Greetings From Tropical Diego Garcia

[wcj786]

Hey all,

I am, of course, new to the site, but not only that, I am new to the entire diving adventure. For the last 24 years (I am 42), I have wanted to get certified, but never took the time to jump in. Finally, on my last vacation, I went to Thailand and got certified.

Man, what a rush. It was quite a sight, seeing all of these people diving, and not one of them taller than 5'10" and all of them in good shape. (For a little perspective, I am 6'7" and have quite a bit of excess flotation material around the waist, which I am looking to donate to a needy individual. If you know of anyone who is interested, let me know.)

Now, as you can tell from the title, I live on the beautiful, tropical island of Diego Garcia, part of the British Indian Ocean Territories (BIOT). Unfortunately, what I didn't tell you is that we have gorgeous, colorful reefs and untold numbers of underwater species. This would be a divers paradise, but for one little problem. WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO SCUBA DIVE. You don't know how much that hurts to say, after spending just one hour snorkeling around the island.

This island is a U.S. Navy base, so they have the final say on anything that can be done on the island. Nobody is allowed on the island without the Navy's permission. I believe the reason they do not allow diving is that there is not a full medical facility here, just a clinic. There is apparently no hyperbaric chamber, either. They did used to allow diving here, but apparently stopped it about 5-8 years ago.

Well, I just have to take vacations off the island in order to go diving. Luckily, the Navy flies us to Singapore when we leave the island and from there, some of the best dive spots in the world are only 5-8 hours away by plane. I am also lucky in that I get 6-7 weeks a year for vacation, so I can break it up and get two trips a year.

Well, sorry for the rambling, but it is almost time for me to go on vacation again (11 days), and this trip is to Cancun/Cozumel, Mexico and Florida (my permanent residence). I can't wait to get down there and Dive Cozumel.

 

[drbill]

Welcome to SB. I've always wondered about Diego Garcia (well, at least since I was about 20 years old). Glad to have you join us.

 

[DennisS]

Diego Garcia sucks. We were cleared and were going there for refueling. We pulled in on a govt oceanographic ship. Everyone was asked to go to the stern with their passports. Officers and scientists were separated from crew. Each group was escorted by armed guards to the different dining areas where we were held for six hours while they searched the ship. If you needed to go to the bathroom, you were escorted. We'd been out to sea for thirty days and were looking forward to a day ashore, kind of shot that. We were about half way through a round the world cruise and were treated worse than any foreign port we'd been to, including ones in the middle east with their security.

 

[DiverJim242]

I was out there in '03 on the M/V Lopez, and I feel your pain, the conditions out there are pristine, and the diving would be epic, but nearest chamber is in India 900 miles north, so no diving. Went to Key Largo when I got back from DG and was drinking at the round table at sharkey's with Dick Rutkawski from Hyperbarics Intl., and he said he was in negotiations with military about putting a chamber in DG, but I guess it never happened.
Almost got into a little hot water while I was there for getting caught snorkling on the ocean side

 

[wcj786]

I was out there in '03 on the M/V Lopez, and I feel your pain, the conditions out there are pristine, and the diving would be epic, but nearest chamber is in India 900 miles north, so no diving. Went to Key Largo when I got back from DG and was drinking at the round table at sharkey's with Dick Rutkawski from Hyperbarics Intl., and he said he was in negotiations with military about putting a chamber in DG, but I guess it never happened.
Almost got into a little hot water while I was there for getting caught snorkling on the ocean side

I still have hope that they will put one in here. I am not with the Navy, so I do not get transferred off the island after 1-2 years. I leave only when I quit or the contract is not renewed, so I plan on being here for at least another 7-10 years. Hopefully, in that time, they will change their tune and allow us to start diving here (again).

 

[Tom Winters]

You get vacation time, right? Go to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Only problem is that with the DG passport stamp, India might not let you in. Their rules. Then there are always the Maldives or the Seychelles.
Or, save your money, invest wisely, and in 10 years, you can do whatever you want.

 

[miteyquinn]

Just got to Diego and diving has just now been authorized, there are some restrictions till MWR starts to get equipment and the chamber gets installed.

 

[jlevenson]

any updates to this last post? Would love to go diving there!

 

[miteyquinn]

Well I left there in Aug 09, Being military will be the only way your gonna get there. The diving was restricted to lagoon diving only, so it was decent at most. plus the price was right. Bottom time was 1hr at 30", a few patches of coral, a couple sting rays, a few turtles.

 

[wcj786]

Well, I'm back on Diego after a year and a half absence. I noticed that while I was gone, somebody said that they started allowing diving again, but since I have been back (2 months) that is no longer the case. The chief medical officer stated to me that they have the say in when Diving will be allowed and that, at present, it is not authorized.

She did wonder how people who claim to be diving here can get and fill the tanks, since there is not, to her knowledge, a place to fill the tanks on this island. She also has no idea where the tanks are coming from.

If I find out, I will start diving here. As was said previously, you can only go in the water on the lagoon side, but the water goes down to over 400 feet in there and the lagoon is 16 mile long and 5 miles wide in most places. There are numerous areas to dive that have interesting and spectacular scenery.

I just wish I could find somebody on this island who can tell me where they are getting their tanks and air.