Sunset House - Kittiwake

[releck97]

I apologize in advance if this question has been answered recently, but I couldn't find it. We're staying over at Morritt's in February (our usual locale) and will be venturing over to Sunset House for a shore dive but would also like to (finally) dive the Kittiwake. Our options are as follows: Use Sunset House as our home base, thus allowing us to do a morning shore dive, eat some lunch, go to the Kittiwake on their boat and come back for more r&r or do a morning shore dive at SH and then drive to another operator's pick up point for the Kittiwake. Price is certainly a factor as well. OF charges $95.00 for the Kittiwake, SH charges $65.00 for the same thing. I'm looking for personal experiences from folks who have done this dive with Sunset House. What are the pros and cons of diving the Kittiwake with Sunset House? Is the boat crowded? Do they allow you to buddy dive? Is it rushed? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[diversteve]

Any operator can only spend 1-1/2 hrs. tied up at a mooring. All of them have specific time slots as well. No personal exp. with Sunset House but they fall within those parameters. There's also a 1-6 (Advanced - penetration) or 1-10 (OW - no penetration) DM/diver ratio required. SH only takes a maximum of 20 divers per boat (or 17) so it's probably not that crowded either way. http://www.sunsethouse.com/dive_boats.php

The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - SAFETY
The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - Schedules

Lunch is good at My Bar. I'd go with Sunset House just for that..lol.

You can easily do the Nicholson and the Mermaid as one dive if that's a factor in your SH plans. We did two afternoon dives there, ate lunch, walked thru the Cathy Church gallery, got her to sign a photo and I felt that was a good afternoon.

 

[releck97]

Any operator can only spend 1-1/2 hrs. tied up at a mooring. All of them have specific time slots as well. No personal exp. with Sunset House but they fall within those parameters. There's also a 1-6 (Advanced - penetration) or 1-10 (OW - no penetration) DM/diver ratio required. SH only takes a maximum of 20 divers per boat (or 17) so it's probably not that crowded either way. Dive boats Caribbean diving vacation

The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - SAFETY
The Official Website for the Kittiwake Shipwreck - Schedules

Lunch is good at My Bar. I'd go with Sunset House just for that..lol.

You can easily do the Nicholson and the Mermaid as one dive if that's a factor in your SH plans. We did two afternoon dives there, ate lunch, walked thru the Cathy Church gallery, got her to sign a photo and I felt that was a good afternoon.

Thanks for the info Steve. Yeah, we've spent days at Sunset House in the past and plan on it again. My Bar is suprisingly reasonable and good! We swim out to the wall for reef structure that isn't as beat up as it is further in, so it will be a deep/nitrox dive in the morning. We'll have a nice, lengthy surface interval before doing an AOW dive on the Kittiwake in the afternoon. We're primarily interested in getting reviews of SH's boat operation (specifically to Kittiwake).

 

[Wolfie]

You say we? If you have enough to fill a boat you're in business and can call the dive locations. Otherwise it's kind of hit and miss with finding a particular scheduled time for a particular op to be out there. SH I think schedules a tues pm dive there. I also think divers down goes at regular intervals. I would not suggest red sail.

 

[t-mac]

I did the Kittiwake with Sunset and it was fine. As mentioned, they do it one or two days a week in the afternoon. They use their normal boats, which as I recall might take up to about 20 pax, but I don't recall exactly and when we did it I think there were about a dozen on board. Their boats are fine if you don't mind the size. The dive was unguided -- in fact, I'm not even sure having a guide was an option on the KW. Your plan of hanging with them for the day sounds like a good one. Have fun!

 

[billinwilliamston]

I have made the trip from Morritt's into town to Sunset House to dive the Kittiwake several times. I have no complaints. They used to let you buddy dive, but I think it's become the norm for all operators to require a guided dive. I'm not a big fan of "follow the leader", but you do what you gotta do. I have not seen anything that would make me pay $30 more for the same dive. Since you're going in February, book the dive at least a few days ahead of time.

Have fun!

 

[releck97]

Thanks for the question specific answers t-mac and Bill. I inquired at SH and was told that house guests have first dibs. We can call a few days in advance to see if they have room. I think this is what we'll do. Worst case scenario will be finding an operation with three seats one day during our week there. We're rescue and above, but if they force us to go guided, I guess that's what we'll have to do. A little different than Broward County wreck dives. Lol.

 

[CaliDenna]

We have stayed with Sunset House twice and did the Kittiwake dive both times with them. They do not require you to follow a guide at all. They give you a thorough briefing and off you go! On our last trip in April we did take the DM with us but that's only because she volunteered to be the photograph for our group picture. After handing us back our cameras, she took off. Their boats are not crowded and they have great crews!

 

[releck97]

Thank you!