Best dive op for Curacao Watamula?

[codecruncher]

We've got a car so can hit anywhere we need to leave from.

Caribbean Sea Sports doesn't go there and my 2nd choice of the Dive Bus doesn't have their own boat.

So who's the best?

The March 2008 Scuba Diving indicates Sunset Waters dive op goes there, only once a week. Are they the only ones?

 

[alashas]

We're going to dive Watamula in April with Ocean Encounters West: ..:: Ocean Encounters West ::..

They have emailed me their schedule, and in a follow up phone call, told me that they stick fairly closely to it. I believe it's also possible to arrange a single tank afternoon dive with them. Here is their morning 2 tank dive schedule:
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*Morning dive boat (2T) departs @ 8.30am, returning +/- 12.30pm
*Afternoon dive boat (1T) departs @ 2:00pm, returning +/- 4:00pm

Monday: 1. Rediho 2. Playa Jeremi

Tuesday: 1. Sponge Forest 2. Watamula

Wednesday: 1. Hell’s Corner 2. Kortape Point

Thursday: 1. Grote Knip 2. Mushroom Forest

Friday: 1. Lagun 2. Elvin’s Plane Wreck

Saturday: 1. Mushroom Forest 2. Paradise

Sunday: 1. Santa Cruz 2. Watamula

Ocean Encounters WestPlaya Kalki, Curaçao tel. (599-9) 864 0102
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The boat takes 10 divers, so it is a good idea to make a reservation with them.

Safe diving, alashas honeymoon2's photos- powered by SmugMug

 

[Rand]

I dove with Ocean Encounters West last July and highly recommend them. We stayed at the Kura Hulanda Lodge which sits just above the Ocean Encounters dive shop. We were part of a 40+ person group and they accomodated us with a large boat for most of the week, but did use two smaller @ 10 person boats for one of the days. I think the smaller boats are what they normally use. They did an outstanding job considering they had to haul 80+ tanks per day. Great guides and great boat captain made for a very enjoyable trip.

Their house reef, Playa Kalki is a great shore dive and is an easy entry and exit from their boat dock.

Feel free to PM me with any questions or ask them here.

 

[tarheeldiver]

I second Ocean Encounters West I dove with them last August and loved it. The divemasters where awesome. Also the pics on the website of the divers on the dock is me and my wife when we were there.
greg

 

[Tennessee Slim]

Bullenbaai, that big indentation in the middle of the island’s southwest coast, is sort of the line of demarcation for Curacao’s boat dive ops. AFAIK, Habitat Curacao is the only one that crosses it. They’re situated just beyond its western edge and they only go to just a couple of the nearest sites to its southeast. So you’re not going to find a boat dive op from the island’s southeast side that goes to the extreme northwestern tip.

Watamula is the very next dive site up the coast from Playa Kalki which, as Rand noted, is OE West’s house reef. It could hardly be more conveniently located to their operation so I would expect them to run boats there most frequently.

Sunset Divers and Habitat also dive Watamula. I don’t know Habitat’s schedule but Sunset sends a dive boat there every Tuesday afternoon. It’s the only “fixed” destination on their dive schedule. On occasion (and due to overwhelming customer demand), they have been known to send a boat on the spur of the moment. But it’s kind of a big deal because their big boat takes most of an hour to get there. Their smaller (sleeker, faster) boat can cut that in half but only if the seas are calmer than normal. And Habitat has even a few more miles of open water to cross to reach Watamula.

Watamula is, IMO, this island’s marquee dive. I think it’s worth whatever trouble you go through in order to dive it (short of sacrificing your first-born). But you shouldn’t expect a dive like you’re inside your dentist’s lobby aquarium; the sea creatures I’ve seen there weren’t that remarkable. Then again, I'm so mesmerized by the reef, Moby Dick could swim past and I probably wouldn't notice.