When I tell friends who enquire as to where I have been for my latest dive trip that I have been to Saba (pronounced say-ba) in the Dutch Antilles I am usually met by blank looks. I have now taken to replying that it is in the Caribbean and leave it at that. Saba was recommended to us by our good friends from Atlanta, Tim and Robin, who joined us for this trip.

To get to Saba from the UK is a three flight trip. We travelled with British Airways from London (Gatwick) to Antigua and although we were late departing due to a queue of aircraft in front of us, we arrived in Antigua in the middle of the afternoon, on time approx 8 hours later. After an hour wait we took off on the next leg of the journey in a Caribbean Star aircraft to St Maarten in the Dutch Antilles. Our arrival time in St Maarten was such that it was not possible to catch a connecting flight to Saba that same day. We were aware of this timing problem and Lynn Costenaro of Sea Saba had recommended we stay the night at the Royal Turtle Inn which other guests had used and had given good reports about. Located right next to the airport but just too far for us to be able to carry two suitcases, a heavy dive bag and two photography cases we took a taxi. The taxi was steep at $8 for a 100 yard ride but it was worth it after a long days travelling.

Although the Royal Turtle Inn was clean and the rooms were compact, it was a little eclectic. The Inn must be owned by animal lovers as located in the grounds were cages and pens containing a strange mixture of animals including monkeys, guinea pigs, rabbits and tortoise.

Having unpacked items required for our overnight stay we took a swim in the spotlessly clean swimming pool and enjoyed the rays from the late afternoon sun. It fealt good to be able to walk around in only shorts after a winter in England. We were really looking forward to a nice hot shower to wash off the grime of a days travelling, unfortunately this was not to be the case and the only water that came out was luke warm. Not to worry, who needs hot water in a warm climate? Later that evening we reported the problem to the guy at Reception who came to the room and turned on the tap and lo and behold out came piping hot water! We discovered that the tap required an unusual operating procedure in order to get hot water out. Now that is what I call eclectic.

Having eaten two aircraft meals on the transatlantic leg of the journey we were not feeling particularly hungry but did enjoy bowls of home made black bean soup at the Inn's restaurant whilst we watched the sunset.

By 9:00pm which was 2am the following day back in England our bodies and minds had had enough and we went back to the room and were asleep within ten minutes of our heads hitting the pillow.

The affects of jet lag woke us bright and early the following morning. Due to the time of our flight and the requirement to be at the airport even earlier for security checks and checking-in we were not able to take advantage of the breakfast that was included with our room, instead we decided to wait until we arrived at our hotel in Saba before partaking.

The flight from St Maarten to Saba only lasted 12 minutes but it is one of the more exciting airports to arrive into. Saba has the shortest commercial runway in the world and WinAir who have a 100% safety record are the only airline to operate in and out of Saba. The island of Saba is an extinct volcano and is only 5 miles square with some of the Caribbean's most dramatic scenery, with sweeping, steep mountainsides and sheer cliffs. As we approached steeply to land in Saba we seem to be very close to the cliffs and the runway looked incredibly short, but the aircraft that WinAir use are designed for this type of airfield and we landed safely with the pilot barely using up half of the runway to stop.

As always it was a relief to see our luggage had arrived with us and Garvis (the taxi driver) was waiting and loaded up our luggage into his taxi in short order. We then got our first experience of the roads that the Sabans were told could not be built because of the steep terrain. In 1943 a cement road from the Bottom to Fort Bay was completed. Josephus 'Lambee' Hassell took a correspondence course in road building and under his supervision Sabans built the road with their own hands. In 1947 the first motor vehicle arrived on Saba.

The road from the airport at approx sea level climbs like a writhing snake up to the town of Windwardside at 1200ft and Juliana's Hotel where we stayed for the duration of our visit.

Upon arrival we went straight to the hotels Tropics Cafe for an excellent breakfast chosen from their extensive menu. By the time we had finished breakfast our Garden View room was ready for us to occupy. After unpacking we were given an extensive briefing by one of the hotel's staff about the hotel and it's facilities. We were then escorted on foot to Sea Saba's dive shop just a few minutes walk away where we were introduced to Lynn Costenaro and John Magor the Owners and Manager's.

That evening we had our evening meal at "My Kitchen" one of Windwardsides many quality restaurants, most of which we sampled during our 15 night stay. Sitting outside in the warm evening air is just one of the pleasures that we look forward to when visiting the Caribbean. The light cooling breezes that are constantly present only added to the enjoyment.

As promised the following morning Sea Saba sent a minivan taxi to collect and take us down to Fort Bay to meet the dive boat. Sea Saba has two large dive boats Sea Dragon and Giant Stride both are well equipped with plenty of sun or shade, wind protection, ample seating, gear storage, hanging facilities, fresh water shower, drinking water and lemonade, cold storage for lunches, holding tanks and film change areas for cameras.

Entering the water from either Giant Stride or Sea Dragon is easy. Multiple exit points mean that divers do not have to stagger around with heavy gear on their backs.

Our gear was loaded on board and the helpful crew setup our gear and tanks. This is 'a la carte' diving at it's best.

At the end of the days diving the crew also rinse off your gear and return it to Sea Saba's dockside shop where it is kept safely overnight. In the morning it is already loaded on board and setup ready for use when you arrive.

For new arrivals an extensive boat brief is given prior to settting off for the dive site. Most sites are within a 15 minute ride and are marked with permanently anchored buoys most of which have been installed by Sea Saba in a conservation  effort to protect the environment.

Dive briefing was excellent with the guides drawing underwater maps of the sites with details such as depth, time and notable features as well as critters and fish to keep an eye out for.

There are 3 main types of dives in Saba. The ones that most people go to Saba for are the Pinnacles. These are giant needles of rock that rise from great depths to within 90 to 100 feet of the surface. Because they are a little offshore and because of the depth they are protected from violent storms and as a result are covered in pristine and very colourful coral formations. Just be advised that because of the depths of these dives it is recommended that divers should have had  some deep diving experience and that a Nitrox Certification would enable you to take advantage of the increased bottom time to safely explore these Pinnacles without going into deco. Diving on air was a severe limitation and mean't that I only had approx. 10 minutes at these depths and then I had to think about ascending to shallower water.

On average most of the Pinnacle dive times for me were 37 minutes with those diving Nitrox gaining a few extra minutes (but not much more due to the time limits set by our guides).

The second type of dives although shallower are still classified by PADI as deep and average between 60 - 80 feet. These dives consist of coral encrusted finger outcrops of solidified molten lava from the days when Saba was an active volcano. Evidence of Saba's current levels of activity can still be found on the sea bed, bright yellow patches of sand can be found which if you insert your hand into them you can feel the heat from the volcanic activity. If you do visit Saba please do not insert your hand in too far as we do not want to start up a volcano do we! Other evidence of volcanic activity can be found at other sites and are indicated by bubbles of gas emerging from the sand.

The following images were all taken with a Nikon D200.

Juliana's Hotel is managed by it's owners

Juliana's Tropics Cafe

Sea Saba's Dive Shop in Windwardside

Houses and steep roads of Windwardside

The Trumpet flower has a fantastic smell during the evenings

The only beach on Saba.

Dive Trip to Saba, Juliana's Hotel - May 2006 (Part Two)