:06: I'm heading to Nassau, Bahamas in 2 weeks....i'm torned between different operators....I know that Stuart's Cove is good...but, if you were all me and I know alot of you have been there, who would you pick to dive with for 4 days??? any help would be appreciated. thanks
Which Dive Operator would you pick??
- Thread starter Scuba65
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mech
Contributor
I've never dove with Stuart's Cove and have read mixed reviews some great some so so, but it's my understanding that they are a big outfit....meaning they are always going to get an unhappy customer every now and then with their volume.
I have dove with Bahmma divers (they are the shop right across the way from the Atlantis) They are a cattle boat and not overly friendly but they were not baby sitters and the dives were nice especially the "Blue Hole" wall dive.
I spent about 6 days with Dive Dive Dive.
They are a real small outfit (the boat never had more than 8 divers)and were very friendly.
We were really new to diving at the time and enjoyed it.
One thing about DDD is that they baby sit the heck out of you (and maybe we needed it) but to call a dive when one person in a group of 8 runs low on air just sucks.
I'd dive with them again but only after properly reviewing their policies and my goals.
Andy
I have dove with Bahmma divers (they are the shop right across the way from the Atlantis) They are a cattle boat and not overly friendly but they were not baby sitters and the dives were nice especially the "Blue Hole" wall dive.
I spent about 6 days with Dive Dive Dive.
They are a real small outfit (the boat never had more than 8 divers)and were very friendly.
We were really new to diving at the time and enjoyed it.
One thing about DDD is that they baby sit the heck out of you (and maybe we needed it) but to call a dive when one person in a group of 8 runs low on air just sucks.
I'd dive with them again but only after properly reviewing their policies and my goals.
Andy
Thanks so much Andy! that's the problem we might have..the babysitting issue. Specially with my hubby he doesn't like that at all. we don't want to be diving and still have air and have them tell us that we have to get out. that's why i can't decide who do choose. I"ve heard Stuart Cove is a huge cattle boat....and i also heard that DDD is bad....so, that's why i'm so confuse. I want to go and have some fun not have it ruined by the operator specially if i'm dishing out big bucks.
mech
Contributor
Given the choice again I'd do at least a trip or 2 with Nassau divers .
Earlier I called them Bahamma Divers but I think screwed up their name.
They are right across the bridge from the big Atlantis resort.
The Blue hole wall is just incredible and other than being with a bunch of divers and a somewhat rude crew they were very professional and even had extra bottles with regulators lowered down off the side of the boat for safety in case some one needed it.
The main reason I'd dive with them is that the other boats are on the far side of the island from the blue hole and I don't think they go there.
If DDD agrees to give you a long leash meaning no babysitting they would be my choice for that side of the island.
All outfits will pick you up at your hotel for free so that kinda makes it easy.
Andy
Earlier I called them Bahamma Divers but I think screwed up their name.
They are right across the bridge from the big Atlantis resort.
The Blue hole wall is just incredible and other than being with a bunch of divers and a somewhat rude crew they were very professional and even had extra bottles with regulators lowered down off the side of the boat for safety in case some one needed it.
The main reason I'd dive with them is that the other boats are on the far side of the island from the blue hole and I don't think they go there.
If DDD agrees to give you a long leash meaning no babysitting they would be my choice for that side of the island.
All outfits will pick you up at your hotel for free so that kinda makes it easy.
Andy
We dove with Stuart Coves and enjoyed them. We were lucky enough to be there when the boats weren't crowded and after the first day they placed us on a boat with more experienced divers so we got to see one site that one of the employees I talked to has never even been to. There are a couple of advanced sites in the area and if you have a good group on your boat they will take you to them.
Dive sites we enjoyed the most were:
The Ann: Deep (100-150ft), large, upside down wreck. It's a really nice dive, we maxed out at 111 ft and only explored around the bow, the stern is deeper. There is a deep (60 ft or so) reef not far from the wreck that is teeming with life, one of the best reefs we saw all week. This is a good advanced site, the visibility looked a lot like Lake Huron with the water being green instead of blue at depth. Normally if you want to go to this site you have to charter your own boat we just got lucky. It would be well worth the price of a private charter though.
Steel Forest: Three wrecks sunk in a sand bowl, they form a line pointing at the "tongue of the ocean" wall. We didn't get to spend much time on the wall because of the current but the wrecks were great.
Runway wall, "Ray of Hope", "Bahama Mama": Skip the wall here and explore the wrecks, "Ray of Hope" is an oil tanker and pretty big. We didn't get to see much of her because the DM said it was time to go back to the boat soon after we got to the boats. We should have gone to the wrecks instead of following the DM for the tour of the wall first.
James Bond Wrecks: If you enjoy macro photography you need to come here.
Will Laurie: There are 3 or 4 wrecks in this area with the Will Laurie being the biggest one. The "cage" on the deck has lots of soft corals and makes for interesting photos.
Carribe Breeze and Tropic Trader: Two nice wrecks that haven't been down very long so there isn't a lot of life on them. Tropic Trader had inspection dates of Jan. 2003 on some of her deck equipment. This is a site you go to just to look at the wrecks.
Clifton's wreck and wall: Another nice, deep wreck and wall that many people don't get to see. The wreck is inverted and hangs over the wall which drops to 6000 ft (so we were told). You can get under the bow of it and you get the feeling you're in the movie "Finding Nemo" waiting for the wreck to slip over the edge of the wall. The visibility here is also like Lake Huron with green water at 120 feet where you can get under the bow of the ship.
Palace Wall: A deep reef/sheer wall that most people don't get to see, the shallow part is at 60 feet. Since so few people visit the reef looks healthy and there is a lot of life here.
I was amazed at how many wrecks they have, I believe there are 18 in all and some can be penetrated if you are trained for that.
They do limit how long your dives are because the boat has to get back after the first dives of the day and get changed over for the afternoon dives. The first dive of the day is usually 30-35 minutes but the second dive can be longer because they just tell you what time to be back at the boat so you can shorten your surface interval to get more dive time.
Hope this helps!
Enjoy your trip!
Ber :lilbunny:
Dive sites we enjoyed the most were:
The Ann: Deep (100-150ft), large, upside down wreck. It's a really nice dive, we maxed out at 111 ft and only explored around the bow, the stern is deeper. There is a deep (60 ft or so) reef not far from the wreck that is teeming with life, one of the best reefs we saw all week. This is a good advanced site, the visibility looked a lot like Lake Huron with the water being green instead of blue at depth. Normally if you want to go to this site you have to charter your own boat we just got lucky. It would be well worth the price of a private charter though.
Steel Forest: Three wrecks sunk in a sand bowl, they form a line pointing at the "tongue of the ocean" wall. We didn't get to spend much time on the wall because of the current but the wrecks were great.
Runway wall, "Ray of Hope", "Bahama Mama": Skip the wall here and explore the wrecks, "Ray of Hope" is an oil tanker and pretty big. We didn't get to see much of her because the DM said it was time to go back to the boat soon after we got to the boats. We should have gone to the wrecks instead of following the DM for the tour of the wall first.
James Bond Wrecks: If you enjoy macro photography you need to come here.
Will Laurie: There are 3 or 4 wrecks in this area with the Will Laurie being the biggest one. The "cage" on the deck has lots of soft corals and makes for interesting photos.
Carribe Breeze and Tropic Trader: Two nice wrecks that haven't been down very long so there isn't a lot of life on them. Tropic Trader had inspection dates of Jan. 2003 on some of her deck equipment. This is a site you go to just to look at the wrecks.
Clifton's wreck and wall: Another nice, deep wreck and wall that many people don't get to see. The wreck is inverted and hangs over the wall which drops to 6000 ft (so we were told). You can get under the bow of it and you get the feeling you're in the movie "Finding Nemo" waiting for the wreck to slip over the edge of the wall. The visibility here is also like Lake Huron with green water at 120 feet where you can get under the bow of the ship.
Palace Wall: A deep reef/sheer wall that most people don't get to see, the shallow part is at 60 feet. Since so few people visit the reef looks healthy and there is a lot of life here.
I was amazed at how many wrecks they have, I believe there are 18 in all and some can be penetrated if you are trained for that.
They do limit how long your dives are because the boat has to get back after the first dives of the day and get changed over for the afternoon dives. The first dive of the day is usually 30-35 minutes but the second dive can be longer because they just tell you what time to be back at the boat so you can shorten your surface interval to get more dive time.
Hope this helps!
Enjoy your trip!
Ber :lilbunny:
scuba65 -
If you have wants/needs let the operator know when you contact them to see if they can be accommodated. Many have certain restrictions on time etc because they are running a business, but often there is some flexibility in how things can be arranged.
It never hurts to ask and you might be pleasantly surprised!
Have fun!
If you have wants/needs let the operator know when you contact them to see if they can be accommodated. Many have certain restrictions on time etc because they are running a business, but often there is some flexibility in how things can be arranged.
It never hurts to ask and you might be pleasantly surprised!
Have fun!
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