Peter Seupel from Aquanauts Grenada prepares his rebreather on the bench of one of his well appointed Newton dive boats. As he and his partner near completion of their gear, he beckons one of his surface support team to the back of the boat. “Get the rebreather checklist,” he asks the young man. Immediately, I feel comforted, noting that he is a diligent role model when it comes to technical diving. The staff member reads off a series of prompts and each diver double checks critical components. I often get a sense of a diving operation from the very first interaction. When an operator asks for my certification card and walks me through their liability forms, then I know that they care about the details. I know that nobody is exempt from the culture of safety. Seeing the owner including himself in that procedure tells me we are going to have a very good day!
We drop onto the BiancaC and quickly descend to her stern to photograph the large propeller. This is a drift dive, so we don’t need to worry about returning in the rather stiff current. We follow Peter to view a large hole in the side of the hull and masts that now lay on the sea floor. The visibility isn’t stellar today, but the BiancaC never disappoints. Her hull is a mosaic of color and texture and you could certainly spend hours just sitting in one place.
Our second dive of the day is on another wreck, the Shakem. We’ve heard that many divers find this to be their favorite site and we’re glad to have a bit more time on this shallower wreck. Schools of butterfly fish and creole wrasse trickle down like rain and I am pursued by a small school that has found an affinity with my feet. The top of the wreck is covered with a red coral that is sprouting white blossoms that look like snow flakes. The intact wreck is in view from stem to stern. Is this visibility is lower than usual, I can’t imagine a perfect day!
When we return to the boat, Joe is sporting the biggest grin of the week. A wreck diver at heart, he gets excited about getting a little rust on his suit.
