Vote for Salt Cay Divers!

Scuba Diving Magazine Top 100

 

Hey divers and friends, this is your chance to write a few words about Salt Cay Divers and put us in the Top 100 Dive Destinations for 2013.  Click on the link above or use this one - http://www.scubadiving.com/top100.  

 

And while you're at it, send us an email to begin your reservations for 2013 for a dive vacation that can include whale watching, snorkeling, lion fish hunting and kayaking the mangroves (or email just to say hello, we'd love to hear from you.) 

 

Come join us on Salt Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands!

Salt Cay Underwater Safari

January was the month for lionfish hunting in the waters around Salt Cay. Dive Master Richard and the Scheller Tribe (Arnie, Sonia, Mat, Jessie and George) spent many underwater hours with their hawaiian slings, protective gloves and a specially designed bag for capturing the lion fish they found. Approximately 25-30 lion fish were taken from the reef during this Underwater Safari by the Scheller Tribe.

A Lionfish is any of several species of venomous marine fish in the genera Petrois, Parapterois, Brachypterois, Ebosia or Dendrochirus, of the family Scorpaenidae. The lionfish is also known as the Turkey Fish, Scorpion or Fire Fish. They are notable for their extremely long and separated spines, and have a generally striped appearance, red, green, navy green, brown, orange, yellow, black, maroon, or white. (from Wikipedia).

Lionfish are predators of all the reef fish and have very few natural predators themselves. They are known to increase in number and wipe out large numbers of other fish if not kept under control. With this in mind, Arnie & Sonia Scheller and their family assisted Divemaster Richard from Salt Cay Divers in lessening the lionfish population around Salt Cay.

Lionfish are not usually agressive toward humans and will keep their distance when given the opportunity. Their sting is not deadly but extremely painful. With caution Richard and the Schellers proceeded to bag these beautiful but poisionous lionfish and protect the reef fish around Salt Cay.

Extreme care was taken both in grabbing the lionfish with the hawaiian sling and then in placing the lionfish into the bag so that no one would get stung by these venomous fish.

If you are an experienced diver and interested in helping protect the reef from the voracious lionfish, contact Debbie at Salt Cay Divers.

The Schellers return the end of March and Salt Cay Divers thanks them and looks forward to their continued efforts battling the ever increasing population of lionfish off the island of Salt Cay.

Diving the Endymion near Salt Cay

Well folks, the weather was gorgeous so Ollie took a group of divers and snorkelers from Salt Cay out to the Endymion wreck. They said the seas were so calm, only took them 30 min to get there.
Once there, the conditions could not have been more perfect. No currents, visibility 100+. They saw three reef sharks, turtles, large groupers (don't tell the fishermen) and spectacular colors of sea fans and both hard and soft corals. (Special thanks to Simon Bateson for the turtle picture.)

There was a huge Baracuda guarding the entrance to one of the swim throughs, but the divers just starred him down and he let them pass. They stopped at my favorite un inhabited island Great Sand Cay, on the way back to Salt Cay.

They said it was just as gorgeous as ever. Next time, it's my turn to go!


Summer is upon us so that means calm seas, Dolphins and Mantas will be here soon.

Hope to see you down here real soon. Debbie

Turtles of Salt Cay

Our friends, Wendy and Simon have just sent us these lovely pictures of turtles they spotted on one of their dives last week. You can click on the picture to view it larger.

Pictures compliments of Simon Bateson.

New Friends and Old Friends at Salt Cay Divers and Coral Reef

We want to send a warm welcome to all of our new and returning staff.

Salt Cay Divers and Coral Reef Bar and Grill has a diverse, multicultural team of employees. We have learned so much about each other's cultures - they are a great group who love to dive, dance and dine with our guests. Their goal is to provide each visitor to the island with a unique experience while in Salt Cay.

New Friends (the Divemasters):

Richard Agraba is PADI certified dive master since 2003. He was born and raised in Davao, Philippines. He attended University and studied Electrical Engineering but his passion for ocean and travel led him to a career in diving.

Richard joins Salt Cay Divers in Jan 2009 and is very excited about being in the Turks and Caicos waters. “The diving is very different than the Philippines and so much variety of corals and different creatures in Salt Cay from what I am use to seeing.” His passions, other than diving, are wind surfing Reggae and island music and he is ready for the return of Saturday night karaoke at the Coral Reef Bar & Grill.

Dave, not David (only his mother can call him that) Goring is a PADI certified dive master and Instructor. He has been training others since 1996. He was born in Bishops Cleeve England calling himself a “country boy”. He arrived in Salt Cay and has been training and diving with divers since Nov 2008. “I love this island. It is so peaceful and quiet, such friendly people, great diving and hearing the whales sing is like listening to a concert under water”.

Dave has quit a wit about himself and told me “the only job I am really qualified to do is the Village Idiot” he says that with a big smile on his face. Quite the opposite as he is extremely talented in teach. He loves to joke, but is very serious about safety and his love of our underwater world. He has travelled throughout the Caribbean and Middle East countries.
Divers have told me he is one of the best dive masters they have ever had!

Old Friends (the Staff):

Enye Guierrier is our all around everything man. Enye hails from Haiti and fixes some of the best cracked conch, peas and rice and cole slaw this side of the Mississippi! Enye has been with Salt Cay Divers for the past 4 years. He recently got married and now they are expecting a child in a few months. Enye loves to cook and enjoys talking with the guests. His passion is for music and dancing. You will see him carrying tanks and assisting guests with their gear, then taking orders for their next meal at Coral Reef Bar and Grill. He hopes to bring his wife and child to Salt cay within the next year.

Deivi De Los Santos provides delicious meals and her favorite dishes to prepare are pastas and lobster. Deivi pronounced DAVIE was born in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. She has a 4 year old son that she will try and bring to Salt Cay this year. Her favorite things to do are cooking, dancing, singing and being a hair dresser. She loves Salt Cay because of the people here. She makes an awesome conch stew that is a must to try!!

Antonia Morales assist in the kitchen and bar area. Her margaritas made with fresh limes are only surpassed by mine. :) She loves to dance, sing loves to clean (imagine that) and enjoys the peaceful Salt Cay. Antonia is a Grandmother of 1 and has one son still living in the Dominican Republic. She was born and raised in Santo Domingo DR and has lived in the Turks and Caicos for the past 4 years.

Philiman Vincent has been with Salt Cay Divers and Coral Reef for the past 3 years. Her specialty in the kitchen is her peas and rice (aka beans and rice) and steamed fish. People rave about the flavors she is able to get with her combination of herbs. Philiman is a mother of two and her and her husband have lived in the islands for he past 12 years. Her daughter Gurdey attends the primary school in Salt Cay. Philiman is a bit more reserved but when the mood hits her she a heck of a good dancer.

With the world-wide economic situation in mind, we have done everything possible to curtail our pricing and continue with the quality we strive to provide both in our water activities and café and bar services.

We all still need to take time and enjoy our life so come join us as soon as you possibly can.

Best regards to all,

Debbie and Ollie

Happy New Year 2009

Welcome to our two new dive masters Dave Goring of the UK and Richard Agraba of the Philippines. They have a combined 20 years of teaching scuba diving. Richard specializes in kayak instruction and Dave loves to take people on new dives - when we find a wonderful location he names the site after them!

Come on down to see the humpback whales, they are back and hear them singing on most every dive.


Lionfish are being spotted on almost every dive. While they are gorgeous to look at we need to decrease the number of Lion fish as they eat all the baby fish on the reef. We are looking at the safest way to capture the fish without anyone getting stung. We will be having specific Lion fish hunting dives geared to their capture. We have received several recipes to prepare Lion fish as they are considered a delicacy to eat.

Come join us for a fun filled winter adventure.

Salt Cay Divers thanks you!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your outpouring of support, phone calls, emails and generous contributions. Salt Cay was hit with a category 4 hurricane. The fantastic news is there were no injuries or lives lost. The majority of damage was to the roofs and will need to be repaired or rebuilt and that we are expected to be without power for several months. Those who know Salt Cay, know we are a strong community and will bounce back stronger and better than ever!

For all you snorkelers, divers and whale watchers, Hurricane Ike was primarily winds clocked at 150 - 180 miles per hour. We did not experience surges and there was very little impact from the sea - the reefs and walls look in great shape and we hope to resume dive operations as early as December. I went diving today - see my comments in the sidebar of the blog.

The main task of getting the electric back has started and once it's done, we can use that compressor and dive! We have very little communication on island - no phones but I do have internet service. If you have reservations prior to December, we will help you reschedule your vacation or set you up with a partner in Providenciales (the big island) in the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Once again, thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for all of your concern and your contributions to the rebuilding of Salt Cay!

We look forward to seeing you in the near future!

Debbie and Ollie