Dunx
Registered
I just got back from my brother-in-law's wedding in Varadero, Cuba. While there I wanted to do some diving so I got in touch with the only operator in the area - Barracuda Dive Center and I did 2 dives at the Bay of Pigs. The diving was pretty good, nice healthy wall, and I had no beef with the operators - gear was decent etc. But then a few days later a bunch of my extended family members (non-certified) did a resort pool course and went out on a Bay of Pigs dive trip with them - i wasn't able to go - and this is where the horror stories start coming in - and I'm kicking myself for not being able to be there to see what was going on.
1. They were divided into 2 groups - those who had been certified (but only very recently) there was 4 of them. and those who weren't (10 of them)
2. The group that was certified were told they were going down to 30 metres MINIMUM (who even says that??) so they did 2 dives - one to 30 metres and the 2nd one to 34 metres!!! When i heard this I freaked - these were newly certified divers, who have only gone down to 18 metres. Narcosis hits everyone differently - that's why your first deep dive should be with an instructor. Also my uncle ran out of air and had to do an emergency buddy breathing ascent. I think he's at fault here because i firmly believe everyone is ultimately responsible for their own safety - he should have checked his gauges more.
3. the group that wasn't certified were brought down to 18-20 metres (65 feet) without anything but the most basic training - they weren't taught how to equalize properly and my cousin ended up bursting her eardrum, my uncle ended up with extremely red bloodshot eyes due to extreme mask squeeze - they didn't mention that either.
4. to top it off - apparently these cowboy divemasters guiding the uncertified group were ENCOURAGING people to play with and touch and shake the coral.....all I can say is WTF. It made me so mad to hear this. It scares me to think of all the makeshift dive operators all over the carribean doing this kind of bull****.
Anyways - I think i just wanted to rant - these resort pool courses are a joke...especially if the dive pro's are cowboys. I feel somewhat responsible because I'm the diver in my family and have been encouraging them for a long time to try it...and i'm pissed because these cowboy have potentially turned away a few new divers.
So...if you're going to Varadero...maybye skip the diving. Or just don't encourage new divers to try it with this outfit.
thanks for reading.
Duncan
here's some nice pics from my dive at the Bay Of Pigs MobileMe Gallery
1. They were divided into 2 groups - those who had been certified (but only very recently) there was 4 of them. and those who weren't (10 of them)
2. The group that was certified were told they were going down to 30 metres MINIMUM (who even says that??) so they did 2 dives - one to 30 metres and the 2nd one to 34 metres!!! When i heard this I freaked - these were newly certified divers, who have only gone down to 18 metres. Narcosis hits everyone differently - that's why your first deep dive should be with an instructor. Also my uncle ran out of air and had to do an emergency buddy breathing ascent. I think he's at fault here because i firmly believe everyone is ultimately responsible for their own safety - he should have checked his gauges more.
3. the group that wasn't certified were brought down to 18-20 metres (65 feet) without anything but the most basic training - they weren't taught how to equalize properly and my cousin ended up bursting her eardrum, my uncle ended up with extremely red bloodshot eyes due to extreme mask squeeze - they didn't mention that either.
4. to top it off - apparently these cowboy divemasters guiding the uncertified group were ENCOURAGING people to play with and touch and shake the coral.....all I can say is WTF. It made me so mad to hear this. It scares me to think of all the makeshift dive operators all over the carribean doing this kind of bull****.
Anyways - I think i just wanted to rant - these resort pool courses are a joke...especially if the dive pro's are cowboys. I feel somewhat responsible because I'm the diver in my family and have been encouraging them for a long time to try it...and i'm pissed because these cowboy have potentially turned away a few new divers.
So...if you're going to Varadero...maybye skip the diving. Or just don't encourage new divers to try it with this outfit.
thanks for reading.
Duncan
here's some nice pics from my dive at the Bay Of Pigs MobileMe Gallery