Turtles and Shipwreck Snorkel

Ship’s Excursion out of Bridgetown, Barbados

Ship: Norwegian Dawn (NCL)

Sailing Date: December 19^th, 2004

Date of Snorkel: December 24^th, 2004

Equipment Availability: we have our own which we take with us, but snorkeling equipment for this excursion can be borrowed from the cruise ship’s supply locker.  All equipment appeared to be clean and well maintained.

Water Access: Off the back of the excursion speed boat.

Unlike most of the snorkeling excursions we have taken, this one included THREE separate stops. Unfortunately they declined in successive order in terms of snorkeling quality!

Our first stop was at Cobbler’s Cove, about a 30 minute speed boat ride from the pier.  Along the way, our local guides were helpful in answering questions about Barbados and pointing out sites of interest, including the local Malibu Rum distillery and the hotel resort where Tiger Woods spent his honeymoon!  The site is very deep, but the turtles seem to know (from the propellers?) that boats mean food! They head towards the surface for fish treats and are simply glorious to see as they magically appear from the depths of the murky water.  We saw and photographed about 15-20 individual animals—absolutely gorgeous—along with a (puffer) Porcupine Fish, who took advantage of the treats that the turtles missed!  No fins are allowed at this site (they might hurt the turtles) and be prepared for excessive bruises from being kicked by other swimmers moving much too quickly to try and ride the turtles (a definite no-no!). The guides should have been more stringent in admonishing passengers who kicked and pushed to get at the turtles.

The second site took us back past the pier and about 15 minutes beyond it to the wreck site of the Berwyn.  This wreck is highly touted in the published snorkeling literature, but it is in reality much too deep, with poor visibility in the late afternoon. We saw lots of Ballyhoo, Damselfish and other species, but most were much too far down in the wreckage to be seen clearly or photographed.

The third stop was only 10 minutes beyond the Berwyn, where our guides took us to a local beach for drinks (free) and a swim. A refreshing stop, but most of our fellow passengers were to busy nursing bruises from the turtle viewing to really enjoy the beach.

 

Snorkeling Grade:   Turtles: A

                           Berwyn: C