Shore diving information...

[lardo5150]

Never done shore diving before, so I am looking for some information.

I am staying at the BlueAngel (march 29 through april 2nd) I get unlimited shore dives.

Couple of quesitons...

What are the rules for shore diving? I am doing this trip by myself and wont have a dedicated buddy. How deep are the shore dives? Can you do these by yourself if the depth is like 30 feet or so? (Dont bash me, I really dont know).
No big deal if not, I will just snorkel on my down time or hitch a ride to the beach on the other side and snorkel. Either way, I will find a way to look at some marine life

 

[ggunn]

Never done shore diving before, so I am looking for some information.

I am staying at the BlueAngel (march 29 through april 2nd) I get unlimited shore dives.

Couple of quesitons...

What are the rules for shore diving? I am doing this trip by myself and wont have a dedicated buddy. How deep are the shore dives? Can you do these by yourself if the depth is like 30 feet or so? (Dont bash me, I really dont know).
No big deal if not, I will just snorkel on my down time or hitch a ride to the beach on the other side and snorkel. Either way, I will find a way to look at some marine life

I never recommend diving without a buddy, but AFAIK the folks at Blue Angel won't refuse you a tank if you are by yourself. You probably won't have a problem finding someone to go out with you, though, if you just ask around the dive shop in the afternoon.

From BA, you could dive pretty deep on a shore dive by swimming out to the wall, but most folks don't do that. I have a couple of times; it's a pretty long swim and there's nothing much to see on the way out, and then there's the current and all the boat traffic overhead to think about. Most folks just tool around the small coral heads about halfway to Villablanca in 15-25 feet of water. In either case, make sure you have a safety sausage that you can send up ahead of you if you have to come up out there.

The "wild side" of the island is generally not a very good place to snorkel since there's usually a lot of wave action.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[lardo5150]

Cool, thanks. If it is only 15 to 25, I will just snorkel and dive down to snap some pictures.
I did that in Cabo and it was just fine.

 

[geokr]

And make sure you let someone know you're out there and where and when you're coming back.

 

[rainmaker]

I love diving on that little reef between Blue Angel and Villablanca. If you stay on/near the reef, your maximum depth will be about 20 feet, viz normally ranges from 60 - 100 feet. Water temp in Feb. was 79 - 80, and current usually runs south to north (from Villablanca toward Blue Angel). There's a few coral heads, but a lot of it is rock and rubble. However, there's lots to see, if you slow down and appreciate the little stuff. I've dived solo there for the last 3 years (though I'm not recommending that you or anyone else dive solo there, or anywhere else).

I shot this video entirely between Villablanca and Blue Angel in February 2009:

[c][/c]

 

[Hemlon]

Nice video!

 

[lardo5150]

Rainmaker....
WOW. Nice video. You know what is funny, I have never dove the Caribbean. I am excited just to see that stuff along the shore, I have a feeling I am going to be blown away on the normal dives.

Questions. What is that net at the end?

Does anyone have a map of the shore line there? I am not really sure where the reef is that rainmaker is talking about.

Man, I cant wait for March 29th.

 

[rainmaker]

Rainmaker....
WOW. Nice video. You know what is funny, I have never dove the Caribbean. I am excited just to see that stuff along the shore, I have a feeling I am going to be blown away on the normal dives.

Questions. What is that net at the end?

Does anyone have a map of the shore line there? I am not really sure where the reef is that rainmaker is talking about.

Man, I cant wait for March 29th.

The reef is between Blue Angel Resort (formerly Caribe Blu Hotel) and Villablanca Hotel. If you are staying at Blue Angel Resort, the reef is practically at your front door. I've seen a map of this area somewhere on-line, perhaps at the website of Blue Angel.

The net at the end of the video is the north side of the sting-ray pen (commercial swim-with-the-rays operation) next door to Blue Angel Resort.

 

[ScubaTony]

That is a great video! REally enjoyed it. It is true. We often don't slow down to really look at all the life. That area was much richer before Wilma but is coming back nicely. Villa blanca also has come around in the last couple years. Super easy shore dive as long as the current is not running too strong. I have often done it as s drift shore dive if the current is strong. Just walk up the road and enter where you want. The whole stretch from casa del mar to scubaclub is like that. There are lots of entry and exit points along the way. Remember your safety buoy should be up all the time as there is a fair bit of boat traffic in the area. Great as a night dive too.

 

[lardo5150]

Anyone have a detailed map of this area like Rainmaker mentioned?
Just curious, may be helpful if I decide to walk up to villa blanca, walk in and ride the current back to CB.