We're often asked "When's the best time to dive the Caribbean?"   While individual trips and experiences may vary, summer and fall are probably the best diving seasons in the Caribbean.  The winter trade winds die down, and for the most part, calm conditions prevail.

That's when we see the waters around Lighthouse Reef in Belize go "glass calm" on certain days, and diving conditions are perfect.   Aboard the Sun Dancer II, we've been seeing sharks on our Blue Hole dive, and discovered a giant resident "loggerhead" turtle at Lighthouse. 

Loggerheads, known for their distinctive large head, are currently listed as "vulnerable" in marine conservation circles, and encounters with very large ones are not very frequent. 

During spring and summer months, the amount of eagle ray activity in Belize (and the western Caribbean) increases dramatically, and it's not uncommon to have several encounters during each week.  The size and grace of these animals is a great diving treat, and summer's the best time for close encounters!

In Grenada, because of the rugged underwater topography, we'll still be enoying current diving, but topside it's usually warm, sunny, and bright.  Grenada is still drawing raves from passengers for its "exotic" style of eastern Caribbean reef/marine life, and the topside cruising adventure (small islands are nearly always in view) gets high marks as well. 

In this month's DivEmail,  we'll also acknowledge PHD guest Dick Gamble as the winner of the Photo Portion of our 2006 Digital Photo and Writing Contest, and the winning shot was taken in Grenada, the first time in three years that a Caribbean shot has won.   Dick had a great comment about diving in Grenada:  "My thanks go to Wind Dancer for providing a Grenada itinerary that provided such unique underwater scenes"
 
Although it's summer throughout the Caribbean, we have two distinct weather patterns when dealing with the western Caribbean and southeastern Caribbean.  Belize is in the portion of the Caribbean (like Cayman, Cozumel, Honduras, and The Bahamas and Florida in the Atlantic) that is affected by hurricanes, usually in the early to late fall.  Grenada, located south and east, is outside of the "Hurricane Belt" and is rarely affected by hurricanes.

Sun Dancer II (Belize) will be in dry dock during September and October, so we've got the best part of the summer diving season still open for some fantastic diving adventures.

So if you'd like to experience Caribbean diving during its best season , we've got TWO NEW PROGRAMS with great incentives for summer travel to Belize or Grenada ! 

Click Here For Our Current Specials

In 2006, we held our Annual PHD Digital Photo Contest.  We added a special "twist" to the Contest last year, inviting guests who were not particularly photographers to "write in" with their best PHD story...  

Congratulations to Nadja Brandt , who sent in the winning essay. Nadja wins a FREE trip (live-aboard portion only, no airfare) on the Dancer vessel of her choice.  Her story begins:

"Giant Fin, Big Mouth: Diving Tete-a-Tete in the Galapagos

Near the edge of a rocky plateau 70 feet below the ocean's surface, I'm groping for sharp, barnacle-encrusted rocks with my gloved hands, when suddenly, our dive guide Jaime signals us to let go.  Our group of eight divers kicks furiously into the blue waters off the Galapagos Islands, trying to make headway into the open ocean..."  (to read the entire story, please click here ).

Plus, Congratulations to Dick Gamble, who sent in the winning photo, taken while diving in Grenada on Wind Dancer.  His pic of a blenny hiding in an azure sponge showcases some great creativity as well as patience. 

While exotic and unique critters have been the winners in recent years' contests, these relatively common reef elements (a blenny and sponge) were combined with style and grace to produce a top notch image.  Dick also  wins a FREE trip (live-aboard portion only, no airfare) on the Dancer vessel of his choice. 

You may read all of Nadja's story, plus see Dick's full size image and story, at:

http://www.peterhughesdiving.com/2006_pc_winners.html

Plus, if you have met Nadja or Dick on previous trips and wish to send a note of congratulations (but don't have their email) feel free to respond to us (phddivemail@waterpath.com)  and we'll pass it along...

Next Month:  The Honorable Mentions      

Peter Hughes recently visited the M/V Ocean Dancer in the Maldives to help the crew celebrate their second (and very successful) year operating this gorgeous live-aboard. 

A special thank you from the crew of the Ocean Dancer to all of their PHD guests who made their second season such a success!

Ocean Dancer will go into dry-dock for some routine maintenance before she kicks off her third diving season later this year. 

Ocean Dancer will again be hosting PHD guests beginning November 4th of 2007 and continuing through April, 2008.   The entire period is prime diving season in the Maldives, with November and December being the peak time for Whale Shark encounters.