Divemaster in Roatan

[Bah]

I don't know where you dived off Ireland, but I've had some wonderful dives off the west coast. You may find if you go back after you're got a fair number more dives under your belt that you appreciate the area more.

Thanks for the advice re the nitrox.

I've been diving off of Baltimore (in Co. Cork, very south of the country, but didn't dive anything exciting like the U-boat wreck that's down there), Killary harbour (in Renvyle, Co. Galway) and in the Aran Islands (Inis Mor and Inis Meain). I'm sure that if I had the use of a drysuit and if the weather was a bit better than it would have been a lot more enjoyable. But I'm very prone to getting cold on dives where the water temp is less than 20 degrees and everytime I've been diving at any of the above sites there's been strong current and annoying surge. When I'm pretty limited with time, it's just not worth it for me.

Aquanauts Pattaya - thanks for the advice. I have been diving in Thailand before (Although not in Pattaya) and really enjoyed it, but I am looking for somewhere new to go to, since my future travel opportunities will be pretty limited once I start work full time. Plus I'm on a serious budget!

 

[peterbj7]

That explains a lot. I've often been on boats around Britain with hardy souls who insist that a thick semi-dry (a type of wetsuit, for those who don't know). I've never known any of them to do the second dive of the day - they've always lost too much body heat. You HAVE to dive dry!

A strong current is fine if you know about it and the dive is planned accordingly. I've never experienced strong surge at the depths I choose to dive at, and even on shallower dives strong surge is not the norm. I think you've been unlucky, or badly advised.

 

[Bah]

That explains a lot. I've often been on boats around Britain with hardy souls who insist that a thick semi-dry (a type of wetsuit, for those who don't know). I've never known any of them to do the second dive of the day - they've always lost too much body heat. You HAVE to dive dry!

A strong current is fine if you know about it and the dive is planned accordingly. I've never experienced strong surge at the depths I choose to dive at, and even on shallower dives strong surge is not the norm. I think you've been unlucky, or badly advised.

If I had the use of a dry suit (it was for my OW training, they wanted me to do a separate dry suit course before I could use one, which I suppose I can understand) then it probably would have been a lot better. A semi-dry (no matter how thick, or how many hoods/vests/gloves/accessories) just doesn't keep me warm enough to be able to enjoy a dive. Hence me wanting to go back to the Carribean!

The surge wasn't really a problem during the dive (although the current was pretty strong - working pretty hard to stay in the same place/move slowly), just on the boat to/from the dive site. So, in summary, diving the Aran Islands in November, in poor conditions, in a semi dry isn't enjoyable!

I've been thinking about the divemaster trip, and while I would love to do it, I think I just don't have enough time to do it properly. I have six weeks (seven at a push), and from what people say it's not worth doing it in such a short amount of time. Really I just want someplace to go where it's warm, sunny, good diving and lots of beaches/reefs. The divemaster course seemed perfect at the time since it gave me a way of living in one place for a few weeks, working during the day and being active. Sounded perfect at the time!

Thanks for everybodys advice so far.

 

[leaveonlybubbles]

Hey There... This is an interesting thread, all good things to keep in mind. I am a working divemaster (VERY part time), but I don't think it's a bad idea to do the cert even if you don't plan to work--it's great experience for then leading dives, even if it's just you and a buddy diving. It IS a lot of work, but good fun.

I'd really suggest looking at Utila... depends on what you want most, b/c Roatan has much nicer beaches I hear (I've never been) and more infrastructure. But, for pure diving you really can't beat Utila, where I've spent a bunch of time--and it's really cheap for decent lodging, good food, and beautiful diving. The diving is top notch, there's a few good night life spots and some really good food... it's not a 24/7 party, which I personally really enjoyed, and when you get out of town (which is very cute) the island is absolutely gorgeous, walkable, and fun. The entire island, though, runs around diving!

I WOULD suggest checking out the dive shops before you decide--especially if you've got 6-8 weeks (plenty of time to finish the course).

I did my DM (and a bunch of previous diving and my AOW years before) with Cross Creek (Cross Creek Dive Center)... they're a great shop. The manager, Angel, is a really great instructor and manager and runs a very chill, very professional shop. Personally, it worked really well for me b/c it's a small staff, only two boats, but lots of volume so there's always work to do... you can get experience helping out with lots of different classes and hop on a boat in the morning or afternoon to go out and lead or just go on dives... A lot of shops have a more structured program (same owners have Utila Dive Center, also great, much bigger), which is good for some folks because the CC crew won't kick your ass into doing the work, but if you're on top of your stuff it's a great place to do it.

PM me if you want more ifno.

 

[CODMAN]

I've been thinking about the divemaster trip, and while I would love to do it, I think I just don't have enough time to do it properly. I have six weeks (seven at a push), and from what people say it's not worth doing it in such a short amount of time.

Bah, I really don't agree with this. Yes, 6-7 weeks is Sub-optimal. But you are also not doing it to make a career out of it, so it's not that big a deal! Some DM factories push you through the course in 2 weeks! So 6-7 weeks should get you to have some good experience despite it being sub optimal.

As I said, I'm pretty much in the same position as you (being in Canada, even the local cold water diving is similar). This is how I look at it. There are 2 options for me doing my DM course.
1-Doing it the better way (longer, more experience), over 6 months to a year... The only way I'm going to get to do this is by doing it part time locally (cause no, I'm not going to quit my job and become a caribean beach bum! Whish I could though...). This isn't an option for me because: a- it's friggin cold water, bad vis most of the time, and doesn't interest me as much as diving tropical destinations (especially doing 3 dives a day), b- It will cost me much much more this way, c- I don't get to be immersed in a new culture, on vacation, living diving 24/24.

Choice 2- Doing it faster over 5 weeks... It is sub-optimal, and I'd rather do it over 6 months, but it's not an option for me. I'll never get more than 5 weeks off, so it's that or nothing. This is my choice of preference because: a- I get to live the lifestyle for the entire duration of the course, b- It's less expensive that way, c- I get a vacation, and tons of great diving in a great place with great conditions. d- Since I'm not going to be working as a DM after (to make a living that is), I don't think it's as problematic to be doing it in less time...

So basically, I'm not going to do the course here because basically I won't have as much fun and it will cost too much. I'd rather just do local diving in that case. So since I really want to do this course, the other option if during my 5 week trip!

As I said, I realise that doing it over 5 weeks is sub-optimal... But not worth doing? Definetly not.

Just my 0.02$

 

[Bah]

Thanks for the advice Codman.

I do really want to do the divemaster course - the only problem I have is the time constraint - since I only have six-eight weeks I'm a bit concerned about having enough time to travel to the island, check out the dive places, sign up for a divemaster course (what's the availability like - I've e-mailed a few places, some of which have said they're full for the month - is this the norm?) and actually do the course.

Any info about medium/long term accommodation (for six-eight weeks I'm thinking I'd need something other than a hotel)?

 

[CODMAN]

Well, obviously, landing there and finding a place to stay, do the DM, etc... Without making prior arrangements, you are running a risk of finding nobody you like for the course. That's why I contacted some places in advance to chat with them about the course, and how they do it, etc... The place I've chosen was highly recommended and I talked with the owner over the phone a bit. It seemed good so far. Nevertheless, I'm going to be doing my rescue course with him first. If I really don't get along, or am unsatisfied, I'll just cut the DM part and do it elsewhere. I can find other places there to do it. And if not, I'll have myself one nice long holiday!!!! but my first impression is that it should be OK...

Once again, it's sub-optimal, but if you're really interested in doing it, why don't you e.mail a few dive ops about a DM course and see what they have to say about it? Ask lots of questions like how they go about the course, timetables, caosts, availabilities...etc... You could even begin with taking a regular course with them (a specialty or something) to see how it goes before you fork over any sizeable amount of cash... If you really can't find anywhere, maybe you should plan for elsewhere! Utila does a lot of these courses. But there are other places in the world too! And since you'd be going for 6-8 weeks, transit time isn't a problem! How about Indonesia? The Philippines? Micronesia? Australia (probably not cheap)? How about the pacific coast of Mexico? The sea of Cortez? Other Caribean islands? How about Saba? Dominica? Bonaire?

Basically, all I wanted to say was if you really want this... You can make it happen! if you don't want to take the chance of walking into places and get told they're full... You'll need to do a little more planning.

No matter what you chooseto do, good luck!

 

[Bay Island Diver]

6-8 weeks is certainly enough time to do it.

Especially if you go to a reasonably large shop, that can guarantee the variety of courses you need to get exposed to in the time. There is a few such places in West End. And again many more in Utila.

I have taught plenty of people in your position and it was a great 8 week holiday for them.

 

[CODMAN]

Oh and I forgot to add... You buy the books beforehand and do the reading assignments and book work before you get there. That way your time over there is maximised towards the fun part in the water. I'm leaving in 2 weeks and I'm almost finnished all the bookwork.

Don't forget to make sure they reduce the price of the course accordingly if they initially included books in their pricing!

 

[halocline]

Bah, do you already have the prerequisite courses done (AOW, rescue?) If not, take those at home before your trip. And, as codman suggests, get the books and do all the reading and studying so you're ready to take the written exams when you arrive. Doing those things will really make it easier to get through the DM course in your time constraint.