Diving Directeurs Baai Curaçao | The Shore Dive Collection | TropicLens - 4K

[@kennyvernor2305]

This is one of the best descriptive dive site videos I have ever seen. Extremely well done. I know how to get there, I know how to enter the water, I know what the dive site looks like, in other words, this is exactly what is needed before doing a dive there. Thank you very much.

[@TropicLens]

Your words are very kind Kenny and were are very glad you find the videos useful. :-) We love (and miss) Curaçao every once in a while, so it is nice that it is just a short flight away.

[@isiahwilliams3226]

This video is very cool that I really like

[@TropicLens]

Thank you so much! It is one of our favorite sites.

[@ralphromano8501]

I truly appreciate the tremendous quality of work/content TropicLens is generating - thank you!

[@TropicLens]

Thank you so much for the kind words Ralph. It is truly a labor of love. We're back at it now, so look for Corporal Meiss (Bonaire) next Sunday. :-)

[@davedonati206]

Great job on your videos & thanks for sharing! I’m heading to Curaçao in April.

[@TropicLens]

Sorry for the delay Dave. We took some time off and are now getting back into the swing of things. We have a great time making than and are very glad to hear when people get something out of them. We trust the water will be a bit more warmer in Curaçao in April. We've seen 78F (25C) on a few dives recently. Brrr...

[@davedonati206]

Thanks for the reply & also I much appreciate you mentioning the water temp!

[@TropicLens]

​@@davedonati206 No problem. 🙂

[@NaturePicsFilms]

Again a nice video full of information - very nice - liked!

[@TropicLens]

Thanks guys. Your last video inspires me to include a some slow motion. That looked so cool. I just need to remember to do that when underwater. :-)

[@phthisics]

I wish we'd watched your videos before going there to dive last November. So informative.

[@TropicLens]

Thank you so much Phthisics. We're glad you find them useful. We're focusing on Bonaire this year, but will be back in Curaçao for two months (Feb/Mar) next year. Playa Kalki, Blue Bay and Superior Producer are on our list! :-)

[@whaleshark2625]

Amazing videos as always. I wish you had videos for EVERY dive site I've been to. I feel like you should have 1,000s more subscribers! Any tips on continuing to improve my fish identification? Your videos are always so informative.

[@TropicLens]

Wow, you are way too kind WhaleShark! We are working on more sites (Chachacha next week) and we're getting close to 2,000 subscribers, so that's a nice milestone. :-) With respect to fish identification, we primarily use two sources to validate sea life we don’t recognize. The first is Florent's Guide To TheTropical Reefs which can be found at reefguide.org. Its free and has lots of pictures, but is not comprehensive. The second is “The Reef Set: Reef Fish, Reef Creature and Reef Coral (3 Volumes)”. The box set can be found on Amazon; however with all our travels, we also purchased the eBooks (fishid.com/store/product-category/ebooks/) so we don’t have to carry an extra five pounds of paper in our luggage. :-) We also reference other sources from time to time as well including Wikipedia and WhatsThatFish.com.

[@kylehickey8179]

We have been watching your videos before diving, very helpful! Do you have any recommendations for spotting sea horses, nudibranchs and sea slugs?

[@TropicLens]

Sorry for the delay Kyle. Leslie actually broke her ankle, so we've been focusing on that for a bit. She's had the surgery and is getting better. :-) Anyway, let's take your requests in order. * Seahorses - They tend to stick to one spot for a while, typically around the base of corals and sponges. Go slow and check out sea rods, ropes sponges, etc. We are not very good at spotting them ourselves, so I suggest getting a local guide that knows where they are. For Curaçao, check with Daan at Rebel Diving Curaçao. * Nudibranchs - These are sometimes even harder to spot because they are often so small in the Caribbean. (Not like the Pacific, where they are larger and colorful.) I don't think we've seen a proper nudi on any of the ABC islands with the exception of a leather-backed platydoris near Hilma Hooker on Bonaire last year. Whenever we see them, they are typically crawling on a flat surface (rock, coral head, cement slab, wreck, etc.) * Sea Slugs - One slug we see a lot of in the ABCs are lettuce slugs. They can be colorful and are fairly easy to spot given their bodies don't really resemble anything else on the reef. In Aruba, we did see a warty sidegill slug on a wreck. Pol, from Ocean Encounters, spotted a caulerpa elysia on one of our boat dives on Curaçao. Like the nudis, whenever we've seen slugs, they are typically crawling on a flat surface (rock, coral head, cement slab, wreck, etc.) Hope this helps! Happy hunting. :-)

[@kylehickey8179]

I'm sorry to hear about the broken ankle! I hope the recovery is going well and you guys will be driving again soon. On our last drive we didn't catch amy of the aforementioned creatures but we did have a close encounter with a spotted eagle ray! Amazing way to close the vacation out. Keep making great content. It's inspiring!

[@TropicLens]

@@kylehickey8179 Awesome! Spotted eagles rays are great to watch! Perhaps you'll see some of the above on your next trip. Leslie is getting her cast off tomorrow and hopes to be in the water next month. As for content, Chachacha (Bonaire) will be coming out in a few weeks and we hope to be back at regular releases starting in April. Happy diving!

[@eliminator6949]

Great work again! Perfect packet of information and underwater beauty. May I ask what camera/filter do You use?

[@TropicLens]

Thanks Eli. We appreciate that. Some of that footage was shot last year with a GoPro Hero 9 and some of that was this year with an iPhone 13 Pro Max in a SeaLife SportDiver housing. Both rigs used Kraken Hydra lights. Happy to answer other questions if you want to dig into things. :-)

[@s.schalkwijk3213]

What is the best way to snorkel at Director's bay to see the best reefs? To the right or to the left side (If standing on the beach)

[@johnneal9624]

Another great video! Any chance that you will dive Cas Abao? We are going to be there in June on a cruise and considering doing a shore dive there. Smiley face!

[@TropicLens]

Cas Abao is on the list for our current stay John. We tried to coordinate a night dive last year, but they were challenged with limited staff, curfews and general pandemic related issues and couldn't make it happen. We have already reached out to them and they are working on scheduling night dives for groups. We're here through May and already have Double Reef and Blue Bay on tap for March, so look for something in April. Hope this helps. :-)

[@johnneal9624]

@@TropicLens Thanks!!!!! Enjoy being in paradise!

[@johnjerrehian4642]

Dove Directors Bay about 3x. A little far from the house. Careful with some who have broken into cars while diving.

[@TropicLens]

Indeed, it is a bit remote, but that drop off is very much worth it. :-)