Aruba - beware of Pelican/Unique Sports of Aruba

[mike_s]

I went out on Aruba.com and found a similar incident where divers didn't like how they did the drift dive. This was in June. So apparently they've had a few issues before.

The drift dive had the same issue of the DM with no buoy/flag.

Emmett resposned with a similar post to above that they would change things.


now in this case, if I'm not mistaken, Guimbers issue was in September. So not the same incident, but still no dive buoy/flag either.

feel free to read for yourself.

Diving disapointment - Official Aruba Community Forum

 

[ScubaAruba]

I'm a frequent poster to Aruba-bb.com and I saw this exact original post on the BB last week and was going to respond to it there, but I figured since I am among Divers here it would be better posted here. I understand that a BB is for everyones opinions/experiences, with that said I still believe if you have a BAD experience you will tell 100 people (posting on a couple BB's is a good start) ....If you have a GOOD experience you may tell 10.

We LOVE Unique Sports of Aruba!!!! My husband & I have had nothing but GREAT experiences with Unique Sports of Aruba and have done over 60 dives with them since June 2007. Pretty much have done all Uniques dive sites backwards and forwards, been ont he boat with ALL of their crew at one time or another... NOT ONE INCIDENT!!! Not to mention my husbands Certifications for Wreck Diving and most recently Rescue Diver.

To Quimber- I took great offense to your comment about about the DM's not calling the dive off b/c maybe they don't get paid for a shortened dive. That's outrageous that you would think they would keep you out there just to get paid. You also mentioned that the boat went in another direction for 30 mins and the divers in another for an hour...You originally said that your DM called the dive off after 20 mins ...which is it?

tridacna- Tell us how you really feel... Looks like someone else set you straight on you confusion with Red Sail vs. Unique/Pelican..thank you to that person. If you go to the Caribbean in High Season you can be sure that you will be sharing that boat with lots of divers. If thats a concern to you then maybe you need to do better research, rather than bad mouthing an operation for having larger boats. So either pick a slower season if you want large boats with less people or find a small operation that can cater to you only...I'm sure you'll pay for it too. We have been on small boats before and found even though you had less divers you may not be able to make it out to some of the areas best sites in a smaller boat.

Now my 2 cents on the situation... Just b/c you are diving with Professionals you need to DIVE WITHIN YOUR OWN COMFORT LEVEL. I have taken myself off of night dives on occasion when I felt that the conditions were not ideal for me. This trip (Oct 25- Nov 1, 2008) we encountered a day with storms before our 2 tank South Coast Dive. Unique delayed the dive to watch the weather conditions via the internet. The storm passed and radar was showing only rain, to be safe they had us change dive sites to Antilla and Malmok closer to the return location (same drift dive you reported). I felt that they took responsible measures to make sure that our safety was top priority. Weather can change quickly as can diving conditions and currents. If you were concerned with the rough seas when you left maybe you shouldn't have been on the dive at all JMO.

As to the comment made about the torn/old gear that the DM's wear. They do purchase their own gear, I know this b/c contacted a DM at Unique and asked if anyone needed anything while our local dive shop had a huge sale on gear...We brought a BRAND NEW 5mm Pinnacle Wetsuit- for one of the DM's in March and we saw it when we were there a couple weeks ago...WOW...it looks like it has been in use for 5 years! Those DM's are in and out of the water so many times in a day it doesn't take but a few months for gear to look worn. We all know what the cost of gear is, can you imagine buying new stuff every 6 months just to "look" professional? :? Most of the DM's that we frequently dive with do have air tube and have always towed a line on drift dives.

Maybe Unique isn't for everyone, but we have enjoyed diving with them...much more than any other dive company we have every used- We were not impressed with the majority of DM's in Grand Cayman comparing some of their safety procedures or lack of to that of Unique. In that situation we took it upon ourselves to be proactive and be sure we were prepared for Emergencies on our own. Doing plenty of shore diving in pairs will help you with that.

I'm sorry that this happened to you, but as with all weather related problems its something that you can't control and I don't think that you should be asking for your money back...try that with the airlines and see how far it gets you...

I stand by Unique and will be back diving with them very soon...

~T

 

[aria]

i am going to aruba in 3 weeks and would love your advice on which dive operators to use, since you are familiar with them there. My son and I are not greatly experienced, and have only been on several dives over the last few years (we are doing a refresher course this week to prepare). who would you suggest? we are staying at the Marriot Ocean Club

 

[quimbers]

To Quimber- I took great offense to your comment about about the DM's not calling the dive off b/c maybe they don't get paid for a shortened dive. That's outrageous that you would think they would keep you out there just to get paid. You also mentioned that the boat went in another direction for 30 mins and the divers in another for an hour...You originally said that your DM called the dive off after 20 mins ...which is it?

~T

Hi Scuba Aruba,
Just a quick response. You sound like a very accomplished diver so we were a bit surprised that you asked this question. I am not great at math but if we were travelling for 20 + minutes under the water moving at high speeds than we're not at the same distance as if we were 20 + minutes under the water with only slight current.
I also took into account how far past the island we were plus how long (time wise above the water) it took for our dive boat to return once it was summonsed by the little fishing boat.

As to the comment made about the torn/old gear that the DM's wear. They do purchase their own gear, I know this b/c contacted a DM at Unique and asked if anyone needed anything while our local dive shop had a huge sale on gear...We brought a BRAND NEW 5mm Pinnacle Wetsuit- for one of the DM's in March and we saw it when we were there a couple weeks ago...WOW...it looks like it has been in use for 5 years! Those DM's are in and out of the water so many times in a day it doesn't take but a few months for gear to look worn. We all know what the cost of gear is, can you imagine buying new stuff every 6 months just to "look" professional? :? Most of the DM's that we frequently dive with do have air tube and have always towed a line on drift dives.


~T

Totally agree with you there. I dont care what shape their personal equipment is in at all. They can even dive naked if they want (now that would bring out the tourists for sure!!). I'm insulted about their lack of functioning dive signal/emergency equipment only. I'd be just as insulted if an airline we flew with only stocked emergency vests full of pin holes. I dont think the DM's should pay for their emergency equipment either, just like a pilot doesnt personally pay for the emergency vests. The company should write it off as a business expense.

 

[quimbers]

Hi Maria,

My husband and I dove with Dive Aruba - Scuba Classes, Dive Trips and Equipment Rentals The man who runs it is named Clive. He's the best. My husband was a new diver and clive helped him double his bottom time. I dont believe Clive is recommended by PADI but will now only dive or recommend him. He only takes 6-7divers/ time. He's very knowledgable and safe too. He picks up divers at any hotel.

Aruba has great diving. enjoy yourself!

 

[ScubaAruba]

Sorry I'm not a frequent poster to this BB so I'm not sure how to quote from 2 messages in the same reply...Your original thread basically said that... the DM had to abort the dive 20 min into the dive...

So another older diver on the boat tried to explain/guess, so this is me repeating what he said...since they didnt drop a current line the captain went a 1/2 hour in the direction of the surface current and we went 1 hour in the opposite direction on the bottom (like I said we were really motoring under the water, like a bullet out of a gun, we really overshot and went way to far due to the speed).

Thanks for your compliment, not sure if it was backhanded or not....maybe I'm not as accomplished a diver as I thought if time isn't really "actual time" underwater. Sounds like some "older diver" gave you the calculation as well... I understand that if you are going in opposite directions-boat one way- divers the other you would be a farther distance apart than if one of you was stationary. First you say that the DM aborted the dive 20 min into and your 2nd statement was that you went an hour on the bottom(highlighted) that was what I was asking for clarification on.

I don't know Clive, but I have heard of divers enjoying their time with him...hope you enjoy diving with him from this point forward. Please beware that no matter who you dive with you can still run into situations such as this and it doesn't mean you can place blame on that company....

Happy Diving!

 

[jackplum]

i am going to aruba in 3 weeks and would love your advice on which dive operators to use, since you are familiar with them there. My son and I are not greatly experienced, and have only been on several dives over the last few years (we are doing a refresher course this week to prepare). who would you suggest? we are staying at the Marriot Ocean Club

Between the Marriott and the Holiday Inn is a small beach restaurant called Moomba's. Next to it is Roberto's Private Snorkeling. You can book private diving trips with them which are provided by a top notch operation. The diving is run by Ron Huijbers, owner of Private-Diving.com

I have been on dives with Pelican and Private-Diving and highly recommend Ron's operation. My older daughter obtained her AOW last March with them and my 14 year old daughter will take her AOW in Feb. The older one may do Rescue Diver with them as well as one or two specialties in Feb also.

I will be diving with them in Dec, Jan, Feb, and next Sept ( and any other times I can get away). Needless to say, I was impressed by their professionalism, customer service, and safety considerations. I spent a few years diving in government service and on a public safety dive team and can honestly say that these folks know their business and are a joy to dive with. All of their equipment is in top condition.

They can take you to all of the regular dive spots but have a few out of the ordinary locations. However, they will go where you want to go if you have a favorite spot. A nice dive on the south shore is at Mangel Halto. The Pedernales is a good beginner open wreck dive for day or night.

Rates are comparable to other operations on the island.

You have nothing to lose by wandering over and meet them. One advantage for your location is you are next door to them.

By the way, Moomba's is the place to be on Sundays about 4 or so. A great time, good food, and a wonderful palce to watch the sunset.


Feel free to PM me if you wish.

 

[tridacna]

tridacna- Tell us how you really feel... Looks like someone else set you straight on you confusion with Red Sail vs. Unique/Pelican..thank you to that person.
~T

Apparently READING and COMPREHENSION are not amongst your better skills. I never had any confusion about who I dived with. Who is Red Sail anyway? Read the posts again CAREFULLY before blabbermouthing.

Now, how do I really feel? They are easily the worst dive operation I have ever dived with. I have dived all over the world and have yet to experience a worse operation. Cattle boat does not even begin to describe it. Dollar boat would be more appropriate. We dived on the "advanced" boat and they stuck newbies on that boat every day. They allowed the newbies to drift away without any supervision. That was fun. I have nothing against diving with newly minted divers but when they are taken to 120 feet for their first dive, I do. I spoke to Emmit extensively about the problem after the first day - I speak Dutch so no misunderstandings here - and he assured me that it would not happen again. It did. The next day. And the day after.

You are wrong - I won't tell 1,000 -- I will try and tell 10,000 people about how bad they are. This is a money only focused dive op with little or no consideration for safety.

 

[ScubaAruba]

Apparently READING and COMPREHENSION are not amongst your better skills. I never had any confusion about who I dived with. Who is Red Sail anyway? Read the posts again CAREFULLY before blabbermouthing.

Whoops, my mistake it was Missdirected who made the reference to the wrong company...for that I am sorry.

Since we are "blabbermouthing" with my bad READING & COMPREHENSION....a lesson for you...I doubt you "dived" with anyone...."DOVE" or "HAVE BEEN DIVING" but not "DIVED":blinking:

Happy Diving!

 

[Missdirected]

Whoops, my mistake it was Missdirected who made the reference to the wrong company...for that I am sorry.

Since we are "blabbermouthing" with my bad READING & COMPREHENSION....a lesson for you...I doubt you "dived" with anyone...."DOVE" or "HAVE BEEN DIVING" but not "DIVED":blinking:

Happy Diving!

Wrong again. It is "dived". The word has been bastardized and a great many now say "dove" but that is actually incorrect though it has become acceptable.