Fluffy Cat Dives Tobago
by
Robert Keeney
Copyright © October 2000

Meow......! I am a very fluffy kitty. My master is a dive instructor. I was his first certification. All those fish to chase...yummm... We have many underwater adventures. He brought me along to Tobago. He wanted to...

• Research accommodations suitable for his clients' preferences,
• Research Dive Operators who best match his clients' experience levels and preferences,
• Research Dive Sites in both the Speyside and Crown Point areas,
• Certify PADI OW Referral dives for two clients,
• Become familiar with Tobago's offerings—food, sights, environment.
• [I wanted to check out the fish. And a forest filled with birds!]

We flew BWIA Miami-Tobago. We were supposed to fly directly, but BWIA never phoned us they had changed schedules. We could have made connections on their earlier flight to Trinidad. Ssssssss...t! They put us up overnight in Trinidad, but we lost a dive day!

His clients, on their return trip flew American. They spent a day in the Puerto Rican airport because American's plane fell apart. American didn't have any spare parts available! He feels BWIA had made a tremendous leap forward in service, personnel attitude and scheduling since their privatization. Our direct flight back was within schedule parameters and they didn't ding up our luggage! My cat litter arrived intact.

Le Grand Courlan Resort and Spa

We stayed at Le Grand Courlan Resort and Spa overlooking the ocean—a beautiful, fairly new property with pool, fitness center and a spa. I don't dive after having spicy cuisine or on a full stomach. I found their continental breakfast buffet quite adequate with ham, cheese, bread, juice, fruit and coffee, tea or hot chocolate. But it was the same every morning! No fish. No birds.

Explore the Land and Restaurants

He rented a car. I lounged on the dashboard and watched for birds. Freedom to explore in our own time frame! Two words about driving a car on Tobago— "Take care!" As in many other British influenced locales, drive on the left side of the road. However, all roads, with exception of the highway near Scarborough, are one narrow lane in either direction with no centerline. Many areas have high curbs along the edge. In order to buy groceries from the many roadside stores, or just have a chat with a friend, Tobagonians stop in the lane. Be very careful when you pass them. Watch for oncoming traffic. It is amazing this system works. I can always tell when his stress levels rise too high—he signals his turns with the windshield wiper lever. And I help out.

Airline scheduling!—flights depart early-morning—we could not do a morning dive the day before, so offgassed by driving around most of Tobago's perimeter. The driveway-wide highway made many 90+deg. turns up and down short hills. We constantly watched for oncoming vehicles. He pushed his defensive driving skills to the limit! I tumbled from the dashboard on more than one occasion. Even if you rent a car, always choose transportation when offered by others.

We had lunches at local restaurants and enjoyed typical island cuisine. Flying fish sandwiches on dark bread are incredibly good! Meeooooooow...Purr....... Evenings after 2 or 3 dives per day, found us at excellent recommended restaurants, and others which looked promising. Notable among these are—

• Peacock Mill (we were too late to see the peacocks walking around—darn!—they were sleeping in the trees and I was on a leash!),
• Seahorse (within easy walking distance from where we stayed), and
• Rouselle's (where hostess, Bobbi, told us where we could purchase the candle-holding centerpiece she uses on all her tables).

Cuisine at these three restaurants was attractive, tasty and very well-prepared. Service was excellent; ambience unique and very pleasurable. They all liked petting me and I purrrred back at them.

Viking Dive & Yacht Consult

Goran Qvarfordt, Viking Dive & Yacht Consult's Manager was once a hardhat diver on oil rigs in the North Sea. He built a boat in his native Sweden and sailed it to Tobago in 1989. My master has great respect and appreciation for these individuals who have braved the seas in all conditions!

At the time, Goran used only the "fast" boats which necessitate a backward-roll entry for my master. I was unceremoniously dropped over the side. He carries drinking water, oxygen, VHF radio, GPS, Depth Sounder, Medic First Aid, and cover to provide shade. These boats are the "fannybanger" variety and I almost bounced overboard several times. Other divers got upset when I used my claws and held onto their BCs. However, these boats are designed for Tobago sea conditions and are very seaworthy. Some prefer a sideways-roll entry—this works fine on this type boat.

Goran will move with the trend—use a larger, more-comfortable boat. After much research, he has not found the right one for Tobago waters. He may build a motorized cat (hmmmm....cat?), which will serve as a dive boat and a very comfortable tour boat for land-lubbers.

A word about Tobago dive conditions. There are a few sheltered sites which work fine for the newly-certified. With Goran's suggestions, it was not difficult certifying two clients PADI Open Water Referral—although the first two dives were shore dives. Oh...but what a lot of fish...I almost got one!

Tobago diving is for the intermediate/advanced diver. There are some dive sites where a minimum 60 logged dives is a prerequisite—6-knot plus current, 8-foot waves plus, strong surge and surf breaking on rocks/coral within several hundred feet from islands' rocky shorelines. Toward the end of a dive off Speyside, we hit a downcurrent which took us from 15fsw to 45fsw in several seconds—our bubbles went down!

We had an exceptional Portuguese captain, Bryan. He knows his boat, the sites, and anticipates changing conditions. He is extremely helpful getting divers ready for entry and exit...and safety-conscious too! It would seem some cultures—Greek, Scandinavian and Portuguese—are genetically programmed masters of the seas. And...he brought along a tin of sardines...just for me! I am genetically programmed to enjoy fish...and birds!

Both Divemaster, Ryan, and Instructor, Amanda, provided helpful, safe underwater tours, giving just the right attention to individual buddy teams. Amanda is the first female Tobagonian PADI instructor. It is not surprising Viking Dive & Yacht Consult has maintained an impeccable safety record over the years. They also dive the Speyside sites.

The Dive Log—Viking Dive & Yacht Consult

Our dives with Viking Dive & Yacht Consult were based from their Pigeon Point location. Dive computers and multi-level profiles allowed extended bottom times on multiple dive days. Our first four dives are unlogged because they were training dives with clients. First two training dives were on Kariwak Reef—28fsw, 25 feet visibility, large brain coral, sea grapes, sponges, large angelfish, many parrotfish varieties—I chased every fish—an easy shore dive.

Dive 3–5/13—Flying Reef—56fsw for 51min. Really my third dive for the day—2 earlier ones were cert. dives for clients. This was a medium speed drift dive. I chased a school of "Big Eyed Fairies"—copper-colored fish which look like small groupers. Parrot fish were too busy eating the reef and only mumbled at me. Many different fish were teasing me. Very relaxing and rewarding dive! I caught my first fish! Don't tease this dive kitty...

Dive 1–5/14—Mt. Irvine Wall—65fsw for 58min. Drift dive along the wall which extends down from the shore, with coral fingers. Angels, eels, lobster and urchins. When I chased lobster...they kept retreating into holes where I couldn't follow! A huge school of silversides kept around me but just out of my reach. A long dive with many surprises around every corner.

Dive 2–5/14—Scarlett Ibis Wreck—90fsw for 27min. Long surface interval, not "pushing" computer limits. Making it a multi-level dive with several safety stops made this day's reverse profile dive reasonably safe. Tobago's first artificial reef, the wreck was cleaned up, made safe, and purposely sunk in 1997. It rests on a sandy bottom at 100fsw. Growth is coming along fine. Easily, safely penetrate the upper portion - the area above the car deck on this once-used ferry. A Jewfish named "George" (aka Jacob and Jo-Jo) and a large, 7-foot barracuda named "Sara" (I like her other name—"Snaggletooth") have taken up residence and seem a happy couple. I was apprehensive of George...he could swallow me whole! I hid behind my master. George met us at the anchor line and accompanied us on our tour, while Sara seemed busy with her housework—er.....wreckwork?

Scuba Adventure Safari

This is the "new kid on the block." Their dive boat, "Event Horizon," is the standard used at many worldwide dive destinations—US Coast Guard approved dive boat for 15 divers—and one cat—(they only carry 12 max. humans), dive platform, comfortable ladder, spacious deck, wide beam, tanks bungied in. John Procope earned his degree in Marine Biology and is very much involved with above-water and under-water environments.

Instructor Rachael serves as divemistress. Anushka, Assist. Instructor, shares leading dive groups with John and Rachael. We had an excellent 3-dive day with them at their Speyside location (they also dive the Pigeon Point sites). Their new rental gear includes new tanks—both 80's and 63's. I always bring along my own Pony Bottle...just enough air for me. Briefings were complete and excellent. Every diver received the proper attention/support. Safety, and having a comfortable, relaxing, exciting dive were paramount. And they like cats...I scored some fresh fish from them.

John follows the new millennium trend—dive in tune with Nature rather than challenge Nature. The boat ride up from Pigeon Point to Speyside reveals spectacular scenery. But the seas were a little rough in-between, and we were driven to Speyside. During the day, the seas acted up more—the captain returned to Pigeon Point the following morning when seas are usually calmer.

The Dive Log—Scuba Adventure Safari

Speyside area diving is more pristine, conditions more demanding, and visibility greater than in Pigeon Point area.

Dive 1–5/15—Keleston Drain—86fsw for 42min. Nice drift dive over beautiful, healthy reef. Many tempting fish, brain coral, seagrapes. Dive ended near the world's largest known brain coral (GOMOTS—Grand Old Man of the Sea). I liked him...I could feel him "thinking." He liked me too...

Dive 2–5/15—Cascadia—82fsw for 46min. Near Bird of Paradise Island. Small moray eel living in barrel sponge. Long, pointy sea urchins with black spines, white spines and mixed white/black spines. Parrotfish, angels—mostly Queens and French. A downcurrent took us from 15fsw to about 45fsw in a a few seconds. Was considering putting a little air into my BCD but instead kicked towards surface as downcurrent weakened. Waves breaking against coral heads and walls at the surface. Great variety on this drift dive. Reminded me a little of the washing machine at home...with all sorts of swirls.

Dive 3–5/15—Japanese Gardens/Kamikaze Cut/Angel Reef—68fsw for 33min. After going ashore for lunch and a long surface interval, we got an excellent briefing for our third and final dive. We entered the very colorful Japanese Gardens area. We drifted and positioned ourselves for a current rush through Kamikaze Cut. We explored the other side—Angel Reef. Sea urchins, barracuda, triggerfish.

Tobago's Future Diving

More development in both Trinidad and Tobago equals more flights servicing this area. There will be more divers visiting Tobago waters. There will always be the athletic, dedicated diver doing backward rolls off 6-pack fannybangers in 8-foot waves and a 6-knot current. As more beginning/intermediate divers visit Tobago, operators will focus more on servicing those less-experienced divers. And they accommodate more feline divers...accompanied by their masters.

There are some questionable operators on Tobago, likely not affiliated with any organization. They hang their sign along the roadway and take anybody out...maybe even dogs! I felt like scratching them...and I hissed at them as we drove by. Reputable operators work more closely together in their island association. They are undergoing normal growing pains during their developmental stage. Had we more time, we would have dived with a few other operators. We look forward to our next Tobago dive adventure.

The Manta Lodge and Tobago Dive Experience

Since our original Tobago dive adventure we have discovered The Manta Lodge and Tobago Dive Experience located in Speyside. This is the area where the diving is more pristine. We have had many favorable comments from our clients on both the dive operator and accommodations. We highly recommend them! They like cats...

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