ScubaAruba
Registered
Good Morning Shawn,
I've followed this thread for a LONG time as we are long time divers with Unique Sports Of Aruba. First of all I hate that you had such a bad experience at the Jane C, because with better conditions its probably one of my favorite dives in Aruba. I've logged about 100 dives in Aruba over the last 4 years many of them on the Jane C. That said, when the conditions at Jane C are not good- STRONG currents and such the dive quickly turns into a drift. I assume this is what happened on your dive. I'm also guessing that another boat picked you up b/c the CPT radio'ed that the boat had mechanical issues- You can't help if there isn't a boat right there to help you out in a pinch...IMO, the right call by the CPT.
As far as canceling the 2nd dive- I think that should be a judgement call for each individual diver. I think way to many divers, beginner to experienced allow the DM/CPT to make those calls for them. YOU are the diver, if you don't feel capable of making the 2nd dive under the circumstances then DON'T! You can't look back after the fact and say "Hey, that was dangerous....they shouldn't have let us go" - They didn't throw you into the water at gun point.... Take some responsibility for your own safety. Something that you will understand the more dives you log. Intuition is HUGE and if you feel unsafe then listen to it! Lastly, on canceling the 2nd dive for EVERYONE- I would have done the dive if the only worry I had was that I might be a little tired knowing we would be going against the current - beats sitting on the boat while its being repaired
If the DM had said - "NO 2nd dive" - then you would have some divers complaining to Unique that they were't ALLOWED to dive ...you can't please everyone in a situation like this. Again make the call for yourself and your skill level would be the best decision here.
Mechanical problems throw a "wrench" into anyones day- no exception here with Unique and its divers. Unforeseen for the most part, but I will say on our last 2 trips (over the last 18 months) we've experienced some boat issues that I think should be addressed. I think that Emmit needs to invest some money into his fleet of boats ASAP, but this could happen on a brand new vessel as well. As for the bigger boats back at the pier - South Coast is a good 40-45 min boat ride on those larger boats - have any idea of what it costs to take one of those bigger boats 1/2 full out there? The economy is hurting everyone, so it makes sense to me that they take a smaller boat that fits the number of divers- I believe that even the smallest of Uniques boats can handle 8 divers on a 2 tank dive.
I wish you had a better experience that day because the crew/staff at Unique are some of the greatest people (and divers) we have come to know over the years. I wish you well in all your dives - keep in mind they won't all be perfect :cool2:
Happy Diving...
I've followed this thread for a LONG time as we are long time divers with Unique Sports Of Aruba. First of all I hate that you had such a bad experience at the Jane C, because with better conditions its probably one of my favorite dives in Aruba. I've logged about 100 dives in Aruba over the last 4 years many of them on the Jane C. That said, when the conditions at Jane C are not good- STRONG currents and such the dive quickly turns into a drift. I assume this is what happened on your dive. I'm also guessing that another boat picked you up b/c the CPT radio'ed that the boat had mechanical issues- You can't help if there isn't a boat right there to help you out in a pinch...IMO, the right call by the CPT.
As far as canceling the 2nd dive- I think that should be a judgement call for each individual diver. I think way to many divers, beginner to experienced allow the DM/CPT to make those calls for them. YOU are the diver, if you don't feel capable of making the 2nd dive under the circumstances then DON'T! You can't look back after the fact and say "Hey, that was dangerous....they shouldn't have let us go" - They didn't throw you into the water at gun point.... Take some responsibility for your own safety. Something that you will understand the more dives you log. Intuition is HUGE and if you feel unsafe then listen to it! Lastly, on canceling the 2nd dive for EVERYONE- I would have done the dive if the only worry I had was that I might be a little tired knowing we would be going against the current - beats sitting on the boat while its being repaired
If the DM had said - "NO 2nd dive" - then you would have some divers complaining to Unique that they were't ALLOWED to dive ...you can't please everyone in a situation like this. Again make the call for yourself and your skill level would be the best decision here.Mechanical problems throw a "wrench" into anyones day- no exception here with Unique and its divers. Unforeseen for the most part, but I will say on our last 2 trips (over the last 18 months) we've experienced some boat issues that I think should be addressed. I think that Emmit needs to invest some money into his fleet of boats ASAP, but this could happen on a brand new vessel as well. As for the bigger boats back at the pier - South Coast is a good 40-45 min boat ride on those larger boats - have any idea of what it costs to take one of those bigger boats 1/2 full out there? The economy is hurting everyone, so it makes sense to me that they take a smaller boat that fits the number of divers- I believe that even the smallest of Uniques boats can handle 8 divers on a 2 tank dive.
I wish you had a better experience that day because the crew/staff at Unique are some of the greatest people (and divers) we have come to know over the years. I wish you well in all your dives - keep in mind they won't all be perfect :cool2:
Happy Diving...
