radar:
I'm back! Certified and with 10 dives in the book.
Here's what I did:
OW Cert dives with Dive Ventures, Fajardo PR. over 2 days. Nice people. My wife came out on the second day to snorkel while I did my dives. She said she had a blast. Sure beats CO at a quarry at home.
2 tanks in Barbados. I booked through the ship. Actually I contacted a local shop but found that they were the ones the ship was using. West Side Scuba Center. Good dives both. Good visibility. First dive to 80 ft. I burned up my air in a hurry but enjoyed myself. I told the DM I was a newbie and she made me quite comfortable without treating me like an idiot.
2 tanks in St. Lucia. The ship's dive was full, so I contacted Dive Fair Helen. Turns out that several of my shipmates had the same idea so I wasn't alone. We also took some snorkelers that weren't on the ship. Good dive sites, good visibility. First dive was a wreck at 60' (purposefully sunk), but to a newbie it was awesome. Second was a reef. One of my shipmates was also a newbie, so we buddied up. (I figured I should stay away from someone who was good at gas managment since I'd have us up too soon.) The company was good, the diving was good. No complaints.
Coki Beach. This one is different. They pick you up from the ship for free if you dive. Dives are from the shore, and cheaper than boat dives. Go early. My dive was just the DM and myself. $40 for the first, $20 for the second. Everything at my schedule. My wife did some snorkeling for free, although they did charge $10 for the ride for her since she wasn't diving and she had her own equipment. We did two dives, one over a soft reef (sponges) and one over a harder reef. I was impressed with the dive, not that it was particularly spectacular, but because it was comprarable to the boat dives.
Anyway, that's it in a nutshell. Had lots of fun. A key thing though to remember: Keep the DW happy while you are diving. I sent mine on a catamaran cruise where they fed her rum punch all day. She didn't mind a bit that I was diving.
Linthorn
