Just got back last week from PR where we did a number of great dives in different areas.
Sunday (11/4/07)
We dove at El Escambron toward the back of the Caribe Hilton (near old San Juan). Back in the 70’s, I dove that site many times by jumping off the Caribe Hilton pier, but haven’t been back since. The visibility was about 30 to 40 ft due to recent storms that stirred up the partially sandy bottom. Fish populations were good and are kind of trained to come toward divers (local guides feed them). A lot of the hard coral has died due to storms, but the reef is not in bad shape considering the depth and storm effects.
A guide is not required if you know the area, but the guides can park in the closer parking lot which is convenient with the gear. We used Karen and Tony Vega from Caribe Aquatic Adventures (Phone: (787) 281-8858, Caribaqu@aol.com) and they were just great. I would also recommend Harry Hauck 787-780-2497 he was my first Scuba instructor and a great guy.
Monday (11/5/07)
We dove in Crash Boat Beach in Aguadilla. It is normally a good dive with a sandy bottom but good coral formation, sponges, etc. and lots of tropical fish around the pilings of the pier. If I recall correctly the depth can reach almost 40 ft at one end of the pier. The visibility is normally very good (70ft +) but a storm a couple of days before stirred the sand to the point that we had maybe 6ft visibility. Not good to be playing between the pilings with the surge we encountered.
We rented tanks from PR Technical Diving in Aguadilla. Nice shop, Tony Cerezo is the owner.
Tuesday (11/6/07)
We did two dives in la Parguera with Paradise Scuba (Welcome to La Parguera Phone: (787)899-7611). Fantastic dives, the visibility was incredible. Marine life for the most part like I remembered from 30 years back. The first dive was near the old Buoy at the edge of the wall. The second dive at Coral Garden was shallower. Our guide was good and very relaxed.
Wednesday (11/7/07)
We dove in la Parguera again at the Black Wall and the second dive at The Chimney. Again the visibility was outstanding and the marine life was just great. Plenty of tropical fish and some of the largest angel fish I have ever seen.
This time we dove with West Divers (787.899.3223 West Divers PR ) and our guide (and owner of West Divers) was Victor Lasanta. They have a nice boat and they run a great operation. A couple of real nice touches: 1) they have a 40 ft hose with three second stages at the bottom of the hose for a safety stop if needed, 2) at the bottom of the down line at 40 ft they keep a milk crate with weights. You can pick or leave weights if needed. With such great visibility, the crate is also visible from a long distance which helps with navigation.
With the use of this weight crate it would be much easier for a traveling diver (using different shorty wet suit etc.) to fine tune ones weight. For a vintage equipment diver it could mean to perfectly tune ones buoyancy and if needed pick up a weight at the end for the safety stop (who needs a BC).
Thursday (11/8/07)
We went to the Island of Desecheo (12 miles offshore from the town of Rincon) with Taino Divers (Rincon, Puerto Rico, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Fishing, Rentals, Rincon, Desecheo, Mona, West Coast 787-823-6429). The island is a wildlife preserve and the reef and marine life are totally unspoiled. The visibility was again fantastic. I saw the largest queen angel fish as we were swimming through one of the swim through caverns. We also saw a couple of nice turtles on the first dive.
Taino Divers also run a great boat and both Carson and Frank were great guides. The boat is a fast catamaran well design for this situation. Where you pick up the boat in Rincon there is no harbor so they beach it and everyone forms a line to help load the boat. They have the set up down to a science.
Friday (11/9/07)
We didn’t dive, but we went to Divers Service Center, the shop where I used to work back in the 70’s. Alberto, the owner was still in Florida (after the DEMA show), but I still wanted to see the shop since I haven seen it in close to 20 years. The hydro test machine that I helped install looked the same, but most of the shop has received a face lift.
A great surprise at the shop was running into Harry Hauck (787-780-2497). Harry was my first scuba instructor in 1971 and is still teaching. He looks great and I would definitely recommend him as an instructor or local guide.
Saturday (11/10/07)
We went to Fajardo where we dove with Sea Ventures Dive Centers (1-800-739-DIVE). As per my request we dove near the island of Palominitos, a favorite spot of mine as a kid. Palominitos is a small island (about an acre in size) where my buddies and I used to go camping for the weekend and diving all around the reefs on the back side and nearby islands.
The visibility around Palominitos was down to about 50 ft with a lot of visible sand stirred up from recent storms. Some of the hard coral also showed signs of damage from recent storms, but over all the conditions of the reefs were good. We saw lots of tropical fish, sea fans, soft coral, sponges, and some good hard coral. Over all I was very pleased with the conditions, I expected worse.
The Sea Venture boat in Fajardo was the largest boat we where on during the week and they cater to many beginner divers, therefore the guide was more of a herder than pointing out cool marine life (like the other guides we worked with in PR). Considering the somewhat limited visibility and the number of beginner divers he was leading, I can’t totally blame him for his style of guiding. By the second dive he left my wife and I to do our own exploring half way through the dive.
Over all it was a great trip. After 25 years returning to my old stomping grounds was very satisfying. I was not only pleased with the dive conditions, some spots like Parguera and Desecheo far exceeded my expectations. In the old days reaching any of these boat dive sites might have required hiring a local fisherman to take us there. It was an all day expedition (or more). With the introduction of well established dive operator it is now possible to do two tank dives in two great locations and be back to shore for a nice local lunch.
All the dive operators were also very receptive and interested in me using my eclectic/ vintage double hose regulator (Phoenix Royal Aqua Master) especially after I mentioned that the first stage was my design. A couple are actually interested in trying one. Maybe next time.
The dive operators in Parguera and Taino Divers in Rincon were all very receptive about having vintage equipment divers aboard. The use of a double hose is definitely not an issue, a BC (even a horse collar) and even an octopus seems optional, a pressure gauge is at least highly recommended maybe required.
PR is like part of the US, but the dive operators seem only concern about actual safety and less about all the liability BS.
Sunday (11/4/07)
We dove at El Escambron toward the back of the Caribe Hilton (near old San Juan). Back in the 70’s, I dove that site many times by jumping off the Caribe Hilton pier, but haven’t been back since. The visibility was about 30 to 40 ft due to recent storms that stirred up the partially sandy bottom. Fish populations were good and are kind of trained to come toward divers (local guides feed them). A lot of the hard coral has died due to storms, but the reef is not in bad shape considering the depth and storm effects.
A guide is not required if you know the area, but the guides can park in the closer parking lot which is convenient with the gear. We used Karen and Tony Vega from Caribe Aquatic Adventures (Phone: (787) 281-8858, Caribaqu@aol.com) and they were just great. I would also recommend Harry Hauck 787-780-2497 he was my first Scuba instructor and a great guy.
Monday (11/5/07)
We dove in Crash Boat Beach in Aguadilla. It is normally a good dive with a sandy bottom but good coral formation, sponges, etc. and lots of tropical fish around the pilings of the pier. If I recall correctly the depth can reach almost 40 ft at one end of the pier. The visibility is normally very good (70ft +) but a storm a couple of days before stirred the sand to the point that we had maybe 6ft visibility. Not good to be playing between the pilings with the surge we encountered.
We rented tanks from PR Technical Diving in Aguadilla. Nice shop, Tony Cerezo is the owner.
Tuesday (11/6/07)
We did two dives in la Parguera with Paradise Scuba (Welcome to La Parguera Phone: (787)899-7611). Fantastic dives, the visibility was incredible. Marine life for the most part like I remembered from 30 years back. The first dive was near the old Buoy at the edge of the wall. The second dive at Coral Garden was shallower. Our guide was good and very relaxed.
Wednesday (11/7/07)
We dove in la Parguera again at the Black Wall and the second dive at The Chimney. Again the visibility was outstanding and the marine life was just great. Plenty of tropical fish and some of the largest angel fish I have ever seen.
This time we dove with West Divers (787.899.3223 West Divers PR ) and our guide (and owner of West Divers) was Victor Lasanta. They have a nice boat and they run a great operation. A couple of real nice touches: 1) they have a 40 ft hose with three second stages at the bottom of the hose for a safety stop if needed, 2) at the bottom of the down line at 40 ft they keep a milk crate with weights. You can pick or leave weights if needed. With such great visibility, the crate is also visible from a long distance which helps with navigation.
With the use of this weight crate it would be much easier for a traveling diver (using different shorty wet suit etc.) to fine tune ones weight. For a vintage equipment diver it could mean to perfectly tune ones buoyancy and if needed pick up a weight at the end for the safety stop (who needs a BC).
Thursday (11/8/07)
We went to the Island of Desecheo (12 miles offshore from the town of Rincon) with Taino Divers (Rincon, Puerto Rico, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling, Fishing, Rentals, Rincon, Desecheo, Mona, West Coast 787-823-6429). The island is a wildlife preserve and the reef and marine life are totally unspoiled. The visibility was again fantastic. I saw the largest queen angel fish as we were swimming through one of the swim through caverns. We also saw a couple of nice turtles on the first dive.
Taino Divers also run a great boat and both Carson and Frank were great guides. The boat is a fast catamaran well design for this situation. Where you pick up the boat in Rincon there is no harbor so they beach it and everyone forms a line to help load the boat. They have the set up down to a science.
Friday (11/9/07)
We didn’t dive, but we went to Divers Service Center, the shop where I used to work back in the 70’s. Alberto, the owner was still in Florida (after the DEMA show), but I still wanted to see the shop since I haven seen it in close to 20 years. The hydro test machine that I helped install looked the same, but most of the shop has received a face lift.
A great surprise at the shop was running into Harry Hauck (787-780-2497). Harry was my first scuba instructor in 1971 and is still teaching. He looks great and I would definitely recommend him as an instructor or local guide.
Saturday (11/10/07)
We went to Fajardo where we dove with Sea Ventures Dive Centers (1-800-739-DIVE). As per my request we dove near the island of Palominitos, a favorite spot of mine as a kid. Palominitos is a small island (about an acre in size) where my buddies and I used to go camping for the weekend and diving all around the reefs on the back side and nearby islands.
The visibility around Palominitos was down to about 50 ft with a lot of visible sand stirred up from recent storms. Some of the hard coral also showed signs of damage from recent storms, but over all the conditions of the reefs were good. We saw lots of tropical fish, sea fans, soft coral, sponges, and some good hard coral. Over all I was very pleased with the conditions, I expected worse.
The Sea Venture boat in Fajardo was the largest boat we where on during the week and they cater to many beginner divers, therefore the guide was more of a herder than pointing out cool marine life (like the other guides we worked with in PR). Considering the somewhat limited visibility and the number of beginner divers he was leading, I can’t totally blame him for his style of guiding. By the second dive he left my wife and I to do our own exploring half way through the dive.
Over all it was a great trip. After 25 years returning to my old stomping grounds was very satisfying. I was not only pleased with the dive conditions, some spots like Parguera and Desecheo far exceeded my expectations. In the old days reaching any of these boat dive sites might have required hiring a local fisherman to take us there. It was an all day expedition (or more). With the introduction of well established dive operator it is now possible to do two tank dives in two great locations and be back to shore for a nice local lunch.
All the dive operators were also very receptive and interested in me using my eclectic/ vintage double hose regulator (Phoenix Royal Aqua Master) especially after I mentioned that the first stage was my design. A couple are actually interested in trying one. Maybe next time.
The dive operators in Parguera and Taino Divers in Rincon were all very receptive about having vintage equipment divers aboard. The use of a double hose is definitely not an issue, a BC (even a horse collar) and even an octopus seems optional, a pressure gauge is at least highly recommended maybe required.
PR is like part of the US, but the dive operators seem only concern about actual safety and less about all the liability BS.
