jhendrixsr
Registered
Mike S How many dives have you made?
Aruba - beware of Pelican/Unique Sports of Aruba
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ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Who that guy??? I think he is just an internet diver
.....no wait.....that was me. No it was Docc......nope I am certain it was mike_s 
mike_s
Contributor
hundreds and hundreds....
Never once have I been swept off a wreck by a current. Dive your abilities......
Who that guy??? I think he is just an internet diver
Hey you Hoser!!! Take Off!!!.... at least the ice has melted down here for us to go diving!
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Hey all,
sorry for getting this old thread back to life, but I had some thoughts while reading it. I used to Work for Unique back in 2002/3. In 2004 I worked for Pelican. This was before the two became one company. Back in 2002 we had a crew @ Unique that really prided itself in keeping standards and putting diver safety first. Owned Emmitt pressured us sometimes but most of the guys stood up to him and waved PADI rules and regulation in his face if they had to. @ Pelican the situation was quite different. I worked there to dive and to make a living. There was hardly any pressure from the management, but the instructor there did not really care. Taking divers to 120 ft was no problem to some if that improved chances on a good tip.
EDK (in those days) hardly involved himself with the dive shop management. So any statement of his that he will personally monitor his crews safety equipment seems highly unlikely to me. He is also not very popular with his crew.
As for the incident, surface current is always away from the island @ Arashi/Malmok the Currents underwater are completely unpredictable. Chances are the crew had no idea while entering the water that any current existed. The storm is one of those things that is a matter of judgment. I don't believe EDK had any direct influence on the decision even though the crew is very much aware that he will not be happy if they cancel dives lightly. I think this is fair enough.
Strange in this part:
Emmitt does not speak dutch....
Anyhow, I just hope whoever visits Aruba enjoys it as much as I have in the 4 years I lived and worked there. I do not know Clive, but hear a lot of positive things about him. Some friends of mine, had a very similar accident with Native Divers (Romeo) drifting for 3 hour on the north shore. You might understand that I would not recommend him...
Greetz,
Patrick
sorry for getting this old thread back to life, but I had some thoughts while reading it. I used to Work for Unique back in 2002/3. In 2004 I worked for Pelican. This was before the two became one company. Back in 2002 we had a crew @ Unique that really prided itself in keeping standards and putting diver safety first. Owned Emmitt pressured us sometimes but most of the guys stood up to him and waved PADI rules and regulation in his face if they had to. @ Pelican the situation was quite different. I worked there to dive and to make a living. There was hardly any pressure from the management, but the instructor there did not really care. Taking divers to 120 ft was no problem to some if that improved chances on a good tip.
EDK (in those days) hardly involved himself with the dive shop management. So any statement of his that he will personally monitor his crews safety equipment seems highly unlikely to me. He is also not very popular with his crew.
As for the incident, surface current is always away from the island @ Arashi/Malmok the Currents underwater are completely unpredictable. Chances are the crew had no idea while entering the water that any current existed. The storm is one of those things that is a matter of judgment. I don't believe EDK had any direct influence on the decision even though the crew is very much aware that he will not be happy if they cancel dives lightly. I think this is fair enough.
Strange in this part:
Emmitt does not speak dutch....
Anyhow, I just hope whoever visits Aruba enjoys it as much as I have in the 4 years I lived and worked there. I do not know Clive, but hear a lot of positive things about him. Some friends of mine, had a very similar accident with Native Divers (Romeo) drifting for 3 hour on the north shore. You might understand that I would not recommend him...
Greetz,
Patrick
Colorado Fred
Guest
Luke,
I've been diving off Aruba for about 15 years now (we have a timeshare), and have been down with Pelican many of those years. I, too, saw a big change in the operation in the year before they merged with Unique. I've posted comments here re. those changes so I won't re-hash now.
Since I discovered SEAruba and JADS I've used them exclusively except a couple of dives with Unique/Pelican with my newly-certified son and daughter-in-law. I've found both these operations to be very good and have recommended them to new-to-Aruba divers. Do you have any opinion re. these two operations?
Fred
I've been diving off Aruba for about 15 years now (we have a timeshare), and have been down with Pelican many of those years. I, too, saw a big change in the operation in the year before they merged with Unique. I've posted comments here re. those changes so I won't re-hash now.
Since I discovered SEAruba and JADS I've used them exclusively except a couple of dives with Unique/Pelican with my newly-certified son and daughter-in-law. I've found both these operations to be very good and have recommended them to new-to-Aruba divers. Do you have any opinion re. these two operations?
Fred
As for SEA Fly & Dive, I think they are pretty good. They used to be somewhat smaller then the best known operators but the overall diving experience is OK. You might not get the service you get at some of the bigger shops (like having to take your own gear to the boat) but they are (or used to be quite flexible where it comes to selecting dive sites and listening to their guests wants and wishes. At is is a bit smaller the atmosphere is usually pretty laid back. I'm not a big fan of the owner, but you rarely have to get to know him as a guest
As for JADS. I worked at Red Sail some weeks and in those days the guy who started JADS also worked there. (so short a time, I don't even remember his name) Some of the locals can be a pain, as companies have to hire some and they know they will not lose their job. This guys however was a pleasure to work with and a great colleague. The fact that he started JADS means he is both brave (there was no dive shop on that side of the island) and has a heart for diving, as the area where he is (was?) located (near Babybeach) has some of the best divesites!
So I guess I can be fairly positive about both!!
As for JADS. I worked at Red Sail some weeks and in those days the guy who started JADS also worked there. (so short a time, I don't even remember his name) Some of the locals can be a pain, as companies have to hire some and they know they will not lose their job. This guys however was a pleasure to work with and a great colleague. The fact that he started JADS means he is both brave (there was no dive shop on that side of the island) and has a heart for diving, as the area where he is (was?) located (near Babybeach) has some of the best divesites!
So I guess I can be fairly positive about both!!
Shawn8121
Registered
Yep unique will get you killed. Just had a bad dive experience with them this week in Aruba. I will never use them again.
ScubaSteve
Wow.....what a DB
Wow now that sounds convincing. Care to share the gory details of how you barely escaped death?
Shawn8121
Registered
its a long story but I will give you the short version.
Arrived, checked in, filled out paperwork and loaded the boat. Instructed to set up gear and then we waited. The DIVE Master asked to borrow MY knife twice to fix an equipment issue, twice. hmm I think that should have been a sign right there.
Sitting at the pier, we waited almost an hour for them to repair the throttle controls to the boat. It was a smaller craft and we had only 8 divers. Two larger crafts where not in use tied off shore. but we waited..
So, we get going.. then i noticed no Oxygen or emergency kits located on the boat AS advertised on there web site.
Hit the dive site and get to a Wreck and spend less then 10 minutes on the wreck. (Jane C) and then continue on with a Drift Dive.
So we surface, and guess where the boat was... still tied on the wreck and you can see the CPT climbing up and down trying to get the boat running... Mean while we are drifting further way from him and the only other dive charter near by. AFTER 45 minutes of waiting, another diver charter that was next to them came and got us...
will crowded on that boat and then transfered back to ours. so after the surface interval, the boat was still dead. Batterys spent and the Diver master borrowed my Knife again to help attempt repairs...
With a dead boat we went in for our second dive and swam against the current and drifted back to the boat.. surface on the boat, that was now running after someone came and did a jump start. Climbed aboard, with exhaust port in my face and just all around disappointed with the dive.
the Smart decision would have been to not Dive a second tank. What if there was a Diver emergency.... The boat still had dead batteries when we went in. I learned a lesson there... should have refused.
SO we get back to the peir and it's occupied by construction barge and crews. one working space to load an unload was ocuppied. SO we waited again for almost half hour to get of the boat.
get to the shop and they offered no apologies or consideration for the lost time, and terrible dive. They didn't care at all.. all the customers voiced there disappointment and no compensation in return.
Thats the short Version... more to it and I will never try them again... they are a cattle car operation and failed miserable.
Arrived, checked in, filled out paperwork and loaded the boat. Instructed to set up gear and then we waited. The DIVE Master asked to borrow MY knife twice to fix an equipment issue, twice. hmm I think that should have been a sign right there.
Sitting at the pier, we waited almost an hour for them to repair the throttle controls to the boat. It was a smaller craft and we had only 8 divers. Two larger crafts where not in use tied off shore. but we waited..
So, we get going.. then i noticed no Oxygen or emergency kits located on the boat AS advertised on there web site.
Hit the dive site and get to a Wreck and spend less then 10 minutes on the wreck. (Jane C) and then continue on with a Drift Dive.
So we surface, and guess where the boat was... still tied on the wreck and you can see the CPT climbing up and down trying to get the boat running... Mean while we are drifting further way from him and the only other dive charter near by. AFTER 45 minutes of waiting, another diver charter that was next to them came and got us...
will crowded on that boat and then transfered back to ours. so after the surface interval, the boat was still dead. Batterys spent and the Diver master borrowed my Knife again to help attempt repairs...
With a dead boat we went in for our second dive and swam against the current and drifted back to the boat.. surface on the boat, that was now running after someone came and did a jump start. Climbed aboard, with exhaust port in my face and just all around disappointed with the dive.
the Smart decision would have been to not Dive a second tank. What if there was a Diver emergency.... The boat still had dead batteries when we went in. I learned a lesson there... should have refused.
SO we get back to the peir and it's occupied by construction barge and crews. one working space to load an unload was ocuppied. SO we waited again for almost half hour to get of the boat.
get to the shop and they offered no apologies or consideration for the lost time, and terrible dive. They didn't care at all.. all the customers voiced there disappointment and no compensation in return.
Thats the short Version... more to it and I will never try them again... they are a cattle car operation and failed miserable.
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