How scary is "the wall"?

[mseldga]

I've booked a snorkeling trip with Blue Water Divers for our day in Grand Turk in March. I'm excited about the great snorkeling I've read about in Grand Turk, but am wondering whether the wall would be a good idea for our family. My husband loves snorkeling, but has a bit of a shark and deep ocean water phobia and my daughters (10 and 12) asked fearfully if it was going to be like the "drop off" in Finding Nemo. I have to admit, the thought of such a huge drop into apparent endless ocean creeps me out a bit too.

 

So, I thought I'd ask if any of you have taken kids snorkeling there before? And if so, did they handle it okay? How about chicken adults like me and my husband? :o If we ask our guide to skip the wall, are there plenty of other good snorkeling spots? Thanks for any advice -

[prophet0621]

My girlfriend and I booked it for our June cruise. Last year in GT we had our first snorkel experience and went to see the nurse sharks (herbivores)... it was as close as she could find to a 'real' shark for my 40th birthday. I told her for my 45th so she has plenty of time, that I want to be in the water with something that can eat me and I want to try to make it 'smile' for the camera, even if it is the last picture I ever take it will be a good one. :p

 

Anyway, not knowing how we would like snorkeling, I thought it would be boring since you stay on top of the water but I'm not scuba certified, we weren't sure if the excursion would be worth it. Before we even finished with that excursion we talked about doing 'the wall' next year (this June) because of the drop off. She asked if I would be ok with it since I am very uncomfortable with heights, I asked her why wouldn't I be ok? She said because it's a 7000 foot drop, I replied "I'm in the water swimming, it's not like I'm going to suddenly fall 7000 feet. 7 feet or 7000, swimming makes no difference." She says "oh... yeah... that makes sense" :p

 

I'm eager to see it and experience the sudden temp change in water at the wall. I would love to hear others experience and thoughts as well. Since your cruise is before ours, please post your experience if you do the wall.

[mseldga]

You definitely sound much braver than us if you're actively seeking out the sharks! ;) Good point that the drop off shouldn't be too scary if you're in the water, but I don't know, I still think 7,000 feet is going to feel very, very different than 7 feet or even 70. If no one on here has any advice, I'll just talk to the snorkeling guide and get his thoughts about it. I'm leaning toward trying it and my husband is a big boy and could handle it, even if he didn't enjoy it a whole lot. But my main concern is not freaking my daughters out so much that they refuse to go in the water again! Or worse, want to spend the rest of the cruise sleeping with us. :rolleyes:

 

I'll definitely post a review if we decide to go for it. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Susan

[Gypsy2]

I thought it would freak me out but I actually thought the wall was peaceful. I am going back soon just to snorkel near it again

[Colorado Kat]

When you go to the Wall, you can choose to snorkel out over the 7000 ft depth, or stay over the 15 ft. area. Just do whatever makes you feel comfortable.

[mseldga]

Thanks for the replies - I think we'll give it a try and just let the kids stick in the 15 feet area if they want.

[topspot]

We dove with Blue Water Divers as our first open water dive after being scuba certified. When we got to the drop off, we were given the opportunity to swim over the drop off but no one was forced to go out of their comfort zone. When we surfaced the dive master told me he was surprised that I did it since I told him before the dive that i thought I needed more work on boyancy control:eek:. You are in good hands with Blue Water Divers:)

 

DD was also on this dive with us, and she was 14. She enjoyed it more than we did

[Colorado Kat]

Thanks for the replies - I think we'll give it a try and just let the kids stick in the 15 feet area if they want.

 

I would assume the kids would be the ones heading straight for the dropoff!

[diverjen]

I would assume the kids would be the ones heading straight for the dropoff!

 

I know I would have been had I the chance. Then again, my mom always said I was too stupid to be scared, I was a pretty fearless kid. On my upcoming cruise to Grand Turk I cannot wait to get to the wall, and I also hope I get to finally see a shark.

[Colorado Kat]

Jen - Sharks are great! I've seen them in many different areas. I got to swim in the middle of a school of Hammerhead sharks, in the Sea of Cortez.

 

Last year, in April, in Grand Turk, a whale shark showed up at the end of our 2nd dive. He stayed and played with us for 10 min! It was fantastic!

[moondoggie]

It is NOT scary!

 

My sister and I (58 and 61) cruised in November without our husbands (oh, what a great time we had :-), and used Blue Water Divers--they were just great.

 

The 'drop' means really nothing water-wise, it is just a neat thing to see. BWD will be in the water with you and can show you stuff I've missed in my 30 years of snorkeling. Enjoy!

[kujobie]

You'll have flotation vests. You're not gonna sink.. What is there to worry about?

[Sammienole]

I am going in September. I think this sounds so amazing!!! I look forward to reading what everyone thinks about this experience!!

[near the beach]

We will be there in July. I think it would be interesting to say I swam in 7,000 foot deep water.

[cruisingforsix]

I have not been to the GT or the wall but have snorkeled in a few other places where there is a drop off. If you are looking to see alot of sea life I don't think you are going to see it at a place that drops off ,maybe just to say you were there. If you are looking to see a shark ,not a nurse shark because you will see plenty of them in the caribbean, we had a fabulous snorkel tour in antigua and when everyone had started back I turned to the right (I am always bringing up the rear) and there where the sun was shining through a small spot was a reef shark who just stayed there for a minute and then was gone .of course everyone else was way ahead and didn't see it and my husband had the underwater camera. I was both scared and excited , that was a very exciting tour .we went through an area full of oxygen where it was all white and if you poked your head up you were met by huge waves. Okay sorry I know this is a GT ,but just got carried away. we are planning to do a cruise in feb. that goes to GT and I wanted to find some good places to snorkel.

[RhondaC]

Is the Wall the place to snorkel if we hope to see humpback whales?

[Gmanfl]

Is the Wall the place to snorkel if we hope to see humpback whales?

I don't know about whales but the Wall is just a dark drop off and you really can't see anything if you snorkel over it. I did this 2 years ago and will again in April. We did this on the Power Snorkeling excursion booked thru our ship. I thought the wall was kinda scary because the water goes from crystal clear to black in a second and all I could think of is what is coming up from the depths...LOL... Can't wait to do it next month..

[travlnblueberries]

My girlfriend and I booked it for our June cruise. Last year in GT we had our first snorkel experience and went to see the nurse sharks (herbivores)... it was as close as she could find to a 'real' shark for my 40th birthday. I told her for my 45th so she has plenty of time, that I want to be in the water with something that can eat me and I want to try to make it 'smile' for the camera, even if it is the last picture I ever take it will be a good one. :p

 

Anyway, not knowing how we would like snorkeling, I thought it would be boring since you stay on top of the water but I'm not scuba certified, we weren't sure if the excursion would be worth it. Before we even finished with that excursion we talked about doing 'the wall' next year (this June) because of the drop off. She asked if I would be ok with it since I am very uncomfortable with heights, I asked her why wouldn't I be ok? She said because it's a 7000 foot drop, I replied "I'm in the water swimming, it's not like I'm going to suddenly fall 7000 feet. 7 feet or 7000, swimming makes no difference." She says "oh... yeah... that makes sense" :p

 

I'm eager to see it and experience the sudden temp change in water at the wall. I would love to hear others experience and thoughts as well. Since your cruise is before ours, please post your experience if you do the wall.

 

It must be a guy thing I think..lol

DH got certified for scuba diving. For his "mile marker" birthday he went scuba diving. At this time he was new at diving, (only about 10 dives under his belt.) Anyway, I know he'll never forget THAT birthday....he met up with a shark that kept circling him. Till the one circle he (the shark) knocked DH regulator out of his mouth with his tail. DH said the guys that were diving with him, their eyes were like golf balls. DH also said it was a good thing that he had just taken a breath seconds before his regulator was knocked out, because it took more then one try to retreeve(sp?) it.

[Rottweiler Puppy]

Last year in GT we had our first snorkel experience and went to see the nurse sharks (herbivores)...

LOL no

[Neotericisis]

Thanks for this post- I like snorkeling but I am a ok swimmer and often stay to as shallow water as possible- I will probably chose another island to snorkel in. Anything over 6 feet and I have a heart attack (totally mental I know, but still). I'll inquire if there are other places besides "the Wall" to snorkel in- I'm a punk!

[Cruiser 4 Life 66]

My girlfriend and I booked it for our June cruise. Last year in GT we had our first snorkel experience and went to see the nurse sharks (herbivores)... it was as close as she could find to a 'real' shark for my 40th birthday. I told her for my 45th so she has plenty of time, that I want to be in the water with something that can eat me and I want l.

 

Nurse sharks herbivores? No. Good thing you didn't try and pet one.

 

From Wikipedia:

Their diet consists primarily of crustaceans, molluscs, tunicates, sea snakes, and other fish, particularly stingrays.

 

Those things aren't plants the last time I checked.

 

Also: It has been reported in some unprovoked attacks on humans

[Armedaneian]

Also: It has been reported in some unprovoked attacks on humans

 

Yeah... and their bites leave a nasty rash. ;)