ManBearPig
Contributor
Dove with two dive ops this weekend here in Nassau and had dramatically different experiences.
Friday, dove with Stuart Cove's for 2 tanks in the AM, and 2 in PM for the Shark feed. This day was great. Everyone there was knowledgeable and experienced, gave good briefings, the dive boats were in good repair (if not a bit smokey, but not horribly so) and had a great attitude. This operation was a well oiled machine. While the boat did fell a bit crowded, it was not overwhelmingly so. I HIGHLY recommend the shark feed. I know there are people who do not agree with doing this, but SC has been doing it for years, and is one of the few places where I think it is ok.
The next day we dove with Bahama Divers. To say we were unimpressed is an understatement. Started with the shuttle driver who had watched Tokyo Drift one too many times. We get to the shop, and are the first ones there and when told, put our gear on the boat. Then more people start coming. and coming. and coming. I had to look to see if the dive shop was actually a clown car. Given the way the boat was laid out, only about 1/2 of the tank racks were easily usable, so everyone crowed up forward, and started taking tanks between two folks already set up ie, a person on each tank on the rack. It was the most crowded I have ever seen a dive boat in 19 years of diving.
While underway, the DM briefs us on the dive we will be doing, the Blue Hole. The weather was kicking up and while the DM was trying to convey to people not to get panicky on the surface, the result was the opposite. Also he held the briefing up on the flybridge, which was taking on a lot of spray, so we all got drenched before we even got in the water.
In the interim, I realized that I had left my computer in the hotel, and did not have my tables with me either. I asked for a copy of tables to plan my dive, and was told not to worry, we do this all the time. While it is completely my fault for forgetting my computer, to have a dive boat without a set of tables seems to me to be pretty irresponsible.
When it came to jump in, I come to realize, there is nothing to hold onto for the last 8' of the vessel. No hand rails, no overhead, no nothing. With full tanks and weight and having doned fins already as there is no other place to put them on, this was really dangerous. Yes the crew steadied people but this just seems pretty bush league.
During the dive briefing, the DM stated several times that the open water cert people should stay at 60 and the advanced people (less than 10% of the group) could go down to 90. Well when he jumps in, he proptly goes down to 90, and all of the OW cert people follow him. Seems if you want the majority of the people you are leading to stay at 60, maybe you should not go past 60 yourself.
The lack of hand rails on the boat became an even bigger issue when trying to get out of the water. There was only one ladder, and it only had a hand rail on one side. Ergo you could not really pull yourself up very well as you could only use one hand. As the stern was moving about 4' vertically, this made getting on the boat very awkward, and dangerous.
While the DM and frankly all the people at Bahama Divers were very nice, the execution and operation of the outfit was horrible. This was the worst dive operation I have ever dove with, and I would certainly suggest people keep their distance. Yes they are the only ones that do the Blue Hole to my knowlege, but that dive was not worth dealing with this poor operation.
Also, stayed at the Sheraton as we have previously, and not sure why, but the service was really, really bad. The time before it was just fine, but for some reason, everyone seemed to give exactly 0 ****s about the job they were doing this time.
Friday, dove with Stuart Cove's for 2 tanks in the AM, and 2 in PM for the Shark feed. This day was great. Everyone there was knowledgeable and experienced, gave good briefings, the dive boats were in good repair (if not a bit smokey, but not horribly so) and had a great attitude. This operation was a well oiled machine. While the boat did fell a bit crowded, it was not overwhelmingly so. I HIGHLY recommend the shark feed. I know there are people who do not agree with doing this, but SC has been doing it for years, and is one of the few places where I think it is ok.
The next day we dove with Bahama Divers. To say we were unimpressed is an understatement. Started with the shuttle driver who had watched Tokyo Drift one too many times. We get to the shop, and are the first ones there and when told, put our gear on the boat. Then more people start coming. and coming. and coming. I had to look to see if the dive shop was actually a clown car. Given the way the boat was laid out, only about 1/2 of the tank racks were easily usable, so everyone crowed up forward, and started taking tanks between two folks already set up ie, a person on each tank on the rack. It was the most crowded I have ever seen a dive boat in 19 years of diving.
While underway, the DM briefs us on the dive we will be doing, the Blue Hole. The weather was kicking up and while the DM was trying to convey to people not to get panicky on the surface, the result was the opposite. Also he held the briefing up on the flybridge, which was taking on a lot of spray, so we all got drenched before we even got in the water.
In the interim, I realized that I had left my computer in the hotel, and did not have my tables with me either. I asked for a copy of tables to plan my dive, and was told not to worry, we do this all the time. While it is completely my fault for forgetting my computer, to have a dive boat without a set of tables seems to me to be pretty irresponsible.
When it came to jump in, I come to realize, there is nothing to hold onto for the last 8' of the vessel. No hand rails, no overhead, no nothing. With full tanks and weight and having doned fins already as there is no other place to put them on, this was really dangerous. Yes the crew steadied people but this just seems pretty bush league.
During the dive briefing, the DM stated several times that the open water cert people should stay at 60 and the advanced people (less than 10% of the group) could go down to 90. Well when he jumps in, he proptly goes down to 90, and all of the OW cert people follow him. Seems if you want the majority of the people you are leading to stay at 60, maybe you should not go past 60 yourself.
The lack of hand rails on the boat became an even bigger issue when trying to get out of the water. There was only one ladder, and it only had a hand rail on one side. Ergo you could not really pull yourself up very well as you could only use one hand. As the stern was moving about 4' vertically, this made getting on the boat very awkward, and dangerous.
While the DM and frankly all the people at Bahama Divers were very nice, the execution and operation of the outfit was horrible. This was the worst dive operation I have ever dove with, and I would certainly suggest people keep their distance. Yes they are the only ones that do the Blue Hole to my knowlege, but that dive was not worth dealing with this poor operation.
Also, stayed at the Sheraton as we have previously, and not sure why, but the service was really, really bad. The time before it was just fine, but for some reason, everyone seemed to give exactly 0 ****s about the job they were doing this time.
