Scuba in Cuba

[RTee]

Current water temp. is 77 F. Too cold for 3mm

Regards,

Pegger....too cold??? Initially I only wore my Bare chicken vest with short sleeve rash guard and lycra/spandex swim suit and I was not cold at all. It's only after my girlfriend was stung by a jelly fish I started wearing my full 3mm.

In the summer, I dive in the St Lawrence river only wearing my 3mm when the water is 75F (when I dive single tank that is).

 

[Polar_diver]

Flying off to Cayo Largo tonight! When I was there 4 years ago I dove with Abel an Luis. Hope they are still there as they were great guys and great guides.

As there was no fishing around this tiny island south of Cuba, marine life was exceptional then. Sure hope it's still the case.

 

[GoAnywherePhoto]

Here on the Southern end of Cuba, the water temps have been hovering at 79F even down to 90+ feet, although there were a couple 77F dives a while back. I chill fairly easily and a 3mm sleeveless shortie and .5mm full suit are keeping me warm even through 3 dives this past Sat.

 

[deeper thoughts]

It is just a matter of time before it is opens completely for US citizens.

 

[DennisS]

Wow... some of you Yanks really do believe your own propaganda.

The rest of the world has been visiting and diving in Cuba for decades. The standards are at the international norm.

Those are countries that allow their citizens the freedom to travel wherever they want in the world. Our country has taken away that freedom because of a small vocal community of exiles with political clout.

 

[jgoodstein]

As a dual citizen (Australia and US) I am able to fly to Canada, or Mexico, and then fly to Cuba.. I use my US passport to leave the states and return, and my Aussie to go to Cuba. Can others do similar in the states or do you really need the dual citizenship to be able to do something like this if you and a US citizen? Does Cuba prohibit US citizens in?

Sure customs may give you a hard time, but the thing is, I get in trouble with customs all the time when I go back to Australia. When I leave the US I HAVE to use my US Passport (Since I'm a citizen), When I arrive in AUS, I HAVE to use my AUS passport (Since I'm a citizen). When I return to the US I have no stamps, and they get freaked out, and I go through the same process every time. I have to abide by two sets of laws.

The point of the prior paragraph is if you want to go there is always a way around, and always some loophole. I look forward to the day that we can get over our differences and realize we are all just people on this rock looking for great dive sites

 

[Pegger]

We dove in Brockville this past Thanksgiving weekend, and on the Sat. it was sunny and 0 degrees in the morning. We (dive buddy and I) were in drysuits with full undergarments and there was a girl in two 3mm shorties. Her legs were purple after the first dive and she had to wait an hour for the second dive.
Do you guys have antifreeze running through your veins??

Cheers,
Steve

Pegger....too cold??? Initially I only wore my Bare chicken vest with short sleeve rash guard and lycra/spandex swim suit and I was not cold at all. It's only after my girlfriend was stung by a jelly fish I started wearing my full 3mm.

In the summer, I dive in the St Lawrence river only wearing my 3mm when the water is 75F (when I dive single tank that is).

 

[String]

Cuba is about the only destination in the Caribbean that hasn;t been absolutely trashed by large numbers of very bad quality divers. So from a selfish point of view i hope the US restrictions stay to keep it that way!.
It also has no cruise ship "divers" which is a huge plus.

It also hasn't got the nauseating mass market tourism push of the type you see in Cozumel and other places in that area. Again, long may the block continue!

 

[Scuba One]

Castro was a serious scuba diver in his younger days. I remember reading an interview where he said he went diving every chance he had.

Before passports were required for Americans to travel to the Bahamas, Canada, or Mexico, Americans could use birth certificates to get in and out of those countries and then use their passports to get in and out of Cuba. Now US government officials can ask where you went when your passport shows you exiting any of the above countries (when you went to Cuba) even if they do not stamp the passport.

Lying to immigration agents about something like this could get you in more trouble than going to Cuba.

 

[String]

Can't you go there by visiting a 3rd party country first?

A lot of unpopular regimes in the world will stamp a separate bit of paper as opposed to your passport to prevent problems elsewhere. Israel is an example of this. It will stamp separate pieces of paper to prevent a tourist having issues entering 40+ other countries in the world.

If they do that then simply flying to say mexico or an independent bahamas place then onward wouldn't be traceable.