coloradocruzer
Registered
I had posted this on the New Diver Forum, and then came to realize it probably should have gone here. Please be aware, this is from a brand new divers perspective...
Just returned from Carnival Destiny 6/1 sailing.
Wow! My first ocean dive was a shore dive at Coki Beach, St. Thomas.
I had the good luck of having Steven from Coki Beach Dive be my personal divemaster/dive buddy. Just the 2 of us. I showed up for my 11:30 dive early, checked in and went snorkeling with my DH, and 2 sons 17 and 22. At 11:15 I returned to the dive shop, actually a van on the beach . Got outfitted, went over dive profile, safety and hand signals. Steven sprayed my mask with no fog stuff, and off to the water I went. Waded in chest deep, donned my mask and fins, swam out a bit, did a buoyancy check and we were on our way.
Maximum depth was 40 feet, for 45 minutes I think as my divelog is still packed away. I wore just a rash guard and swimsuit and was just fine. Thanks to everyone for their recommendations on what to wear. I saw a reef octopus, several kinds of eels, lots of different fish and plenty of colorful corals. Had Steven not shown me these creatures, I would have never even seen them. It was nice having someone know where to look and find the marine life. I need to get a book to start identifying them. I also had an arrow crab crawl on my hand. For my first dive outside of the Rocky Mountains I was thrilled. My oldest son snorkeled above me most of the time, I think he was worried about me!
I had some water in my ear afterwards and I was promptly sprayed in the ear with a mixture of vinegar and alcohol and it helped. Steven and the whole crew at Coki Beach Dive Club were great. Knowing I was a complete newbie, they made me feel relaxed and made the dive a wonderful experience. I would definitely return.
On Tuesday the 3rd we arrived in Dominica. What a beautiful, magical island. Big Mama, our driver arranged thru Clem at Irie Safari, arrived at the dock promptly at 11:45 and drove us to Irie Safari, right at the entrance to Champagne Reef. He stayed and waited for us and I think was a bit put out when we decided to return to the ship instead of taking a tour with him of their lovely island. But I was tired. Clem Johnson was great to deal with through email and by phone. I met Francesca, my divemaster/buddy. Once again it was just the two of us. She gathered all my gear together. Clem hauled our tanks down to the beach for us. The walk to the beach starts right from their dive shop, down some stairs and along a boardwalk to the water. There is no beach. It is what I would call large cobbles. There was a small problem with the inflator hose on my BC, so I sat on a big rock and watched as my DH and sons went off with their own guide on a snorkel adventure while Francesca walked back to the dive shop to fetch a new BC for me.
After assembling our gear she had me wade into the water and sit on my tank and slip into my BC. That was a new one for me! She then brought out my fins for me. After maybe a 5 minute surface swim we reached the point where the dive would begin. It really wasn't much of a swim, more like a leisurely backfloat out to the reef.
Once under water, OMG! It was incredible, the beauty, the marine life. It was a good thing I had a regulator in my mouth or my mouth would have been hanging open the whole time.
Francesca went slow, constantly making sure I was always ok and nearby. She had a slate on which she wrote all the marine life I was seeing and would also name fish when I pointed and asked what they were. The list is long but some of what I saw: parrotfish, arrow crab, eels, squid, spotted drum, yellowtail snapper, pufferfish, lizardfish, beautiful corals, all the colors of the rainbow, feather duster that closed when prompted and opened so beautifully. She also pointed out some cannons and huge anchor chains that had been there for some 300 or 400 years. We did our safety stop by piddling around at the bubbles for a few minutes at 15 feet. It is amazing how warm the water from these vents really is. And just like people say, it is like swimming in a huge glass of champagne.
All told, maximum depth was 60 feet, bottom time was 53 minutes. I wore only a rash guard again, but should have worn my 3mil wetsuit. I had a hard time warming up after returning to the ship. Took a couple hours and a long hot shower to rectify.
When we surfaced, I was almost at a loss for words, the feeling was incredible. I get goosebumps just writing about it. I now know that I am spoiled having such personal experiences on my first 2 dives.
Many thanks to Clem Johnson and Francesca at Irie Safari for making my second ocean dive the absolute highlight of my entire vacation. The folks at Irie Safari were so welcoming and friendly. By the way, Francesca is the only female instructor on the island, as well as the youngest. And I would not hesitate to dive with her again. Next week would not be too soon.
I also would like to mention my DH and sons found their guided snorkel to be an incredible experience as well. I'm sorry I didn't get the name of their guide, as I would like her to know just how special she made their day. My husband couldn't say enough good things about her and how she pointed out all the things they were seeing or were about to see. Their contact info is:
Clem Johnson
Irie Safari
Anse Batteau, Pte Michel
Box 2078, Roseau
Dominica, West Indies
(767) 440 5085
(767) 275 7001
iriesafari@cwdom.dm
Both of these experiences really boosted my confidence and enthusiasm and I am eagerly awaiting the next school break to try out a few more warm water spots.
If anyone has questions or comments I would be happy to reply.
~Machelle
Just returned from Carnival Destiny 6/1 sailing.
Wow! My first ocean dive was a shore dive at Coki Beach, St. Thomas.
I had the good luck of having Steven from Coki Beach Dive be my personal divemaster/dive buddy. Just the 2 of us. I showed up for my 11:30 dive early, checked in and went snorkeling with my DH, and 2 sons 17 and 22. At 11:15 I returned to the dive shop, actually a van on the beach . Got outfitted, went over dive profile, safety and hand signals. Steven sprayed my mask with no fog stuff, and off to the water I went. Waded in chest deep, donned my mask and fins, swam out a bit, did a buoyancy check and we were on our way.
Maximum depth was 40 feet, for 45 minutes I think as my divelog is still packed away. I wore just a rash guard and swimsuit and was just fine. Thanks to everyone for their recommendations on what to wear. I saw a reef octopus, several kinds of eels, lots of different fish and plenty of colorful corals. Had Steven not shown me these creatures, I would have never even seen them. It was nice having someone know where to look and find the marine life. I need to get a book to start identifying them. I also had an arrow crab crawl on my hand. For my first dive outside of the Rocky Mountains I was thrilled. My oldest son snorkeled above me most of the time, I think he was worried about me!
I had some water in my ear afterwards and I was promptly sprayed in the ear with a mixture of vinegar and alcohol and it helped. Steven and the whole crew at Coki Beach Dive Club were great. Knowing I was a complete newbie, they made me feel relaxed and made the dive a wonderful experience. I would definitely return.
On Tuesday the 3rd we arrived in Dominica. What a beautiful, magical island. Big Mama, our driver arranged thru Clem at Irie Safari, arrived at the dock promptly at 11:45 and drove us to Irie Safari, right at the entrance to Champagne Reef. He stayed and waited for us and I think was a bit put out when we decided to return to the ship instead of taking a tour with him of their lovely island. But I was tired. Clem Johnson was great to deal with through email and by phone. I met Francesca, my divemaster/buddy. Once again it was just the two of us. She gathered all my gear together. Clem hauled our tanks down to the beach for us. The walk to the beach starts right from their dive shop, down some stairs and along a boardwalk to the water. There is no beach. It is what I would call large cobbles. There was a small problem with the inflator hose on my BC, so I sat on a big rock and watched as my DH and sons went off with their own guide on a snorkel adventure while Francesca walked back to the dive shop to fetch a new BC for me.
After assembling our gear she had me wade into the water and sit on my tank and slip into my BC. That was a new one for me! She then brought out my fins for me. After maybe a 5 minute surface swim we reached the point where the dive would begin. It really wasn't much of a swim, more like a leisurely backfloat out to the reef.
Once under water, OMG! It was incredible, the beauty, the marine life. It was a good thing I had a regulator in my mouth or my mouth would have been hanging open the whole time.
Francesca went slow, constantly making sure I was always ok and nearby. She had a slate on which she wrote all the marine life I was seeing and would also name fish when I pointed and asked what they were. The list is long but some of what I saw: parrotfish, arrow crab, eels, squid, spotted drum, yellowtail snapper, pufferfish, lizardfish, beautiful corals, all the colors of the rainbow, feather duster that closed when prompted and opened so beautifully. She also pointed out some cannons and huge anchor chains that had been there for some 300 or 400 years. We did our safety stop by piddling around at the bubbles for a few minutes at 15 feet. It is amazing how warm the water from these vents really is. And just like people say, it is like swimming in a huge glass of champagne.
All told, maximum depth was 60 feet, bottom time was 53 minutes. I wore only a rash guard again, but should have worn my 3mil wetsuit. I had a hard time warming up after returning to the ship. Took a couple hours and a long hot shower to rectify.
When we surfaced, I was almost at a loss for words, the feeling was incredible. I get goosebumps just writing about it. I now know that I am spoiled having such personal experiences on my first 2 dives.
Many thanks to Clem Johnson and Francesca at Irie Safari for making my second ocean dive the absolute highlight of my entire vacation. The folks at Irie Safari were so welcoming and friendly. By the way, Francesca is the only female instructor on the island, as well as the youngest. And I would not hesitate to dive with her again. Next week would not be too soon.
I also would like to mention my DH and sons found their guided snorkel to be an incredible experience as well. I'm sorry I didn't get the name of their guide, as I would like her to know just how special she made their day. My husband couldn't say enough good things about her and how she pointed out all the things they were seeing or were about to see. Their contact info is:
Clem Johnson
Irie Safari
Anse Batteau, Pte Michel
Box 2078, Roseau
Dominica, West Indies
(767) 440 5085
(767) 275 7001
iriesafari@cwdom.dm
Both of these experiences really boosted my confidence and enthusiasm and I am eagerly awaiting the next school break to try out a few more warm water spots.
If anyone has questions or comments I would be happy to reply.
~Machelle
