My teen daughter is going to Cay Sal Bank Bahamas
- Thread starter ppark001
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I found the blue holes on the Cay Sal Bank pretty boring, although
they were the dive sites that were used to break up the boat
rides on the trip.
They are deep wall dives with the walls being vertical and requiring excellent buoyancy control to dive safely. If I remember
right (log book is elsewhere) most of them start at about 60
feet meaning the depth of the surrounding bottom is 60 feet and hole drops from there.
Due to the lack of current and probably the nutrients that come
with normal ocean upwelling along walls these blue hole walls
are very barren. Very little life in the way of corals or other
filter feeding marine life is seen.
In any event probably not the best dive for newly certified divers
and really not that great of dive either. It might be wise for
both divers to just sit these dives out and wait to dive the
reefs at Cay Sal.
Marc Hall
www.enjoythedive.com
they were the dive sites that were used to break up the boat
rides on the trip.
They are deep wall dives with the walls being vertical and requiring excellent buoyancy control to dive safely. If I remember
right (log book is elsewhere) most of them start at about 60
feet meaning the depth of the surrounding bottom is 60 feet and hole drops from there.
Due to the lack of current and probably the nutrients that come
with normal ocean upwelling along walls these blue hole walls
are very barren. Very little life in the way of corals or other
filter feeding marine life is seen.
In any event probably not the best dive for newly certified divers
and really not that great of dive either. It might be wise for
both divers to just sit these dives out and wait to dive the
reefs at Cay Sal.
Marc Hall
www.enjoythedive.com
I originally learned to dive with a group of Boy Scouts ranging in age from 14-17. I was in my mid-40s. Your daughter should have no problem diving with adults of similar levels of experience. Frankly I had a problem keeping up with the teenagers! 
Taking more training after the basic Open Water course is a good idea. It sounds like they are approaching this in a safe and sensible way.
Taking more training after the basic Open Water course is a good idea. It sounds like they are approaching this in a safe and sensible way.
Ok,
I just returned from the Cay Sal Bank trip on the Nekton Rorqual less than 24 hours ago. Here are my thoughts on your question...
Cay Sal is NOT difficult diving by any stretch of the imagination. The crew of the Nekton have a safety system in place for diving that is very good. What your daughter is getting into is probably one of the better ways to get experience. Now let me explain...
The Nekton boat leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale and dives a very shallow reef system the next morning...its meant to shake out the cobwebs for those that have them, and allows the crew to see who is comfortable with diving and which divers might need some closer watching. Your daughter and her father should probably say they have zip for experience when they arrive, but the crew will figure it out very quickly so don't worry too much abou that.
They then move to several blue holes that yes...do start around 60 feet, but in reality you spend VERY little time on the wall itself unless you have a reason to be there, and most people stay around the rim...these are well within the bounds of the OW certifications. There is a tremendous amount to see there...from eels, to sharks to rays to coral. I am not sure why the other poster didn't see much, but we had a tremendous amount of life on the holes.
The Nekton boats were designed for diving. Here is how it works.
You get your briefing on the dive site and then go down to the dive deck. There are 2 dive masters on the platform helping the divers at all times. There is a motorized skiff floating behind the boat whenever the dive deck is open in case they need to give someone a tow back to the boat. In addition to the dive deck, there is at least one dedicated bubble watcher up on the sun deck. Their sole job is to watch to make sure no one is getting too far away from the boat. The best part of the Nekton boats is that you can ALWAYS ask for a divemaster to go on the dive with you. They practically BEG you to take them with you because they get to DIVE! Your family should ask for one...its NOT a burden on them. Trust me.
They offer other certification classes on the boat, but since there is very little experience with diving, I would suggest they just ask for a DM to accompany them on their dives.
When the dive deck closes and the boat goes to move, there are several checks to ensure no one is left behind. I never heard the 2 DMs on the platform NOT know exactly who was in the water. In addition to them, there is a large sighout board on the way down the stairs that you sign out on with your name and time out of the water. You sign back on board when you get back and put your max depth down also so that they can keep track of what you are doing. Our captain walked to the back of the boat prior to starting up the engines, and verified that every tank was back in the racks below. Its a very simple check to verify that everyone is back on the boat.
The whole concept of scuba may sound a bit dangerous, but rest assured that on the Nekton they will be in good hands.
BTW...our boat had to young teenager girls on it. One was the daughter of one of the Nekton boat captains who was overseeing the training of some of the newer crew...the other young lady was born in Hong Kong. Were either of them yours? I know for a fact, they had a blast and got to experience and see stuff that most people cannot even imagine doing even when they watch it on TV.
Hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns...If you have ANY questions, just ask here or PM me. I just got off the boat and would be more than willing to answer them for you.
I just returned from the Cay Sal Bank trip on the Nekton Rorqual less than 24 hours ago. Here are my thoughts on your question...
Cay Sal is NOT difficult diving by any stretch of the imagination. The crew of the Nekton have a safety system in place for diving that is very good. What your daughter is getting into is probably one of the better ways to get experience. Now let me explain...
The Nekton boat leaves out of Ft. Lauderdale and dives a very shallow reef system the next morning...its meant to shake out the cobwebs for those that have them, and allows the crew to see who is comfortable with diving and which divers might need some closer watching. Your daughter and her father should probably say they have zip for experience when they arrive, but the crew will figure it out very quickly so don't worry too much abou that.
They then move to several blue holes that yes...do start around 60 feet, but in reality you spend VERY little time on the wall itself unless you have a reason to be there, and most people stay around the rim...these are well within the bounds of the OW certifications. There is a tremendous amount to see there...from eels, to sharks to rays to coral. I am not sure why the other poster didn't see much, but we had a tremendous amount of life on the holes.
The Nekton boats were designed for diving. Here is how it works.
You get your briefing on the dive site and then go down to the dive deck. There are 2 dive masters on the platform helping the divers at all times. There is a motorized skiff floating behind the boat whenever the dive deck is open in case they need to give someone a tow back to the boat. In addition to the dive deck, there is at least one dedicated bubble watcher up on the sun deck. Their sole job is to watch to make sure no one is getting too far away from the boat. The best part of the Nekton boats is that you can ALWAYS ask for a divemaster to go on the dive with you. They practically BEG you to take them with you because they get to DIVE! Your family should ask for one...its NOT a burden on them. Trust me.
They offer other certification classes on the boat, but since there is very little experience with diving, I would suggest they just ask for a DM to accompany them on their dives.
When the dive deck closes and the boat goes to move, there are several checks to ensure no one is left behind. I never heard the 2 DMs on the platform NOT know exactly who was in the water. In addition to them, there is a large sighout board on the way down the stairs that you sign out on with your name and time out of the water. You sign back on board when you get back and put your max depth down also so that they can keep track of what you are doing. Our captain walked to the back of the boat prior to starting up the engines, and verified that every tank was back in the racks below. Its a very simple check to verify that everyone is back on the boat.
The whole concept of scuba may sound a bit dangerous, but rest assured that on the Nekton they will be in good hands.
BTW...our boat had to young teenager girls on it. One was the daughter of one of the Nekton boat captains who was overseeing the training of some of the newer crew...the other young lady was born in Hong Kong. Were either of them yours? I know for a fact, they had a blast and got to experience and see stuff that most people cannot even imagine doing even when they watch it on TV.
Hope this helps alleviate some of your concerns...If you have ANY questions, just ask here or PM me. I just got off the boat and would be more than willing to answer them for you.
chazbrown3
Guest
Sorry that you didn't have a god time in Cay Sal Marc. But I find that the walls and the reefs in Cay Sal are the most beautiful Dives I have ever been on. Of course most of the dives I've been on in Cay Sal are 60+ft. As far as the age thing with depth and all of the strong opinions about PADI says this and SSI says this as a max depth... Age has nothing to do with how deep you should to go. The only thing I consider when thinking about depth is comfort level in the water and the comfort of my buddy. (of course comfort comes from experiance) I have been diving since i was 12 and was making wall dives in Cay Sal when I was 14. I think that anyone who has made 20+ open water dives should be fine in depths around 80-100ft regardless of age, as long as there is a trusted buddy nearby. (especially for the first time at a new depth)
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