Hi

I am one of the owners of Deep Blue Resort and Dive Shop in Utila I would like to that The Reef Society www.REEF.org for an amazing trip that they arranged to our resort.

I have never seen people so enthusiastic about fish identification, you could have put these people in a fish bowl and they were happy, Bryan Dias from REEF conducted nightly fish talks and slide shows to help some of the beginners and the more advanced also helped, no one was left out.

Some of the more experienced people in the group were phenomenal at their Goby and Blenny Identification.

Just to let everyone know we are in contact with Bryan Dias to try to arrange a group for next year with one of their top surveyors, I will really look forward to this.

And to thank the group for being great customers here is one of your reports so you can tell everyone in your own words how the week went as I think it is a tribute to what diving is like in Utila.

Diving with R.E.E.F. in Utila with Deep Blue

Finding the Bacon Snapper—Diving with R.E.E.F. in Utila, July 16, 2005 to July 23, 2005

This was my sixth trip with R.E.E.F., the fish survey group which maintains a data base of fish counted in member conducted surveys. This “citizen science” group is one of my favorite groups to dive with as it is diving with a purpose, the quality of the dive operations chosen is high, and the R.E.E.F. members are just great people.

Getting to Utila is no small trick. There are decent connections from Houston and Miami to San Pedro Sula, but the flight out to Utila is on Atlantic Airways, a small commuter line for Central America using 20 passenger turboprops. We flew from SPS to La Ceiba, a port on mainland Honduras and from there after a 2 hour layover to Utila. There we were met by Shirley with Deep Blue Resort with a taxi bus that took us to the Deep Blue Diver Dive School and from there, via boat to Deep Blue Resort.

About half of us didn’t get our bags (I had mine) and Deep Blue Resort run by Shirley’s son Steve and Jasmine did there best to make up for the lack of luggage. With good rental dive gear and help with T-shirts and other clothing and amenities, they kept us going until the luggage showed up 2 days later. Very good service in this department even though the fault had nothing to do with them.

Deep Blue Resort is nicely set among coconut palms and other vegetation on the south side of the island facing the Honduras mainland which is visible in the distance. The boat leaves from the lagoon side of the island however which makes for calm boardings and exits in the evenings. Rooms are clean and air-conditioned with balconies facing the ocean. They are moving the dock closer to the resort which will shorten the walk from the dock to and from the resort.

Our usual schedule was 2 tank dives in the morning and a 1 tank dive in the afternoon or two tanks in the morning and a night dive. Utila isn’t a big island so even drives out to the north side of the island only took an hour or so.

Diving was simply put--spectacular. I rate it in the top three places I’ve been in the Caribbean (along with Saba and Little Cayman). Steve, divemaster Chris and Swin the boat captain know the dive sites like the back of their hands and gave impressive briefings every time. For the most part, the reef is in excellent condition. Weather from Hurricane Emily was not an issue. We did miss out on some night dives because of weather, but it was not sure that these squalls were hurricane related and they did cool the temperature off some.

The R.E.E.F. group was all experienced divers and allowed to pretty much dive as we wanted. Typical dive length was a little over an hour with by mutual, if unspoken, agreement everyone coming up with 10 minutes of each other.
We were a well coordinated group dedicated to our surveying and the week passed smoothly and all too quickly.

Brian Dias, R.E.E.F.’s outreach and education director was trip leader and did an outstanding job with evening lectures on fish identification and general organization of the activities.

Usually mentioned within a breath of Bay Islands diving are the no-see-ums-invisible biting flies. The location of Deep Blue Resort on a spit of land in the Lower Lagoon gives them a steady breeze. I did use repellent, but I was hardly bitten at all. I did get some mosquito bites, though. Both repellent and insecticide sprays were supplied gratis in the rooms.

The real treat of the trip was Jasmine’s cooking. A triumph for breakfast, lunch and dinner! A special treat was the morning bacon—some of the best we’d ever had—hence our search for the bacon snapper.

Our tentative overall species number identified was 182. Highlight fish were a large eyed toad fish, Irish pompano, and a mushroom scorpion fish. We looked for a whale shark but none was to be had during our stay—peak time for these is in the spring. Deep Blue Resort carries out a whale shark research program in the spring during this time where researchers are invited in and divers can participate in the program. Highlight dive sites were Black Hills (literally an aquarium of fish on this little sea mound), Duppy Water and The Maze in Turtle Harbor. Shore diving at the resort is also available and was good as well.

Best endorsement for Deep Blue’s operation and Utila diving—I plan to go back in the spring.
__________________
PADI OWSI (retired)

Thanks again for your kind words and your love of diving

Steve Fox
www.DeepBlueUtila.com
www.UtilaWhaleSharkResearch.com

I first went to deep blue in April 2006 for 2 weeks with a group of 20 from our dive site, and fell in love with the place. As a newly certified diver it was my first time diving in the ocean and I was treated like a pampered princess.

Aside from the really nice rooms, which are roomy, clean, bright and each having their own private bath and balcony with seating and hammock, the main resort room is very spacious, with pool table, other games, computers for guests with internet access and the never empty coffee pot

I basically had my hand held and every dive was a new adventure with Steve and his staff. They also made sure to take us to different dive sites for a wide variety of experiences. I also did my nitrox cert on this trip.

I enjoyed myself so well that I returned again on my own for 3 weeks in October and also got to participate in the Reef.org reef survey project happening one of those weeks. Which was wonderful because the Reef Representative gave talks and presentations each evening which were very educational and fun as well. It was also a great experience to be part of doing a reef survey.

Topping off this trip was Captain Swin finding us Whale sharks on 2 different days so we got to go into the water numerous times with 3 whale sharks!

I did my advanced diving certification with Matt on this trip, and I found the level of instruction to be beyond anything I've experienced previously when I worked with a YMCA and a Naui instructor for my ow cert.

The few days I had the resort to myself between other guests arriving, Matt and I did some really cool and fun dives, but I must say that Swin the boat captain for the resort , the best on the island and Matt made sure that I got to different dive sites on each trip so that I've covered almost all fo the south side of the island and many of the north side.

I returned for a 3rd visit in December where I had the opportunity to meet Alexandra Cousteau and a great discussion on Shark conservation something that Steve the owner of Deep Blue is very active in and world renown through out the shark conservation groups for his work on whale shark research and Id in conjunction with ecocean and other shark conservation groups.

All meals are included, Steve is an excellent chef and every dinner was wonderful. Plus the great thing is that dietary restrictions are never a problem and I had meals made for me to meet my needs of a high protien/low carb diet which is not always easy when traveling.

I have been shown some amazing sites when diving that many divers never get to see, the instruction is excellent, nitrox is always available with out any problems, and the boat staff ensures that your diving experience is safe, fun and consists of a variety of different dives, sites with a variety of topography.

I would hands down recommend this resort to anyone looking to visit Utila who wants to dive. Going into town is never a problem and transportation to and from town for lunch , a visit to stroll around or for dinner and a night out if you wanted is not a problem.

I look forward to returning again to do my rescue course with Steve and Matt later on this year

Thank you all of you again for making each of my stays with you absolutely wonderful!

A resort amidst coconut palms is a great vacation spot!

have to agree with you 100% travelmaniac