Grand Bahama Dolphin Dive Adventure

By Jennifer and Jose Ferreira

I couldn’t believe it when I found out that Patriot Scuba, Jeff and Merial, set up a dive where we could dive with the dolphins. I come from an era where there was a TV show with a wonderful dolphin named “Flipper” that was very popular and it was my favorite as a child. I used to dream of owning my own dolphin one day but the thought never crossed my mind about being in their natural environment and diving in the clear blue water with them.

I had the great privilege of doing just that on our dive trip to the Grand Bahamas. It truly was the most surreal experience I have ever had. We went to the place where the dolphin are trained and cared for by a wonderful staff with UNEXSO. We had a briefing where we learned a little bit of history, the type of research the center performs, how to respect and interact with the dolphins, but most of all the hand signals we needed to know to interact with them on our dive. 

I was truly overwhelmed with the anticipation of diving with this dolphin and felt like a little kid waiting to open her Christmas presents. On our way to the dive site, the boat with the trainers was next to our dive boat and the dolphin (Koholo) was jumping in between the two boats. Once there I couldn’t wait to get into the water and play with Koholo. We all descended and formed a circle on the bottom of the ocean with about 15 ft. between all the divers. 

I remember watching Koholo interact with the other divers and then….it was my turn! I put my hand out in front of me and Koholo swam right up to me and stopped so that I could pet him. He turned his head and looked at me and while I was rubbing him he began closing his eyes just like a puppy does when you scratch them behind the ears. I was so excited I wanted to jump up and down but being that that’s impossible underwater I did a little wiggle dance. I took my regulator out of my mouth and Koholo gave me a kiss right on the mouth, again I did a little wiggle (which is now called my dolphin dance). Then as I lifted off the bottom of the ocean and put my right arm straight out to my side Koholo put his nose in the palm of my hand and spun me around several times. I was doing my dolphin dance all the way down to my resting spot on the bottom. On the video my husband, Jose, was taking you can hear him laughing under water through his regulator in the video. We had some time to swim freely with Koholo once all the divers had a chance to interact with him. He swam amongst us stopping to let us pet him, hug on him, and then he waved good-bye and swam away into to the clear blue.

I want to thank the staff from UNEXSO in Port Lucaya Bay for a wonderful experience and great dives. To my husband Jose for introducing me to scuba diving and experiencing these great adventures together. To our fabulous dive club “Patriot Scuba” (Jeff and Merial) and our fellow dive buddies from this trip, Jeff, JP & Lynda, Lisa, Tom & Wanda, Jeff and Brian, which Jose and I consider to be family. 

A First Ocean Dive Experience - PATRIOT SCUBA’S Grand Bahama Trip

Bahamas Magic – by Lynda Pettigrew

My first ocean dive, my senses are on overload.  My vision narrows to the stern of the boat, and I think to myself, “I have to step off a boat?”  I try to tell myself that it’s no different than the pool.  Hands shaking, heart thudding, I look up and see I am surrounded by people who love me, and have faith in me.

Hands on my mask and regulator, holding my gauge tight, I take my step forward….piece of cake!  Make my way to the line, and with my friend, who happens to be my instructor, we descend.  I look down into the clearest water; I pull down the line, and see my best friend, my husband, and magic waiting for me.  I’m at the end of the line; I add a little air to my BCD, and let go.  I’m astounded by the colorful reef, the reds and purples, awed by the fish….and then we spot what I most wanted to see.  Sitting on the bottom, looking at all of us as he’s taking a rest, a sea turtle.  I was so thrilled, and I knew I was a lucky one.  I saw a turtle my first ocean dive, not many can say that.

We signed up for two special dives.  Our first experience was with a special friend, his name is Koholo, and he’s a dolphin.  Kneeling on the bottom, Koholo swims up and I find myself petting him.  I take my regulator out for a kiss, and then rising off the bottom he’s spinning me around.  What a joy!  Our second experience of the day, I was rather dreading.  Sharks.  My adrenaline level was through the roof, and I was the human statue.  I faced my fear; I came out of the water tooting my own horn.  I came back with plenty of air, I did not freak, and I know have a whole new respect for sharks.  A true life transforming dive, such beautiful creatures.  Bonus, I also won a bet……see you at the lake Virginia!

My week in the Bahamas was nothing short of spectacular, besides missing our daughter.  The UNEXSO shop and staff is top notch!  Last but not least, the Patriot Scuba Gang.  JP, Jeff, Lisa, Jennifer, Jose, Tom, Wanda, Mike, and Brian.  A wonderful group of people, I can’t wait to get in the water with them again.  I can’t wait for my next salt dive, but in the meantime I’ll be at Lake Rawlings.  Come join me!

Getting Into Diving Dry - by Caitlin Hale

Until recently in my diving career my equipment checklist has always been fairly short and simple. But my dive sites have slightly altered these days from the tropical weather and waters of past where neither really affected diving. Now both the water and outside temperature and the weather can be deal breakers for going for a dive. Now weather, unfortunately, I cannot do much about. So if the seas are too high or the wind is too strong, I am a little out of luck. As for the water and outside temperatures, I can do something about that! Just by adding a few things to that checklist and making that change from diving wet to diving dry.  And so add: dry suit (the shop’s hot pink number, you’ll never miss me), thermal undergarments, dry suit hose, hood, gloves, glove liners… the list just about tripled! Now that may seem a bit tedious to some but if you’re like me and would like to be able to dive year round pretty much no matter the water temperature I highly recommend diving dry.

In January of this year I decided to do my first dry suit dive at a local lake to see if I too could take advantage of the better visibility that could be offered by the winter months.  Although the outdoor temperature was very cold, I was fairly comfortable throughout the dive but there were components that I struggled with. It was quite humbling, I thought to myself “wow, that was awesome but I definitely need to work on this!”  I enrolled in the Dry suit specialty course in order to truly maximize my dive when using a dry suit. The course offers the opportunity to gain the knowledge of understanding the physiology and skills to safely don, dive with, doff and store a dry suit.  It also offers the chance to learn dry suit buoyancy skills; dry suit maintenance, storage, and basic repair; and undergarment (fleece or overall-type garments worn under the suit) options. 

My next dry suit dive came in March but this time I was extremely uncomfortable with the cold becoming too extreme for me to complete the dive. It left a lot of questions as to why this had happened.  I am definitely not one to be defeated when it comes to diving, but comfort and warmth are things I will not push the envelope on. I do not wish to become an unsafe diver because I became cold and tired which then affected my making decisions or, an emergency arises and I was forced to deal with it. After consulting with my fellow instructors and my doctor I found some answers/solutions and further understanding of my own body’s physiology. I discovered that being in cold environments I was already predisposed to difficulties as I have Reynaud’s disease (a condition that causes some areas of your body; such as your fingers, toes, the tip of your nose and your ears, to feel numb and cool in response to cold temperatures or stress.) In order to maintain core temperature, the body will standardly first restrict blood flow to the extremities, which manifests itself as cold hands and feet but in my case I have a much lowered tolerance to cold. This highlighted the issue for the need to get the right insulation for the conditions and the diver. Wherein an advantage to the dry suit lies: you can dive dry with an array of undergarments that range in thickness so a diver can match which undergarment to wear based upon them and the conditions they aspire to dive in. Which I think is neat that a person can customize that part based on water temperature and personal needs/conditions. Taking on board my proneness to cold, I armed myself with a new very thick thinsulate undergarment (the DUI Polartec® PowerStretch Pro® Jumpsuit) and successfully completed my dry suit specialty course this past weekend with complete comfort.

May is PADI’s dry suit specialty month! If you too would like to broaden your diving repertoire, sign up for this specialty! As I said to my instructor upon completion “Someone find me some butter because I am toasty!” (Corny I know!)