ClumsyCuttlefish
Registered
It was my first time in Cuba and we stayed there for one week in the beginning of August 2010.
I met two people before my trip (both experienced divers) who dove at Santa Lucia with Sharks Friends and they highly recommended this dive operator.
My first impression: everybody is very friendly. However, nobody bothered to ask for my card.
You do not need to register with them in advance. I showed up in the morning and said that I would like to dive with them. I also mentioned that I am a newbie (23 dives) and I do not practise often. The DM told me to come in the afternoon.
Dive 1. As I brought my gear with me, I rented only a tank and weights. I checked the carbon monoxide and it showed zero. We were only four in the group, including the DM, who was my buddy. After a short trip (5 10 min) on the boat we arrived to the site. There was NO briefing. I asked who is my buddy and the DM answered that thats him. I asked about the depth of the site and he said 18 m. The viz was excellent and the sea was calm. We went down and headed towards the wall. The three of the divers including the DM went to 24m. I signalled that I will stay slightly above as I planned (and told the DM) to stay at 18 m. Everything went fine.
Dive 2. Another afternoon dive. The DM is different. We are three at this time. I asked him about the dive site and the depth. The answer is the same: 18 m. He also told us that there will be a small cave to swim through. I mentioned that I am not certified for cave diving. He said that it is shallow and the swim through is very short. I agreed (Yes, do not through stones, it was a MISTAKE). The irony is that he chose the different site and did not say anything about that. (No briefing again). I signalled when I had half tank. We headed back. I was waiting for the cave and could not see any. My air was getting towards 500psi. I though I am not going in the cave with only that much air!, so I planned to go up if they decide to do the cave anyway. Well, when I signalled that I have 500psi, we all went up. Only then I learned that we dove a different site.
Dive 3. Fantastic shark dive! Finally, there WAS a briefing. We saw four bull sharks, while lying on the sand at 24m. Unforgettable! The wreck is also worth seeing. That was the best dive I ever made: very smooth, the viz was excellent, and having information from the briefing, I felt more secure.
Dive 4. was also a shark dive at the same spot. Only the viz after the rain was worse. But the sharks were there. I had a newly certified diver as my buddy, so I looked more after him then after the marine life. Well, I guess I was stressed more then him.
Certification. The guy who was my buddy the last dive decided to do his certification there. He chose to do the Scuba Diver which, as he was explained, allows him to go down to 15m. He had one session in a pool and two dives with an instructor. The first dive he had was at 10m,, the second at 20m. Then they told him that he could go to the shark dive which is 25m. He did not have any idea of how and when to use his BCD so I had to instruct him on the boat before the dive.
There is no oxygen on a boat. And the nearest chamber is 100 km in Camaguay.
Finally, when I saw people geared up and there was a leak, the DM simply told them that is was not a problem so they went diving like that. When I had a leak, I had to ask twice to replace my tank.
Honestly, if I did not have two positive feedback from experienced divers at the beginning, I would not dive there.
I met two people before my trip (both experienced divers) who dove at Santa Lucia with Sharks Friends and they highly recommended this dive operator.
My first impression: everybody is very friendly. However, nobody bothered to ask for my card.
You do not need to register with them in advance. I showed up in the morning and said that I would like to dive with them. I also mentioned that I am a newbie (23 dives) and I do not practise often. The DM told me to come in the afternoon.
Dive 1. As I brought my gear with me, I rented only a tank and weights. I checked the carbon monoxide and it showed zero. We were only four in the group, including the DM, who was my buddy. After a short trip (5 10 min) on the boat we arrived to the site. There was NO briefing. I asked who is my buddy and the DM answered that thats him. I asked about the depth of the site and he said 18 m. The viz was excellent and the sea was calm. We went down and headed towards the wall. The three of the divers including the DM went to 24m. I signalled that I will stay slightly above as I planned (and told the DM) to stay at 18 m. Everything went fine.
Dive 2. Another afternoon dive. The DM is different. We are three at this time. I asked him about the dive site and the depth. The answer is the same: 18 m. He also told us that there will be a small cave to swim through. I mentioned that I am not certified for cave diving. He said that it is shallow and the swim through is very short. I agreed (Yes, do not through stones, it was a MISTAKE). The irony is that he chose the different site and did not say anything about that. (No briefing again). I signalled when I had half tank. We headed back. I was waiting for the cave and could not see any. My air was getting towards 500psi. I though I am not going in the cave with only that much air!, so I planned to go up if they decide to do the cave anyway. Well, when I signalled that I have 500psi, we all went up. Only then I learned that we dove a different site.
Dive 3. Fantastic shark dive! Finally, there WAS a briefing. We saw four bull sharks, while lying on the sand at 24m. Unforgettable! The wreck is also worth seeing. That was the best dive I ever made: very smooth, the viz was excellent, and having information from the briefing, I felt more secure.
Dive 4. was also a shark dive at the same spot. Only the viz after the rain was worse. But the sharks were there. I had a newly certified diver as my buddy, so I looked more after him then after the marine life. Well, I guess I was stressed more then him.
Certification. The guy who was my buddy the last dive decided to do his certification there. He chose to do the Scuba Diver which, as he was explained, allows him to go down to 15m. He had one session in a pool and two dives with an instructor. The first dive he had was at 10m,, the second at 20m. Then they told him that he could go to the shark dive which is 25m. He did not have any idea of how and when to use his BCD so I had to instruct him on the boat before the dive.
There is no oxygen on a boat. And the nearest chamber is 100 km in Camaguay.
Finally, when I saw people geared up and there was a leak, the DM simply told them that is was not a problem so they went diving like that. When I had a leak, I had to ask twice to replace my tank.
Honestly, if I did not have two positive feedback from experienced divers at the beginning, I would not dive there.
