras. We were on a mission to not only create memorable experiences, but we also had diving missions to accomplish!

The adventure began with a one night stay in the gorgeous San Pedro Sula Intercontinental. This was not any regular hotel stay as the place was teaming with armed guards…yes armed guards! You see, the newly elected Honduras president was making a speech on the morning of December 4^th, so security was in high tide. We ate breakfast while commenting on the automatic weapons surrounding our otherwise peaceful setting for breakfast. After breakfast we made our way to the airport where we were greeted by Utila Aggressor staff and were promptly whisked away on our private charter flight to the island of Utila. Steve was our co-pilot for the flight!

Forty minutes and a few gusts of wind later, we arrived on Utila and made a mad dash to the Aggressor. We boarded the boat, set up our gear, ate a nice meal, and got settled into our cabins for a week of diving. There was a quaint group of seven divers aboard for the week, so our group of four had one half of the dive deck to ourselves

Sunday morning our official diving mission had begun! Ronda, Wes, and Steve started on their quest of becoming Master Scuba Divers while Steve also pursued his Divemaster certification. We stepped off the boat onto Blackish point dive site which is famous for its beautiful caverns and overhangs. The visibility was good which allowed us to spot Lion fish, Scrawled Filefish, Spotted Drum fish, and Queen Triggerfish.

At Ted’s Point we checked out the Rojan Wreck then continued on to find Bar Jacks, Quilfin Blenny, Yellowhead Jawfish, and a free swimming Green Moray. The Halliburton wreck became the focus of Steve and Ronda’s Divemaster mapping project….Whoohooo! Ronda found a bike on the wreck and took it for a spin which gave us another wreck to check out! (Pictures coming soon on WeScuba2.com!)

Through the week we ventured out for Drift, Night, Wreck, and Deep dives making the Master Scuba Diver rating well within reach! Steve, Ronda, and I took turns playing a few timed games of Tic Tac Toe at ~97 feet before spotting a seahorse clinging to the deepest part of the wall! Divemaster Sasha took some breathtaking shots of Steve and the seahorse! We also saw some Porcupine Puffer fish, a few larger snappers, and a scorpion fish.

Wondrous Wednesday started with some Caribbean reef Shark action at Cara a Cara, this dive is an adrenaline packed adventure with approximately ten large Sharks zipping in between us. It was a wonderful experience to see these slick beasts that rule the ocean in their natural habitat. The sharks gave each of us an opportunity to have close encounters while we were amazed at how gracefully they glide through the water. Luckily for Steve, none of the sharks were attracted to the remnants of peanut butter in his dive boot. Well all I can say is that he started it;>)

Next up was Mary’s Place which is another special dive as there are some excellent tight canyons to explore which go right down to over a hundred feet, swimming around the pinnacles are just so pretty, lots of marine life here including Glassy Sweepers, Blue Tangs, and Indigo Hamlets. There were multiple areas that gave us opportunities to swim through the canyon reefs.

The wreck of the Aguila was our first stop on Thursday; this is the premium wreck of the Bay Islands and lies in pieces at around a hundred feet. We took a little food with us to feed the Black Groupers who live on the wreck. The grouper would actually let you pet them! There were large Dog Snappers with menacing looking teeth, so we left the feeding to the Aggressor professionals! The highlight of the dive was a friendly Green Moray that we captured great video (WeScuba2.com) of the moray checking out Wes’ and Steve’s dive gear and giving me a goodbye kiss! Awesome! This dive day was topped off with Steve achieving his Divemaster rating and I made him a cake to celebrate! Yep, a couple of eggs, flour, and chocolate sauce atop his head made him a nice cake! (Video will be on WeScuba2.com)

Although they were not made into cakes, Ronda and Wes completed their Master Scuba Diver ratings! Hmmm, seems like they unfairly escaped the cake event somehow but there are always future trips like the May Cayman Aggressor!!!!

In summary, I would like to formally congratulate Steve Shickles for achieving Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver, and Ronda Shickles and Wes Collins for achieving Master Scuba Diver! Please join me in congratulating these divers for successfully completing their dive missions the next time you see them! This trip was a true adventure with a lot of laughs and accomplishments. I can hardly wait for the May 2010 Cayman trip…..so many boots and peanut butter with a week of time…haha! Just poking! Finally, I would like to thank everyone for taking time to read this article and I look forward to diving with you in the future!

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