First Warm Water Adventure In March

[ca1badptc]

My son (age 12)and I will be arriving in GC on March 13th. For 7 nights. This will be our first warm water dive trip away from the cold waters of northern California. We are so ready for this Vacation
Is there any Cell phone service on the island? If so what provider.
I have read the other post and it looks like we picked a windy time of year.
We will be doing mostly shore dives and also will be looking to booking a trip to stingray city. He is only certified to 40ft. he turns 12 years old 8 days before we get there. So I do not have enough time to get him in to a advance class. We are looking at Devils Grotto and Eden Rock, Turtle Reef and any other recommended shore dives.

 

[sdwho]

There is cell service, but I'm not sure which US carriers' service works. Best thing is to check with your provider and see what they say.

The divesites you mentioned are all appropriate for your young diver.

 

[diversteve]

Last time I was there(03') my AT&T phone worked fine roaming through Cable & Wireless. But was it pricey...

You'd have to work hard to much exceed 40' at Eden Rock. My max depth there was 38'. And there's a lot of interesting clumps of reef around 25' or so. Some extend to as shallow as 10' from the surface.

Turtle Reef hits 60' or more in some areas but it's interesting much shallower. I think it's the best shoredive on the island.

You might also check with the boat operators on their afternoon trips. Some of them go to good sites that don't exceed 40-50'. Or even go out on a two tank and sit out the first one. Sites like Governors Reef, Peters Reef or Aquarium all are about that depth. We did all three as our 2nd dives of the morning. I was at 42' lying on the bottom in the sand at Aquarium observing a cleaning station, it was one of the best dives there for fish life.

 

[billinwilliamston]

I *think* the house reef at the Sunset House and the reef at Smith's Cove are both under 40', but I could be wrong.

We're on Verizon and do not have cell coverage. You may have cell coverage, but be ready to pay through the nose for it. Do you have a lap top? Are you staying at, or near, a place with high speed Internet access? If so, download skype and bring the lap top with you. It only costs 2.5 cents a minute to call the U.S. $.025 a minute works out a lot better than $1.00 a minute. It's the only way we make calls back home any more.

Have Fun!!!!

 

[ca1badptc]

Thanks for the feedback.
I am making a must do list. I do not have a laptop that works right now. Might just use a calling card for needed phone calls so my son can call his mom a few times while he is there.
Also where is the Mermaid and how deep is she?
Have there been any problems with baggage with AA?
Do most of you check your scuba equipment of carry on?
Many thanks.
Ralph

 

[diversteve]

Also where is the Mermaid and how deep is she?

Standing next to her on the base she's mounted to I was at 53'. Sunset House would be a good dive you could do with your son. There's a lot of reef in that area less than 40' deep. Some maybe even as shallow as 15-20' And it's an easy entry off their concrete "divedock"

Have there been any problems with baggage with AA?

Not through Miami. San Juan's a different story.

I carry on regs, camera, computer and my mask. The only thing you really should carry-on is your computer. I just do the rest so I know I have them. And to avoid breakage.

Add My Bar at Sunset House to the list for lunch. It's a diver's hangout. And see the Cathy Church photo gallery in the basement of the main house. You've probably seen her work in dive mags.

Go to the Wharf for dinner and see the 9PM Tarpon feed.

 

[billinwilliamston]

A couple of years back we visited the mermaid right after my step-daughters certified.

I guess they didn't approve of how she was dressed.

 

[UTKnox]

Where exactly is the Mermaid at?

 

[diversteve]

Where exactly is the Mermaid at?

It's one of the balls off Sunset House's divedock slightly out to the right?. Maybe the 2nd one. The Nicholson is the farther out one as we found by mistake. Ask someone at My Bar to point it out as they also have their boat mooring balls out there.

http://www.sunsethouse.com/shore_diving.php

 

[richtpe]

You can also rent a cell phone when you're down there. Andy's car rental has them (although they didn't have any available when I was there) or you can go to a Cable & Wireless store (http://www.cw.ky/internet/products/visitor-services/temporary-mobile-daily-rentals/) - they were also out of them when I was there. I ended up buying a cheap pre-paid phone (worked out to be about the same as the rental given the length of time I was there). Only cost about 30 cents per minute to call to the US.