Is this Doable?? A Turks Dive Question:

[JoeU]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have a quick question, but first some background.

 

I will be on the Miracle in Grand Turk in June, and wanted to go diving. I am a freshly minted PADI OW diver, and have just 2 dives under my belt (really cold water, Jamestown RI to 25ft and Stonington, CT 10ft night dive). I might be able to get 1-2 more dives in before the trip due to ACL reconstruction 2 weeks ago. I am very comfortable diving for sure but I have a long way to go experience-wise. My DW on the other hand, got as far as the pool and 1 open water dive, and decided it was not for her. She has also done 2 discover dives.

 

We planned to dive together on this trip before she quit the course. She is open to doing a discover dive in Turk, but I was hoping for so much more. We will be in Turk from 7am to 3pm that day.

 

Is it possible to do a discover dive with her first, then go back out and do a 2nd dive a little deeper without her? Will we have enough time to do this and get back on the boat? I would probably book this through a dive company instead of the ship so can anyone also recommend a company in Turk?

 

Thanks

 

Joe

[scubaran]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have a quick question, but first some background.

 

I will be on the Miracle in Grand Turk in June, and wanted to go diving. I am a freshly minted PADI OW diver, and have just 2 dives under my belt (really cold water, Jamestown RI to 25ft and Stonington, CT 10ft night dive). I might be able to get 1-2 more dives in before the trip due to ACL reconstruction 2 weeks ago. I am very comfortable diving for sure but I have a long way to go experience-wise. My DW on the other hand, got as far as the pool and 1 open water dive, and decided it was not for her. She has also done 2 discover dives.

 

We planned to dive together on this trip before she quit the course. She is open to doing a discover dive in Turk, but I was hoping for so much more. We will be in Turk from 7am to 3pm that day.

 

Is it possible to do a discover dive with her first, then go back out and do a 2nd dive a little deeper without her? Will we have enough time to do this and get back on the boat? I would probably book this through a dive company instead of the ship so can anyone also recommend a company in Turk?

 

Thanks

 

Joe

 

Hi,

 

With that little time you'll be lucky to get in just a two tank dive. I recommend Blue Water divers (www.grandturkscuba.com). I'm on the same itinerary in Feb. and they said their two tank dive is from 9:00-12:30. With equipment breakdown and taxi back that's a comfortable time schedule but no slack time.

 

With a discover scuba you have to do basic training (regardless of past experience or failed certification) which is about the same amount of time as would be your first dive so the actual discover dive takes place the equivilent of your second dive.

 

So the options you have, take the discover scuba dive with your wife, or let her do a discover scuba (or something else on her own) and you do a two-tank dive without her.

 

Randall

BTW, Blue Water is excellent with beginning divers and GT is a great place to scuba dive (this will be my fourth trip there).

[RedHeadTexan]

Randall, you are absolutely right about Blue Water being great with new divers. Grand Turk was my first dive destination after getting OW certified and they were fantastic with me. They made sure I was setting up my gear correctly, weighted me perfectly, and one of the dive masters stayed with me during the dives. I couldn't ask for better service, and gave them a really nice tip for all the help.

 

JoeU, if this were me and my DH...I would suggest that we do separate excursions at Grand Turk. I think you would find discover scuba rather boring after getting certified.

[tombo]

Another vote for Blue Water Divers. I haven't been there in a few years, but they always used to do morning trips where you'd do a first dive, then return to the dock to change tanks, then go out for a second dive. This might fit your scenario and you could go by yourself on the second dive. You could probably arrange for Mitch (owner) or someone to meet you at the pier. I'd bet that there'll be others from your cruise who are also doing their own thing.

[mcw331]

Again Blue Waters Divers.

 

We just dove with them again this past October. As usual they did a great job.

 

There may be another option for you. With them you would usually do a deeper wall dive first then a shallower reef/wall dive second. Their wall dives start out in a flat sandy area about 35-50 ft under the boat which is moored. Then you swim out to the wall which less than 100 yards away guided by the divemaster.

 

One possibility is for you to see if they would let you pay extra for a second divemaster. Then on the first dive have the second dive master do the basics with your wife on the shallows under the boat while the other divemaster takes you out to the wall. Then you can dive with her on the second shallower dive.

[scubaran]

One possibility is for you to see if they would let you pay extra for a second divemaster. Then on the first dive have the second dive master do the basics with your wife on the shallows under the boat while the other divemaster takes you out to the wall.

 

According to Blue Water Diver's website they do the "resort course (same as a discover dive)" checkout training in 5-7ft. of water. Most operators usually do checkouts shallow in case of diver panic, etc. On the reef the boat anchors in about 20ft. water. This is probably too deep for training.

 

Joe, as a new diver beware of trying to make "square peg in round hole" plans. :) I never recommend stretching a plan for convienence. I stand behind my two recommendations. BTW, the last three times I went out with Mitch at Blue Water we took everything we needed for two dives and didn't return to shore between them.

 

Randall

[NeurosurgeryNP]

DH and I were in GT before he got certified. We booked through the ship, due to our VERY limited time in port that day. I got on the certified boat and DH on the Discover boat. No regrets from either of us. Although he went shallow, he saw a lot of marine life and coral there and was very satisfied with his experience. That gave him the incentive to get certified, and we were able to go together on dives during our last cruise in October. I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to go wall diving in GT, so that you can be with your wife. Way to much to see on the deeper dives, IMO.

[JoeU]

Thanks for the responses. I am going to e-mail Mitch and see if we could possibly do 1 dive while the DW is doing her skills, and make her dive my second dive. But the Mrs is cool with me going on a 2-tank dive while she does something with the kids (we have grandparents on both sides going on this cruise, so babysitting is not an issue).

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

Joe

[kwfl]

Hey,

Just a few questions about your wife's experience: Did she complete all her coursework and pool sessions before starting (and quitting) her open water dives? When she did the Discover courses before, did she also do the open water dives?

And I'm assuming you have more than the two open water dives you mentioned, ie the 4-5 open water dives required for the certification...;)

Did you two do your training OW dives in CT?

As an Instructor, I don't like seeing people give up!! I know if I had been trained in the cold, murky quarries I hear about up north, I would NEVER have started diving.:p

If your wife completed her coursework and pool sessions less than 1 year from your cruise date, she can get a referral form from your dive shop for the remainder of her OW dives, which could theoretically all get finished during your cruise. Maybe she won't ever be into it as much as you are, but it sounds like she successfully completed more than 1 resort/discover scuba course and therefore has already overcome every new diver's least favorite skill- mask clearing! :eek:

If she took a PADI course and she completed half the pool sessions, half the book and one OW dive, she can get the referral and only has to complete the second OW dive. She can then get a "half-certification"- PADI SCUBA Diver. This cert is good forever, but she must dive with an Instructor. Always. Or until she decides to complete the course!:)

Just some ideas for you... Hope you enjoy GT!

[Dive Girl]

I just wanted to say thank you for the "tips" about Blue Water Divers. I'm checking them out for a group trip next year, and a "cruise dive" in October. I'm scouting on my upcoming cruise!

[JoeU]

Hey,

Just a few questions about your wife's experience: Did she complete all her coursework and pool sessions before starting (and quitting) her open water dives? When she did the Discover courses before, did she also do the open water dives?

And I'm assuming you have more than the two open water dives you mentioned, ie the 4-5 open water dives required for the certification...;)

Did you two do your training OW dives in CT?

As an Instructor, I don't like seeing people give up!! I know if I had been trained in the cold, murky quarries I hear about up north, I would NEVER have started diving.:p

If your wife completed her coursework and pool sessions less than 1 year from your cruise date, she can get a referral form from your dive shop for the remainder of her OW dives, which could theoretically all get finished during your cruise. Maybe she won't ever be into it as much as you are, but it sounds like she successfully completed more than 1 resort/discover scuba course and therefore has already overcome every new diver's least favorite skill- mask clearing! :eek:

If she took a PADI course and she completed half the pool sessions, half the book and one OW dive, she can get the referral and only has to complete the second OW dive. She can then get a "half-certification"- PADI SCUBA Diver. This cert is good forever, but she must dive with an Instructor. Always. Or until she decides to complete the course!:)

Just some ideas for you... Hope you enjoy GT!

 

Hi kwfl

 

Thanks for the info. I wanted to answer some of your questions. In the end, I think my DW owes it to herself and her dive instructor to talk this over and see if she would benefit from going further. I'd hate to see her end it here. She was put off on the diving up here. Too cold and poor visibility for her (15ft ish). If she can complete the "half cert" then she can dive with the dive instructor anytime we go south. As far as diving up here, she has no interest. But I continue to dive with the folks from the dive shop, including the instructors there, so we wouldn't have a problem with that up here.

 

She did the 2 discover courses in Manzanillo and Cozumel before starting the OW course, and she did ok with these. I must say, knowing what I know now and what we did then, they really don't make us demonstrate much.

 

She has completed all of her book/classroom work, and almost all of her pool work. The only task she hasn't completed in the pool was the mask removal/swim/mask replacement and clear task. She got as far as the removal and swim, but began to panic when it came to replacing the mask. She didn't bolt to the surface though. She signaled to the instructor that she wanted to go up and they both went up slowly. As for the open water, she only has the first dive complete. This was the equivalent to the previous discover dives she's completed.

 

I still haven't gotten around to e-mailing Mitch about doing a 2 tank and making my 2nd dive her discover dive. We are also currently booked to go to Puerto Rico in March, and were considering completing her dives there.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

Joe

[kwfl]

Hey!

I meet a lot of people turned off by diving up north!! Some of us Instructors could even be called "fair-weather divers"...;)

Perhaps she could finish her poolwork before leaving...

One "trick" I let my students use is to hold their nose while doing the no-mask swim. Hell, the buddy's doing all the work dragging you around...:D

Some instructors highly discourage this. Why? We always tell divers in an emergency situation to: Stop, Think, Breathe, then Act. If you're worried about inhaling water, you can't take the time to Stop and Think, or visualize what you will do to solve your problem. Hold your nose. Remain calm. Breathe. And when your buddy taps your arm, put your mask back on, the same way you did when you completed the skill when you were stationary. If it were a real life scenario, wouldn't you use all tools at your disposal? Wouldn't you hold your nose if you felt the urge to breathe through it?

As far as training, in Mexico they are reknowned for not adhering to dive training standards. They have no fear of a lawsuit and it does not keep them honest. I regularly have students telling me they went to 90+ feet on Discover Scuba dives in Coz. The limit, absolutely, is 40ft. Students must effectively demonstrate: regulator clearing, reg recovery, mask clearing, mask removal, alternate air source breathing, SPG monitoring and any other tasks the Instructor sees fit due to the area. They are not required to practice any of these skills in the open water portion of their training.

The level of training is different in some spots, but overall, and especially Mitch in GT, the training is equivalent to what you get even in the north. Keep in mind, that the Instructors in the Caribbean work this as a full time job and conduct many, many, many courses throughout the year, not just weekends. We are very sensitive to new divers and their fears/limitations because we deal with them daily!

We are more likely to make sure that you can clear your mask with a partial flood than swim without one. We are more likely to show you how to get off and even more importantly on a boat safely than how to do a fin pivot repeatedly. We want you to make proper ascents and descents more than we want you to perform the snorkel-regulator exchange. We work on boats everyday and we see the problems/shortcomings of the common diver and most of us try to eliminate those bad habits. For every time your Instructor heard the fingernails on the chalkboard when someone put a mask on his forehead, we wish that all divers were trained on a proper boat entry and especially exit, was comfortable clearing a mask with a slow leak (most common scuba problem), navigation (barely covered in most classes), and could properly descend/ascend without scaring the sh*t out of us.:confused:

Just trying to say, don't give up on us down here because we're laid back and focus on different priorities than they do up north. And if your wife doesn't want to give up, she shouldn't either. She has already been diving! 3x!! I talk to hardcore divers all the time from up north- I agree, it takes a certain type- I love diving too, but because it's pretty, pleasant, relaxing and at times, but I'm not hardcore like the ice-divers are!!!! We see so many people make the minimum requirements to complete a Discover course daily that we know anyone can truly learn to do it in the right conditions!!

I taught an 82 yr old woman to dive about 2 years ago, she got to go with her daughter and granddaughter!!! I doubt she would have made it in the cold murky water up north, but she had the time of her life down here! I'd love to hear what your wife ends up doing... and if you're everin KW, come diving with me!

[thecarnivalkid]

Just did a 2 tank in Grand Turk last week with gtdiving and was happy with their laid back relaxed approach. Mental state is a big part of not screwing up and only my party of 3 was with Al that day with 2 snorkel bodies as well on a small back roll off the side 20 foot or so boat.

 

Plenty of time to check out the beach and Margaritaville (around an hour and a half for us) before heading back to the ship and we were an early departure of 230pm on the Destiny.