Good Diving in Barbados?

[gmcrow]

Anybody had a good dive in Barbados? We were there last year and were not impressed with the safety of the operation or the quality of the dive. A Feb 08 post mentioned 2ports was trying The Dive Shop. If you are out there 2ports, let us know how that went. We're on Constellation in December.

[travelbugs]

We went through John and Mary Moore and they used The Dive shop ltd. I don't know if they actually own this shop or if they have some sort of deal going with them. The people were very nice, dive sight was decent. Wrecks on the first ( with a great little Frog Fish planted there), second was more open water (lots of turtles and rays).

Okay, now the down side... The equipment was in desperate need of repair. Couldn't read my gauge (only one left that fit), air bubbles were coming from everyones equipment ( gauges, fittings) not sure if they've heard of O rings. It cut in to our bottom time pretty bad. You carry your own tanks to and from the boat. On the way back to the ship I started getting a headache and feeling nauseated. Apparently I yelled at a kid who pushed the elevator button for 1 floor ( I really don't remember doing that, I like kids). I was not dehydrated, so my only assumption was I got bad air. Luckily my husband is a paramedic, so he could've started a line on me if I needed it. I have since learned to take, or wear, a white t-shirt. Before you hook up to your tank, put your t-shirt up to it and shoot some tank air on to it. If it's yellow, there's oil in the tank, orange or brown and it's rust. I was fine to go diving in St. Thomas the next day!

Hopefully the equipment was so bad that it has been replaced since May. I hope you have a safe and wonderful experience!! ~Travelbugs

[scubadiver888]

We went through John and Mary Moore and they used The Dive shop ltd. I don't know if they actually own this shop or if they have some sort of deal going with them. The people were very nice, dive sight was decent. Wrecks on the first ( with a great little Frog Fish planted there), second was more open water (lots of turtles and rays).

Okay, now the down side... The equipment was in desperate need of repair. Couldn't read my gauge (only one left that fit), air bubbles were coming from everyones equipment ( gauges, fittings) not sure if they've heard of O rings. It cut in to our bottom time pretty bad. You carry your own tanks to and from the boat. On the way back to the ship I started getting a headache and feeling nauseated. Apparently I yelled at a kid who pushed the elevator button for 1 floor ( I really don't remember doing that, I like kids). I was not dehydrated, so my only assumption was I got bad air. Luckily my husband is a paramedic, so he could've started a line on me if I needed it. I have since learned to take, or wear, a white t-shirt. Before you hook up to your tank, put your t-shirt up to it and shoot some tank air on to it. If it's yellow, there's oil in the tank, orange or brown and it's rust. I was fine to go diving in St. Thomas the next day!

Hopefully the equipment was so bad that it has been replaced since May. I hope you have a safe and wonderful experience!! ~Travelbugs

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience in Barbados. I like the tip for checking the quality of the air in the tank. I used to just poke around the shop and have a look at the condition of the compressor. This wasn't always possible but so far I've never got bad air.

 

Sound like you had the opposite experience from me. The dive shop I used had good equipment and they carried the tanks to and from the boat but the underwater experience was pretty poor. Bad viz, not a lot of marine life and no wrecks. They took us to some reef that started at 60' and dropped off on either side. There didn't seem to be a lot there except current.

 

The dive operator did have a weird set up. Here is the layout, starting from the north going down the coast, the dive operator, a hotel and a fast food restaurant. The shore line was all rocks and the surf was washing right up against the rocks. The boat was tied to the fast food restaurant parking lot. You had to either go out to the road (no sidewalk) and walk over to the restaurant or walk through the surf over sharp rocks. We were discouraged from cutting through the hotel property. There was no pier so you had to wade out in chest deep water, holding your gear above your head (I always bring a towel and a dry shirt). They didn't want to put the ladder down in case the boat drifted into shore. You had to pay for a locker if you wanted to leave anything behind at the dive shop.

 

The name of the dive shop was Westside Scuba. Oddly enough, I dove with them once, was not impressed but forgot the name. Asked around for the name of a good dive shop. Everyone recommended Westside Scuba so I dove with them a second time.

 

Next trip I'm flying into Barbados. Won't have time to dive when I get there and cannot dive before flying on the way home. So no diving Barbados this April. I am going to see if I can do a little research while I'm there.

[travelbugs]

It was a learning experience. Our kids ( 13 & 14) were also diving with us, so it was better that I got the bad air than them, but they also learned to double check their gear and air. Too bad you won't have the opportunity to dive while there. I would do it again, just a little bit differently. We can also relate to having to hold your gear over your head while wading out to the boat!~bugs

[scubadiver888]

It was a learning experience. Our kids ( 13 & 14) were also diving with us, so it was better that I got the bad air than them, but they also learned to double check their gear and air. Too bad you won't have the opportunity to dive while there. I would do it again, just a little bit differently. We can also relate to having to hold your gear over your head while wading out to the boat!~bugs

 

Barbados isn't, technically, in the Caribbean. Because it is out in the Atlantic Ocean, the diving there isn't as nice as some of the other islands. I'll be doing a 14 day cruise starting and ending in Barbados. I picked the cruise because I can get something like 20 dives in 11 ports. :D

 

So I'm not too disappointed I won't be diving in Barbados.

[travelbugs]

Ok, now I'm officially jealous!!!!!

Be safe! ~Bugs

[gmcrow]

Our bad experience was with Westside. That whole set up of wading through dangerously rough surf might have been worth it if the diving had been good, but poor vis, few fish, and a reef in bad condition made the whole thing a bust. Hate to hear about the bad air from The Dive Shop.