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Sigh, I just looked at the weather reports and see that it is listing rain everyday! I hope that the PR weatherfolks are as poor at forecasting as those in New England!fjsala:
diving in san juan
- Thread starter whyzitsokold
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fjsala
Contributor
Well, its been raining all day today...and my dive got cancelled yesturday 'case of bad weather.
You'll be here anyway tomorrow so you might as well be positive...I havent seen the forcast but it could change at any moment...plus weather in Humacao and the south of the island is typically better than hiere in San Juan.
You'll be here anyway tomorrow so you might as well be positive...I havent seen the forcast but it could change at any moment...plus weather in Humacao and the south of the island is typically better than hiere in San Juan.
fjsala
Contributor
3/29 - Beautiful day today in the Enchanted Island...forcast for the weekend looks better than on monday...so hopefully GypsyDoc will enjoy a few good dives from now on.
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Well my 14 year old son and I just returned from PR last night and in spite of some rain early in our stay, we had a wonderful time indeed! Ironically it has been raining back in Rhode Island since our return last night only the difference is that the RI rain is in the upper 30s while the PR rain was in the upper 70s!
The rain did not cancel any of our trips though as it occured in the afternoons. All 3 of our charters were on the Culebra Diver out of Palmas Del Mar with Sea Ventures and Captain Bill and DM Pedro were wonderful indeed.
On Wednesday, 28 March, we went to sites called "Islands in the Sand" and "Rooms". Islands in the Sands included a maximum depth of 60' and total time of 40 minutes. We also saw an 8' nurse shark. Rooms was probably our favorite dive as it included a number of coral pass throughs and Pedro is a talented guide as he is well versed in the sites. The maximum depth was 54' and time was 42 minutes.
Thursday, 29 March we visited the sites called "The Reserve" and "The Retreat." The Reserve was a depth of 84' for 35 minutes while the Retreat was 53' for 46 minutes.
On Sunday, 01 April, I was part of a group that privately chartered the whole boat for an all day trip to Vieques. It was a long trip across and we also had snorkelers along that we dropped off at Green Beach while we went out to do our first dive. The dives in Vieques included reef sites where we dove 58' for 46 minutes and a second dive of 51' for 44 minutes. Pedro and the gang really went all out to make our experience special as our charter included a wonderful lunch and plenty of drinks and fruit. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sun as my face is now peeling from my sunburn!
Vieques holds some special memories for everyone in our group which is why we wanted to go. However I was rather surprised in that I actually found our dives out and around Humaco to be nicer with more life than we found around Vieques.
I can not say enough kind remarks about how wonderful Sea Ventures was. Although I typically prefer to go off on my own with my dive buddy than being guided on a tour with a DM, my experience with Pedro was much different. He knew the insights of each of the sites so well and provided the space that each diver needed while gently and professionally helping those who are more inexperienced without being pushy or arrogant. It is always a fine line and he is able to walk it as well as I've seen.
The rain did not cancel any of our trips though as it occured in the afternoons. All 3 of our charters were on the Culebra Diver out of Palmas Del Mar with Sea Ventures and Captain Bill and DM Pedro were wonderful indeed.
On Wednesday, 28 March, we went to sites called "Islands in the Sand" and "Rooms". Islands in the Sands included a maximum depth of 60' and total time of 40 minutes. We also saw an 8' nurse shark. Rooms was probably our favorite dive as it included a number of coral pass throughs and Pedro is a talented guide as he is well versed in the sites. The maximum depth was 54' and time was 42 minutes.
Thursday, 29 March we visited the sites called "The Reserve" and "The Retreat." The Reserve was a depth of 84' for 35 minutes while the Retreat was 53' for 46 minutes.
On Sunday, 01 April, I was part of a group that privately chartered the whole boat for an all day trip to Vieques. It was a long trip across and we also had snorkelers along that we dropped off at Green Beach while we went out to do our first dive. The dives in Vieques included reef sites where we dove 58' for 46 minutes and a second dive of 51' for 44 minutes. Pedro and the gang really went all out to make our experience special as our charter included a wonderful lunch and plenty of drinks and fruit. It was a beautiful day with plenty of sun as my face is now peeling from my sunburn!
Vieques holds some special memories for everyone in our group which is why we wanted to go. However I was rather surprised in that I actually found our dives out and around Humaco to be nicer with more life than we found around Vieques.
I can not say enough kind remarks about how wonderful Sea Ventures was. Although I typically prefer to go off on my own with my dive buddy than being guided on a tour with a DM, my experience with Pedro was much different. He knew the insights of each of the sites so well and provided the space that each diver needed while gently and professionally helping those who are more inexperienced without being pushy or arrogant. It is always a fine line and he is able to walk it as well as I've seen.
fjsala
Contributor
Very cool, GypsyDoc...good to know you had a good time here and that Seaventures' personnel made a good impression. I will definivley be looking into some dives out of Humacao, "rooms" in partucular as you suggested.
Thanks for the input...and come back to PR soon!
Thanks for the input...and come back to PR soon!
AuroraKurt
Registered
I just found this thread - very timely - I just made reservations with Sea Venture - Humacao - for a few days next week... 15,16,17th - I sure hope that I have as great an experience as GypsyDoc - I just realized that Sea Ventures-Fajardo is where I went for my OW referall dives early last year... looking forward to some great dives. I'll post a review afterwards.
fjsala
Contributor
Let us know...Happy, Safe Diving!
Hi,
I am planning on visiting Puerto Rico around August. We are interested in diving while we are there for a couple of days. Can we rent tanks and go beach diving by ourselfs, or is having a dive master from Puerto Rico a requirement? (I know it is in some countries). If so, I am a divemaster, so I can I lead ourselves? What would the conditions be like at that time? Where are good sites to visit that are close to Fort Buchanan? Would anyone happen to know if they have a scuba shop on base by chance?
I am planning on visiting Puerto Rico around August. We are interested in diving while we are there for a couple of days. Can we rent tanks and go beach diving by ourselfs, or is having a dive master from Puerto Rico a requirement? (I know it is in some countries). If so, I am a divemaster, so I can I lead ourselves? What would the conditions be like at that time? Where are good sites to visit that are close to Fort Buchanan? Would anyone happen to know if they have a scuba shop on base by chance?
fjsala
Contributor
Mell, hi! Read post #2 of this thread for info on shore-diving in the metro area. Both locations that I mention are close to Fort Buchanan and are safe enough that you could explore on your own since you are a DM and both locations are limited to swimming and no motor-sports are allowed. I don't know if there is a dive shope on the base, but I recommend La Casa Del Buzo www.lacasadelbuzo.com to rent your gear. They might be a little more expenseve than some others in the area but they keep their rental gear and tanks in very good conditions. I have my own gear but only rent tanks from them...don't trust the others.
Let me know if you need more info on shore -diving outside of the metro area.
Let me know if you need more info on shore -diving outside of the metro area.
AuroraKurt
Registered
Okay - we're back - here's what the diving was like... I was able to get two days of diving in... only in Fajardo, the Las Palmas \ Humacao marina was closed for dredging... odd, but oh well. I went through Sea Ventures (www.divepuertorico.com) and was able to see have some good dives.
All together, I went on 4 dives... the first day was BigRock\Little Rock and the Wall. The second day was sharing the boat with a college group (a class project, actually...) that was there to snorkel. We went to Cayo Diablo and another site that I forgot to write down. The diving had some decent vis - 40-60ft - and great water temp - 83-86 - not bad at all. There was a decent amount of life to see, a 5ft sea turtle, a 4ft moray eel... a small nurse shark... an octopus egg...the normal 'aquarium' fish... very healthy, active and in great numbers.. the reef was looking pretty fair... there wasn't a lot of deep diving to be had, so bottom time was around 40+ minutes.
The next time that I go I would use the Sea Ventures folks... the boat captain Bill was great, even spotted a Portuguese man-of-war at the surface on our trip back, slowed and circled it so we could get a close up... the DM's - Brad, Angel and Destiny - were all great. Next time I hope to get to Humacoa or to the SW shores...
All together, I went on 4 dives... the first day was BigRock\Little Rock and the Wall. The second day was sharing the boat with a college group (a class project, actually...) that was there to snorkel. We went to Cayo Diablo and another site that I forgot to write down. The diving had some decent vis - 40-60ft - and great water temp - 83-86 - not bad at all. There was a decent amount of life to see, a 5ft sea turtle, a 4ft moray eel... a small nurse shark... an octopus egg...the normal 'aquarium' fish... very healthy, active and in great numbers.. the reef was looking pretty fair... there wasn't a lot of deep diving to be had, so bottom time was around 40+ minutes.
The next time that I go I would use the Sea Ventures folks... the boat captain Bill was great, even spotted a Portuguese man-of-war at the surface on our trip back, slowed and circled it so we could get a close up... the DM's - Brad, Angel and Destiny - were all great. Next time I hope to get to Humacoa or to the SW shores...
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