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Archive for the ‘Water Sports + Recreation’Aug 29, 10 Comments (0)
Good morning all, once again I apologize for the messed up daily blogs, we still are without internet at home! Yesterday was a very busy day. I first took the dogs for a long two hour walk with our friend Joey down to the salt ponds via the Barry/Arjan trail and did some trail cleaning along the way. It was so hot by 9:00 that we both said, “that’s it”, we were pretty much soaked to the bone from sweat and the dogs were running from one shady spot to the next. After getting home and washing everyone and eating breakfast I then headed out for some last minute shopping before I leave Wednesday morning and that ended up taking up a good part of the day, it seemed like I went everywhere! While at work yesterday I brought home my camera gear, tanks and dive gear and at 9:30 last night Aimee and I went for a fun night dive hoping to see some coral spawning. The bad news is we didn’t see any spawning, the good news is we found lots of other cool things to photograph anyways! We ended up being out there for an hour and a half, I keep forgetting how much I love and miss night diving! We got home at around midnight and after cleaning our gear and taking apart the camera we finally fell into bed and we were both asleep in seconds! Here’s another fun shot I got the other day while out touring the reef in mini-sub style! We found this giant red barrel sponge with this beautiful black crinoid attached to it’s rim, it was picture perfect! Lots to do today, be back tomorrow, Barry Aug 18, 10 Comments (0)
Good evening friends, tonight’s photo is dedicated to our friend Arjan who we worked with for years and recently moved back to Holland to start a bed and breakfast getaway. At around 300 feet out in front of the Curacao Sea Aquarium there is a big rock with the most beautiful yellow and red Deep Water Gorgonian on it that you will ever see! Arjan and Dutch first found this place while diving here many years back, and yes you read that right, they used to dive to this place with tanks! Ok, not just any tanks, they used mixed gasses and carried multiple tanks at once and would have to spend hours decompressing on the way back to the surface. Remember folks, for most people diving to 100 to 130 feet is considered the maximum for regular scuba diving but these guys went a step further and trained how to go super deep, it’s called tec diving and it can be very dangerous but also very rewarding. So apparently Arjan was the first to discover this place and now it’s one of the many stops we make during “The Beauty Run” in the new Curacao Mini-Sub. This is Kendra on the left and Nicky on the right this morning during a super fun tour we took exploring the reef and looking for new creatures. Our goal was to find a new deep water fish that lives at around 400 feet that is being named after Nicky but we never found one. You just can’t imagine all the beautiful stuff there is to look at way down below the Earths surface, creatures and fish that only a handful of humans have ever seen! You can see the little red numbers above Nicky’s head reading our current depth, I love watching that thing as we go deeper and deeper and just can’t believe how lucky we all are to see such things! Our Beauty Run tour lasts around an hour and starts out at about 185 feet. We usually go to a giant sunken anchor first that is just filled with fish and teaming with life. We then fly over fields of beautiful sponges on our way to the two sunken tug boats then drop down to a place called “Jeff’s Ledge” which is exploding in colors to beautiful to even describe! After that it’s down deeper to “Arjans Rock” and then deeper to 400 to 500 feet exploring the walls and sandy patches for new and unusual creatures. We had two ladies today from England who took this tour as well in the afternoon and just loved it,! So again for those of you visiting Curacao or already here stop by or call us to make a reservation, you will not be disappointed! Again it’s www.substation-curacao.com or call +5999-465-2051 and remember you get a photo shoot with me as well underwater included in the price, I can take your photos inside or outside it’s all up to you!
Aimee had the day off and took the dogs to Saint Joris for a great morning of fun in the sun! Unfortunately we no longer have a day off together any more, I am hoping that we can eventually fix that once the sub station gets more under way.
Off to bed, see you tomorrow, Barry
Aug 8, 10 Comments (0)
Hello readers, how was your weekend?? I had a pretty fun day as usual starting out with photographing my two visitors during a dolphin swim. And to make the whole dolphin swim even better, besides the sun and the crystal clear water, Aimee was their trainer! I am going to just guess and go out on a limb and say they had a wonderful time, at least from where I was standing that’s what it looked like! After the swim they did a little shopping then went over and got kissed by a sea lion and then back to watch the 10:30 dolphin show, it was a full morning. The next stop was the sea glass beach. It was raining when we got there but quit almost immediately and then with a short walk we found the sea of sea glass! This is a place I found years ago and it is one of the best spots in Curacao for sea glass. The glass here is very old, and has beautiful natural rounded edges and can be found in every shape, size and color under the sun! We stayed there for about an hour and a half, my how time flies when your having fun! Our next stop or their next stop was me dropping them off at Mambo beach for two hours to eat and do some more shopping and at 3:30 I picked them back up and took them back to the Avila Hotel. We have a little problem in Curacao at the moment, there looks to be a gas shortage or gas strike ahead! Yesterday and today cars have been lined up for blocks trying to fill up, we have no idea at this point what is going on or how long it will last so we will keep the driving to a minimum. Because of this gas traffic jam I had a hard time getting the girls home, I had to take a long out of the way loop instead. So we decided to just call it a day, the ladies have a spectacular hotel to relax in and we had some stuff to do at home.
I am still getting lots of requests for more sub photos so here is a new one from my fun photo shoot on Friday! This is pretty much “picture perfect”, even I like this one and I am really picky! The two smiling face are friends I work with at work, there is never a shortage of models or volunteers at the Sea Aquarium! Our two sub pilots have been now practicing for two weeks and are becoming masters at driving these things!
That’s it. more tomorrow, thanks for all the kind comments! Barry
Aug 5, 10 Comments (0)
Good evening readers, here is a fun photo of our friends Karine and Brianna today in the new state of the art mini-sub. For those of you who I have been trying to get down here for years I am not kidding when I say there is lots of cool stuff to do here, just ask these two smiling ladies. A big thanks to the man himself, Dutch for making this trip possible today and although you can’t see her Aimee is in the back seat as well behind our pilot Michiel. The girls went on an exciting one hour trip called “the Beauty Run” named after all the spectacular things you are guaranteed to see! I think they went down close to 400 feet today and upon their return they said they say lots of big fish and even a Lionfish at 180 feet! Karine belongs to a wonderful family in Wyoming where Aimee and I get to go fossil collecting when we are in the States, so finally I am able to start paying them back a little on my own turf. I picked these ladies up from the airport last night and directly delivered them to the Avila Hotel, the hands down best place to stay on the island! This morning Aimee picked them up at 10:30 and they all went for an afternoon walk around Punda and had lunch in Outrabanda. Then at 1:30 they showed up at the new Curacao Substation and at 2:30 they were off on a once in a life time incredible adventure. We just finished having dinner on the BBQ at home and soon I will deliver them back to the Avila. Tomorrow they are on their own, Saturday we play and Sunday they get to swim with the dolphins and Monday they head out on an island adventure on quads, so lots to do still! Most who have visited know that I always post your face on the web for all to see so remember to smile real pretty!
Time to get moving, more tomorrow, Barry
Aug 4, 10 Comments (0)
Good morning all, I am sick with what I think could be Dengue Fever again! I worked all day yesterday and did two short dives but felt sick all day long, in fact I really struggled to make it thru the day. When I got home I immediately laid down but after an hour I got up to go the restroom. Well no sooner had I walked in the bathroom when I felt this overwhelming fever/stomach ach and started throwing up, it was awful!! I actually laid on the bathroom floor for awhile while Aimee put a big wet cool towel over my back and slowly brought the fever down. The rest of the night was spent drinking liquids, taking fever reducer and going back and forth the restroom, it was a fun night. I do feel a bit better this morning with a headache and sore joints and will try to go into work just for a little while to check in.
Yesterday we had Harold, the owner of “Curacao Nights Magazine” www.nightspublications.com with us in the sub and the owner of Caribbean Crafts www.caribbeanhandcraft.com Many of you may remember 4-5 years ago when Aimee was on the cover of Curacao Nights free-diving out on the reef, still one of my favorite pictures!
Meet Nicki and Alex, two of the kids I have spent a lot of time with here in Curacao as they are the children of the owner of the Sea Aquarium, Dutch. I think I have sent 2-3 photos of Alex out over the years, one when he was on the beach riding his bike and one when he had caught a big fish, does that ring any bells. I guess I can’t call Nicki a kid anymore as she is now studying to be a doctor in collage in Holland and is just here on vacation at the moment, smart one she is! These two jumped in the other day for a sub ride and rode in the back. The sub fits five people including the pilot. Two people lay on their stomachs in front, the pilot sits in the middle looking out the big dome and behind him there are two more seats and each has it’s own window as you see here. These two were a lot of fun to shoot, besides this nice photo with smiles, I also brought back pictures of them with tongues out and crazy faces, it really made me laugh underwater!
That’s about it for this morning, more later, bye now, Barry
Jul 31, 10 Comments (0)
Good morning all, yes as you can see it’s getting harder and harder for me to get these out at night anymore! I don’t have much for you all this morning. I am headed out with the dogs in a few minutes for a walk and hope it doesn’t rain again.
The new job seems to be going very well. I have a friend coming in on Monday who I will start training. He will help me with photos underwater and hopefully be able to take my place when I go to the States for a few weeks in September, he will be the first person I have ever trained in depth and I think he will do a great job! We have pretty much just been taking media folks out in the sub this week although we have been disappointed with some of the articles that have been written and they seem to always pick the worst photo? I just don’t get it. I shot this photo a few days ago when a giant school of Brown Chromis swam by and engulfed the sub, the passengers just loved it!
We have some friends coming from our home town in Rapid City, South Dakota next week, sure hope I can find enough time to spend with them! That’s about it, more tonight, Barry
Jul 28, 10 Comments (0)
Good evening gang, how was your day?? Mine went by so fast as I kept so busy today. I did two sub dives both with VIP’s aboard from either newspapers, t.v. or local radio stations. On the first dive I got to photograph the giant school of Boga’s again, this time even better shots plus I got photos of the sub and it’s passengers watching a giant 6 foot long Green Moray eel eating on the reef, that was so cool! On the second dive a friend showed up so he ended up following me on a dive with the sub to see first hand what this baby looks like underwater. After I took the normal people shots in the front window I gave the OK signal to our sub pilot Bruce and off we went holding onto the sub at 70 feet down the reef. Our destination was this big Orange Elephant Ear sponge that you see here that I had found weeks ago and thought it would be great to shoot with the sub. I got into position and again gave the OK signal and seconds later here came the sub and stopped right behind the sponge for a quick “Kodak Moment”. The two beautiful ladies inside are from a local radio station called Paradise 103.1, you can check that out at www.paradisefm.an The girls were some of the best models I have ever had, they never stopped smiling! I lucked out in getting some Brown Chromis and a single Creole Wrasse into the photo as well, that’s what you call perfect timing! After about three minutes I gave my last OK to everyone aboard and I waved good-bye, it was time for me to head to safer depths and for them to get on with the tour, it was a fun dive!
Not much else to report, Aimee had the day off, she took the dogs for a long walk this morning after the rain and spent the rest of the day keeping busy.
I’m out, later folks, Barry
Jul 23, 10 Comments (0)
Ya’at’eeh all, that’s Navajo for (Hello) (pronunciation dependant upon the tribe, or area of the reservation you are on). I must say it was another super fun day in mini-sub land! Mark, from the World Famous Dive Bus Hut brought two friends/customers for a sub ride at 8:30. These are friends and divers that Mark and Suzy have known over the years and they wanted a close encounter of the deep kind!! So while the sub got ready to go and was lifted by crane into the water Mark and I suited up for a fun dive along side the sub. We went out first and within minutes here came the sub with two smiling faces right up front!! Those of you who are lucky enough to know Mark will immediately recognize his rubber chicken hanging on the back of his tank. Rumor has it that the chicken gives Mark his incredible sense of humor and direction underwater! Some claim they have actually seen mark talking to his chicken but I can not confirm this to be true or false, although I do see him playing with his chicken a lot?? Hmmm?? As you can see Mark had a great time with his friends and after five minutes of goofing around we both waved goodbye and off they went down to 450 feet to see the giant Stella Maris. Later in the morning we all got to watch the sub come back from it’s journey and moments later two very happy people climbed out. About an hour later I jumped in the water again for another quick photo shoot with some new passengers and then spent the rest of the day inside sorting photos.
I forgot to congratulate Andy and Alberto on a wonderful stage in the Tour de France yesterday. Aimee was screaming and yelling at the t.v. and I think it’s safe to say she scared me and the dogs a bit, she’s a Tour Freak! It’s so weird to watch these races and know that we spend time with these guys now in Curacao each year, heck I took Alberto on his first dive, how many people can say that??
Good night everyone, be back tomorrow, Barry
Jul 21, 10 Comments (0)
Good evening friends, guess what I did today?? Yep, I went down in the sub to a depth of 450 feet and got to see and explore the big sunken ship called the “Stella Maris”. As the story goes, the Stella Maris was seized by local authorities many years ago because it was found hauling illegal drugs into Curacao. It then sat empty for years and years in the harbor. Dutch told me today that after all the court cases it finally became a liability to the Curacao government and the Sea Aquarium received permission to make an attempt to use the ship as a dive object or artificial reef. So 18 years ago the boat was pulled out of the harbor by tugboats and slowly made it’s way to it’s chosen location out in front of the now Mambo Beach. The plan was to sink it in 120-140 feet of water which would have made it a great deep diving spot but as you know things sometimes don’t go as planned! The charges were set and the boat began to sink and all looked good until it all of a sudden decided to turn the wrong way because of a big air bubble inside the hull. The tugs tried and tried to force it in the right position but may have ended up doing more harm than good. I was talking to people today that were on location when it was sunk and they said, “the back went down first and then the front came out the water like a breaching whale and you could hear this terrible whistling sound! Then the ship was gone, never to be seen by anyone again, until now! What happened years ago was that the ship slid down an extremely steep vertical slope, (in fact it looked like a sheer wall to me today) and then came to rest in the sand at 450 feet! So now as luck would have it anyone can visit the Stella Maris as it’s going to be one of the main trips that will be offered thru Substation Curacao. Today we took a young man and his father down and upon returning the son wanted to go again so at 2:30 we loaded him up and off he went again, talk about great parents! I can hardly wait for you all to take a journey of a lifetime, for me just getting to see all the weird fish and corals was worth the trip, the ship was a bonus! For more info go to www.substation-curacao.com
Well, my head is spinning with images from today, I am so tired! It’s off to bed, I have a day off tomorrow with Aimee.
Sunken Regards, Barry
Jul 14, 10 Comments (0)
“Houston we have lift off”, breaking the bonds of Earths underwater world has long been one of humanity’s greatest dreams and most difficult challenges. Since we first began to have conscious thought, we have looked to the sea, hoping someday to explore it. Well folks the underwater World is now at your fingertips, it’s just a mouse click away and trust me when I say, it’s one of the coolest things you may ever do!! Look at this baby, it’s hundreds of years of innovation all put together into one small deluxe package! The day started with everyone working on the sub and me getting my underwater equipment ready. There are countless tests that have to be done in the sub before it hits the water not to mention charging batteries, checking the lights, adding more lead for weight and so on and so forth. Finally at around 2:00 today the big white garage door opened and out rolled the new Curacao Mini Sub. It was like a scene from “Top Gun” when the pilots came walking out (in slow motion) all decked out in their uniforms and then climbed into those beautiful jets! Then within minutes they had it tied to a big crane with heavy duty straps and gently lifted into the ocean and parked it in it’s specially made dock. They then did all kinds of water tests while it was still attached to the crane and moments later the signal was given and the sub was released from the crane and slowly departed on it’s first ever voyage in Curacao waters. I quickly shot photo after photo and followed the sub on a short but fun tour of the reef with a maximum depth of only 60 feet, remember this was only a test run. We ended up doing two short dives, the second was with a group of photographer and writers that are here from “American Way” magazine, “you know the magazine that is on all the American Airlines flights”, they are doing a story on the dolphins and the sub so keep your eyes out for that the next time you fly. So I think it’s safe to say the first day went really well, they are now open for business. You can make your reservations by contacting me or go to www.substation-curacao.com Stay tuned for more.
My week is really messed up with the arrival of the sub, I will now have to work both my days off but still plan on taking Sunday off as usual. All is well, see you tomorrow, Barry
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