Mon 13 Mar 2006
Sea Saba Dive Trip #3 – Pinnacles Deep Dive
Posted by Heather under Dive Trip Reports
[13] Comments
Ahhh, the famed Pinnacles – this group of dive sites make up Saba’s most popular deep dives. The pinnacles, created by feats of volcanic activity, are like mini-Sabas that rise high from unknown depths (Joel likes to call them mini Empire State buildings), but never made it above the sea (except for Diamond Rock – more on that later). This is where divers are wowed with the vibrant corals surrounding these underwater high-rise sculptures, alive with life. Today, we went to the Twilight Zone, made up of a series of rocky outcrops lying along parallel lines, running east to west. The mooring line is attached to one of the outcrops at 100 feet and the eastern, most shallow peak is at 80 feet.
Our Dive Crew
- Melissa, originally from Australia, has had a colorful & adventurous life on the sea – in high school, she even lived on a boat!
- Bruno – hails from Switzerland, speaks 5 languages and always has a smile. Bruno was our boat captain today.
- Vivi & Travis – Sea Saba’s newest dive-couple/dive-instructors. We instantly liked both of them and are happy they are here! Travis was with us today for his first dives in Saba, so we got to experience him first as a friendly fellow diver. We are looking forward to following Travis on a future dive.
- Henry– a new resident of Saba, Henry splits his time between Sea Saba and Saba University Medical School. Henry and his wife, Linda, are great new additions to the island — both leaving their hectic jobs to live the simple life. We’ll tell you more about them in a future post.
Our Fellow Divers:
We had another great group of divers, as usual. I have come to expect that I will like every diver I meet — and since I am still new to diving and have only been in Saba, I wonder. Do we get really great tourists here or are all divers just awesome people? Maybe some of you can tell me your experiences with meeting fellow divers.
- Sheila, from the US, is a regular visitor to Saba — we always enjoy seeing her!
- Marty – A resident of St. John, but thinking she might like to move to Saba — we hope she does!
- Didier – from France
- Tina & Ken – from the US
Dive Site Stats
Dive Site #3 – Twilight Zone
Boat Ride: 12 minutes from Fort Bay
Mooring: eyebolt/95 feet, triad/110 feet
Experience Level: experienced
Recommended Max. Depth: 110 feet
Current: variable strength, mostly to northwest
Snorkeling: no
Dive Site Description
Exploring the north and east side from the 80 foot outcrop, the peak drops straight down from about 100 feet to as far as you can imagine. Moving toward the west, there is a large flat area at 110 – 120 feet. This forms a type of bridge toward other pinnacles, like Third Encounter & Outer Limits, which you will see if visibility is good.
As you take in the pinnacle itself, you will start to notice the colors and teeming life of at least a dozen different species of hard corals. Deepwater Gorgonians cover the steep surfaces of the pinnacles, along with many types of colorful encrusting sponges (e.g., orange Elephant Ear). Pinnate Black coral, including a green and pink colony are here as well.
Fish Sightings
We love the friendly Groupers we get to see at this site, including Tiger, Nassau and Yellowfin Groupers. We also saw some Red Hinds and Black Jacks watching us as we floated by. And yes, although we were too absorbed in the coral to see it, our fellow divers spotted a Reef Shark. We on the other hand, were busy watching a yellow Trumpetfish because for some reason – even though I see a lot of them in Saba, I am always fascinated by their strange, yet graceful appearance. I’ll get to see other sharks, though, so I won’t let this miss disappoint me. I know Joel and I will be visiting Twilight Zone again on a future dive with Sea Saba!
Corinna, thanks for the nice note. Go after it. That’s a wonderful dream – I love the idea of starting a kayaking business. I just saw one for sale the other day when I was surfing. It’s in Tonga so not really the Caribbean but next to Fiji isn’t bad either. Made me start daydreaming anyway. Heather coaches people all the time on pursuing their dreams, starting businesses, moving, changing their lives etc. It’s exciting stuff – travel really is the spice of life. I can’t get enough. Check out Saba – it’s really idyllic. I’ve never tried kayaking around the island – I’m told it can be too rough and dangerous but I’d sure like to try – we don’t have a boat so it would open up another way of exploring for us. Maybe some day. We talk about the B&B idea all the time. I like it but Heather keeps talking me out of it – she thinks it would tie us down and we should only consider it later in life. I don’t know – that’s a good point, but I keep saying couldn’t we just close up shop for a month or two once in a while to travel?
Hi,
my name is Corinna and my boyfriend Andrew is making us some tea at the moment across the room… we live in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Andrew teaches high school math and I teach PE… he used to work on cruise ships in the Caribbean so he’s in love with the area. Lately we’ve been seriously discussing just getting rid of it ALL up here in the rain and moving down there somewhere to start a business in renting kayaks or B&B, or something like that (not quite sure yet). At first we thought it was a really out-there idea, but then we spoke with a coach last week who was really encouraging of it and us. We’re finding that the more people we tell about this, the more support there is, and we’re considering it all the more now! THEN we stumbled across your website while researching various islands today. How cool! We love the site and what you’ve done with your life in moving down there and actually doing what so many people dream of doing but just don’t actually do. So thanks so much… I’ve bookmarked your site so we can stay on top of it…
~Sincerely, Corinna Hiller
Jim, thanks for writing! Joel here. And, we wish you and your wife the warmest congratulations on your upcoming anniversary!!! Heather and I have been married for 13 years now (hold on let me count)…yes that’s 13 years. We wish we could have a congratulations beer but alas we’ve already had to come back for the weddings. Thanks for the wonderful comments as well. I just spoke with Lynn yesterday and she said what nice folks you are – and that you mentioned the blog to her. Lynn and John are actually coming up our way in a few weeks. We’re in NH but they’ll be nearby in Maine. Maybe we’ll cross paths. Your mention of Eddies is making me thirsty – I can’t wait to get down there next. You mentioned quarry diving in PA – up here it’s the similarly panoramic brown water ponds and lakes. I may get to do a little Lake Winnipesaukee diving soon if all goes well. Coincidentally, we lived in Wayne, PA for about 4 years not too long ago. We loved the area and enjoyed taking the train to work so we could avoid the commute
I’ll look forward to having a beer with you two on your next trip! Have a great trip and Hi to all your family. It’s a small world. I’m glad you like the blog.
Hi Joel & Heather,
I’ve been lurking about on your site for weeks, and loving it. I am a 4-time “regular” to Saba, and Sea Saba for diving. My wife’s paternal heritage springs from Saba, as her father, Normal Hassell, was born there. His cottage is in Windwardside, Poppy Cottage, while his sister’s (Miss Marguerite) cottage is known as the Floral Cottage, both across the lane from Flossie’s.
We are arriving on Saba on June 22 for 12 days, to celebrate our first wedding anniversary (June 23). Our civil ceremony was held on the steps of Floral Cottage followed by a blessing of the rings in the church. We’ll be celebrating at Tropics where our reception was held and definitely throwing back a cold one at Eddie’s.
In the meantime, Donna’s sister Margie, her husband Michael and their newly adopted daughter Maddie will be arriving Saba on Monday, June 4th, for a two-week stay. Feel free to stop by and say hello. All of us hail from south-central PA (York area).
All that said, your dive reports cause me to reflect on the wonderful dives I’ve enjoyed in Saba. Lynn & John are great and they run a first-class dive operation. I couldn’t agree more, their staff is excellent! Here in SCPA, we settle for the local quarry for regular diving and enjoy trips to North Carolina for wrecks & sharks as well as the annual pilgrimmage to Saba. My wife Donna prefers warm water diving and is just getting comfortable being more than an arm’s length away from me in the water. Perhaps we can enjoy a dive or two together while we’re on the island.
As Joel says, the caffeine delay can’t wait any longer, my cup is empty. You can meet us on my beginner’s website, truly a work in progress. I hope we meet in Saba before your return to the States for the weddings in July.
I’m happy for you! I hope someday to follow in your footsteps – simplicity and lots of diving!
Sincerely,
Jim Brown
Teresa, please bring wine immediately! A bottle of champagne couldn’t hurt either.
My favorite Nitrox joke: “mmm…34%…the good stuff”
I don’t have to Google that, I’m a sci-fi geek. Oxygen levels are about 20% of the atmosphere. Back in dinosaur days, it used to be higher — another reason why Jurassic Park could never happen: the dinos would be sleepy all the time.
Of course, here at Pug Acres North, the oxygen content is a little lower. Fur makes up a significant part of the atmo.
Heather and Joel I love your blog! I am really jealous of the fact you are wearing shorts everyday! It is SNOWING here in Philly right now:( We had a nice tease of spring over the weekend, it was 80 degrees and sunny on Saturday, I was wearing flip-flops! Now it is back to snow boots, unfair I tell ya! With that being said, I need to escape this cold weather and come visit you guys, I have been everywhere else you lived, so I better get to Saba, fast! I will bring wine
Joel here: nothing ruins my dive quite like a seizure. Riddle me this Batman: our Nitrox down here in Saba is typically 32-34% oxygen, but my question for you is “what’s the % of oxygen in the normal air you’re breathing now?” Don’t google it either – you cheater!
The thing I’m holding in the background of the Vivi & Travis picture is a clipboard for our Nitrox check. When you get Nitrox certified and dive with this special blend of oxygen & nitrogen, you have to check your percentage of oxygen in the tank. This tells you your maximum operationg depth — or how deep you can go. If you go too deep, you could have a seizure, so it’s pretty important to get the info.
I was surprised when I took my PADI open water certification that about the first 3 – 5 chapters talk about all the ways you can die when diving. No wonder I was terrified on my first dive. They just want to scare the hell out of us so we’ll be safe divers, which is probably the smart thing.
Say, what is that giant clipboard-slash-American Tourister thing you’re holding?
Cool, Doug! Funny, yesterday the woman who started Hats yelled out at us from her truck as we were walking by.
We’d love to have Brenda visit our blog — hi Brenda, if you’re reading — maybe you’ll come for a dive vacation sometime!
Thanks, Doug, for passing the word about our blog — it’s fun to have a growing community.
Hats!
I don’t know if you guys remember Brenda, who works at the Post Office here, but it turns out she’s an avid diver. I told her about your site, so you may be getting a visit from one of your former locals someday!