The coolest thing that Floyd and I got to do during our 2019 escape was an underwater sea trek in St. Maarten.
A sea trek is actually walking on the floor of the ocean. You wear a helmet that sits on your shoulders and is attached to a tube from the surface. That tube pumps air into the helmet. If you tilt the helmet forward, the water will come in but as long as you keep it straight, the air keeps the water from coming in.
The process begins with you getting on a ladder attached to the side of a floating office (it's like a house boat or floating dock). The helmet ways 75 pounds on land, so you get mostly underwater before they put it on. Then you start your way down the ladder with a guide helping hold the tank upright. Once you reach the ocean floor, about 20-30 ft down, you stand on your own two feet and the guide lets go.
They have made a hand rail out of PVC piping that you can use to follow a path around the ocean floor. There is a sunken helicopter, some ship ruins, and other random things that have settled on the ocean floor. There is a person in scuba gear with an underwater camera taking photos as you enjoy the journey and other guides in scuba gear pointing your attention to things of interest.
In our case, we had enough people that they split us into 2 groups. While one group was doing the sea trek, the other group got to snorkel. We brought our own snorkel masks from Cambodia and I had a waterproof case for my phone. I was impressed with how well the photos and video turned out.
Here's a nice pic of the view from the boat that they picked us up in. The boat takes you out to the floating office.
It was a great experience and we recommend it to anyone who might be in St. Maarten or have the opportunity somewhere else.
A sea trek is actually walking on the floor of the ocean. You wear a helmet that sits on your shoulders and is attached to a tube from the surface. That tube pumps air into the helmet. If you tilt the helmet forward, the water will come in but as long as you keep it straight, the air keeps the water from coming in.
The process begins with you getting on a ladder attached to the side of a floating office (it's like a house boat or floating dock). The helmet ways 75 pounds on land, so you get mostly underwater before they put it on. Then you start your way down the ladder with a guide helping hold the tank upright. Once you reach the ocean floor, about 20-30 ft down, you stand on your own two feet and the guide lets go.
They have made a hand rail out of PVC piping that you can use to follow a path around the ocean floor. There is a sunken helicopter, some ship ruins, and other random things that have settled on the ocean floor. There is a person in scuba gear with an underwater camera taking photos as you enjoy the journey and other guides in scuba gear pointing your attention to things of interest.
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| We both got to hold a sea urchin. |
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| There were so many fish! |
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| Y'all know we couldn't take a normal picture. |
The best part of the video is after you see Floyd (the scene in this thumbnail). Sorry I didn't know to crop it. :)
It was a great experience and we recommend it to anyone who might be in St. Maarten or have the opportunity somewhere else.
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