Size of Dive Ops in Bahamas?

[jmyersfam]

We're planning a trip to Nassau in March and have seen reports on Stuart Cove and some others. Are all these dive shops "cattle boats," or are there some small operators?

Thanks,

 

[uwhooligan]

Couple of weeks ago I had to be in Nassau on business so I took my gear and was able to book a spot on the DiveDiveDive boat for a couple mornings out of Coral Harbour (they got 1-800 number from their web sight www.divedivedive.com ) . We only had 6 divers first day and 5 the next and I buddied off with the DM that day. The boat is easily big enuff to hold 10 but they said was a bit of slow time. Covered five shipwrecks of various stature in 4 dives. Nothing crazy, they like to call it 'tourist diving' but once led the basic route we had fair amount of leeway at each wreck, saw some pretty fish etc on the wall and caught site of a reef shark too. They help you with your gear off and on the boat, in fact they insist on that point. We had all guys from northern USA states, and myself (a Canuck), and the Captain n DM so was fairly informal on the boat language wise . The captain Tony has a well rounded local knowldge of the islands so was worth tapping his head for info. While at depth on the Caribe Breeze i looked up to see a herd of snorklers about 50 feet above me and they were from Stuart Cove but they didnt get quite as deep as we did ... at the time I reckoned they looked more like seals than we did ... Anyways over all i had great time doing some cool dives in a manner typical of the bahamas, ie laid back
cheers

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Couple of weeks ago I had to be in Nassau on business so I took my gear and was able to book a spot on the DiveDiveDive boat for a couple mornings out of Coral Harbour (they got 1-800 number from their web sight www.divedivedive.com ) . We only had 6 divers first day and 5 the next and I buddied off with the DM that day. The boat is easily big enuff to hold 10 but they said was a bit of slow time. Covered five shipwrecks of various stature in 4 dives. Nothing crazy, they like to call it 'tourist diving' but once led the basic route we had fair amount of leeway at each wreck, saw some pretty fish etc on the wall and caught site of a reef shark too. They help you with your gear off and on the boat, in fact they insist on that point. We had all guys from northern USA states, and myself (a Canuck), and the Captain n DM so was fairly informal on the boat language wise . The captain Tony has a well rounded local knowldge of the islands so was worth tapping his head for info. While at depth on the Caribe Breeze i looked up to see a herd of snorklers about 50 feet above me and they were from Stuart Cove but they didnt get quite as deep as we did ... at the time I reckoned they looked more like seals than we did ... Anyways over all i had great time doing some cool dives in a manner typical of the bahamas, ie laid back
cheers

Welcome to Scubaboard!

 

[jdf]

My husband and I dove with Stuart Cove's over this past Christmas. We found it a very professional operation. Although they have alot of tourist people for the submarines and snorkeling, they were very good to us regular scuba divers. We dove with them for 2 days of 4 dives each day and they made sure we did not repeat a dive site. The best time to go is during the week--there are less tourist people. Their facilities are first rate and very quaint since it was the film location for the newest movie version of Flipper. Their staff was very nice and fun. Once they determine your experience level, they let you dive on your own or have a guide if you want one. Our only complaint was there was not much available for lunch. Your only choices are premade sandwiches and bags of chips and there are no local eating places nearby so I suggest you bring your own. The diving was wonderful, with visability 120ft plus and the sites were very diverse, from beautiful walls to 007 film locations. Their bus picked us up from the hotel on Cable Beach each morning and dropped us off each evening which was very convenient. We are looking forward to diving with them again this summer.

 

[uwhooligan]

Thanks Tim
Longtime lurker , I browse this board for info for a while and never had anything to add till now, thou I know quite a few of the posters personally from the Ontario Fresh Water Freaks section.
I also dove the 007 wrecks and while we were there, they were preparing an old DC3 for sinking as a movie set for an upcoming movie called 'Into the Blue' about some florida scuba/treasure hunters, so within a few weeks that will be a new divesite. From what I gathered the 'local' complaints about the SC's operation was they, in partnership with the bahamian govt, tended to set up movie sets with little thought to the damage they caused to the reefwall. Apparently the bahamian govt sees the colour of money and worries little about what it cant see under the ocean and from what I know as a former resident (and current homeowner ) of Nassau that doesnt surprise me...