Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012 - (Page 74)

OutdOOrs T I Tlle goes here From top TheNa commodo lorpero odionsed tat. Ud dunt ulput lore consectem dunt autpat luptat. Molore duis nullam ipsum nonsed ting ero ex ero euis dolorperiure feum vendiat ad dolore A night dive is, I imagine, the closest feeling to being in outer space without leaving Earth. You are weightless, suspended in darkness and surrounded by flickers of bioluminescence. Your breathing is the only sound. sUrFACe DePT hs From top: Dive boats Lady Grace and Patagon at rest between excursions; Arnoldo gives a tiny diver instructions on her not-too-tiny camera; the author on a shallow dive. light of a distant beacon to locate our mooring, and began suiting up to make our descent. In the slow season, it’s not uncommon to be the only passenger on the boat — not a bad proposition, considering the water temperature still hovers at 84 degrees in October. St. Thomas is also conveniently situated where the Atlantic and Caribbean converge, so the more than 60 dive sites around it offer any experience a diver could ask for, from shallow reef dives to shipwrecks to deep-water enclaves where big pelagic fish stalk their prey. Falcoff and I inflated our vests and checked the luminous dials of our air gauges: 3,000 psi — enough for 45 minutes at 25 feet, which is as deep as we’d be going that night. “You ready, Ian?” he asked. I was. Regulators in, masks lowered, we took a backward tumble into the dark crystalline waters, turned on our flashlights, deflated and descended. Anyone unconvinced by what scuba has to offer over snorkeling need only try a night dive to settle the issue. It is, I imagine, the closest feeling to being in outer space without actually leaving Earth. You are weightless, suspended in darkness and surrounded by flickers of bioluminescence. Your breathing is the only sound. Time seems to stop. The net effect, I should add, is the opposite of terrifying. At night, reefs come alive. Corals open up like night-blooming flowers to feed on drifting plankton, which in the blue cone of your flashlight beam resemble tiny sci-fi creatures of impossible variety. Falcoff and I hovered above the sandy bottom, skirting the incline of a ridge carpeted in sponges, sea fans, brain corals and staghorns. Everywhere we shined our lights exploded into color. Red squirrelfish and undulating angelfish slumbered in the gently lilting currents. At one point we swam with a glowing, torpedo-like squid that looked as mystified by our presence as we were of its. We searched like detectives under rocks and ledges for something bigger. About 15 minutes into our dive, we found it. Underwater, holding two fingers out in a “V” formation and wiggling them around, translates to the universal symbol for lobster — and Falcoff was flashing me this signal. The spiny lobster native to the Caribbean has little in common with its Northern brethren. It has no claws — only two long antennae that, however hidden the creature may be, always seem to 74 w w w. r i t z c a r lt o n . c o m http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Hong Kong
Design
Auto
Technology
On the Boulevards
Shopping
Jewelry
Watches
Palm Beach
Wellness
Santiago

Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Winter 2012