Hurricane Felix be coming...

We left Utila yesterday in order to get out before Hurricane Felix made it impossible to do so. Now it looks like it is heading straight for us in San Pedro Sula.

I am here with my daughter Gina waiting until the Sept.9th when our flight is scheduled to leave. If the storm strikes I will get some great footage.

I had a remarkable experience on my last dive in Utila. During the surface interval on the way to the next dive site, our boat became surrounded by a huge school of Bottlenose Dolphins. There were at least 100 of the creatures. They were everywhere, leaping out of the water and swimming 10 at a time in front of the boat. What an experience - it was quite emotional after all the trials and tribulations of this journey to see something so spectacular. I take it as a positive sign.

Anyway, we got some superb footage. Even with the heat, the bugs, the hurricane and the lack of comfort and style...ít´s way better than going into work everyday.

I would appreciate it if you would invite others to join the Facebook Great Dives TV group. We have some fun stuff coming up that they should not miss. Stay tuned...

Rob

Date: Sept. 01.07 | Temp: 31° C

What next?

Hello folks,

I think we have had a change in plans. As of today, hurricane Felix is headed straight for Utila. That means going to the Morat Wall is out of the question. Getting off the Island may become impossible as well. I am starting to lose my enthusiasm. Any suggestions?

Rob

Date: Aug. 29.07 | Temp: 31° C

I am just lining up the last GreatDives.tv adventure for this trip. We are going to dive on the Morat wall off the Island of Babereta. The wall is known to be the best dive site in the Bay Islands. It is a strong current drift dive. We expect to see some big stuff...including pelagics and huge coral. Apparently the basket sponges are large enough to swim into. I hope none of us gets eaten. Not many people dive here as it is a three hour trip in even a fast boat. I am sure it will be worth it.

Things are happening very quickly now. GreatDives.tv is seeking original music for our episodes. If you know of any musicians or composers who might want to submit music, please refer them to the Facebook group or to http://www.greatdives.tv We are going to be giving away some very snappy t-shirts soon as well. I hope you win one.

And best of all, I expect I will get word today that the show has been picked up by a major distributor. I appreciate any new members that you can bring to the group. I hope all is well with all you. It's time to go diving.

Rob

Date: Aug. 25.07 | Temp: 32° C

I want to let you know that we have arrived safe and sound back from the Island of Guanaja. It was quite a journey on a very small, very slow, very crowded boat.

All the time we were under sail or harboured we were surrounded by hurricane Dean. That added some excitement. It was a hard journey but worth it.

The diving was incredible. We dove six different sites that included a wall, caves, and some of the finest coral reefs we have ever seen.

We had no real agenda when we arrived but were fortunate to meet up with a man named Brian Rowlands who owns the End of the World Resort on Guanaja. He really knew the area and was a perfect guide and host.

I have a ton of photos and a lengthy update to share, but the communication systems will not allow me to send it out right now. The weather in the Corn Islands is poor and it looks like we will have to cancel that leg of the journey.

It's 10:20 am and it's time to go diving. What are you doing? Thanks for your support and interest.

Rob

Date: Aug. 09.07 | Temp: 32° C

Paradise is perfect, but sometimes the production assistant gets ill, the luggage doesn’t arrive, and the underwater housing leaks just enough to destroy it and your brand new high definition camera.

So what is the perfect part? The diving is great, and talk about great dives. It was superb to get back into the water and dive Silver Gardens and Black Coral Wall. It was funny, even after only three months out of the water it still took a while to get my buoyancy to resume my normal “Cousteauesque” style.

The water was warm but murky and there was really nothing sensational except that I was diving with my daughter Gina for the first time. What a thrill it is to buddy with her and watch her dive. She has excellent style and looks naturally comfortable and calm underwater. She definitely belongs there. As I would expect she wears camo shorts and a t-shirt instead of a wetsuit.

We had a nice long snorkel yesterday as well. Gina is so cool. Her art is popping up all over the Island and she has made lots of friends. I’ll soon be flogging her original Island Fever t-shirts on the show.

Plus we have abandoned our termite infested, skanky, powerless, scorpion under the dank sheets accommodations and taken up residence at the Slumberland Villas. We have our own kitchen, a constant view of the sea, A/C, and steps from our deck that lead into the Caribbean 100 meters from the reef.

Great dives almighty, I’m getting eaten alive by the sand flies here. I have to go inside, excuse me.

Rob

Date: Aug. 04.07 | Temp: 32° C

Finally I am back in Utila to shoot another six episodes. This trip will take us to Barbereta, St. Helena, Gunaja and then the Corn Islands of Nicaragua.

There was little grief getting here which included a lost airline ticket and a bag that still has not arrived. It's not too important though. It just contains my personal items and all my brand new "I gotta look good on television" clothing. I've have managed to scrounge a faded t-shirt and some mouldy board shorts for use in the meantime.

It was great to see Omri, Hans, and my daughter Gina. Gina came to Utila three-months ago for six-weeks and doesn't want to leave....ever. Also along is Roberto Fraser a life long friend and world traveller. He's helping with the camera work until Danny arrives.

Yesterday we filmed Sun Jam, an annual techo-music festival held on a deserted caye about a 30 minute boat ride from Utila.

Our crew and Spanish E-Wild On were the only media allowed to film. We got some tremendous footage of the DJ's spinning and pumping it up. It was an amazing scene full of energy, colour, lights, music, and dancing. The music plays for 24 hours straight, no one spoke from the stage, and the music is virtually without lyrics, but the communication was there.

People wanted to dance and all the dj's made their dreams come true. The skiff ride back in two-meter waves in the pitch black night was another story. How do you spell really wet?

I was never a fan of techo-music but now I have a tremendous appreciation for the genre, and a splitting headache. I will post some pics as soon as the camera dries out and starts to function again.

Thanks for your interest in Greatdives.TV. By the way, our negotiations with a potential broadcast partner are going well and may come to fruition next week. Then, my people can look after my bags and tickets.

It's 3:28 pm on Sunday afternoon and I'm going to snorkel on the Mesoamerican reef. What are you doing?

Rob

Rob Shields