Bryan Cunningham
Contributor
DIVING IN ANTIGUA
July 2015 sees the opening of a brand new dive facility in Antigua, DiveCarib. The company is being formed by Bryan Cunningham, former owner of Sea Wolf Diving School, with 5 years diving experience in Antigua and 16 years worldwide. He is launching the venture with two long time divng friends each with over 20 years experience as dive instructors worldwide.
DiveCarib will be Antigua's first ever Instructor Training facility, with three SDI instructor trainers on staff. It will also be Antigua's first ever Technical diving facility and the only dive center with gas mixing abilities (both Nitrox and Trimix.) Both Harry and Leigh are extremely experienced Tech Instructors, Leigh still holding the world record for the deepest wreck dive. Recreational divers are not forgotten, being the bread and butter of any dive facility. They will be treated to small groups on a comfortable dive boat with high end dive equipment.
Our boat is a beach landing craft with jet propulsion and a carbon fibre hull. Custom built for Mr Dyson, it was donated to National Sailing Academy, who have sold it onto us. We also have larger boats on a standby charter basis. We are using ScubaPro X tek BCDs and Mk2 and 21 regulators. No expense is being spared on equipment.
Diving in Antigua is good. DiveCarib will be based in Falmouth/English Harbour on the South, South West portion of the island. This gives access to the best dive sites Antigua has to offer in a very short boat trip. For Technical divers there is Sunken Rock, breaking the surface and plummeting to 40 meters with a canyon and teaming with marine life. There is also Shirley heights which reaches 30 meters within 50 meters of the shoreline. It tapers to 40 meters and then plummets to oblivion. Not yet dived below 35 meters. There is a wreck 5 minutes from the harbour mouth at 40 meters with easy penetration. The south west coast of Antigua is just in the lee of the island, so has predominantly calm water, while being the only part of the island that reaches extreme depths close to shore. The rest of the coast has a shallow shelf running for miles out to sea.
Recreational divers can enjoy easy reefs between 12meters to 20 meters with healthy coral and little or no current. Many of the sites used are not marked and have no bouys. DiveCarib use GPS and local knowledge to anchor in sandy patches with the boat floating over the best reefs. This keeps our favourite dive sites in pristine condition.
DiveCarib also does destination management. With Bryan's experience as a travel agent, he is able to advise on the easiest way of reaching Antigua, select the most suitable accommodation for your budget and arrange any land based activities you choose. The dive shack is situated on the property of National Sailing Academy, so there are a number of additional watersports for divers to do when not diving. Diving in Antigua with DiveCarib is a total well rounded holiday experience.
July 2015 sees the opening of a brand new dive facility in Antigua, DiveCarib. The company is being formed by Bryan Cunningham, former owner of Sea Wolf Diving School, with 5 years diving experience in Antigua and 16 years worldwide. He is launching the venture with two long time divng friends each with over 20 years experience as dive instructors worldwide.
DiveCarib will be Antigua's first ever Instructor Training facility, with three SDI instructor trainers on staff. It will also be Antigua's first ever Technical diving facility and the only dive center with gas mixing abilities (both Nitrox and Trimix.) Both Harry and Leigh are extremely experienced Tech Instructors, Leigh still holding the world record for the deepest wreck dive. Recreational divers are not forgotten, being the bread and butter of any dive facility. They will be treated to small groups on a comfortable dive boat with high end dive equipment.
Our boat is a beach landing craft with jet propulsion and a carbon fibre hull. Custom built for Mr Dyson, it was donated to National Sailing Academy, who have sold it onto us. We also have larger boats on a standby charter basis. We are using ScubaPro X tek BCDs and Mk2 and 21 regulators. No expense is being spared on equipment.
Diving in Antigua is good. DiveCarib will be based in Falmouth/English Harbour on the South, South West portion of the island. This gives access to the best dive sites Antigua has to offer in a very short boat trip. For Technical divers there is Sunken Rock, breaking the surface and plummeting to 40 meters with a canyon and teaming with marine life. There is also Shirley heights which reaches 30 meters within 50 meters of the shoreline. It tapers to 40 meters and then plummets to oblivion. Not yet dived below 35 meters. There is a wreck 5 minutes from the harbour mouth at 40 meters with easy penetration. The south west coast of Antigua is just in the lee of the island, so has predominantly calm water, while being the only part of the island that reaches extreme depths close to shore. The rest of the coast has a shallow shelf running for miles out to sea.
Recreational divers can enjoy easy reefs between 12meters to 20 meters with healthy coral and little or no current. Many of the sites used are not marked and have no bouys. DiveCarib use GPS and local knowledge to anchor in sandy patches with the boat floating over the best reefs. This keeps our favourite dive sites in pristine condition.
DiveCarib also does destination management. With Bryan's experience as a travel agent, he is able to advise on the easiest way of reaching Antigua, select the most suitable accommodation for your budget and arrange any land based activities you choose. The dive shack is situated on the property of National Sailing Academy, so there are a number of additional watersports for divers to do when not diving. Diving in Antigua with DiveCarib is a total well rounded holiday experience.
, it seems to me people have been encouraged to look elsewhere. If you guys have found good diving that stands up well to the competition (other islands), that's good news. I look forward to trip reports from your customers who can compare it to other destinations. 
