i know, i'm a dork...

[patches12]

What other kind of sea creatures do I need to know about besides sharks or barracudas? Any pretty (poisonous) fish? I know sea urchins and jelly fish do not play nice! Anything I want to run (swim) away from? I think I can walk on water if necessary....won't need the knife!

 

Our itinerary is San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Which of these islands would have the best snorkeling? Swimming with rays or turtles?

 

Thanks,

[scubaran]

What other kind of sea creatures do I need to know about besides sharks or barracudas? Any pretty (poisonous) fish? I know sea urchins and jelly fish do not play nice! Anything I want to run (swim) away from? I think I can walk on water if necessary....won't need the knife!

 

Our itinerary is San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Which of these islands would have the best snorkeling? Swimming with rays or turtles?

 

Thanks,

 

There's those nearly invisible vampire fish that travel in large schools that attack on sight...... Just kidding! :p Been diving/snorkeling for years and there's really not much that will "attack" you so I wouldn't really worry (even been up close with those nasty looking 6 ft. green eels). Just keep a few things in mind, don't aggressively swim at anything in the water, always leave an "out" for anything you see and don't corner it into a defensive postion, if you see turtles always stay to the side of them to allow them to surface if necessary to get air, and don't waggle your finger in front of anything to entice it to come out (more than a few people have gotten bitten doing that to even the most benign looking creatures). There are some small fish, especially Sargeant Majors (small yellow fish with four black stripes) that can be territorial while their eggs hatch but you'd have to be next to the nest (a large purple patch) to get them mad and snorkeling rarely if ever gets you close enough for that. Remember, if you leave them alone, they'll leave you alone. :)

 

Randall

[patches12]

I have no worries about something attacking me. I just don't want to do something stupid like step on something or ????

 

I can't wait. My DH told me that I will not settle for snorkeling. Next I will be wanting scuba lessons!

 

Thanks for the much needed advice!

[scubaran]

I have no worries about something attacking me. I just don't want to do something stupid like step on something or ????

 

I can't wait. My DH told me that I will not settle for snorkeling. Next I will be wanting scuba lessons!

 

Thanks for the much needed advice!

 

Hi,

 

The rule of thumb in "good snorkel practice" is to only step on two things, the beach if doing a shore entry, or the steps up to the boat if going in from the water. All other times, keep the feet off the coral and sand. I don't know how many times I've politely asked people to quict standing on a coral outcrop while they adjust something and they just stare. Unfortunately a lot of beginners don't understand that coral is an animal. You wouldn't want someone to stand on your dog, so why would you stand on the coral? Also touching coral with bare hands has two effects, the coral may defend itself by stinging you, or the oils from your hand may damage the coral. Either case isn't pleasant for one of the parties. In dive training they stress bouyancy control not only for safety but to train you not to bump and damage things in the water. The diver's motto is, "take only pictures, leave only bubbles". Keep this in mind and you'll have a great time!

 

Randall

 

P.S. Sorry I'm throwing out a lot of stuff, but I take conservation pretty seriously. Remember, float, breath easily, know where you are in the water and ENJOY the view. :D

[patches12]

Oh I know not to stand on the coral or touch it.

 

I was thinking more like stepping on sea urchins accidentally while walking in the shallows without fins. Hey, there may not even be sea urchins in the sandy part. They are probably with the rocks and corals, aren't they? I walked into an enormous jelly fish one time in Gulfport Mississippi. The water is good for shrimping, but not for seeing what you are walking into.:eek:

[cocteau65]

What other kind of sea creatures do I need to know about besides sharks or barracudas? Any pretty (poisonous) fish? I know sea urchins and jelly fish do not play nice! Anything I want to run (swim) away from? I think I can walk on water if necessary....won't need the knife!

 

Our itinerary is San Juan, St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts. Which of these islands would have the best snorkeling? Swimming with rays or turtles?

 

Thanks,

 

Trigger fish will go for you sometimes but as far as I know this is most likely when they are actively nesting. Although they are capable of giving you a nasty nip they will more often just scare you.

[scubaran]

Oh I know not to stand on the coral or touch it.

 

I was thinking more like stepping on sea urchins accidentally while walking in the shallows without fins. Hey, there may not even be sea urchins in the sandy part. They are probably with the rocks and corals, aren't they? I walked into an enormous jelly fish one time in Gulfport Mississippi. The water is good for shrimping, but not for seeing what you are walking into.:eek:

 

Been in the Gulf in Gulfport, you were lucky the water was thin enough you could touch the bottom. :p The Caribbean is definitely a different place. The average visibility is something like 80ft. (you can see 80ft. in all directions). Urchins won't be in shallows where people walk on the beach and when you get to a depth that you start to see them (been around 4-5ft. from my experience), you're already floating. Besides, they're black and the sand's blinding white, pretty easy to find them. There is the occasional stingray in the sand but I've never seen one in snorkel areas (usually net fishermen on sand ledges are the ones who encounter them). Believe me you can walk in waist deep, put on your fins and you'll be perfectly safe (in the 10 years I've been regularly in the Caribbean, I never seen anyone have a problem walking into the water from the beach). :D

 

Randall

 

Randall

[patches12]

Ah, but I have the worst luck! My husband swears he won't fly with me anymore! :D If anyone can find trouble, it would be me!

 

I can't wait....I will be the best-dressed, goofiest looking snorkeler out there! I think I will walk forward with fins into the water. Give everybody a chuckle when they see me land on my face in the shallows.

 

Thanks for all your helpful info.

[gtojr]

This site is proof positive that divers have a sick sense of humor!

 

Hey I was wondering if anyone could answer a question for me (there are no other threads that have any closer subject matter). My husband and I are doing a Med cruise and have lined up dives in 4 or the ports. We are taking basic gear and renting the rest there. I am debating wether to take my dive knife with me or not. What I am worried about is whether it will be allowed through the metal detector going onto the Carnival Freedom. Does anyone have experience taking a dive knife on and off a ship?

[scubadiver888]

This site is proof positive that divers have a sick sense of humor!

 

Hey I was wondering if anyone could answer a question for me (there are no other threads that have any closer subject matter). My husband and I are doing a Med cruise and have lined up dives in 4 or the ports. We are taking basic gear and renting the rest there. I am debating wether to take my dive knife with me or not. What I am worried about is whether it will be allowed through the metal detector going onto the Carnival Freedom. Does anyone have experience taking a dive knife on and off a ship?

 

I have never brought a dive knife on a cruise but one of the guys on my last cruise did.

 

They do not let you take the knife onboard. Instead, you have to surrender the knife to security. When you get off the ship at each port you have to find someone in security to get your knife for you. When you return to the ship you have to go through a huge procedure for getting security to stow it again.

 

The diver in question joined us on the cruise ship shore excursions. For these things they typically have everyone meet somewhere onboard. The ship DM processes everyone's paperwork while the ship is docking. The moment you are docked everyone heads for shore. At that point they are usually hustling and there is not a lot of time. A few times they let us off from a different end of the ship. So the knife was stowed at the stern at one port then at the next port they let us off at the bow. The diver had to wait for someone from security to go to the other end of the boat, get the knife, bring it back then clear him. A few times he almost lost the group.

 

I've never seen anyone try to take medical shears. They work just as well as a knife, they are blunt tipped and difficult to use as a weapon. I would think you would have less trouble with them.

 

Personally, I have never seen anyone need a knife on a cruise ship shore excursion. It would be important if you and a buddy were diving without a guide.

[gtojr]

Thanks for the info. We will not be diving on ship excursions but on ones we arranged privately. Some are close enough to the docking time that I don't want to deal with security. I think I will just leave it at home...the medical sheers thing sounds like a winner, may go that route.

 

We dove in Cozumel last month and I just warned the ship security before our bag went through the metal detector. They had no problem with me taking it on. I am a little more antsy here because we are going to Europe and, while the crew also does the carribbean, they will not be seeing as many divers there so may not be real quick on the uptake.

 

Thanks again for the input.