From the website we had learned that Albatros Diving (Albatros Diving, PADI dive centre, diving school, Cala Bona, Cala Millor, Mallorca) offers free transportation from the hotels in the neighbouring towns so, we were picked upa little before 09:00 AM on Wednesday morning 09-Sep-2009 from our apartment in S'illot, Mallorca.
Unfortunately, the driver had to pick up a few other divers as well so we spent approximately 20 minutes in the van on each trip.
Once we had arrived at the shop, all our credentials were checked. Not just our certs.
We also had to show a current medical certificate, proof of dive insurance and our logbooks. As I wasn't too keen on carrying two rather bulky logbooks on the plane, I had called ahead and it was sufficient to bring proof of our last 10 dives.
Another diver that was there at the time could not show his logbook (mandatory according to Spanish law) and was told that he had to do a check dive (at extra cost). That didn't go down with him too well and he left shortly afterwards in a taxi.
With all the paperwork done, we were shown the way to the courtyard where tanks and weights were waiting for us to gear up.
Once you were geared up, you had to walk two minutes to the boat in the adjoining harbour.
Everybody dived with 10L (70 cuft) steel tanks, the usual bottom time was 60 minutes (50 minutes if we did a reverse profile for the second dive) with about 30 minutes for the surface interval. Complimentary coffee and croissants were served during the interval.
Usually, nobody stayed on board as both the captain (Victor) and our guide Dominic (both were instructors) dived with a group. Groups were divided with skill level as a criterion but also for a common language amongst the group members). We had at least three nationalities on all dives on the boat.
Dive sites were decided by the captain, taking into account the skill level of the divers. Unfortunately, we only got to dive two caverns as the weather didn't co-operate... :depressed: The fact that a fuel surcharge was required due to travelling a longer distance may have had some influence too...
Safety stops were mandatory on all dives as were lights on the cavern dives. The guide had a spare in case it was needed. We were to remain in sight (max. 25 meter) of the guide while in open water and a lot closer when in the cavern.
The guides tried to space out the arrival of the divers on board as changing tanks required a trip to the back of the boat, exchanging your empty yellow-netted tank for a full black-netted tank. When the entire boat is full (which it always was), it gets kinda crowded...
After returning to the harbour, everybody was to carry the gear back to the shop while the spare tanks were transported by shopping cart.
The shop had gear crates for all divers that had a multi-day diving arrangement, reducing the gear carrying part of this trip to a minimum.
As boat dives are only done in the morning, we had to do a shore dive on Saturday to complete our 7 dive package. I was a bit worried about it being a boring dive but the site that was chosen turned out to be excellent (even though it was rather shallow). :thumbs_up:
Embarrassing moment: As usual, the guide checked whether your tank was open before you jump in. On one occasion I managed to jump in while he was busy with another diver. Then I discovered that the valve hadn't been completely opened. Normally, that is not a problem because I make sure that I can reach my valve just in case. This time, that wasn't a problem either but for some reason I could not get a good grip on the knob. So the only thing I could do was inflate my wing manually and wait for the guide to open the valve... :blush:
A few things that could be improved...
Unfortunately, the driver had to pick up a few other divers as well so we spent approximately 20 minutes in the van on each trip.
Once we had arrived at the shop, all our credentials were checked. Not just our certs.
We also had to show a current medical certificate, proof of dive insurance and our logbooks. As I wasn't too keen on carrying two rather bulky logbooks on the plane, I had called ahead and it was sufficient to bring proof of our last 10 dives.
Another diver that was there at the time could not show his logbook (mandatory according to Spanish law) and was told that he had to do a check dive (at extra cost). That didn't go down with him too well and he left shortly afterwards in a taxi.
With all the paperwork done, we were shown the way to the courtyard where tanks and weights were waiting for us to gear up.
Once you were geared up, you had to walk two minutes to the boat in the adjoining harbour.
Everybody dived with 10L (70 cuft) steel tanks, the usual bottom time was 60 minutes (50 minutes if we did a reverse profile for the second dive) with about 30 minutes for the surface interval. Complimentary coffee and croissants were served during the interval.
Usually, nobody stayed on board as both the captain (Victor) and our guide Dominic (both were instructors) dived with a group. Groups were divided with skill level as a criterion but also for a common language amongst the group members). We had at least three nationalities on all dives on the boat.
Dive sites were decided by the captain, taking into account the skill level of the divers. Unfortunately, we only got to dive two caverns as the weather didn't co-operate... :depressed: The fact that a fuel surcharge was required due to travelling a longer distance may have had some influence too...
Safety stops were mandatory on all dives as were lights on the cavern dives. The guide had a spare in case it was needed. We were to remain in sight (max. 25 meter) of the guide while in open water and a lot closer when in the cavern.
The guides tried to space out the arrival of the divers on board as changing tanks required a trip to the back of the boat, exchanging your empty yellow-netted tank for a full black-netted tank. When the entire boat is full (which it always was), it gets kinda crowded...
After returning to the harbour, everybody was to carry the gear back to the shop while the spare tanks were transported by shopping cart.
The shop had gear crates for all divers that had a multi-day diving arrangement, reducing the gear carrying part of this trip to a minimum.
As boat dives are only done in the morning, we had to do a shore dive on Saturday to complete our 7 dive package. I was a bit worried about it being a boring dive but the site that was chosen turned out to be excellent (even though it was rather shallow). :thumbs_up:
Embarrassing moment: As usual, the guide checked whether your tank was open before you jump in. On one occasion I managed to jump in while he was busy with another diver. Then I discovered that the valve hadn't been completely opened. Normally, that is not a problem because I make sure that I can reach my valve just in case. This time, that wasn't a problem either but for some reason I could not get a good grip on the knob. So the only thing I could do was inflate my wing manually and wait for the guide to open the valve... :blush:
A few things that could be improved...
- Bigger tanks (12L/85cuft) for a better gas reserve at the end of the dive. Apparently they have a few but only if you ask;
- A camera bucket would have been nice;
- Something other than water or coffee to drink at the interval;
- Though they have oxygen on board, it wasn't mentioned in the briefing.
