Barbados

[RV]

Yea the Stav. and that cute DM ur talking about is one of the marine biologists that they have there. she's really cool. i think she's a master scuba instructor as well.....oh yea and cute....lol

This op also had lots of collage girls diving who were "nice" too... so a long slow day of diving was no unpleasant... for me anyway..

 

[doshill]

I saw the discussion and I am from Barbados. The Scotch and Soda Diving outfit is not recommended due to some practices that I don't like or would recommend. Firstly I had two friends of mine that went and did they PADI OW Certifiication at Scotch and Soda only to discover that after two months when they certification didn't come that Scotch and Soda didn't not have any PADI DM on staff. So my friends were diving for certification and the person teaching them was not even a dive master (dangerous). I have dive with Barbados Blue, Michael Young outfit, Reef and Wreckers and Roger's Scuba Shak - all these outfits give really good service and all have PADI certified staff onboard. Barbados Blue I can confirm has 2 marine biologist on board one is Andre Miller who is very good. I would recommend them any day. For a good shore dive - Carlise bay is good, they have the Bajan Queen and whenever any of the board members are in Barbados and I have a time to dive I can dive with you all. Barbados Blue has very up todate dive equipment from Mares while Michael Young uses most Sherwood equipment and I cannot remember what Roger uses. All the equipment in Barbados tends to be well service and by the way there is Hazel's Dive Shop supplies where you can buy any dive equipment you want. I have never seen a tank out of hydro at any of those shops but I always advice persons to check all equipment first before diving.

I would recommend Reef and Wrecker if you want to dive Maycock which I think is the best reef in the island with viz in the 100ft range. If U wnat to dive just PM me and I will give U a number in Barbados that U can call me. Also I dive with a guy call Phil Lashley who is a PADI certified Instructor and we dive as a group well as much Saturdays as we can. I have my own gear except for tanks so calling me for a dive is petty easy. Just PM and we can dive when U are in Barbados.

 

[wetrootz]

Hey guys just signed in and am instructor in Barbados. I cant say where i work but we are known more for beaches as we are a coral island. But need good reefs to produce and create great beaches, so will be pleasantly surprised.

Only island i know that has coastal zone management unit and marine biologist in dive shops. Choices are easy for serious divers. On west coast Reefers and Wreckers and West side is good, and on the south and south west is Barbados Blue at Hilton and next to marine park. Dive Pro closed today and may reopen in few months under new management., and the dive shop may also close temporarily due accident this month. There is also Roger's which is at the Boat Yard also in Carlise Bay.

Regards

 

[Dive Shop Barbados]

The Dive Shop located on the beach by Grand Barbados Hotel is the oldest dive center in the island, providing over 40 years of SCUBA Diving sevice to visitors of the island. It is owned and operated by Haroon Degia with 32 years of diving experience, with David Hutson - Divemaster 20 years experience & Julian Noel - Divemaster 23 years experience. We provide a personalised service on all our dive trips, with a vast knowledge of the dive sites in the island. See our website for monthly Dive Specials,
You can also view our live webcam, seeing us at work.
"SAFETY IS OUR GOAL" "SERVICE IS OUR PRIORITY"
See you for diving in Barbados soon!

 

[bornabolt]

I was on the boat when the incident occured...(or, actually, I was underwater when the incident occured.) It was just an unfortunate event that could not be avoided. they tried CPR on the boat and got him to shore asap. However, they could not revive him. Paramedic came and continued CPR on the beach, but, no success. The man was not even diving, he was snorkeling on the surface above the wreck. I don't know what the final diagnosis was, however it was suspect he had a heart attack.

 

[Dive Shop Barbados]

He died of a heart attack.

Thanks for your input and it was a pleasure have you diving with us.
We are open and not closing temporarily.

Haroon

 

[DiveBarbadosBlue]

Well thank you gents. Much appreciated praise, although how was the diving?
So how was the trip to Barbados last week? We like to hear others first impressions
from
"cute blond DM"

 

[petergrannum]

hello I own a dive shop in barbados called west side scuba and I can send you information on it if you do me and e mail at peterg@sunbeach.net

 

[bornabolt]

Hi gang, sorry for not posting more upon my return but work has been crazy and trying to catch up.

First impressions of diving in Barbados.

Well, as everyone has said, it's not large lush coral reefs like Cayman or roatan. However, I enjoyed the diving very much. Everywhere I go, I get to see something different.
In barbados, There are a lot of great small things to see. Things that you won't see if you don't look close enough for them, or pay attention. But, as someone that has been diving for awhile, I can appreciate the little things.
There are not a lot of largre fish-sharks mammals etc, but, the reef was full of lots of small surprizes. Turtles are always a grand treat and one can never get tired of enjoying them. I especially appreciated the turtle hatchlings on the beach at our hotel...that was really a treat to see!!

And I must say, I have never seen sea horses that big! monster size sea horses. very cool.
Wrecks. Normally wreck diving is not my thing, I tend to get into the big reef marine life etc., but I really enjoyed diving the Stav. Visability was good that day and we had a good dive.
I think my favorite dive spot was "the boot". Not a big area, but a really nice combination of sealife and corals etc. Lot's of turtles too.

The one thing I did not expect was the current/drift diving. The current was much stronger than I anticipated and we had some really long drift dives. I like drift dives, but did not anticipate it. I don't know if it's like that all the time, or just when I was there. It did seem on the days we dove that the seas were pretty rough at times. I suspect this is not the norm. It didn't bother me one bit, but I just didn't anticipate it. It didn't help that I was trying to get used to a new camera and failed miserably at trying to get great shots. So, I gave up and took some nice video instead.

Overall, I really enjoyed it all and would recommend it to others. Depends on the kind of diving you like to do.
Another comment, the local people were all very friendly and nice too. That made it a bonus. The hotel was nice too, (not 4 star, but clean and nice, with a great quiet beach.)

 

[petergrannum]

Hello,

I own a dive shop in barbados and we have dives going out every day, contact me by e mail at peterg@sunbeach.net and will send you a file on the dive shop.