I just arrived home from a 2nd visit to St. Martin which included a 2nd week of diving with Octopus Diving. My first experience with Octopus Diving was in June of 2010 where I did a number of recreational dives with them. You can see my review at "http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147351-d1092282-r67750699-Octopus_Diving-Grand_Case_St_Maarten_St_Martin.html
Over the past year Octopus has continued to grow and has expanded their offerings to include some technical diving options. After trading a few emails with Chris and Sally (the owners of Octopus) I decided to sign up for the IANTD Advanced Nitrox course. The course which is taught either by Chris or Stuart (my class was taught by Stuart) consisted of classroom time, gear setup, an initial dive in shallow water to get accustom to the double tanks and work on a few skills. This was followed by two approximately 60 foot dives on nearby reefs with simulated decompression and two deeper wreck dives which required actual decompression stops.
Initially I was a little leery about taking a class instead of just doing daily 2 tank dive trips. I was afraid I wouldnt have as much fun with the class. But I was wrong. The class, while challenging was fantastic. Stuart is an excellent instructor who knows how to blend the seriousness of the classroom and in water learning with the fun of diving in warm clear waters.
As I was in 2010, I again am thoroughly pleased with Octopus Diving. The staff, the booking procedures, the boats, etc. all were exceptional. I look forward to diving with them again in the future.
Over the past year Octopus has continued to grow and has expanded their offerings to include some technical diving options. After trading a few emails with Chris and Sally (the owners of Octopus) I decided to sign up for the IANTD Advanced Nitrox course. The course which is taught either by Chris or Stuart (my class was taught by Stuart) consisted of classroom time, gear setup, an initial dive in shallow water to get accustom to the double tanks and work on a few skills. This was followed by two approximately 60 foot dives on nearby reefs with simulated decompression and two deeper wreck dives which required actual decompression stops.
Initially I was a little leery about taking a class instead of just doing daily 2 tank dive trips. I was afraid I wouldnt have as much fun with the class. But I was wrong. The class, while challenging was fantastic. Stuart is an excellent instructor who knows how to blend the seriousness of the classroom and in water learning with the fun of diving in warm clear waters.
As I was in 2010, I again am thoroughly pleased with Octopus Diving. The staff, the booking procedures, the boats, etc. all were exceptional. I look forward to diving with them again in the future.
