Otto DeVries

My name is Otto DeVries. My mom is from Saba, and we moved back here when I was five years old. When the first dive centers opened — that was probably '78 or '77 — I was a little kid running around in jean shorts and no shoes, and I was kind of adopted as a little kid helper to clean the boats and do whatever it took to go diving. I couldn't get certified ’til I was 12, but by 11 years old I had done what would be now called the Discover Scuba DSD. And I’d probably done about 60 or 70 dives without ever being certified, just going with the instructors and learning how to dive, and learning the industry and just being part of it. And it's just so amazing that having started that way, I'm back doing what I love again, even after 34 years.

When you hit the water and go down it's just you, your breath, and you're no longer top of the food chain. Right? Not that a shark would ever think about biting you when you're diving, but still, it puts things in perspective: That this is now something else's world, and to be there and to be privileged enough to share that with them, it's just the most amazing thing ever. There's no words to describe it. And the first dive site that anyone ever came to here (in Ladder Bay), they named it the Hanging Gardens of Babylon because it was so beautiful.

Back in ’79, we knew from the fisherman about these pinnacles or this plateau that was out there, and so the dive operator said, "Okay, we're gonna go find it.” I'm a little kid in the back of the boat, and all of a sudden everyone gets suited up so I started suiting up too, but they said, “No, you're surface support — you're not certified.” So I just sat on the boat, and then they came back up and said “Oh, we saw these groupers and sharks and this and that, and it was amazing.” Well, I was upset I missed out on that. So he goes, “Okay, we're gonna name this spot, ‘Otto Limits.’” So the same day we found the pinnacles — I think it was June 7 in 1979 — they named it Otto Limits, which is pretty cool. So at least I'm on the map.

My favorite dive spot actually doesn’t have a mooring. It’s at the exit of Cove Bay going around the end of the airport. There are Nassau grouper, barracuda, parrot fish, you name it — everything. The way the underwater topography is, it’s so dramatic. You’re literally like 50 feet off the rocks, and in 120 feet of water. So it comes straight down, like a cliff with multiple plateaus. It's just mind blowing.

You asked if Saba feels small to me, and I say absolutely not. Because Saba is this island, but Saba is also everything surrounding us — this ocean all around us. I get off the island, I go to St Maarten or wherever, or to the States, and you know I can't wait to get back home. I'm just happy to be doing this every day. The Saban people come from a long line of ocean-going people — a lot of captains and fishermen have originated here, and I guess I got that from my mom's side of the family. My goal in life now is to spend every day possible in, on, or under the water. You can ask me what my address is, but if you want to find me, don't look for me at home. I'm on the Fort Bay or out in the water.