BLACKBEARD'S CRUISES
Their promotional photographs are among the most compelling in live-aboard diving. The aerial image shows a pair of sloops under full sail, gliding across a crystalline, aquamarine sea. In a single click of a shutter the iconic concepts are captured ... sun, fun, romance, and scuba adventure. Add the roguish mystery and pirate symbolism of the Blackbeard's name to a fascinating Bahamas cruise itinerary, throw in an attractive charter price, savor with a couple of decades of quality service, and you have a recipe for one of the world's most successful and enduring live-aboard dive concepts.
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The heart of Blackbeard's Cruises is a trio of virtually identical 65-foot sloops, each carrying 1,800 square feet of sail and a 135-horsepower diesel engine. The Pirate's Lady, Morning Star, and Sea Explorer are each configured in a similar fashion:
Below deck — Private berths rim a cozy air-conditioned main salon and small galley. Space is of necessity well utilized in a 65-foot vessel that can accommodate up to 23 guests. The Blackbeard's formula is intimate, with berths shielded by curtains rather than private cabins, and a common head and shower.
There is a sense of communal living and conviviality on a Blackbeard's Cruise. Fresh water is available of course, but not to be wasted. A water maker can produce 150 gallons per day, adequate so long as guests learn techniques of sailboat conservation. The showers are outfitted with dual outlets þ salt water to wash, fresh water for rinse. Meals are taken family-style on the table in the salon, or up on deck beneath the canopy of the Bahamian sky. The fare is sumptuous and ample, with snacks between meals (I was especially fond of the absolutely killer chocolate-chip cookies for that perfect apres dive treat!). And while drinking is not condoned before diving, when the day's scuba activities are wrapped, there is a well-stocked liquor cabinet and a cold keg of beer on tap.
Above deck — This is where all dive activities are staged. The tanks are stored on deck, and filled from hoses running from sound insulated compressors. Guests listen to a very thorough dive briefing from the crew, and then mount their BC and regulator on one of the 60 or 80 cubic feet aluminum tanks. A crewmember will lift the tank to the back, and then a giant stride from the starboard deck launches divers into the dive-dejour. When the dive is finished, divers swim to the stern, remove their fins, and climb up a commodious stair molded into the aft section. For anyone who has tried to climb back aboard a sailboat from a flimsy swim-step while wearing a scuba tank, the ergonomics of this system will be well appreciated.
While diving is a significant priority on all Blackbeard's cruises, the adventure of sailing is important as well. When the winds are right the crew is always glad to hoist sail, and welcome the involvement of guest who may wish to assist with a line or crank. The main deck offers room for guests to socialize, or perhaps simply get away from each other with a good book, an afternoon siesta, or simply a bit of personal revelry. There is something about being out to sea, the sound of the waves lapping on the hull and the breezes ruffling the main sail that is especially conducive to profound thoughts. Of course whatever insights you may have gained disappear once reimbursed in the hassles of everyday life, but for that one moment in time, Blackbeard's transports us to another time and a simpler lifestyle.
During my recent visit I joined Sea Explorer, captained by Steve Clark, for a couple days as they cruised between the Bimini Islands and Cat Cay. I flew over on the Chalk's seaplane to join the cruise in progress, but the rest of the guests boarded the vessel at Miami's Watson Island (about a 15-minute drive from Miami International Airport) and crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas aboard the vessel.
The specific itinerary depends on the time of year and guest preference. In the winter it is most convenient to leave out of Miami and visit the Biminis and Cat Cay, or perhaps structure an itinerary that might include Andros and the Berry Islands. During the summer the boats are more likely to leave out of Freeport to visit the shark and wreck dives off that side of the island before moving on to the oceanic pinnacles and wild dolphin encounters off West End Grand Bahama. Nassau departures will likewise include wreck and shark dives off southwest new Providence, but also the range to move into the Exumas for the more pristine and less-visited sites there. There is something about cruising these gorgeous islands in a sailboat, tucking into a secluded bay for the night, and watching more stars than you ever thought could possibly decorate the sky that sort of defines the Blackbeard's experience. And may also partially explain why the level of repeat visitation is so very high.
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While each cruise may be a little different, there are commonalties to the formula as well. There will usually be three dives each day, as well three night dives per trip (figure on 18 dives on a week's charter). Instruction and checkout dives are available, along with a comprehensive selection of rental gear. Here's a typical Blackbeard day out on charter: sleep, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, dive, eat, eat, dive, eat, drink, drink, sleep. In between you might do a little sailing, a little snorkeling, maybe paddle around in the ocean kayaks, read a book, watch the sunset, and count the stars. By the time you climb into your berth at night, expect to be pleasantly tired and definitely relaxed.
While
I didn't get to share the full week on board, the schedule to the week
of diving does give a sense of how a typical week might run. * Note:
The weather was pretty rough this particular week, and Sea Explorer
was not able to venture quite as far afield as they might had the seas
been calm. Weather conditions to a great extent will always influence
the specific itinerary.
Saturday — At 3:00 set sail from Watson Island bound for Bimini.
Clear customs early Sunday morning and begin the dive and cruising program.
Sunday — Do an easy acclimatizing dive off Bimini or Cat Cay
to make sure everyone is comfortable with their gear and buoyancy. Visit
Stevie's Wonder inside the Victory reef complex, as well as Lunkhead,
and wrap up with a dive on the Grottoes.
Monday — Begin with a drift dive along Tuna Alley (exceptional
for pelagic encounters and stunning visibility), and then dive Rainbow
Valley on Victory Reef. A late afternoon dive at South Cat Cay and a
night dive at Maxi Rocks finish off this day.
Tuesday — By now the guests are well in tune with their refreshed
diving skills and ready for some more high voltage adventure. The wall
dive at Nodules, and the Caribbean reef shark feed at Bull Run will
definitely stimulate the adrenaline junkies aboard. An afternoon and
night dive at Picket Rocks is a bit more serene, but nonetheless fulfilling,
especially for the UW photographers.
Wednesday — The deep dive (90-95 feet) to the Bimini Barge
is the highlight of this morning, followed by a visit to a shallow patch
reef known as The Strip. The late afternoon and night is spent at the
wreck of the Sapona before motoring on to the vicinity of Cat Cay.
Thu
rsday
— More wall and reef dives this day before beginning the sail
home on Thursday night. By Friday the boat is back at Watson Island
in Miami, ready to clear customs at 7:00 AM. This allows guests from
anywhere in the country to manage a great week of diving, and fit it
all into a one week, Saturday-to-Saturday holiday.
The nuts-and-bolts of where the cruise goes does little to describe how the cruise feels however. Let me share my days (Tuesday and Wednesday) of this particular itinerary to better communicate the Blackbeard's experience:
While normally the crew would insist on some level of checkout dive before taking a guest on a wall dive, I was gratefully given a bit of latitude due to the fact I'd been diving on Blackbeard's boats in the past and they presumed I hadn't forgotten how already. So, early Tuesday morning found me aboard the Sea Explorer, breakfast and coffee already behind me, ready to experience the Bimini Wall. Nodules is done as a drift dive, past spur-and-groove coral canyons leading to an absolutely vertical precipice. I did most of the dive at around 110 to 115 feet, although it took a bit a discipline not to follow the drop ever deeper as one bit of black coral and tube sponge leads seductively to the next. The visibility was probably 120 feet and the scenery gorgeous, but the bottom time passes all too quickly at this depth.
Fortunately, the next dive provided more time, but given the excitement of the big animal encounter it didn't feel that way! At Bull Run (named obviously for the bull sharks that sometimes join the shark feed) the Blackbeard's dive staff tethered baits via a cable attached to a ring permanently embedded in the rock. Clearly the sharks are used to being fed here, for they began to swarm the site at the sound of our anchor. I found my spot in proximity to the bait with a coral head at my back, and was rewarded with many tight shark portraits. We had the sharks full and undivided attention so long as there was still bait on the cable, but once the bait was gone, so were the sharks. Proving once again how little interest they have in divers in general, unless enticed to the scene with bait. Still, this was a dive that really turned the adrenaline meter to high, and even the most reserved guests were now totally pumped up. (It is well to note that guests don't seem to stay reserved or shy for too long on a Blackbeard's cruise. The ambiance is too intimate to be strangers for long, yet perhaps another reason the repeat level is so high).
The pace
slowed down at Picket Rocks for the afternoon and night dive as I explored
this lively patch reef with my housed SLRs to concentrate on fish photography.
The night dive in particular was very productive as I found octopus,
slipper lobster, spotted morays, and the always fascinating parrotfish
in mucous cocoon.
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Blackbeard's
Cruises
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On Wednesday morning we started off with a dive on the Bimini Barge. A casualty of one of the hurricanes that hammered this area in the late 1980s, the barge now sits upright just outside Bimini harbor. I have dived it often in rather extreme currents, pulling hand-over-hand down the mooring line with my mask threatening to rip from my head. If that were the case today we would have found an alternate site, for the Blackbeard's divemasters are very astute at reading local dive conditions and providing for a safe experience. Actually, this day the current was nonexistent, the water extraordinarily clear, and the marine life now accumulating on the wreck quite awesome. My computer read 92 feet at the sand, so once again the time passed too quickly. In terms of sheer wealth of photo opportunity, this is a place I'd definitely like to stay longer!
The Strip provided another excellent shallow reef rich with tropical life and critter photo opportunities, but nothing compared to the massive schooling fish life now residing at the Sapona. This old ferrocement ship had led a varied and somewhat disreputable former life as a freighter, troop transport, rumrunner gambling ship, and even a target for Air Force gunnery practice. Much of her considerable mass sits above the waterline riddled with decay, but within gaping holes in her hull and surrounding her massive propellers, huge schools of grunt swarm in impressive profusion. The depth here is only 17 feet, and the Sea Explorer anchors conveniently nearby, allowing me to shoot several rolls of film, return to the boat for film change, and try some new and different lens combinations and subject selection. The night dive on the Sapona is another must-do on this particular itinerary.
It was with great regret that I left my new friends among guest and crew aboard the Blackbeard's vessel and returned to Miami on Chalk's. Two days were definitely not enough for me, and apparently for many of the guests, a week is not enough either. While a very high percentage of their clientele returns for subsequent Blackbeard's charters, the current recurrent champion has been aboard 23 times.