Aruba - Red Sail Sports

[boulderjohn]

I used Dive Aruba and Clive when I was there, and I thought he did a great job. I would use him again. He is, however, the antithesis of Red Sail, in all senses. You really should be a confident and independent diver if you use him. I would say that anyone who loves Dive Aruba will hate Red Sail; anyone who loves Red Sail will hate Dive Aruba.

 

[kendallpg]

I used Dive Aruba and Clive when I was there, and I thought he did a great job. I would use him again. He is, however, the antithesis of Red Sail, in all senses. You really should be a confident and independent diver if you use him. I would say that anyone who loves Dive Aruba will hate Red Sail; anyone who loves Red Sail will hate Dive Aruba.

Once again I agree completely with boulderjohn!

 

[pedo]

I used Dive Aruba and Clive when I was there, and I thought he did a great job. I would use him again. He is, however, the antithesis of Red Sail, in all senses. You really should be a confident and independent diver if you use him. I would say that anyone who loves Dive Aruba will hate Red Sail; anyone who loves Red Sail will hate Dive Aruba.

Does Clive have DIN tanks? HP?

just asking

 

[boulderjohn]

Does Clive have DIN tanks? HP?

just asking

Standard AL 80s when I was there.

 

[Byte Me]

Just got back from Aruba on Saturday, dove three days with Clive and loved it. No DIN tanks or HP's, all AL 80's but consistently filled to 3000+ PSI. I got 60mins+ on 4 of 6 dives, the only reason I didn't on the two (Jane Sea and Arashi Reef / Debbie II wreck) was the amount of time spent deep. Clive and his son Mark were great to dive with, picked me up each AM at the hotel right on time. First day of diving we had some rain the night before so Clive switched the Tues dives and the Thursday dives and stayed south for better vis. That was also the busiest day on the boat with 5 of us. Wednesday there were only two, Thursday we had 4. Neither Clive nor Mark are babysitters and after the first dive where they may pay a bit more attention to assess your abilities they pretty much leave you to your own profile. They did point out critters but were mostly there to keep an eye on things and show you the route.

Conversely, the Red Sail boat we saw twice, on the Jane Sea and Antilla. Both times there were about 10-14 on the boat (granted, it's a bigger boat) but dive times were <30mins in each case. Both times we happened to be on our surface interval so we saw them drop in and come up. It was pretty clear that when the first person was out of air the group came up. It did appear they broke into 2-3 smaller groups.

Agree with boulderjohn's assessment, I really liked Dive Aruba and will use them again when we go back someday. They are exactly the type of dive op that I seek out when traveling. Red Sail is the type of place I avoid unless absolutely necessary.

 

[sbroh]

I dove with Red Sail sports four years ago now in Aruba, and it was me, my husband, one other lady, and two divemasters on the boat. Probably just depends on the day.

 

[danr5160]

BillNH, I also plan to be in Aruba, on the 14th through the 20th. I was planning to set up dives with Clive. If you are interested in any shore dives while you're there let me know, I will be in the Marriott Surf Club.

 

[BillNH]

Dan, I will be diving one day with Clive, looks like the 16th. Maybe I'll see you on that day. Btw did you make reservation with him via email ? Were you concerned about giving CC info over email ?

 

[Piarco]

I'll be diving with Clive from the 23rd, second time in Aruba, first time certified. It was last years Snuba over the Antilla last year that finally convinced me to get certified and come back to do it properly. But I've got a couple of questions....
What exposure kit did you folks use out there? Judging from the ave temps for June I was planning on diving in just some Fourth Element Thermoclines... too much or too little? The other thing I'd like to know is tipping. Seemingly not really done in the UK dive ops so I've not got a clue when or how much to tip. How much did you tip (if you did)? I'd really not come across as a rude Brit!

 

[BillNH]

The Fourth Element Thermoclines should be fine for the water temps there. Basically a 2.5 mm suit right ? Depending on how cold you get(or not) you might be too warm. I dive with a 3mm full Bare Velocity when I am tropical. I am comfortable with that and I also like the skin protection of a full suit. I dove in October with a couple of guys who wore nothing but shorts and a t-shirt. Bring the Fourth Element and give it a try.

When I dove in Cozumel last, the going rate for tipping the Dive master/boat crew was anywhere from $ 10-20 for a two tank dive trip. I think I split the difference and gave $15 per day. I dove 5 days and paid them at the end. The dive master then splits up the pooled tips with the crew.