Believe me, we'd love to take your money...

[Ayisha]

Having just been through it with yet another potential customer, I feel a need to ask why it is that people with <20 dives walk into the shop, tell me they want to dive the short cave - essentially a very long swim-through - we take some customers through, and then argue with me when I tell them they're not experienced enough to dive in an overhead environment at 30m/100 feet in full darkness?

I did something like that, but I wasn't certified yet and didn't know what I didn't know. When I went to Cancun in 2000, I read about the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks and wanted to get certified and do that dive to 150 feet while I was there for a week. I emailed a shop in Cancun before I went and they said absolutely not, and the first thing I had to do in a series of steps was to get certified. I was very disappointed. I did SNUBA and loved it.

Less than 2 years later, I had done my class & pool and set up my o/w dives in Cuba, but a PADI instructor wasn't going to make it until the last day of my trip and I hadn't heard of ACUC. So I did a discovery dive to 25 feet. The instructor asked me if I wanted to see a "cave" and I said yes. As we were diving, he was poking his head into tunnels, sometimes going quite far in, and then backing up. I didn't know he was looking for the entrance to the cave or that it would be that small. In one narrow tunnel, he kept going and I saw him turn and go to the right. I waited outside but he never turned around or came back. Bells were going off: I remembered "never go in anywhere that you can't turn around". I waited for a while, then I went above the tunnel to see where it came out and the water just got shallower with no end to the tunnel. I went back to the entrance of the tunnel and still no sight of him. I debated whether to surface myself and be lost or try to find him and come back the same way if I didn't immediately find him. I went in and went to the right and it opened into a beautiful bright cavern filled with what seemed like thousands of fish with him waiting for me. I wasn't as mad anymore but didn't like that I waited a long time for him to come back; I wasn't following, and he left me alone. We exited through the large opening and headed back.

Now if there are challenging dives I want to do with an op that is not familiar with me, I schedule them later in my trip so they can check me out, but I can also check them out and make sure I want to go with them. I know not to ask for types of dives I am not qualified for or experienced to do.

 

[cannon fodder]

where is that aircraft?

Aruba, SE Fly N Dive took me there, it was about a 5 minute, or less, boat ride off of their dock.

 

[billt4sf]

Wait a minute . . . The Solomon Islands have manta rays, sharks, caves, wrecks and an ethical dive shop. New destination just added to my bucket list.

Please tell me it's child friendly and easy to travel to.

It's been on my list for quite a while. I think you have to go to Australia first, then one or two hops towards the East to get to the island you want. I'm hoping the Dive Op will give some more details.

- Bill

 

[Madacub]

I did something like that, but I wasn't certified yet and didn't know what I didn't know. When I went to Cancun in 2000, I read about the Cave of the Sleeping Sharks and wanted to get certified and do that dive to 150 feet while I was there for a week. I emailed a shop in Cancun before I went and they said absolutely not, and the first thing I had to do in a series of steps was to get certified. I was very disappointed. I did SNUBA and loved it.

Less than 2 years later, I had done my class & pool and set up my o/w dives in Cuba, but a PADI instructor wasn't going to make it until the last day of my trip and I hadn't heard of ACUC. So I did a discovery dive to 25 feet. The instructor asked me if I wanted to see a "cave" and I said yes. As we were diving, he was poking his head into tunnels, sometimes going quite far in, and then backing up. I didn't know he was looking for the entrance to the cave or that it would be that small. In one narrow tunnel, he kept going and I saw him turn and go to the right. I waited outside but he never turned around or came back. Bells were going off: I remembered "never go in anywhere that you can't turn around". I waited for a while, then I went above the tunnel to see where it came out and the water just got shallower with no end to the tunnel. I went back to the entrance of the tunnel and still no sight of him. I debated whether to surface myself and be lost or try to find him and come back the same way if I didn't immediately find him. I went in and went to the right and it opened into a beautiful bright cavern filled with what seemed like thousands of fish with him waiting for me. I wasn't as mad anymore but didn't like that I waited a long time for him to come back; I wasn't following, and he left me alone. We exited through the large opening and headed back.

Now if there are challenging dives I want to do with an op that is not familiar with me, I schedule them later in my trip so they can check me out, but I can also check them out and make sure I want to go with them. I know not to ask for types of dives I am not qualified for or experienced to do.

Hi Ayisha, where in Cuba was this and do you remember the dive site as well? Thanks!

 

[Ayisha]

Hi Madacub, I looked back at my first dive. The site was called Coral Beach, which is probably just the beach we did the shore dive from. We drove from Varadero to that beach, not exactly sure how long the drive was, maybe 45 minutes. There were only about 2 dive shops at that time and I went to both. It may have been Barracuda dive shop, but it was a long time ago. You would need someone that knows the site to find the cavern, because there were a tonne of tunnels that all looked the same to me, except maybe the back end on top of the tunnel that was the top of the cavern in very shallow water. It's a small cavern, and my first one, but I didn't expect it to be filled with all the fish hanging out, so it was breathtaking to me. If you go around Varadero and want to see if the same instructor/DM is still there, I can PM you his name if you want.

 

[gcarter]

Hi Madacub, I looked back at my first dive. The site was called Coral Beach, which is probably just the beach we did the shore dive from. We drove from Varadero to that beach, not exactly sure how long the drive was, maybe 45 minutes. There were only about 2 dive shops at that time and I went to both. It may have been Barracuda dive shop, but it was a long time ago. You would need someone that knows the site to find the cavern, because there were a tonne of tunnels that all looked the same to me, except maybe the back end on top of the tunnel that was the top of the cavern in very shallow water. It's a small cavern, and my first one, but I didn't expect it to be filled with all the fish hanging out, so it was breathtaking to me. If you go around Varadero and want to see if the same instructor/DM is still there, I can PM you his name if you want.

Barracuda makes sense, I dove with them last year. We did 2 day / 1 night dive at Playa Coral, but I was not aware of any caves or caverns in the area. Doesn't mean they aren't there, of course

 

[GrimSleeper]

It's been on my list for quite a while. I think you have to go to Australia first, then one or two hops towards the East to get to the island you want. I'm hoping the Dive Op will give some more details.

- Bill

It's a three-hour flight from Brisbane, Australia to Honiara (capital of the Solomons), or from the US I think you can fly LAX-Nadi (Fiji)-Honiara. From Honiara it's a 45-60 minute domestic flight out to the Western Province, which is where most of the diving is to be found, although there is also a liveaboard operating out of Honiara and some excellent wreck diving around Guadalcanal.

It's a bit of a hike and it's pretty remote and short on home comforts, but the flip side is virtually unspoiled diving...

 

[Ayisha]

Barracuda makes sense, I dove with them last year. We did 2 day / 1 night dive at Playa Coral, but I was not aware of any caves or caverns in the area. Doesn't mean they aren't there, of course

I think it was pretty close to the shore entrance because I recall being surprised how quickly we got back to our entry from there. It was the shortest point of the dive between the cavern opening and shore. Being a noob and being directionally challenged, I couldn't have told you what directions we went before that, sorry.

I can send you the Instructor/DM's name as well. His stamp is only his name and ACUC #. Otherwise you might have to poke your head into all the tunnels, and there were a lot of them. They looked improbable to me that they connected to a cavern. Of course, he could have just taken me to the opening of the cavern in the first place...

I should clarify BTW, it was actually the second dive off that beach. After the first dive, the instructor said he was happy with my skills, and then he asked if I wanted to see the "cave". It doesn't make it much better, but I should clarify since I was reminded by my logbook.

 

[Frosty]

grimsleeper-under what circumstance WOULD you be happy taking someone through the cave concerned?
Not a trick question here. Ive been lucky enough to do some easy wrecks and in my opinion easy cave dives with different dive ops But its always been after a few dives with them. I guess its a bit of a two way street for me. I need to know YOU aren't a cowboy as much as you need to know I'm not an eejut.

 

[windapp]

According to your SB posted credentials, you are not a cave instructor or even a cave diver. I would be wondering why you would take ANY diver into what, by definition, is a cave.