SE Aruba Divers

[chirodr]

I just returned from a week long dive trip to Aruba. Unfortunately our group (7 divers) chose SE Aruba Divers. What a nightmare!!!! We should have known something was wrong when their dive operation was out of an old garage behind a house in a residential section. In any event, we asked not to do wreck but more reef diving. They didn't care, even though we were their sole paying customers for the week (with 1 exception). Only 2 dives did they not take us to a wreck. Their only boat broke down twice, both times while at sea. Their primary dive master knew very little about the dive sites and even had to ask the boat captain how deep a dive was in which we were about to take. On one dive she was checking out 2 students and totally ignored us. No dive instructions.... only I'll be with my students. She didn't enter or exit the water with us. When I surfaced with my camera only on one dive did the crew assist me with getting my camera into the boat. The crew was repeatedly late picking us up in the mornings and then waited for us to load tanks, fill up the wash tank, etc. I could go on and on.
In short the worst dive operation I have ever experienced. Don't waste your vacation, time or money. Pelican, Red Sail or Mermaid seemed to be the best operators.

 

[MikeS]

I sorry to hear you didn’t have a good time in Aruba. We have a time share there and go every year and have always had a great time.

Perhaps it depends on what you’re looking for. I’ve never dived, or heard of for that matter, SE Aruba Divers, but I have dived with Red Sail, Pelican, and Native Divers and prefer small operators. I also prefer wreck over reef diving and would count the fact that the DM ignored me on dives as a blessing. I don’t like follow the DM guided tours and I know how to navigate. I go to Aruba to relax and don’t have much of a schedule so would tend to see breaking down at sea as an adventure rather than an inconvenience.

There’s a picture of the Pelican and Red Sail dive boats in the dictionary next to “Cattle Boat.” They are both great operations if that’s what you are looking for. They have nice well maintained boats, with flushing heads, and warm showers. But they load up with snorkels, certified divers and everything in between. The dives are “follow the DM guided tours” mostly at the same few sites and you’re lucky to get 20 minutes of bottom time before someone is low on air and all have to come up. When the tour boats come in, you become a second class citizen.

Next year when we go back, we intend to dive with Native Divers again. They don’t even have a garage; they run a six pack off the beach. I’ve also heard nothing but good things about Dive Aruba, another small operator, my second choice. But that’s they type of operator I’ve learned to like. So perhaps it depends on what you are looking for.

Better luck next time,
Mike

 

[cdiver2]

My wife and I used Pelican and give them five stars.
After the first dive with them we were told "you can go on your own if you wish" and given a site brief on every dive and left to do our own thing, In the period of a week we never had more than six divers on a boat.
when my wifes reg started to free flow she was given a loaner for the day and hers was repaired for the next day NO CHARGE.
After missing the transport back to the hotel ( our fault ) they said no problem and a divemaster took us back in his car, I wll use them every time we are in Aruba

 

[MikeS]

cdiver2 once bubbled...
My wife and I used Pelican and give them five stars.
After the first dive with them we were told "you can go on your own if you wish" and given a site brief on every dive and left to do our own thing, In the period of a week we never had more than six divers on a boat.

That's totally different than both years that I dived with Pelican. Perhaps it depends on the time of year. We are there in the first week of April and I can't remember there ever being less than twenty people on the boat. And despite the fact that I signed up for unlimited diving for the week there were several days when they bumped me off the boat because the tour boats (there bread and butter) were in.

Mike

 

[cdiver2]

may be the answer I dont know but we had a great time with them. November the last time we were there.

 

[o2scuba]

cdiver2 once bubbled...
may be the answer I dont know but we had a great time with them. November the last time we were there.

You just missed me! I worked at Pelican until October last year.
MikeS,
I don't know when you were there, but while I worked there snorkelers did not go out on dive boats (with the exception of an occasional non-diving spouse). It does make a difference what time of year tho, as far as how many on a boat. Typically the am 2tank boats have no more than 8, sometimes 10 or 12. The PM boats tend to be a bit more crowded. Especially the 1:00 "Pedernalis" wreck dive. That's where all the resort course divers do their OW dive.

Tuesdays and Fridays are cruise ship days, the pm boats are pretty full, but the cruise divers don't usually make it to the 8:30 am boat so the am dives are still about the same.

From December through April there are more cruise ships coming to port weekly, so this is the busier time.

Pelican has grown a lot in the last couple of years. They now have 2 42ft dive boats, a platform boat (for classes) and 4 Catamarans (for snokellers, and booze cruises.

Red sail still has 1 42ft dive boat, and the 40ft platform "cattle" dragger, as well as their Cats.

cdiver2,
When will you be going back to Aruba? I am planning to return in November. I will probably work there for the winter, and maybe longer. I may return to Pelican, but I just got an offer from Red Sail that pays more, so I gotta consider..........

Andrew

 

[scubajoe]

I was in Aruba in Sept a couple of years ago. I had heard the horror stories about Red Sail but he group I was with liked the price. The horror stories were just that. I had a great time. The DMs watched me on my first dive then pretty much left me alone unless there was something cool I needed to see or participate in.
We did several different sites on the am dives but mosy of the afternoon dives were on the wrecks as well as the night dives. There were no restrictions on dive time that I was aware of. I was usually first off and last on the boat. I went out with the afternoon resort classes and just dove, it didn't cause me any stress at all. Wish I could go back.

Joe

 

[cdiver2]

I dont know when I will be back, this year PNG & OZ next year ST Lucia. Ihave not done the Red Sea yet so that may be on the books soon.

 

[grouchyturtle]

Does Pelican do more sites than Red Sail?

I'm going in a few weeks, was thinking of doing Red Sail, but just saw their schedule.

Same 4 sites all week. Not that I don't want to do the Antilla, but every day and the same time!

 

[o2scuba]

grunzster once bubbled...
Does Pelican do more sites than Red Sail?

I'm going in a few weeks, was thinking of doing Red Sail, but just saw their schedule.

Same 4 sites all week. Not that I don't want to do the Antilla, but every day and the same time!

Here's the Pelican schedule:

Mon-Thurs + Sat-8:30-12:30-South Coast 2 tank
These dives take you to the South East coast of Aruba. This is where the best vis is. There can be some swells, usually not too bad, but can be.
Dives vary as there are many sites. There is a nice wreck dive-"Jane C", intentionally sunk in the early 80's after being siezed by the government(found with illegal substances by coast guard) Sits upright in about 110ft. It's a large wreck (150ft).
There is also a DC-3 plane wreck on the south coast. Storms have caused the wreckage to break up over the last few years, but there are still some intact pieces.
There reefs start at about 25 ft and slope downward (steep) to about 100-130 where it turns to flat sand bottom. The current varies, it can be quite strong. Reef dives are usually drift dives.

Mon-thurs+Sat 1:00pm- "Pedernalis Wreck"
Max depth 25ft
Nice dive. Lots of sunlight thus great photo ops. Wreckage forms a small reeflike are. Schools of thousands siversides. Barracuda common. Huge green Moray, spotted moray, octopus and a gazillion yellowtail.
During WW2 Aruba's refinery was providing 20% of the jet fuel to the allies. Thus the refinery became a target of GermanU-Boats. Allied intelegence, aware of the threat, placed the Pedernalis (an oil tanker)+2 other ships along the shorline north of the refinery. At night, all lights were shut down at the refinery, and these ships were lit up like xmas trees. It worked, the u-boats were fooled and fired their torpedos at the ships. Thinking they had succeeded in blowing up the refinery, they left. The pedernalis was damaged, caught fire, and drifted until it ran aground. It rested blocking the shipping lanes and was thus towed to the north west shore. Only the mid sction was damaged. The two ends were cut off and used to produce another ship (used in the invasion of Normandy). The remaining wreckage sat, protruding from the surface in 25ft of water. After the war, Dutch Marines stationed on Aruba used the wreckage for target practice (you hit it, you get an Amstel!). What remains is a pile of twisted, blown apart metal. There are a couple of unexploded shells down there too(3 footers!).

Mon, Wed, Sat 3:00 (fri 9:30)- "Antilla" Wreck
Max 60ft. 400ft freighter, blown in half, easy penetration. Lots of reef fish, octopus, green moray, spotted moray, stingrays, turtles, barracuda,frogfish.Porcupines
The Antilla, suspected of supplying u-boats, was surrounded by Dutch Marines and commanded to surrender. The captain anchored off the north west shore and asked for time to get the crew ashore. During this time, the boilers were superheated. Just before leaving the ship, the last crewmmembers opened up valved to allow sea water to rush in. Once the water reached the boilers, there was a big explosion that ripped the ship in two. The scuttled ship lays on it's port side. The main mast still sticks out of the water as does a section of the starboard.
The wreck is very large. One can dive it many many times and still see things you may have missed. I still enjoy this dive after more than 150 dives on it.

Tue, thurs 3:00 "Arashi" Reef
Max 45ft
Nice dive. Reef composed of mostly soft corals. Also several large brain corals. The southern ledge is home to many morays. Arrow crabs everywhere, octopus, stingray. There is wreckage of two small planes. Pretty well busted up.

Wed 10:00, Fri 3:00 "Malmok" reef
Max 70ft. Small water tanker, sits upright, intact. Dive starts at the wreck then onto adjacent reef. Fun dive! marine life similar to Antilla site.

Sun 10:00 1 tank south coast

Night dives are tues and thurs 7pm. You need to sign up early. Night dives have a minimum number of divers and can be cancelled if not enough interest. Good idea to talk it up on the am boat so others will sign up.

ps- Schedule may have changed some, but thats the outline.
pps- disclaimer:
cannot guarantee the accuracy of the wreck stories. Above statements are based on both history and local folklore. Neither the author or agents shall be accountable for misinterpretation or validity of statements. Marine life described above may or may not be encountered by divers. Author/agents do not guarantee readers of encountering said species. Wreck penetration requires special training. Engage in wreck penetration only with proper training and equipment, see dive operator for details.