In an effort to explore the diving experience of the Carib waters I decided to make a personal pact: dive 10 Caribbean Islands in 10 years. This thought was conjured after booking a trip down to Nassau, Bahamas in `05. Having met a few divers with the wanderlust bug & having such a great time, I knew this would be a good decision. So, having just turned 30, this`ll keep the mind & body in shape while providing great opportunities to meet good people with similar interests!

Hmm, how to begin? I bought a seemingly interesting book called "Best Dives Of The Caribbean" a few months back. My initial thought was to define some criteria for my first trip... a geographically "small" island, excellent diving, non-touristy, etc. Saba sounded PERFECT! Aren`t credit card reward points a blessing?? Well, nothing`s guaranteed... I tried finding a flight carrier to take me down to St. Maarten but by the time I searched all the eligible carriers` Reward seats were filled & the pricing for flights higher than I was ready to pay. Surprisingly after another week of alternate destination searching I learned that JetBlue just added a destination to the very place I was looking to connect with: St. Maarten! It was a symbolic payout indeed; my trip became tangible right after I booked tickets.

Following more research I decided to do a reverse search to optimize dive prospects... identified the island dive shops and booked accommodations & day trips through them. For years I`ve heard about Nitrox yet knew nothing about it. I plan to take a day course the beginning of Dec. `07 to reap the so-called benefits of increased bottom time, longer repetitive dives & shorter surface intervals! As it turns out, the dive center I booked the course with is offering a trip to Saba which overlaps with mine... would be fun to connect and share some memories with local divers.

Looking forward to the new year... Happy Turkey Day & Holidays!