Woke up this morning early — for me, for a cruise — and met the people we would be diving with. Three white guys singing reggae and a local making fun of them. They picked up six people from the cruise ships, five from ours and one from the vessel docked next to it, and told us the waters where we were originally going to dive was too choppy.
So we would dive elsewhere. And, boy, would it be a treat. This is all relative, of course. We didn’t know where we were going and we’re in Bermuda. This is a cruise dive and, thus, all a treat.
Our hosts took us out to the Mari Celeste, a Confederate paddle boat that had completed at least five successful trips running the Union blockade to the southern states.
One day in the late summer of 1864 …
On September 13, 1864, under the command of Captain Sinclair and piloted by Bermudian, John Virgin, with a cargo of “classified merchandise” which included beef, bacon, ammunition and much needed rifles for the war effort, she left port enroute to Wilmington, North Carolina. The Mari Celeste made an unusually fast run through the east end channel and up the south side of the island. First officer Stuart announced some breakers he had spotted ahead, but the local pilot who was steering the vessel replied ” I know every rock here as well as I know my own house.” Within moments, the vessel had slammed hard into the reef. She sank bow first within eight minutes. The ship’s cook, who was the only casualty, had returned to his cabin against orders for some personal belongings and never made it out of the sinking ship.
It is a nice wreck to dive, both paddles are still in good shape. Recent storms have uncovered even more artifacts that the local authorities are inspecting and recovering.
This is in 55 feet of water, and the reefs are nice, with some nice fish inhabitants.
Our second dive was on the reef upon which the Mari Celeste found her fate. There were caves in there, big ones by the way the guides talked, but The Yankee and I just swam over them. (She’s not big on caves.)
Nice dives, but not as good as a dive resort. One of the guys on our boat was the one you have to watch out for — brand new gear and he didn’t yet know how to use it. He kept bumping into everybody. And he was diving while seasick, which is probably as fun as it sounds.
Even still, how lucky to be here, to take those dives, and be able to consider where your next trip might be, one day, even as you’re still in Bermuda.
What a blessed life.
Of course our cruise ship pushed off from Bermuda this evening, so there’s that particular difficulty to consider. We hit a few shops for gifts and baubles and then got back on board in time to point and giggle at the stragglers.
So we are sad. Bermuda is behind us. The ocean is before us. And then New Jersey — which is a fine enough place, but talk about your come-downs.
And now, to cheer us all, pictures of a child celebrating a first birthday on the beach yesterday.
