Category Archives: Diving

The early bird catches the worm :-)

26. February 2016Katja Henke

Nicht wie geplant morgens um vier Uhr, sondern schon um halb drei ging Dietmar Anker auf. Irgendwie konnte er sowieso nicht schlafen. Weshalb dann nicht gleich lossegeln? An diesem Morgen war mit mir gar nichts anzufangen. Anscheinend hatte ich mich beim Tauchen etwas erkältet und mein Kopf dröhnte. So durfte ich luxuriöser Weise liegen bleiben und meine Erkältung gleich im Keim ersticken. Das lässt man sich ja nicht zweimal sagen und erst um elf Uhr steckte ich das erste Mal meinen Kopf aus der Koje. Aber nur ganz kurz 🙂 Erst am Nachmittag, als wir kurz vor Virgin Gorda waren und die Genua bergen mussten, war ich wieder mit von der Partie und deutlich fitter als am Morgen.

Wir hatten uns nach fast einem Monat vor Anker entschieden, once again to treat ourselves to the luxury of a marina and headed for the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor. In front of the entrance with a water depth of only three meters, it gave us a little shudder, but it worked without touching the ground. A little later we fastened to a finger bridge. Without any swings or splashing about, we almost felt a little uncomfortable on the boat. But the prospect of a very quiet night made us both very happy.

For ours as a whole 17 Recharge the batteries on board completely after a long time, we wanted to put our power cable to the junction box on the jetty, as always. Now we had to find out, that we had left Europe for good. Our adapter did not fit. The American connector system was already used here. Good, that the yacht chandler was still open. Of course, there was no simple solution to buy. It would have been too good, if you had just got an adapter from the Euro standard to the US standard. The assortment of different plugs was large. Dietmar made a decision, to take another look at the CESARINA, what we really needed. Because a bad buy would have cost us dearly:-(, because the prices are outrageously high here. That's how it is when there is only one provider on the market.

So we stayed without shore power for the time being, But already had internet access via wifi. What a treat! Right in the boat without a long way you could finally check emails again and take care of our website. So war die Hauptbeschäftigung für den heutigen Abend schon mal ganz klar vorherbestimmt.

Am nächsten Morgen mussten wir aber noch den offiziellen Teil unserer Einreise über die Bühne bekommen. Also machten wir uns auf den Weg zum Einklarieren. Mehrere nette und hilfsbereite Menschen bescherten uns mit ihren Wegbeschreibungen einen halbstündigen Spaziergang durch das gesamte Stadtzentrum, bis wir endlich an der richtigen Stelle waren. Dort angekommen gab es eine Menge Formulare auszufüllen. Dank des schlechten Durchschlagpapieres sogar mehrmals 🙁 Das Cruising Permit kostete aber für eine Woche nur zehn US-$. Das war dann wirklich mal erfreulich.

Während Dietmar wieder im Yachtshop verschwand, kümmerte ich mich um eine Möglichkeit, to transform our dirty laundry back into clean laundry. Then I examined the local shops and tried my luck at the ATM. After all of that done and thus the basic supply was ensured, I turned my back to the blog writing to:-)

Dietmar was now furiously from the Yacht Shop back. Several times I had heard the word "cut-throat" in his rants. He could not calm down almost. For plugs and wrapping they had over him 180 US-$ abgeknöpft. That was really an outrage. A highly praised "made in USA" plug turned out later but again only as a "made in China" out :-(. Dietmar made the wiring still himself, and soon we were then connected via our luxury plug to the shore power and our batteries were charged. And so everything was also equally charged, what ever had a battery. Laptops, cameras, Phones ...... everything.

After that, Dietmar turned to his next important task: to repair the rumbling generator. Fast the entire ship's interior was transformed into a construction site and it took more than three hours, to a tired and sweaty captain with his work was finished. The result but still not convinced him. Then he would go meters in the near future again on troubleshooting%

The marine park of Saba and rock n roll at the Mooring

21. February 2016Katja Henke

Am nächsten Morgen war es mit der Ruhe an unserem Ankerplatz irgendwie vorbei. CESARIANA schaukelte aufgebracht an der Mooring auf und ab. Aber was sollten wir machen, um neun Uhr würde das Tauchboot uns abholen. Da musste unsere Gute wohl noch etwas aushalten, bevor wir uns nach einem ruhigeren Platz umsehen konnten.

Eigentlich hatten wir geplant, von dem an der CESARINA befestigten Dinghi auf das Tauchboot überzusteigen. Bei den momentan herrschenden Bedingungen war das so aber kaum möglich. Also fuhren wir mit dem Dinghi und unserem gesamten Equipment dem Tauchboot entgegen und stiegen in einem sicheren Abstand zur CESARINA über. Das Dinghi musste dann halt im Schlepp mit zum Tauchen fahren 🙂

Unser erster Tauchplatz befand sich weit entfernt vor der Küste und nannte sich „Third Encounter“. Auch hier draußen waren die Bedingungen auf dem Tauchboot recht rau, aber unter Wasser zeigte uns Saba ihre ganze Schönheit. Mit unserem französischen Tauchguide Ben tauchten wir in eine andere Welt ab. Das erste Mal sahen wir Riffhaie in nächster Nähe vorbei schwimmen. Da war mir doch etwas mulmig zu Mute 🙂 Die Bilder in der Bildergalerie „Saba“ sprechen für sich. So gut kann ich das wunderbare Erlebnis gar nicht beschreiben.

Zurück auf dem Tauchboot wanderte unser erster Blick zurück zur CESARINA. Im Vorfeld unseres Saba-Besuchs waren uns wahre Horrorgeschichten von gerissenen Mooring-Leinen und abtreibenden Booten rund um Saba erzählt worden. Sie war immer noch da 🙂 Anscheinend hatten wir eine gute Mooring erwischt. Wild schaukelte CESARINA mit Ihren 23 Tonnen Gewicht an ihrer Mooring, die heute wirklich den Härtetest bestanden hatte.

Auch der zweite Tauchgang war wieder ein Vergnügen. Danach wurde es aber ungemütlich. Das Tauchboot brachte uns noch fast bis nach Hause, aber die kurze Reststrecke im Dinghi gegen die mittlerweile doch recht hohen Wellen war eine einzige Duschpartie. Als wir endlich neben unserer CESARINA ankamen, hatten wir eher das Gefühl, uns einem bockenden Rodeo-Pferd zu nähern als einem Boot. Der Aufstieg an Bord war eine Herausforderung und ein Abenteuer, aber es gelang uns beiden ohne Schäden 🙂 Jetzt mussten wir uns nur noch von der Mooring befreien und uns einen Platz vor dem Hafen im Süden suchen. Dort ist es nämlich heute Mittag wunderbar ruhig gewesen.

Vor dem Hafen fanden wir zwar keine freie Mooring mehr, aber einen schönen Ankerplatz. So schafften wir es gerade noch rechtzeitig zu unserer Verabredung zur Inselrundfahrt. Len und Sid (ursprünglich aus Holland) erwarteten uns schon am Parkplatz und zuerst ging es zu Ihnen nach Hause. Als Segler (zur Zeit ohne Boot) kannten Sie die Probleme des Seglerleben und so hatten sie uns auch noch zu einer Runde „Wäsche waschen“ eingeladen. Her house was right on the slope in the middle of the wooded mountains with an impressive view over "The Bottom" and was a real dream. After a cozy cup of coffee, we set off. First we drove towards Ladder Bay. From the waterfront, we already knew this corner of the island from our anchorage. But we wouldn't have dared to take the dinghy on the stony beach, as a landing in the breaking wave is not only adventurous, but would also be dangerous. Then we just followed the road towards the airport. The airport is a special attraction of the island, because it has the shortest runway in the world. Only 396 Meters is available to a pilot, to safely start or land your machine. For safety reasons, two pilots always fly the machines, who come over the short way from Saint Bart. And when the weather doesn't cooperate, Saba is simply no longer flown to. But tonight we witnessed a summons and we were 20 Minutes later of a start. It was really impressive.

On the way back we stopped at Windwardside. The few vacationers, which ends up in Saba, can be found here. Nice and well-kept houses, two museums, various small shops, two supermarkets and various restaurants define the town center. We decided to, to stay here for dinner. When Sid asked, Wolfgang from Cologne met, the owner of the restaurant "Sprouts" personally agreed, to prepare his legendary schnitzel for us. Ganz stilecht mit Preiselbeeren. Manchmal ist es wirklich unglaublich 🙂 Da saßen wir auf Saba und aßen Schnitzel, das erste Mal seit über einem Jahr und sie waren wirklich hervorragend. Zum Nachtisch gab es selbstgemachten Apfelstrudel. So war es schon ziemlich spät, als wir wieder am Hafen ankamen. Good, dass wir keinen so weiten Weg mehr hatten. Unsere CESARINA schaukelte deutlich sichtbar direkt hinter der Hafeneinfahrt 🙂

Nach zwei weiteren wunderbaren Tauchgängen am nächsten Tag erwarteten wir für heute Besuch auf der CESARINA. Len und Sid, die beide begeisterte Segler sind, wollten unser Zuhause gern näher kennenlernen. Dietmar picked them up at two o'clock at the dinghy dock and after an extensive tour of the boat we sat together with coffee and biscuits in the cockpit.

Off to Saba - to the uncrowned Queen of the Caribbean

19. February 2016Katja Henke

Eigentlich hatten wir geplant, Complete the last day on Montserrat with a hike to the north. But it had rained heavily all night and the weather didn't look very inviting even after sunrise. So we preferred to stay on board and use the time to clear the ship. That has to be the case every now and then.

At four o'clock we set out for Saba. First we wanted to sail south along the coast of Montserrat, to be able to take a look at the former capital Plymouth from the waterfront. Then we planned it 85 Sail to Saba overnight for nautical miles northwest, to reach the island in the light of day the next morning.

So we dawdled comfortably south along the coast, but a look at the island already gave us an idea, that the view of Plymouth would be rather clouded by clouds and fog. Nevertheless, we did not let ourselves be deterred from our project and got another impression, the force with which the volcano fell upon the former capital. Of some multi-storey houses, only the upper storeys could be seen sticking out of the ashes. A really sad and equally impressive story.

Soon we turned the stern on Montserrat and its volcano and sailed for Saba. It went past Nevis, St. Kitts and Statia (ofliciel Bungalow) until Saba finally appeared on the horizon early in the morning. Actually, one saw nothing more than a barren rock crater with steep walls. The small harbor on the south side of the island didn't look particularly inviting either. A small pier, a dinghy dock, a couple of buildings and to the left of them a mixture of gravel, Junkyard and gas- and diesel bearings. Beauty is certainly something else. A little sleepy we decided, first of all to examine the anchorage. Should this give us, Why always, also did not like, we would just keep sailing. In the west of the island in front of Ladder Bay we made up on a mooring and after breakfast we were ready, to drive ashore. So we had to go back to the south of the island with the dinghy and were on the way for almost twenty minutes by then. However, the weather was at its best and the drive along the rugged and steep coast was a pleasure. Check-in was also quick and easy, and the low fees for berth and check-in made the island even more pleasant for us. Because for the mooring, to which we had moored, they charged us 3 $ per night :-). We have already experienced it quite differently. Before that, we also heard terrible stories of ailing and therefore unsafe moorings from Saba. But we cannot confirm this. We didn't just check our mooring visually, but even retracted like an anchor with full throttle backwards without any problems. Nothing should go wrong there.

At the port we immediately found the office of “Saba Divers” and made appointments for diving for the next few days. The dive boat would even pick us up at the CESARINA. So we didn't have to make the long journey with the dinghy to the port every time.

Since it was still quite early in the afternoon, we decided to walk to the capital of the island. There is no public transport on Saba. Die Strecke sollte laut Plan auch nicht so weit sein, aber wir hatten völlig die unglaubliche Steigung der Straße unterschätzt.

Auf Saba gibt es nur eine einzige Straße, die den Hafen im Süden mit dem Flughafen im Norden verbindet. An ihr liegen auch die drei Orte, die es auf der Insel gibt: The Bottom, Windwardside und Hell´s Gate. Diese Straße hat eine lange Geschichte, denn sie ist „Die Straße, die nicht gebaut werden konnte“ 🙂 Niederländische Ingenieure hatten 1930 den Bau einer Straße auf Saba für unmöglich erklärt. Aber der Inselbewohner Josephus Hassell ließ sich, nachdem er in einer Lotterie gewonnen hatte, kurzerhand selbst zum Ingenieur ausbilden und verwirklichte den Traum der Inselbewohner. Nachdem jetzt die Geschichte der Straße bekannt ist, könnt Ihr Euch vielleicht vorstellen, mit welchem Anstieg wir zu kämpfen hatten. Aber ein vorbeifahrendes Auto hatte Erbarmen mit uns und nahm uns mit in die Stadt hinauf. Hier auf der Insel fungiert jeder Autofahrer auch als Busfahrer. Auf diesem Weg erreichten wir innerhalb von 5 Minuten „The Bottom“ :-). Nach einem kurzen Rundgang landeten wir in einem außergewöhnlich europäischen Café mit dem besten Eiskaffee seit Monaten. Dort kamen wir mit zwei Damen ins Gespräch, die diese leckere Spezialität dort auch gerade genossen 🙂 Und keine zehn Minuten später waren wir für den morgigen Tag zu einer Inselrundfahrt eingeladen. Ein wirklich grandioser Empfang! Sicherheitshalber tauschten wir noch die Telefonnummern aus, bevor wir uns an den Abstieg zum Hafen machten. Bergab geht es ja gefühlter maßen immer besser, aber unsere Waden werden uns morgen ein Lied davon singen können.

Zurück auf unserer CESARINA freuten wir uns über unseren ruhigen Ankerplatz und auf eine ruhige Nacht. Die Wettervorhersage für die nächsten Tage war sehr vielversprechend und es wurden ruhige Bedingungen und wenig Wind vorhergesagt. Das war für unseren Aufenthalt auf Saba besonders wichtig, da beide möglichen Ankerplätze recht ungeschützt sind. In unserem Revierführer steht der wunderbare Satz: „Saba macht es den Seglern nicht leicht“ 🙂 Morgen würden wir wissen, was genau mit dieser Aussage gemeint war 🙂

The culmination :-) :-) :-)

5. July 2015Katja Henke

We wanted to pull diving technically all register on our last weekend on Santa Maria. On Saturday, a tour was planned after Ambrosia, and Sunday it should then (At last) go Formigas.

The dive boat was this Saturday morning with seven “Man” loaded, as we front were picked up at the pier. Very nice cozy for us low season divers :-), aber alle waren sehr nett und es herrschte kein Durcheinander 🙂

Arrived at the dive site the following image offered us:

No, that was not a lone shark, der da seine Runden drehte 🙂 Schon an der Wasseroberfläche konnten wir die ersten beiden Mobulas (Manta Rays) see. There was now little hustle and bustle. Jeder wollte zuerst im Wasser sein 🙂 Um allen Tauchern eine auch eine gute Sicht zu ermöglichen, We divided us into two groups. So a half hung on the front of the anchor rope, marketed by Steffen while the other is on the extra line to the stern of the boat “Hung”. Wegen der Strömung sollten wir auch möglichst an der Leine bleiben 🙂 Diese Anweisung galt natürlich auch für Fotografen. But as you can see on this image, nehmen es manche mit den Sicherheitsanweisungen nicht sehr genau 🙁

After a big swarm offshore barracudas and Trevallies, they then came back: die Mobulas 🙂 :-):-)

First two and then a whole swarm. Und sie waren wirklich nicht schüchtern 🙂

Well an hour we enjoyed the impressive spectacle, at least as good as or even better than the first time. An solch beeindruckenden Tieren kann man sich einfach nicht satt sehen 🙂 Auf dem Rückweg machten wir noch einen entspannten Kontrast-Tauchgang an der Küste entlang 🙂

Here were again good eyes, um die Tiere in ihren Felsenverstecken zu entdecken 🙂

Back at the Marina, we were both, Why always, so flat, that we order after dinner shortly after nine in the bed fell. Diving is already sport – irgendwie 🙂

It was also almost no problem on Sunday, that the alarm clock rang at 6: 30. The remaining force was still a fairly sleepy, If also cheerful impression, as we rode around eight o'clock in the boat direction East of the island along.

Then, life in the armed forces but suddenly came. Afield, large flocks of birds have been spotted :-). And where are the birds in action, sind auch fast immer Delfine 🙂 Daher machten wir einen kleinen Umweg, der sich lohnen sollte 🙂

Ein wildes Durcheinander von Vögeln und Delfinen 🙂 Schnell wurden die Schnorchel klar gemacht und es ging mitten hinein ins Gewimmel. We had to hurry because the dolphins had a baby it would appear quite soon again.

About 30 We reach minutes later our then our dive site. The Formigas existing of some boulders in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, they only 5 Protrude metres out of the water. Erfreulicherweise sind sie zur Sicherheit mit einem Leuchtturm bestückt 🙂 Da freut sich doch die Seefahrergemeinde.

During our first dive, we explored the wall on the East side of the islet. Out here at sea all was by and “Green”as nearby land :-). There were so many moray eels, dass wir irgendwann sogar das Zählen einstellten 🙂

Highlight of the dive was but a good 40 Centimeter big dragon head in 25 Meters water depth. Gewöhnlich findet man sonst eigentlich nur die kleineren Exemplare 🙂 Und geduldig war er auch noch 🙂

We made the second dive at the Canyon in the South of the Formigas. The surface of the rock Ridge was also here beautifully covered and numerous small, colorful fish schwommen in their large and colorful diversity through the deep blue.

Our anchor had wanted a particularly safe place in a rock column. That had to be directed naturally once and with the prevailing flow, waren für diese Aufgabe zwei starke Männer nötig 🙂

Und dann ging es endlich los 🙂 Hinter dem nächsten Felsvorsprung lauerte schon der erste Riesen-Zackenbarsch. And it should not stay with the one. We got six copies of imposing animals in almost grown stage to face. So a grouper may have a size of up to 1,60 Reach meter!

And they were also surprisingly tame or rather curious.

Besonders dieser Bursche hier 🙂 Während Dietmar versuchte, to move a beautiful Tiger Moray with camera and flashlight in the right light, the LAD came up so far, dass ihm Dietmar mit den Flossen schon fast auf dem Kopf herumpaddelte 🙂 Das hat ihn aber nicht besonders beeindruckt.

A crowning, with our Star photographer under water almost the time forgot. Pictures of groupers (from the top, from the side, from the front, from the bottom) haben wir jetzt auf jeden Fall genug für die nächste Zeit 🙂

After the dive we sat together beer at the Clube naval still on a round. Es wurde für uns wieder einmal Zeit Abschied zu nehmen 🙁 Immer wieder blöd, especially after a lovely time. Steffen gave us three melons from the island of Santa Maria as a boxed. Da kann ja morgen bei unserer Überfahrt nach Sao Miguel nichts mehr schief gehen 🙂

Shrimp Soup and problems with gravity :-)

3. July 2015Katja Henke

Our dive today was all about the character of the weight bag. The divers need this weight bag, to in the buoyancy of the whole equipment, He needs it so under water, überhaupt noch abtauchen zu können 🙂 Sie werden im Tarierjacket in dafür vorgesehenen Halterungen gesteckt, where they should remain a safe locked and be easy to remove on the other hand in case of emergency. So weit die Theorie 🙂

Der erste Tauchgang begann eigentlich ganz normal 🙂 Entgegen der Wettervorhersage war es auf See doch noch ziemlich windig und somit etwas schaukelig auf dem Tauchboot. But once in the depth, war die Welt wieder in Ordnung 🙂

A sea Peacock, can you see very often, but it's always nice to look at. But they are particularly frantic fish and it has lasted up to the present day, ein scharfes Fotos von einem der Gesellen zu bekommen 🙂

Today was also a large swarm Barracuda on the way. Here it is also really a paradise for these predators. Invited the whole small swarm fish clearly to hunt. Two big amber jacks were on the move.

At the end of each dive all the equipment must be back in the boat. This is out of the water out isn't always as easy. So is there first its weight bags on board and then the jacket with the bottle. Today it was quite exhausting through the upcoming wave, all that stuff neatly across the Board wall to press. So his own one by Dietmar weight pockets and disappeared again into the depths. Without weights he could unfortunately not directly continue the pursuit and so he could only quite helpless the subducting utensil from the surface afterwards see . Good, dass wir noch an der Boje festhingen 🙂 So konnte Steffen noch einmal runtertauchen und erschien kurze Zeit später wieder mit der Tasche in der Hand an der Oberfläche. Da hatten wir nochmal Glück gehabt 🙂

The second dive but then just went off, how the first has ended. This time came my lead bags go astray and disappeared without me in depth. Keine guter Tag irgendwie 🙁 Aber das Timing war ok. While I me the rope slowly into the depths, holte Steffen meine Tasche zurück 🙂 So konnte ich unten ganz unauffällig mein Blei verstauen und weiter tauchen. Dietmar war es nicht einmal aufgefallen 🙂

At the we got the opportunity this dive again, to watch huge amounts of Unicorn shrimps in a tunnel. Unfortunately, the lads are very lichtscheu and immediately, If somewhere went on a lamp, kamen hektische Bewegung der flüchtenden Schalentiere auf 🙂 Für jede Kamera ein wahrer Alptraum, but at least we can reflect as least you. It was just amazing.

Also a Moray presented freely floating outside their hiding place.

Since the avid photographer has not complied with probably the moray eels safety distance. Das ging ja mal gar nicht 🙁

The other giant Moray remained as a precaution dear in their crevice. Vorsicht ist ja bekanntlich besser als Nachsicht 🙂

Der große Zackenbarsch war auf keinen Fall kamerascheu und zeigte uns seine Schokoladenseite 🙂

After this great dive she hit on the Wasseroberflächer again “common” Schwerkraft zu 🙁 Diesmal traf es wieder Dietmars Tasche. But because the anchor was already solved, mussten wir das gute Stück ganz allein in der Tiefe zurück lassen 🙁 Das vermieste Dietmar schon etwas die Laune, especially because he must then appear on the next dive with weight belt around the waist. And he really does not like that.

Trotzdem hatten wir einmal wieder tolle Tauchgänge erleben dürfen und freuen uns auch schon auf den Nächsten 🙂 Am Donnerstag war wegen des Durchzugs eines Tiefdruckgebiet mit viel Wind und Regen eine Tauchpause angesagt. Motivated towards nowhere do the weather. So we spent a lazy day with a good book. Also once again, very nice, haben wir schon länger nicht gemacht 🙂

On Friday morning, three more divers were with part of the game and it was this time unusually crowded on the boat. Wir waren da vielleicht schon etwas zu sehr verwöhnt 🙂 Nebensaisontaucher eben 🙂 Das Wetter war schon wieder erstaunlich freundlich, aber am Tauchplatz war noch recht viel Welle von gestern übrig 🙂 Somit war es vor dem ersten Tauchgang so turbulent an Bord, Dietmar decided, the camera this time not to take. Actually he wanted today with the new macro lens on ” Mini Mari hunting” go. Aber dazu braucht man über und unter Wasser ruhigere Bedingungen und eine ruhige Hand 🙂

Somit ist die Bildauswahl heute sehr gegrenzt 🙂 Aber ein paar Highlights hatte ich doch festhalten können.

As for example the first Stingray, the US is met in the Azores. Der war sicher über einen Meter groß 🙂

Later in the shrimps cave we saw a rather rare Octopus, der sich Ton in Ton mit seinem Hintergrund nicht besonders auffällig in Szene gesetzt hatte 🙂

A few of the (estimated) 1.000.000 Shrimp make a photo available. The small video perhaps gives a better impression, I have recorded at the cave entrance. There were not so many shrimp, but some day light. Da blieben die hektischen Dinger auch einmal recht manierlich an einem Fleck 🙂

After two dives, still a little trip to Dietmar lead bag was on the agenda. After some back and forth, Steffen surfaced again with the treasured missing bag. Starting tomorrow, they get an additional fuse. Because every time to spend a round of ice cream, wird irgendwann doch zu teuer und ist nicht besonders gut für die Figur 🙂

Once in the harbor, We sat together then even longer for ice-cream and sandwiches and talked. Tomorrow it goes once again to Ambrosia. Wish us luck, dass die Mobulas auch wieder Zeit für uns haben 🙂 Das wäre einfach traumhaft!!!! 🙂

Contrast program

28. June 2015Katja Henke

After the really very impressive dives from yesterday we could imagine kinda hard, What could impress us much else under water. An absolute contrast program was planned for today. No big fish and idle on the rope in the blue in 20 Hanging meter depth. In the East of the island is a large underwater rock before the city Maia, gave the but much beauty to be discovered.

Dietmar hat sich mit der Kamera mittlerweile richtig gut angefreundet 🙂 Gestern Abend haben wir noch gemeinsam ein paar Grundeinstellungen geändert und die Ergebnisse vom heutigen Tag zeigen, dass wir wohl auf dem richtigen Weg sind 🙂

Wenn man der Muräne zu sehr auf die Pelle rückt 🙂

Directly during defrosting, we found a fin. She had already domesticated set up a crab, and a Madeira snail. Leider mussten wir sie enttäuschen 🙂 , because the fin with wandered back into the dive boat.

A rather rare guest: Eine große Tigermuräne 🙂 Immer gern gesehen

One of many chestnut groupers, die wir in einer Felsspalte trafen 🙂

Für die vielen kleinen Schnecken müssen wir noch an der Technik pfeilen 🙂 Ganze zwei Zentimeter lang war die kleine Schönheit 🙂

Die größeren Exemplare wie diese Sternschnecken hatte Dietmar aber schon sehr gut im Griff 🙂

Here we had found something special: An abalone, a species of bivalve mollusc, die erstaunlich schnell laufen kann 🙂

Thus, it was clear after the first dive: Quite different, aber genauso toll 🙂 Tiere beobachten ist einfach immer spannend und schön, egal ob große oder kleine 🙂

We spent our surface interval in the next Bay in front of the cave of Leander, our next dive site. Completely sheltered from the wind, with lots of Sun and without waves even the break was a real treat the bizarre rock backdrop.

Dann ging es ab in die Höhle 🙂 Leider gibt es von innen nur eine Handvoll Fotos. Because when photographing in the light is already not easy, wird es im Dunkeln leider richtig kompliziert 🙂

Back on the boat was still a large swarm of triggerfish. Because the quality of my camera very significantly behind that of Dietmar new camera images remain, have I now begun to, Videos aufzunehmen 🙂 Das ist doch auch mal was 🙂

Now it's getting serious – On to Ambrosia

27. June 2015Katja Henke

According to the trafficking in human beings by yesterday we had agreed for today a pick-up service at the buzzer. Hop did the boat as a meeting about ten o'clock just opposite in the box stop and we could with our equipment on board. Viel entspannter 🙂 und weniger anstrengend, because the Sun was very warm from the sky. Besonders wenn man in 7-mm dickem Neopren verpackt ist 🙂

Like yesterday, we were also today again only four divers. In addition to Beate (from yesterday) the game was a young Portuguese. The trip to our first dive lasted a half hour. While we look for whales, Dolphins or turtles were, wurde die junge Dame immer stiller und leider auch etwas grün im Gesicht 🙁 Die Arme. Whether you can dive seasick also? We would see it.

The first dive site “Banco Joan Lopez” is an underwater rock, It is located quite far away from the coast. Using GPS, we searched for the mountain top in open water (on ca. 10 m water depth) , where to throw the anchor. To be safe, went Steffen in the water and personally brought the anchor in the right place. The area is not so big up on the underwater mountain Yes and also it went down sharply.

Here we could see large swarms of Bermuda blue fish and Bernsteinmarkrelen.

Then some old acquaintances was traveling on the underwater mountain.

Large and small rockfish

And especially missgelaunte moray eels :-), they are clearly among Dietmar favorite fish.

After knapp 40 It was then time minutes, to return to the surface of the water. The young Portuguese had somehow brought the first dive behind, but now no longer went with her really. Despite ginger tea gave her the rest of the one hour surface interval on a rocking boat and a second dive was for them not to think. Pity, denn jetzt wurde es doch erst richtig interessant 🙂

We continued on a further and stopped the boat at a small, slightly shabby buoy in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Ich hätte hier wohl eher ein Fischernetz vermutet 🙂 Hier draußen herrschte schon recht viel Strömung und wir erhielten ein ausführliches Briefing, how we would have to do. Not that one would be lost, that would be Yes bad drum.

So it went by boat directly to the front on the leash, She led through the buoy in the depth.

This line we were also off until about on 33 Meter. Steffen had inculcated us, to make getting a hand on a leash. Come down to the whole situation seemed already pretty surreal. So very alone somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, rings around only a deep blue :-). Das war schon ein mulmiges Gefühl 🙂

At about fifteen meters deep hang once additional three canisters on the rope, They provide buoyancy. Dort wohnt der wohl meist fotografierte Fisch des Atlantik 🙂

Because if it depends on something down on the rope and looking and waiting for, was our only pastime to watch the boys. Our patience was also hard put to the test.

Eventually surfaced then least three Barracuda. Sehr nett, aber deshalb waren wir doch nicht so weit gefahren 🙁
And then they came: the Mobulas – Manta Rays. We could include all ten animals.

You completed several laps to our group, weightless and graceful, before they disappeared again in the blue. Wir waren noch ganz überfahren von ihrem plötzlichen Auftauchen und dann waren sie auch schon wieder weg 🙂

After that wait was announced again and time, lustige Selfies und Unterwasser-Blasen-Bilder zu machen 🙂

After 60 minutes we were back on the surface. What were we lucky. It can also happen, that depends on the rope for an hour and nothing happens. Just we had stowed divers and equipment again happily in the boat, passed as a large swarm of Wahoos directly under the boat. We then took the opportunity, um noch einmal eine Runde zu schnorcheln 🙂

And it swam us this young lady on the way. Only a short photo shoot, dann durfte sie unbehelligt ihren Weg vorsetzen 🙂

The flow had aborted us unnoticed by the dive boat. So we had to paddle properly and athletic, to get back to the boat. Twice we stopped on the way back, to snorkel with dolphins passing. Aber die hatten anscheinend noch andere Verabredungen und wirklich keine Zeit für uns Taucher 🙂

At some point in the late afternoon we were do Porto back then in Vila. Happy and satisfied. Can you actually still beat such a day???? It will be quite more than hard…

All fish :-)

26. June 2015Katja Henke

Today was finally ready, We met Steffen Wahoo diving forward on the port. Bepackt mit der gesamten und schweren Tauchausrüstung war der Weg von der SUMMER bis dorthin doch erstaunlich weit 🙁 Da war man ja schon fertig, before it ever started.

With us today also Hanna and Beate were part of the game. With the boat there should be at most beautiful weather first after “Pedrinho” and then to the “Caverna Malbusca” go, not 10 minutes travel time from the port.

Santa Maria it is so regulated, that you must book in advance some dive sites. So the first Divesite for eleven just for us was reserved and we had lot of time , all to prepare and to stow away in the boat. After the short ride, we moored the buoy and threw us into the water. Dieses war erstaunlicherweise gar nicht so kalt wie erwartet 🙂 La Palma im Januar härtet einen wirklich ab 🙂

Come on down we were of the variety and the quantity of fish, that is there bustled, slain something. I did not know, what I should set my camera first. It was of course wonderful, that Dietmar his own was now also a underwater camera. Here were definitely enough models for all of us together on the road.

Here are a few impressions of the underwater life:

Dietmar sets really photographic ambition on the day. For some good pictures though was not the world, but rather on the head. Under water, many possibilities are open. Die entstandenen Bilder sind aber auch wirklich gut gelungen 🙂

After a wonderfully warm break after the first round in the radiant sunshine we plunged us again highly motivated in the depth. At the “Caverna Malbusca” It is a very special cave deep and located in the rock. Tens of thousands of shrimp live here. Unfortunately it was not possible to us both, only a single of them so to scan, that he was to recognize. Actually a good reason, to visit the great place again.

Us returning to the harbor doesn't have much to begin with was overwhelmed by the many impressions. Hungry and tired from the unusual effort we sat together about our pictures. Dietmar camera were a few settings to improve, so tomorrow for Ambrosia everything would be optimally prepared. Let's see, was uns dort alles erwarten wird 🙂

Tired of diving and nature

9. May 2015Katja Henke

Two days full of underwater adventures lay ahead. Yesterday, we both had made the theory test for the Nitrox certificate and passed :-). Today we were able to try out the first time the benefits of Nitrox in practice.

For all non-divers, but first a little explanation, What is Nitrox at all. All gas mixes called Nitrox, the higher oxygen content (>21%) as air have. If it appears, Is there (as almost always) Before- and disadvantages, that you must know and observe. For example you can longer time at depths between 20 and 30 Diving m, und genau das wollten wir heute machen 🙂

About nine o'clock we sailed towards to Lighthouse and today, the dive site presented flow free and clear from its most beautiful side of the underwater :-). Thus, Dietmar had optimal conditions for photography. And that is swimming about the way to us:

A large bear cancer

I was in the middle of a swarm of Sadinen

A green Anemone

Hovering over a rays

The “Blue-eyed” Hermit crab eyed us critically

A cleaning shrimp

Now we feel both of us under water poodle at home, Since then sometimes some mischief is announced. Die nächsten gestellten Fotos werden wir aber doch etwas dekorativer gestalten 🙂

Also the second dive this Friday has been impressive and relaxed. Even if it costs every time much overcome after the required surface interval of about an hour back in the wet and cold suit to rise. Especially the moment before you backwards with James Bond role again in the water dips and knows exactly, equal the water running down again freezing the back one…None……brrrrrrr……..not a nice feeling.

In the Marina, but already the warm shower waited and we sat still long time together in the Sun. Tomorrow we want to dive on the coast of the Islas Desertas and of course had to be designed. The Islands are located in a conservation area, that may enter only with prior approval. We got the required release after some phone calls and arranged, morning start at 9: 00 with the boat from the from Marina.

After an hour drive, we reached our first dive in the morning. Before an impressive rock wall with large caves, we went in the water the first time.

Underwater visibility in part was slightly tarnished, Since the last few days was drawn with wind and waves in the North over a violent low. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure again. Only the monk seal, you live here on the island and are on the red list, We have seen neither over nor under water.

There went the dives with the dinghy to a picnic on land. So we also had the opportunity, Trail to see the visitor centre and the small.

On this special day, time passed much too quickly and it was soon time to Madeira to drive back. During the boat trip we were all looking for whales or dolphins, discovered then but something completely different: one “Loggerhead sea turtle”.

Had a little later we Madeira and the Marina Quinta do Lorde again achieved.

Gemeinsam räumten wir noch das Tauchboot leer und entsalzten unsere Sachen mit Frischwasser. Den eigentlich für den späten Abend geplanten Besuch des Zitronenfestes in Santana ersetzten wir durch einen netten Videoabend. Ein weiteres Fest nach einem solchen Tag wäre einfach zu viel des Guten gewesen 😉

Diving in the double pack and Madeira wine to relax

5. May 2015Katja Henke

Today a double dive was on the agenda and thus we spent all morning under water. We were together with ester and Marco and two Swedish divers by boat again on the easternmost tip of Madeira on the road.

Shortly after the first dive from the “Arco do Badajeira” discovered unusually large grouper before his cave ester located only a few metres. He was well over a metre tall and quite trustful. But after sometime too close to him with the camera, He disappeared with a gallant twist deep in his cave and was no longer seen. Similar happened to us with three beautiful Moray also considerable size, die wir anschließend in ihren Höhlen aufstöberten 🙂

We wanted our second dive (Once again) at the wreck of the “SS FORERUNNER” To try, the Yes several times had to fail due to a strong flow. But this time, the conditions were seemingly fit and we showed off quickly. Unfortunately we arrived but not the place, where the bulk of the wreckage was. The depth was so strong current, that we could achieve our goal impossible. At least not, without due to the great effort when swimming against the flow the bottles within 15 Minutes to suck. In such a case, then also the safety of the diver's going on, because we wanted to drive so five of us back to the base.

Today we not put us for a change after diving once on the lazy skin. After a short lunch break with fresh cottage cheese with fruit salad we went together with Ernst and Fenja Funchal. While Dietmar and Ernst had to consult together even the Chandlery, We girls made a trip to the famous market Hall in the island's capital.

She was not only beautiful to look at without, also inside the booths were lovingly and accurately decorated. The diversity of the offered exotic fruits was overwhelming! Fast überall konnte man auch probieren 🙂 Leider hatte das ganze auch teilweise einen recht stolzen Preis.

When I went away with my small bag, fühlte ich mich schon etwas über den Tisch gezogen 🙁 Obwohl ich ja selber Schuld war. I had taken in the selection of the stand does not, that the goods had no price tags. So, I probably deserved fancy prices. But what a Yes we know only once and who asks, dem kann bekanntlich auch geholfen werden 🙂

For this I had again a beautiful unknown in the luggage. The research on the Internet was this time really challenging. One should not believe, wie viele rote Beeren es so gibt 🙂

Here are my opinion Chilean guava.

This is a species of plant in the Myrtaceae family according to Wikipedia (Myrtaceae). In the Mapuche language is plain and in the Spanish murta or murtilla called. It is only distantly related with the guava. The culinary use of fruits is initially limited to the South of Chile. There are the fruits with aguardiente (a spirit drink) set up, to jam cooked or prepared with Quince for dessert. The taste of the fruit is reminiscent of more or less Quince or wild strawberry.

As far as the theory. I can not sign this with the wild strawberry, Quitte kommt für mich eher hin 🙂 Im Obstsalat machten sie sich nachher ganz gut, but they are not so recommended to the way sweet, weil sie dazu nicht süß genug sind 🙂 Da wären die Erdbeeren schon besser gewesen.

Directly at the exit of the Hall discovered we still a particularly example of Portuguese entrepreneurship :-), but it was already nearing closing.

When visiting Madeira, is a must visit the winery Blandy actually. Here is since about 200 Years produced the famous Madeira wine.

The Madeira wine was supposedly randomly. After the fermentation process, similar to when the port better durability due to with 96% Vol. pure alcohol has been canceled, reported sailors, that the wine changed the taste to the positive after the transport through the tropics. This transport was carried out henceforth targeted. Selected wines in small barrels made the Torna viagem, the voyage in the Portuguese overseas provinces through, which the ripening process, particularly supported the so-called made non-iridescent. The voyage was later (until today) by three- five-month storage at 45 ° C to 75 Replaces ° C (for example directly under corrugated metal roofs or artificially produced) (According to Wikipedia,).

We like both really like port wine, There we no now also said even if it was still early in the day :-). Said – Done and as you can see by the number of empty glasses, waren wir sehr neugierig und haben viel gelernt 🙂 Nochmal vielen Dank, dear Ernst, for the knowledgeable wine tasting.

After this effort was first needed a short breather. In the nearby park, the men took a break, While the ladies prefer “Floral” fotographierten 🙂 Jedem das Seine, but who can resist such beauties already?

The night we were in the old town relaxed at the end of. Delicious meal we sat together quite long and talked. Unfortunately, it was our last day with Anil and Ernst, as to the Azores, the two morning break. So we filled the trunk of our pandas still in the supermarket with food for tomorrow's crossing of the two. The day was a great deal of our common time – Wiederholung unbedingt erwünscht 🙂

SY CESARINA

A log of our travels