We personally did a total of 5 dives with Pelicano. My sister and nephew did another 2 with Marianna during their open water referral and 1 with Pelicano. So, this review is based on a total of 15 person/dives.
Two of our dives with Pelicano were on the Bavaro Beach area of Punta Cana. The previous week there was bad weather and there was some left over activity. We dove the two tanks in the morning on one of the many non-Astron dive sites. The visibility was no better than 50 feet. The sea life consisted of mostly small reef fish. I did see one sea turtle and a ray on one dive. The dives were interesting from the standpoint of a significant back and forth surge underwater well off of the shore. When you were swimming in line with the surge the effect was dramatic. When swimming perpendicular to the surge, you needed to be careful not to hit the reef. We had never experienced that type of effect except in very shallow water near the shore. My wife an OWSI level instructor opted out of the second dive due to the situation.
My sister's and my nephews Mariana dives experienced significant problems due to both the current and the surge. On their second dive on the Baravo Beach, two of the five divers had to surface due to low air situations leaving three divers unattended on the bottom. The visibility was such that they could no longer see the instructor and visa versa when he left. By the time he got back, they apparently were not able to complete their skills due to low air. The instructor would not sign off on a scuba diver level certification as a result. The difficulties were compounded by the fact that some of the five divers were in different stages of development. The instructor was by himself without a certified assistant. Although the maximum number of open water students is 8, this requires optimal conditions which were not present due to the low visibility and the high current and surge.
Three of our dives were on Catalina Island. The first was a wall dive to approximately 100 feet. There was significant coral, but again few larger reef fish. The second dive was shallow hard into the current and then a fast return back to the mooring line with the current. On this dive, the dive guide from Pelicano personally took charge of my semi-certified sister and nephew. Some of the divers were low on air by the time they returned to the boat. There were some harsh words exchanged over this issue at one point. If you're certified you should know how to signal low on air and indicate an ascent is necessary. The third and best dive of the three was a drift dive along the coral parallel to the shore. Again no large reef fish, but more relaxing than the previous mooring dive. One of the staff stated that the current was the highest and the visibility was the lowest that he has seen in three years. A woman in my sister's class visited the island earlier in the week and stated that there was no current on her dive. Apparently the conditions vary greatly on Catalina Island and you cannot predict what they will be until you are there.
Part III will cover diving with the shops.
Two of our dives with Pelicano were on the Bavaro Beach area of Punta Cana. The previous week there was bad weather and there was some left over activity. We dove the two tanks in the morning on one of the many non-Astron dive sites. The visibility was no better than 50 feet. The sea life consisted of mostly small reef fish. I did see one sea turtle and a ray on one dive. The dives were interesting from the standpoint of a significant back and forth surge underwater well off of the shore. When you were swimming in line with the surge the effect was dramatic. When swimming perpendicular to the surge, you needed to be careful not to hit the reef. We had never experienced that type of effect except in very shallow water near the shore. My wife an OWSI level instructor opted out of the second dive due to the situation.
My sister's and my nephews Mariana dives experienced significant problems due to both the current and the surge. On their second dive on the Baravo Beach, two of the five divers had to surface due to low air situations leaving three divers unattended on the bottom. The visibility was such that they could no longer see the instructor and visa versa when he left. By the time he got back, they apparently were not able to complete their skills due to low air. The instructor would not sign off on a scuba diver level certification as a result. The difficulties were compounded by the fact that some of the five divers were in different stages of development. The instructor was by himself without a certified assistant. Although the maximum number of open water students is 8, this requires optimal conditions which were not present due to the low visibility and the high current and surge.
Three of our dives were on Catalina Island. The first was a wall dive to approximately 100 feet. There was significant coral, but again few larger reef fish. The second dive was shallow hard into the current and then a fast return back to the mooring line with the current. On this dive, the dive guide from Pelicano personally took charge of my semi-certified sister and nephew. Some of the divers were low on air by the time they returned to the boat. There were some harsh words exchanged over this issue at one point. If you're certified you should know how to signal low on air and indicate an ascent is necessary. The third and best dive of the three was a drift dive along the coral parallel to the shore. Again no large reef fish, but more relaxing than the previous mooring dive. One of the staff stated that the current was the highest and the visibility was the lowest that he has seen in three years. A woman in my sister's class visited the island earlier in the week and stated that there was no current on her dive. Apparently the conditions vary greatly on Catalina Island and you cannot predict what they will be until you are there.
Part III will cover diving with the shops.
