3D mapping and dive guide development planned for Curacao

[Ian Popple]

@Ian Popple Love your work. You have Kathy's Paradise listed already, and that's all that matters. Haha! Best dive site on Curacao, IMHO. Thank you! Looking forward to it when it's done!

Thanks! Great to hear!

 

[rhwestfall]

@Ian Popple - have you contacted the dive operators at all for input?

@Saturated and satisfied

 

[Ian Popple]

@Ian Popple - have you contacted the dive operators at all for input?

@Saturated and satisfied

We've started reaching out to some. We're only part way through our list. Any recommendations?

 

[arew+4]

@drrich2 ,
We stayed in coral estates for 11 days, did shore diving only, dove from the little tug boat down past Jan Thiel, all the way up to Westpunt. Mostly rented tanks at sites that had them at the nearest one that did. If you stage and plan things right it is not bad, it is not Bonaire simple, but it is really do able. We did not want to leave tanks in the truck unattended, so for playa piskado, we got tanks at all west did dive at piskado, took tanks back, dove playa kaliki.

 

[Ian Popple]

@drrich2 ,
We stayed in coral estates for 11 days, did shore diving only, dove from the little tug boat down past Jan Thiel, all the way up to Westpunt. Mostly rented tanks at sites that had them at the nearest one that did. If you stage and plan things right it is not bad, it is not Bonaire simple, but it is really do able. We did not want to leave tanks in the truck unattended, so for playa piskado, we got tanks at all west did dive at piskado, took tanks back, dove playa kaliki.

Thanks - that's helpful advice.

 

[drrich2]

We stayed in coral estates for 11 days, did shore diving only, dove from the little tug boat down past Jan Thiel, all the way up to Westpunt.

Go to know, thanks. Question for people contemplating a similar trip; about how many dives/day did you do, and how many sites? IIRC, someone elsewhere mentioned that given the greater distance between sites in Curacao vs. Bonaire, it may be more common to do 2 dives at a site (e.g.: each dive heading in the opposite direction along shore).

Did stopping the rent tanks add much time/hassle? I'm guessing you had to show a certification card and fill out paperwork? Plus be back with the tank during their business hours.

We did not want to leave tanks in the truck unattended, so for playa piskado, we got tanks at all west did dive at piskado, took tanks back, dove playa kaliki.

In Bonaire, the one thing considered safe to leave in your rental truck is scuba tanks. Was this just a personal preference, or were you advised to not leave unattended tanks?

 

[lexvil]

Always use dive bus, just like Bonaire you can get unlimited air so when we go out we load the truck with tanks, head west and work our way back letting conditions dictate how many dives at each spot.

 

[arew+4]

The not leaving tanks was because they did not seem to be clearly marked "property of" and did not want to mix them up on anyone, also just felt like tank theft or borrowing might be more of an issue and it was or first time to Curacao.

I would say we averaged 2.75 dives a day, we would head out and do two in the morning, and most days do one in the after noon or a night dive closer to the house. At a couple locations we did back to back dives, one to the left and one to the right. With a nice lunch in between. Got a late start a couple days and ended up doing only 2. Like going cross town at lunch time is too be avoided.

Regarding tanks, not much hassle or hoops, generally fill out one paper, and add all five C-cards to it. We have all our own gear so it streamlined the rental process. Yes they mostly want the tanks back before closing, if we were doing late afternoon or night dives we would get the tanks from the onsite dive shop at coral estates and bring them back in the morning.

 

[drrich2]

Always use dive bus, just like Bonaire you can get unlimited air so when we go out we load the truck with tanks, head west and work our way back letting conditions dictate how many dives at each spot.

Thank you for mentioning them; I was about to post a caveat that they don't allow solo diving (which would probably be a deal breaker for me), and I went to their website to confirm and post a link to support my claim.

Well, lo and behold, check out their safety policy page and see this blurb:

" Solo diving allowed only with a self-reliant or solo diver certification and the specialist equipment including redundant air source (available to rent if you don’t have your own)."

That is some awesome sauce is what that is! The Dive Bus has long enjoyed a strong positive reputation on ScubaBoard, and now they're an option for more of us.

Since Ocean Encounters is the op. serving nearby Sunscapes Resort Curacao and Lions Dive Resort, I did a little digging there, too. Unfortunately, they still forbid solo diving, per this blurb: "Solo Diving is not allowed under any circumstance."

Richard.

 

[dmaziuk]

Our first trip to Curacao we were told `"they" don't take tanks` so the SOP was the same as Bonaire: car open, no valuables inside, OK to leave tanks in it. Don't know if that changed. On subsequent trips we mostly stuck to AllWest & GoWest and boat trips to places like Watamula and Blue Room that don't really work as shore dives. We didn't venture too far from Westpunt for shore dives. Maybe next time.

Yes, you're looking at longer drives and more planning than on Bonaire, but you can drive all the way from Westpunt to Kite Beach for your one-hour SI.

As far as solo dives go, I can neither confirm nor deny the complete absence of any scuba police at AllWest.