Fair Warning

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--tom--

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
663
Reaction score
52
Location
Kealakekua, Big Island
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Well the group I travel with (8 of us) just made reservations to be in Curacao for 10 days in October.

You have been warned. May God have mercy on you.:D
 
Can you give us an idea of exactly when you are coming, or what you are diving and when? I'm just asking because from your post either I really really want to be there when you are, or I want to find some hut on the exact opposite side of the island!

Seriously if you need any pointers/tips/ideas, give a shout. At least make sure to come to Iguana Cafe one night for dinner and drinks to regale me with diving tales, and hit Sunshine up in Westpundt one weekend night for the best pizza this side of everything.

Cheers,
Jeff
 
You made me curious, as it's almost at the end of the hurricane season. And sometimes nature has a surprise.

So let us know where you're staying and what divespots you're gonna visit and may be we can surprise you.
 
Can you give us an idea of exactly when you are coming, or what you are diving and when? I'm just asking because from your post either I really really want to be there when you are, or I want to find some hut on the exact opposite side of the island!

Seriously if you need any pointers/tips/ideas, give a shout. At least make sure to come to Iguana Cafe one night for dinner and drinks to regale me with diving tales, and hit Sunshine up in Westpundt one weekend night for the best pizza this side of everything.

Cheers,
Jeff

Hi Jeff--Fair questions. We will be in Curacao parts of the first and second weeks in October. Currently, 5 of us dive with 2 more thinking about it. If I pick up the pace, I should have the 2 OW certed by the trip & maybe get them AOW certed in warm water. So I will probably need some advice on some appropriate dive sites for that. We will be staying in Jan Thiel (sp?) so Iguana Cafe is so close it should be on our list of things to do.

You made me curious, as it's almost at the end of the hurricane season. And sometimes nature has a surprise.

So let us know where you're staying and what divespots you're gonna visit and may be we can surprise you.

Hans: we will have to talk. My typical process to a new country is to hire a DM for a day, feed him/her, provide copious amounts of alcoholic beverage of choice & drive from site to site, get a beach speech, take detailed notes, question the DM about little out of the way places and favorite hideaways (this is where the alcohol pays off), and local styles of diving that works well there. Pay the DM well & of course tip them as though we dove. Then make plans for the next week of diving. You may have better suggestions.

There are no hard plans, but a couple of things look appealing to the group: Klein Curacao, dolphin dive & at least one night dive.

On my list, I would like a day for myself on a little more of the remote diving sites--rough water entries are okay. Westpundt area diving is high on my list (yes Sunshine, you have been noticed). So surprises (for me) are quite welcome.

There are two things that have me a bit stumped:
Car Rentals: When I contact some of the smaller companies (I try to support local whenever I can) they seem really nice, but some are closed on Sundays (hard to get to the airport) and many won't meet me at the airport, so a taxi out to the business makes the transaction awkward at best. On the other hand, there seems to be a 12% :)shocked2:) airport fee on the rental, so any suggestions? We will need a couple of vehicles, probably a van, SUV, or a pickup.

Where/how to rent gear: At least one of the divers will be new, so will end up renting for at least 5 days of diving, the rest (of course) will need tanks and weights (I would be surprised if I can get anyone to dive more than 2x a day). Are the beaches/dive sites like Grand Cayman where you MUST rent the tank from the on site shop, or is it more like Hawaii, show up with tanks and dive? Any shop recommendations? Any local caveats that I should be aware of?

Dive Well
--tom--
 
Dear Tom,

Let me see if I can pick away at a few of those, I'm sure the local DMs will chime in with more helpful info as well.

Gear Rental -- I would say that depends on exactly where you are going to stay and or dive. I suspect if you are at Jan Thiel, the closest place for you would be Scooba Do (I don't think they are on Scuba Board). The rest would be about a 10 minute drive from where your at, but they are good peeps: Dive Bus (Suzy and Mark) would probably be a short detour on the way to most of your dive locations (and are very well liked). Atlantis Diving would also be close to them, and they run a very good operation. Ocean Encounters at Breezes is also in the neck of the woods (they offer the Dolphin Dive), and also offer good service (run by an American Expat).

As for tanks, what I do is get them from the shop closest to the place I am diving. I like to get them where I am diving, so that I have access to rinse tanks or any other issues that come up. I, personally, think it's kind of rude to get all your gear from one place and then use the services of another. Especially here where the price of fresh water is one of the highest in the world. I don't know of any place that "requires" you use their tanks if you use the beach, but most of the ops know me, and if I show up with my own tanks, I usually bring a cold beer, or a smoke to smooth things over.

As for the Dolphin Dive, its a little on the expensive side, but I highly recommend it. My son and I do it once a year for our birthdays (they are three days apart) and we always love it.

For teaching AoW, you need a bit of "enclosed" space for the skills. I don't go to Jan Theil often, but if you don't find it suitable, I can give lots of other recommendations.

As for the sneak away dives I recommend:

Shon Mosa / Playa Largu
Mushroom Forrest/Blue Room
Superior Producer
Playa Jeremi
And it's a heck of a fin out, but a dive from Daaibooi to Porto Marie in one shot (around 10-12 meters) is a heck of a good time.
There are many many many other "out of the way spots," but on any given Sunday, those are my favorites.

Jeff
 
Hans,
Since it's more in your "neighborhood".... do you know how to access the Seldom dive site from shore? Tom has a lot of dives logged and it sounds like he has a day to dive without the newbies. Seldom would be special, out of the way, but definitely much more advanced. If you can, and do set up something with Tom, weekdays I might have time and weekends, Jeff might make the time.
I also recommend Shon Mosa/Playa Largu. I might try the drift dive Daibooi to Porto Marie one day.
 
Sunshine,

Believe it or not, I have never done Seldom! Hans, if you are taking him, especially on a Sunday, I would be up for a go round. I'm also always willing to try and sneak away for a dive at Shon Mosa for sure!

Sunshine, we just did the Daibooi drift on Sunday, it was a great time. Next time we are heading that way, I'll make sure to give you a call!

Jeff
 
Just to kind of get an idea of local definitions, a "heck of a kick out" is about how far?

For a point of reference, 200m through kelp is expected for AOW, 400m+ is a no-brainer, 600m with an 8-10' swell will have my full attention.

All of the group is over 50, so not everyone is...uhm...enthusiastic(?)...devoted(?)...stupid as I am.

Regarding entries: rock climb outs (aka: cliffs--strap off fins and bring gloves) or hard scrabble or just lots of stairs?
 
Swimouts vary on CUR, partly depending on how deep of a cut-in the particular Playa has. Shortest swimout to the dropoff was probably 100 feet at Playa Hundu, accessible via dirt road from Soto.

Longer swimouts are several hundred yards, but I didn't take a tape measure. We got fooled a few times, descending when we saw reef growth but not the actual dropoff.
Boca Santa Cruz may have been our longest swimout. It's a public beach but not really listed as a shore dive and I see why after doing one there.

Sometimes you need to walk 30 feet down cement stairs, like at Playa Kalki or Playa Forti. This builds integrity if you gear up fully beforehand.
Some of the other Playa sites are much easier: back your pickup in and walk 50 or 100 feet to the water, no steps.
 
The Daaibooi swim out is the farthest on the island that I ever do, and that I know of. Easy entry. I'd say 25 minute very casual surface swim to the blue line (my guess would be 500 meters, swells not likely, no kelp). It's a lot shorter on the other edge of the beach, but the side you need to go to in order to go towards Porto Marie the reef is really far out.

All other entries, at least that I have done (90% of the island), are very easy and no more than say a 10-15 minute easy swim to the blue line. Some places, Jeremi, Knip, Kalki, among others have a few steps on the way to the beach, although nothing to strenuous.

You could easily do 20 dives here in a week and never have to climb a rock, or down a set of stairs, and have a great time. Although I would hate to miss Kalki, and that is a couple of stairs.

Hope that helps,
Jeff
 
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