First destination for a new diver?

[JRO]

After seeing the look in my nephew's eyes after he watched the video I took while in Grand Cayman this year, I have decided to enroll him for his OW.

I've found a local dive shop that seems to have a good reputation, now I'm looking for a good place to take him for his qual dives (using referals).

We'll be going in Feb during his school break.

Keeping in mind local conditions during this time of year and also wanting to make sure his first open water experience is enjoyable(ie;good vis, warm, lots of cool critters to see, etc).

I was hoping to get some advice from the ScubaBoard.

Thanks all,

:spaninq:

Jeff

[Tim Ingersoll]

I did my open water dives in the Keys. Nice warm water, good vis., lots of critters and easy to get to. If I had to do it over again and money wasn't an object I think I would have gone to the Turks & Caicos. It has a lot more than the Keys do (big stuff and walls).

[g8trdiver]

Brac might be a little "quiet" for a (I assume teenage?) boy - but for a good diving experience without the distractions of the seedier side of tourist destinations, I really like Brac.

I haven't been there in 5 years, though. We stayed at Brac Reef Beach Resort, and from what I've read from other people, others have had similar experiences at other resorts - good ones.

The reason I think it's good for a new diver: On my trip, the gear is handed over when you arrive, and set up for you on the boat. You have your spot on the boat for the week, and all you have to take care of are mask, fins, snorkel, and hanging up your wetsuit in the drying room.

I might draw fire for this, but I find that the boat crew on boats in the Caribbean islands are much more helpful and friendly than those in the US. I've found that they seriously work for their tips.

Meanwhile, my sister was recently certified, and we went to Key Largo for her first boat diving experience after being certed (she was certed in the springs). She arrived a day before I did, and because the weather was deteriorating, I suggested she head over to the dive shop we regularly use, Tavernier Diver Center, and say 'hi', and maybe dive a day early as long as the weather was good.

So, she did - and she went ahead and dived the next morning. They have a nice roomy boat, and really treated her well. The weather did turn worse, and we didn't get to dive together when I got there, but she met people on the boat, and the Tavernier folks made it a great experience for her.

So, if the budget doesn't allow for Brac, the Folks at Tavernier are very sincere, and will plan appropriate dives that everyone will enjoy.

Hope that helps.

[RoatanMan]

I took my nephew on his first dive trip after certification. He was a sophomore in college (Austin) and we went over January break- he couldn't miss Spring Break at South Padre, after all. If your nephew is old enough for my favorite resort, you might want to try it!

I took him to CoCoView on Roatan for a number of reasons.

1) It is perfection for the new diver. Not only is the dive op laid out to provide lots of "fiddling room", but the dive boats are safe with no sharp edges and provide lots of room to gear up as well as move about. The dive boats have multiple ladders including one in the middle of the boat that lets you come up from underneath. Very simple and easy!

2) The shore dive which is described as the "front yard" is just that. It begins at your cabana which is situated on stilts over an active reef. There is an anchor chain from the shore leading out to the placed intact wreck of the 120' Prince Albert- she rests in 35-65fsw and is next to the DC-3 airplane. His u/w landmark familiarity after diving the front yard a few times allowed him to become an avid night diver before his 15th dive!

3) CoCo View is cheap. For $750-850 (depending upon season) you can go, dive, eat and sleep for a week with no other costs besides tip, etc. The air runs about $430 from Houston/Miami.

4) CCV is safe. Roatan itself is safe for tourists, but know that CCV is on its own private ten acre key lying a few hundred yards South of the main island. You take a provided motor launch to get there and NOBODY else is there all week but you and the staff.

5) He had a history of allergies. With the prevelant sand flea (no-see-ums), this was a concern. CCV is bathed in a constant SSE breeze that knocks the buggers back as the resort has the bushes and trees well trimmed to allow for this. There is no standing water on the Cay, so I have never seen a mosquito.

He logged 27 dives in one week and was instantly good at spotting small critters and exercising his imagination. Call them at 800 282-8932 to see what their age minimums are.

[Drew Sailbum]

There are several criteria I would recommend taking into consideration when selecting a dive destination.

1) Topside activities. Most of us are pretty gung-ho, but if your nephew isn't looking to dive 3+ dives a day, then he'll want acess to age appropriate topside activities.


2) Diving conditions. When making that decision think about current, average sea conditions, water temperature, visibility, depth (<40ft if age 10-11), and appropriate dive objectives.

New divers may find strong currents and deep dives to be beyond their abilities. The Keys are a good choice if the weather cooperates.

[fgray1]

K= keep
I= It
S=Simple
S=Stupid
I found that in most new things that keeping it simple is always a good idea.
Don't misunderstand the stupid part I not saying your stupid. But a little knowledge can be deadly.
Enjoy your diving.

[Diver Lori]

The Keys can be a little dicey in the late winter, early spring & spring I've found from my experience. I've been blown out in January and also in March and April. I've had very good luck in the summer. I've been blown out in November in Panama City Beach.

The Florida Springs are a good secure choice for check out dives unless it's floodtime. They flooded last year so this year should be alright.

If you are driving or renting, you may consider doing checks in the springs and heading south to the Keys or west to Panama City. Then if you are blown out in either place, you will at least have the check dives done.

Basically, a long story short, before booking, a few calls to various operations asking about seasonal condiditons would be money well spent

[Zippsy]

My son got his J-OW in Grand Cayman when he was 13. If you go there with a smaller operator, it would be great. Originally, he was certified and diving with us at one of the big Seven Mile Beach shops but there were several other people on the boat too. The DM's were reluctant to keep the profiles shallower than 60 feet (or let me just stay with my son at that depth) so we moved to another shop. After that, we had no problems diving within those guidelines at some great sites. We also benefitted from much more personal attention.

[caymaniac]

Diver Lori once bubbled...
The Keys can be a little dicey in the late winter, early spring & spring I've found from my experience. I've been blown out in January and also in March and April.

This is the truth, I too have been blown out twice by the weather in Florida Keys. The first day we arrived was great, that was a Saturday in April. We drove up and down the Keys for a week hoping someone would go out. Finally on Thurs., we found an operator that would go out if we found a couple more divers, which we did. The waves were 6 to 10, not bad next to Lake Mich., the waves were quite spread out, but all the other divers did was feed the fish over the railing, while my wife and I had a great dive on the "Deep Ball". This would not be great for a new diver.:rolleyes:

Dive Safe,
Caymaniac

[dmdoug]

I really enjoyed my trip to Bahamas aboard the Blackbeards cruiseship.

The 65' sloop rigged sailboat leaves Miami and visits the Bimini's and the popular Gingerbread grounds. The vis was 100'+ and 85 F for the entire trip taken in July.

A must do if you like lots of diving. The passengers on the ship logged about 20 hours of bottom time on 18 dives.....Every dive was over an hour in length. Walls, big animals and coral was everywhere.....

Dive safe,

[JRO]

I have been given some great suggestions...so glad I tripped upon this site.

Having just come back from Grand Cayman and also having fallen in love with it...I may have to go back, although I'm not sure wether I will go to Grand Cayman or the Brac.

Then again Roatanman paints a tempting picture for Roatan...you mentioned an age reuirement. He's fifteen, does that create any issues?

Thank you for the great suggestions.
:notworthy
Jeff

[RoatanMan]

On how serious of a diver the nephew is.

As other posters pointed out, topside diversions might be a requirement. At CoCoView there is NOTHING else to do besides dive dive dive. If he is serious, if you're serious, this might be tailor made for you. Call Roatan Charter and ask about their age requirements after you think about who your nephew is and what he wants. I don't know what their age minimum is, but I have seen very young people there who were engaged in serious diving. ANY age child can stay in one of the beach houses at Playa Miguel, also on the CCV property.

I have seen young people there who were so intensely interested in diving that they fit right in. On rarae occasion, a teen shows up who is a real p.i.t.a.

There is pretty much so nothing to do topside in Roatan at any resort (contrary to some brochures) and this applies top most Caribbean destinations (that have betther than c+ level diving) as well.

My nephew pretty well wanted to change his major to marine biology after his trip to Roatan's CoCo View, but we steered him back towards "rock star" with a minor in "techno thriller author".

[sigelr]

A lot depends on how much time & money you have as well as how comfortable/confident a diver your nephew will be at first.

For ease and economy you can't beat the Keys. Capt. Slate in Key Largo does a Friday morning "creature feature" where he feeds barracuda and eels (sometimes some nurse sharks show up too) and you get to fondle the critters (I'm actually not a big fan of acclimating fish to humans but your nephew will have a blast bragging to his friends about his encounter!) Most dive sites are in the 30-40ft. range so he can't get into too much trouble. You can work your way down the Keys and even take in the human circus in Mallory Square at sunset and Margaritaville in Key West (Key West has the worst diving of the Keys but the most topside activities). If you go here, I'd also suggest a night dive. Tavernier Dive Center does a nice job with these and, again, hard to get into too much trouble. I agree with the others that weather and conditons can vary so be sure to bring seasick pills (just in case) if either of you are prone to turning "green".

For great diving, both Cayman Brac and Grand Turk have exceptional diving but might require a higher degree of skill than he'll have, at first. Neither one has much of anything to do topside. (Also, Grand Turk water temp is a little colder that time of year.)

Have you considered someplace like Cozumel? It's fairly cheap, the diving is good and there's stuff to do topside (tours to the ruins, etc. etc.) My first ocean dive was in Cozumel and once I got over the surprise of suddenly finding myself 80 ft. down with crystal clear viz I really enjoyed the drift diving.

Again, lots of choices but just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. Have fun!!

[JRO]

Well SEGLIR I was leaning towards the Brac as I have never been there and I thought that would make it a treat for both of us. You mentioned the conditions might be tough for his experience level(nill). I was unaware of those types of conditions in the Brac.
I'm thinking maybe Roatan (another place I've never been) or possibly Grand Cayman (been there, loved it, great conditions....can't think of a good reason not to go back).
Thanks again for the input.

Jeff

[RoatanMan]

Roatan?

On the South side- it's a swimming pool. No current to speak of and lots of 30' reefs and then wall drop offs to 90' sandy bottoms.(the deep blue is below)

The "front yard" of Cocoview looks and feels like a swimming pool and easily passes for confined water conditions.

Have fun and chose wisely- first impressions are important! ;)

[JRO]

I fully agree with you, first impressions are truly critical. I'm looking forward to taking him on future trips, so I want this one to be an incredible experience for him.
Sounds like Roatan may be it.

Thanks again,
:)
Jeff