Greetings Scuba Board,
I wanted to take some time to write a trip report for my most recent dive trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize. I go on a dive trip once every other year and always try to visit someplace exceptional. This time it was The Blue Hole. I dove with two dive shops, Ecologic Divers and Aqua Divers.
The Blue Hole with Aqua Divers:
Overall I would give Aqua Divers a thumbs down, however, the blue hole is amazing and a must go trip.
We woke up at 4am and we were supposed to be picked up at 5am for the trip. It is a 2-3 hour boat road to the blue hole. We were promised 3 dives, The Blue Hole and 2 dives at Lighthouse Reef. The boat arrived for us at 5.30am. Which is fine, we were at a private dock and I presume the boat got lost. Watching the sunrise was not the worst thing. We went to the dive shop and hung out while the boat was loaded and met the people we would be diving with all in all a good group.
We were loaded onto a large 40-45 foot boat for the trip first to Caye Cauker to pick up other divers then we would be driving to the blue hole via Turneffe Reef. The boat was staffed by a captain, a deckhand and 3 dive masters. There were 22 people on the boat. The dive master gave a quick announcement about our itinerary and then went and fell asleep. I took this as a cue and passed out in a corner for the three-hour voyage. Fortunately the seas were calm. I woke up when I heard a bunch of commotion, the dive master told us something is wrong we are going back to Turneffe, more info to come. Then the captain came out and said the transmission is broken, the boat can’t go on. Another boat would be coming to take us to the blue hole. I went back to sleep because we were going to be waiting another 2 hours for the boat to arrive.
About an hour later there was a commotion. In Caye Caulker we had picked up 4 French people and 2 Russians. The French people were now arguing with the dive master. It turns out the dive shop had telephoned the boat and given us a choice, either we can go to the blue hole on the new boat only take 2 dives instead of 3 and get no refund or we can go diving tomorrow and get 3 dives. My choice was easy because I had a plane to catch the next day. There were 6 firefighters from Philly who also agreed, the plane is leaving and we are halfway there. The French apparently had rented a camera from the dive shop for $50 and wanted to know if the camera rental would be refunded, they also wanted to know how long it would take to get home if they chose to dive the next day. The dive master, who spoke English well, refused to answer their questions or give them an answer. Finally, as the other boat was arriving, he shouted at the French, “I am ****ing sick of you people, you are going home and if you are lucky, I will take you diving tomorrow!”
We all loaded onto the new boat and the dive masters loaded our gear onto the boat. As we were loading, someone said, do you have enough weight; the dive master assured us we took enough weight off the big boat. The French, one of the dive masters, the captain and the deckhand all went back on the broken boat.
We started approaching the reef around the blue hole and it was starting to rain. The dive masters began asking people how much weight they wanted on their weight belts. He asked me first because I was sitting closest to him. I told him I had integrated weights so he said he would deal with me last. He went the rest of the way around the boat. We got to the hole and I started getting ready and asked the dive master for my 14lbs of weight. He handed me two 3-pound weights. I said, I needed 14. He said we have no more weight.
Then the Russian said, where is the rest of my weight? I need 10 kilos (about 20lbs). The dive master said you have 10lbs. The Russian said “No, 10 KILOS!” it went back and forth the dive master saying you have 10lbs and the Russian saying I need 10 Kilos. A Canadian fellow on the boat assisted by saying, “10 kilos is about 20lbs.” The dive master shrugged and said we have no more weight so just deal with it.
With that settled we got our pre-dive briefing, “The hole is deep go down look at stuff and come back up in 8 minutes. Safety stop at 30feet. OK let’s go.” Thanks, I feel very informed now about this dive.
Now, I am all for experimenting but I dropped about $300 for a dive which is dependent on going to 132 feet. I don’t want to have trouble with sinking. Finally everyone pitched in some weight and I got to 10 lbs. The Russian had about 12. We got in the water and the Russian was having trouble sinking so the dive master grabbed 2 large rocks and stuck them in the pockets of his BCD and off we went. I managed to get down after pulling myself down the mooring line.
Down the hole, all 18 of us and 2 dive masters. One dive master went down with the first group. One dive master stayed up with a woman who was having BCD issues. Myself and my bad ears was stuck in the middle, I descended slowly and got to 100 feet and looked around, and saw NO ONE! I don’t know what happened but the group had gone somewhere and I could not see anyone. I kept descending, through the reef sharks and kept an eye out. Finally at 120feet I saw off in the distance a flicker of light, I managed to find the rest of the group. Thankfully.
The blue hole is very deep; the section with the stalactites is between 110-170 feet. With a sandy bottom at 170 feet then another drop-off to 800 feet. I was floating at 130feet being amazed at the sights, when I swore I saw flashing lights below me. Sure enough standing on the sandy bottom at 170 feet were the Philly firefighters and the Russians. They were all taking pictures and have jolly time. The dive master was busy helping some guy take a picture up at 120 feet. No one was paying attention to the fact that 10 divers were at 170 feet or below for most of the dive.
Getting out was a whole different adventure. The seas kicked up a bit so the sea was choppy and there was some rain. The first person out of the water, Dive master 1. The second person out, Dive master 2. The rest of us were left to crawl up the ladder on our own. It was brutal, choppy seas, holding my fins. I finally got out and the dive masters and the captains were busy bull****ting in the front of the boat while I stumbled around the boat with my tank on.
The Lighthouse dive was more of the same, a 60-foot dive with half the group at 90-100feet. Chaos getting out of the water and dive masters that were jerks.
My final verdict, Aqua Dives should be avoided but the blue hole is a once in a lifetime dive.
Ecologic Divers, Tackle box and Victoria Canyon.
I did two dives with Ecologic and both dives were awesome. Ecologic is run by an American name Steve and a local named Junior. Both are super nice and knowledgeable about diving. Our trip out to the dive site was a nice discussion of the Cubs chances next season and the various bars of San Pedro.
Ecologic has very modern rental equipment. Dive computers and weight integrated BCDs. Getting ready for the dive was easy because the ship captain and the dive masters helped us put on our equipment made sure everything was in order and gave explicit directions on what to do and where to go. There were 8 people on the boat and 2 dive masters. We were divided into 2 groups, 4 to each group and then paired up with diving buddies.
We did Tacklebox first and it was great saw some turtles and sharks and lobsters. A good time all around.
Getting out was also easy. The dive master stayed in the water and let us take off our BCD in the water. The dive master passed our tanks/BCDs up to the captain who set in a slot. Then you took off your fins and climbed into the boat. Once in the boat, you were handed a water and a HOT TOWEL! It sounds silly but after a dive, getting a hot towel to wipe down with is great.
We headed back to the shop and discussed our dive and plans for the next dive.
Steve told us when we got back that he would have picture CD's copied of our dive. He said we could come back tommorow and pick up our CD or he could have it dropped off at our hotel. Another great service that was unexpected.
Ecologic is a great dive shop. Everyone is super nice and knowledgeable. They keep the groups small and Steve told me they dive on air supply not on time. So if you can dive for 45 minutes on your one tank, then it’s a 45minute dive. He said the other day he and two experienced divers did a 60minute dive on one tank, no extra charge.
If you want a dive shop focused on service and personal attention, Ecologic is the place to go, a very 5 star experience. I had not dove in 18 months and Ecologic made me feel like I had been diving my whole life.
Ecologic also said they will be starting service to the Blue Hole beginning around the first of the year and they currently do private blue hole trips upon request.
Cheers,
David Nitka
I wanted to take some time to write a trip report for my most recent dive trip to Ambergris Caye, Belize. I go on a dive trip once every other year and always try to visit someplace exceptional. This time it was The Blue Hole. I dove with two dive shops, Ecologic Divers and Aqua Divers.
The Blue Hole with Aqua Divers:
Overall I would give Aqua Divers a thumbs down, however, the blue hole is amazing and a must go trip.
We woke up at 4am and we were supposed to be picked up at 5am for the trip. It is a 2-3 hour boat road to the blue hole. We were promised 3 dives, The Blue Hole and 2 dives at Lighthouse Reef. The boat arrived for us at 5.30am. Which is fine, we were at a private dock and I presume the boat got lost. Watching the sunrise was not the worst thing. We went to the dive shop and hung out while the boat was loaded and met the people we would be diving with all in all a good group.
We were loaded onto a large 40-45 foot boat for the trip first to Caye Cauker to pick up other divers then we would be driving to the blue hole via Turneffe Reef. The boat was staffed by a captain, a deckhand and 3 dive masters. There were 22 people on the boat. The dive master gave a quick announcement about our itinerary and then went and fell asleep. I took this as a cue and passed out in a corner for the three-hour voyage. Fortunately the seas were calm. I woke up when I heard a bunch of commotion, the dive master told us something is wrong we are going back to Turneffe, more info to come. Then the captain came out and said the transmission is broken, the boat can’t go on. Another boat would be coming to take us to the blue hole. I went back to sleep because we were going to be waiting another 2 hours for the boat to arrive.
About an hour later there was a commotion. In Caye Caulker we had picked up 4 French people and 2 Russians. The French people were now arguing with the dive master. It turns out the dive shop had telephoned the boat and given us a choice, either we can go to the blue hole on the new boat only take 2 dives instead of 3 and get no refund or we can go diving tomorrow and get 3 dives. My choice was easy because I had a plane to catch the next day. There were 6 firefighters from Philly who also agreed, the plane is leaving and we are halfway there. The French apparently had rented a camera from the dive shop for $50 and wanted to know if the camera rental would be refunded, they also wanted to know how long it would take to get home if they chose to dive the next day. The dive master, who spoke English well, refused to answer their questions or give them an answer. Finally, as the other boat was arriving, he shouted at the French, “I am ****ing sick of you people, you are going home and if you are lucky, I will take you diving tomorrow!”
We all loaded onto the new boat and the dive masters loaded our gear onto the boat. As we were loading, someone said, do you have enough weight; the dive master assured us we took enough weight off the big boat. The French, one of the dive masters, the captain and the deckhand all went back on the broken boat.
We started approaching the reef around the blue hole and it was starting to rain. The dive masters began asking people how much weight they wanted on their weight belts. He asked me first because I was sitting closest to him. I told him I had integrated weights so he said he would deal with me last. He went the rest of the way around the boat. We got to the hole and I started getting ready and asked the dive master for my 14lbs of weight. He handed me two 3-pound weights. I said, I needed 14. He said we have no more weight.
Then the Russian said, where is the rest of my weight? I need 10 kilos (about 20lbs). The dive master said you have 10lbs. The Russian said “No, 10 KILOS!” it went back and forth the dive master saying you have 10lbs and the Russian saying I need 10 Kilos. A Canadian fellow on the boat assisted by saying, “10 kilos is about 20lbs.” The dive master shrugged and said we have no more weight so just deal with it.
With that settled we got our pre-dive briefing, “The hole is deep go down look at stuff and come back up in 8 minutes. Safety stop at 30feet. OK let’s go.” Thanks, I feel very informed now about this dive.
Now, I am all for experimenting but I dropped about $300 for a dive which is dependent on going to 132 feet. I don’t want to have trouble with sinking. Finally everyone pitched in some weight and I got to 10 lbs. The Russian had about 12. We got in the water and the Russian was having trouble sinking so the dive master grabbed 2 large rocks and stuck them in the pockets of his BCD and off we went. I managed to get down after pulling myself down the mooring line.
Down the hole, all 18 of us and 2 dive masters. One dive master went down with the first group. One dive master stayed up with a woman who was having BCD issues. Myself and my bad ears was stuck in the middle, I descended slowly and got to 100 feet and looked around, and saw NO ONE! I don’t know what happened but the group had gone somewhere and I could not see anyone. I kept descending, through the reef sharks and kept an eye out. Finally at 120feet I saw off in the distance a flicker of light, I managed to find the rest of the group. Thankfully.
The blue hole is very deep; the section with the stalactites is between 110-170 feet. With a sandy bottom at 170 feet then another drop-off to 800 feet. I was floating at 130feet being amazed at the sights, when I swore I saw flashing lights below me. Sure enough standing on the sandy bottom at 170 feet were the Philly firefighters and the Russians. They were all taking pictures and have jolly time. The dive master was busy helping some guy take a picture up at 120 feet. No one was paying attention to the fact that 10 divers were at 170 feet or below for most of the dive.
Getting out was a whole different adventure. The seas kicked up a bit so the sea was choppy and there was some rain. The first person out of the water, Dive master 1. The second person out, Dive master 2. The rest of us were left to crawl up the ladder on our own. It was brutal, choppy seas, holding my fins. I finally got out and the dive masters and the captains were busy bull****ting in the front of the boat while I stumbled around the boat with my tank on.
The Lighthouse dive was more of the same, a 60-foot dive with half the group at 90-100feet. Chaos getting out of the water and dive masters that were jerks.
My final verdict, Aqua Dives should be avoided but the blue hole is a once in a lifetime dive.
Ecologic Divers, Tackle box and Victoria Canyon.
I did two dives with Ecologic and both dives were awesome. Ecologic is run by an American name Steve and a local named Junior. Both are super nice and knowledgeable about diving. Our trip out to the dive site was a nice discussion of the Cubs chances next season and the various bars of San Pedro.
Ecologic has very modern rental equipment. Dive computers and weight integrated BCDs. Getting ready for the dive was easy because the ship captain and the dive masters helped us put on our equipment made sure everything was in order and gave explicit directions on what to do and where to go. There were 8 people on the boat and 2 dive masters. We were divided into 2 groups, 4 to each group and then paired up with diving buddies.
We did Tacklebox first and it was great saw some turtles and sharks and lobsters. A good time all around.
Getting out was also easy. The dive master stayed in the water and let us take off our BCD in the water. The dive master passed our tanks/BCDs up to the captain who set in a slot. Then you took off your fins and climbed into the boat. Once in the boat, you were handed a water and a HOT TOWEL! It sounds silly but after a dive, getting a hot towel to wipe down with is great.
We headed back to the shop and discussed our dive and plans for the next dive.
Steve told us when we got back that he would have picture CD's copied of our dive. He said we could come back tommorow and pick up our CD or he could have it dropped off at our hotel. Another great service that was unexpected.
Ecologic is a great dive shop. Everyone is super nice and knowledgeable. They keep the groups small and Steve told me they dive on air supply not on time. So if you can dive for 45 minutes on your one tank, then it’s a 45minute dive. He said the other day he and two experienced divers did a 60minute dive on one tank, no extra charge.
If you want a dive shop focused on service and personal attention, Ecologic is the place to go, a very 5 star experience. I had not dove in 18 months and Ecologic made me feel like I had been diving my whole life.
Ecologic also said they will be starting service to the Blue Hole beginning around the first of the year and they currently do private blue hole trips upon request.
Cheers,
David Nitka
