Dive With Clive at Dive Aruba

[TracyN]

So I found the op I"m going to dive with in Aruba. Dive with Clive. He as a small boat and only takes out a max of 6 divers. Most of his divers are experienced and you aren't forced to buddy up with someone. He gives you at least an hour of bottom time and possibly more if you have the gas reserves. I was worried about getting on a cattle boat and getting short pathetic dive times. So if you are an experienced diver and no longer need your hand held Clive is the dive OP for you.

 

[boulderjohn]

I dived with Clive in 2005, and can confirm your description is accurate for what I experienced then. If he is still doing everything the same, his is a one-man operation. He will pick you up at your hotel, give you any gear you are renting at his shop, drive everyone to his boat, drive the boat to the dive site, lead the dive, drive the boat back, and return you to your hotel. Leading the dive is not 100% true--on a drift dive, he only leads half the dive. Then he swims back against the current, gets on the boat, and picks you up.

I think you should be an above average diver if you go with him, but if I were to return to Aruba, I would dive with him again.

In contrast, before I dived with him, I did the wreck of the Antilla, which is the big attraction there, with another operator. It was that experience that led me to seek out an alternative. When we dived that wreck, we had two DMs in the water--one leading the dive from the front, and one bringing up the rear. We were all required to stay in line as we circumnavigated the wreck. A couple of times a rebellious sole tried to get close to one of the entrances on the wreck, and he was quickly ushered back into line.

 

[jonhall]

So I found the op I"m going to dive with in Aruba. Dive with Clive.

Clive was a real treat. My buddy would never go with him again but I would (everyone's different.) The shirt I have from his op reads, "I dive with Clive" but we jokingly would say to each other "I got yelled at by Clive" as he had a strict routine about the way he did things and if you were in his way on the boat he was straight-forward in telling you what to do or not to do (the yelling, which wasn't really yelling.) Generally, stay seated and don't move from that spot.

You may have seen some threads/posts about diving in Aruba, including mine. Clive was a one man show, who picked us up, took us and new divers each day to his home to fill out paperwork, drove us to his boat, and took us out for the dives. His routine was to give the dive plan, go down and stay with us for about 15-20 minutes, then go back to the boat and meet us where he thought we were going to come up (drift diving.) One day it was just my buddy and me and the visibility wasn't great. Just made sure the reef was always to our right. The reason my buddy wouldn't use Clive again was due to being left alone on our own for 40-45 minutes each dive. I didn't have a problem with it myself. As I recall Clive did stay with us the whole time when we dove the Jane Sea Freighter wreck. You can definitely dive your air. I was on empty while swimming/drifting to the boat after Clive spotted us at the end of one dive.

Clive sounds like he's right up your alley. Enjoy the diving!

 

[mi000ke]

I dived with Clive (dove with Clove?) a few years ago and had exactly the same experience as others have posted here. I really enjoyed it, but my buddy really hated being yelled at. I'd go with Clive again - he would not. If you are comfortable taking care of yourself, I think it's a pretty good dive experience.

 

[drbill]

Likewise I chose to Dive with Clive when I was in Aruba and had a great experience

 

[TracyN]

Thanks for all of your feedback. It sounds like Clive is the OP I was looking for. All the dives are drift dives? As long as I don't get washed out to sea all will be great as I most likely will be diving solo if Clive goes back to the boat. Fear of getting lost at sea or being lost by the OP is one of the reasons I prefer cave diving! Lol!!

 

[jonhall]

All the dives are drift dives? As long as I don't get washed out to sea all will be great as I most likely will be diving solo if Clive goes back to the boat.

Seven of my 8 dives were drift, not necessarily strong currents, but there was only one way you were going to go! Let us know how it goes. Have fun!

 

[boulderjohn]

All the dives are drift dives?

No--the real attraction there is wreck diving.

 

[TracyN]

Seven of my 8 dives were drift, not necessarily strong currents, but there was only one way you were going to go! Let us know how it goes. Have fun!

Thanks! Will do. It's good to know I won't find myself drifting to South America! Lol!

 

[Altamira]

What am I missing here? So, what is the game plan if good ole Clive has a problem (like has a heart attack) and does not make it back to his boat? That seems like an asinine epitome of a trust-me-dive. If everything goes according to plan, it might be interesting and fun, but if the situation goes sideways, I can hear the refrain "WTF were they thinking?" From the description, Clive's operation sounds crazy as hell, but I am one of those folks that never leaves my boat unattended when someone is in the water.