Curaçao Diving Paradise

On October 26, 2008, we, a number of Trunkdivers, decided to try to reach the plane wreck of the Fokker Fairchild F27 at Playa Kalki. The wreck is located between Playa Kalki and Playa Gepi. You can see the red buoy from the beach at Playa Kalki but the wreck is normally out of reach from shore. Most of the time the current is Eastward which means that you swim against the current on your way back. So we decided to use rental underwater scooters.

During the hurricane season the normal wind will change direction of will quiet down completely. That is the only time of the year the dive sites along the Northern shore are accessible for diving. It is still a dangerous undertaking, so don't do this if you are not experienced enough, never do it if you don't feel comfortable with the circumstances and don't do this without a dive guide with experience at these dive sites. All these conditions were met on Saturday September 20 when we decided to give the Tunnel of Doom a try.

Curaçao is a small island just north of the Venezuelan coast. With its 2 sister islands Aruba and Bonaire and 3 more islands near Puerto Rico, St. Eustatius, Saba and St. Martin, it is the tropical side of The Netherlands with which it forms the Dutch Kingdom.

To give you an impression of the underwater world I will display at this site a variety of my dive pictures. I have taken all the pictures myself. I started with a Nikonos V camera with an SB105 flashlight, then I went digital with the Sealife DC500 with wide-angle lens and digital flash (The Sealife DC500 Elite set) and now I am taking pictures with the Sea & Sea DX-1G with the YS-110 strobe.

If you want something very special when you are here, you should make an appointment for a dive on the archaeological wreck of the SS Mediator. This ship is older than the Titanic and can be easily reached from shore. It is located in the harbor entrance. That means that you cannot dive this wreck on your own. You need to make an appointment with Stimana, the foundation for Marine Archaeology in the Netherlands Antilles. There is almost every Sunday a guided dive on this wreck. It is something completely different from all the other dives on the island and your stay here is not complete without a dive on this wreck.

Stimana can be reached by phone (+599 9 4652327), cellular phone (+599 9 5667490) or e-mail (stimana at cura dot net).
Check out the section about the Mediator on this site to get information about the ship and to get an impression what to expect under water.