Diving in Aruba?!

[monkeyboy]

I'll be going to Aruba (yeah!) for a week in june into july

. I've never been diving, or snorkeling for that matter before, and I don't want to miss out on a chance to check out the reefs, because other than the glass box that i keep in my house i've never seen a real reef. So what's the deal? Has any of you been diving in Aruba? If so what did you think about it? It's the carribbean so I know what to expect, I really can't wait to go!

About certification, how long does this usually take? I'd like to do some snorkeling but I really want to dive. Although I blew the majority of my money on this tank, can anyone point me to a reasonably good underwater camera? I assume the disposable ones are junk, TIA.

 

[tdrhodes]

Most hotels and resorts offer a cert. that will get you in the water. It will not enable you to rent equip., But this may be a good start. If you can find the time get your PADI or NAUI card. I would check the websites for class info....Do all you class work and pool work this winter then Do your check off dive when the water warms up!
Also I know people that do there check off at their vacation desination. Most of the Islands have schools that you can set those up with.....
Rhodes

 

[MattM]

For snorkling, make sure you hit De Palm Island. It's owned by a tour company and they will take you out there on a boat, lend you snokeling gear, and feed you lunch for one price. It's about the best reef area that's close to shore on the south side of the island. There are many boat operators along "hotel row" that will take you out to snorkling or diving spots along the south shore, but none of them are nearly as nice as De Palm Island, IMO.

The most pristine reefs in the area are on the north side, but the constant onshore wind and very rough seas on the north makes it an expert-diver-only adventure (and even a few experts die there every year).

[ February 09, 2002: Message edited by: MattM ]</p>

 

[monkeyboy]

Thanks for the replies!

MattM: I'll definitely check out De Palm Island, sounds great!

I found a dive shop today nearby and will i'll be taking classes either in a month from now or in March or May.

What about taking pictures? From what I read it is hard to get good shots w/ an underwater camera, and this would be my first time. Think I can rent one down there?

 

[Mike and Donna]

You've made the right decision on certification...get the classroom and poolwork done ahead of time. And, be sure you get a referral slip and arrange ahead of time with the resort to schedule checkout dives. No sense wasting time when you get there looking for an instructor to do the checkouts.

Regarding underwater photography, I would urge you not to try it as a new diver. Task loading is a common source of problems for the new diver. You don't need to add to the challenges of diving right out of the box. In addition, you are likely to still be working on proper buoyance control when you first start diving. Chances are if you are concentrating on getting a good photograph, you will either drift down and damage the coral with a fin or dangling equipment...or worse, begin an uncontrolled accent and embolize or take a DCS hit (aka bends.)

Once you get some dives under your belt, then try renting a GOOD u/w camera. The trick to successful u/w photography is being very close to your subject to avoid as much turbidity as possible (that's why wide angles and macro/close-ups are favored.) Also, a strobe is mandatory since the color is filtered out as you go deeper.
I shoot a Nikonos V with an Ikelite 400 strobe, Nikonos 20mm and 35mm lenses with close-up attachments. The results can be spectacular.

As a newly certified diver, just enjoy the scenery and the environment. There will be plenty of time to take photos later.

Have fun!!

(We're going to Grand Cayman in a few weeks ourselve...yes, both with cameras.)

 

[Michelle50]

I would suggest that you get certified before going. It saves alot of time. I went to the Florida Keys this past summer and my husband and I wanted to go diving but it was going to take about 2 days (I think I remember right) to get certified. We didn't want to give up two days of our trip for it, so we just decided on the snorkeling. They put snorkelers, already cert. divers and the training divers on one boat. When we got to the dive spot they let the divers that were already cert. go and the snorkelers go. The others that were learning had to stay behind for lessons. And trust me when you get there you want to get in. You should most definately get cert. before you go. If you can find a shop near you that does it. Also, it's not a cheap hobby in the beggining. The place I went to let people rent equipment. My husband and I are going to get cert. before we go on our next trip. I wanted to be down there with those divers really bad, and not at the surface of the water.

 

[monkeyboy]

Thanks Mike and Donna, although I'd rather not believe you I think you have a good point! I won't worry much about the camera untill I feel comfortable diving, I don't want to have any accidents.

 

[naesco]

Monkeyboy there is a sunken German ship on the north side of the island. Do not miss it. There are tons of coral growing all over its side.
If you cannot find the time to do both the classes and the dives stateside, you can do the dive portion in the Caribbean.
Alternatively you can do a resort dive which is limited to 10 meters but you do not need to be certified. The resort dive is a good first time dive option.

 

[Anonymous]

I got certified while in Maui in 99. I took 3 days of dives. There was about 1 hour total of classroom time that was actually in a class, and the rest of the classroom was held while we ate lunch on the beach.

There were no pool dives whatsoever. Every dive we took was off the beach, in the ocean. I'm not sure if this place was breaking rules of PADI certification, but I have my cert card.

Anyone know if this place broke the rules?

 

[MattM]

naesco -

Well you learn something new every day! I went to find out how the California sunk and found out that in went down in 1891. Pretty neat trick, since the Titanic sank in 1912!

Every local in Aruba will tell you it's the ship that failed to answer the Titanic's distress call, but it turns out that that ship was the Californian, not the California.

The California, the ship off Aruba, went down in heavy seas on the night of September 23rd, 1891. The ship's cargo which included everything from food to furniture starting washing up on the beach and the locals turned out to collect it all. 2 cops were called to Aruba from Curacao to stop the locals from stealing the goods. They travelled to the north edge of the island and started asking where California was, as no one had told them it was a ship. The locals thought it amusing that the cops were looking for a place that no one had ever heard of, and that's how the area became known as California.

Now, the Californian, the one that failed to respond to the Titanic's distress call, was sunk off the coast of Greece during World War I.

 

[davelin315]

Most dive operations will have a photographer/videographer that will add the shots from your dive to some stock footage if they do large groups, so don't worry about photographing what you see. It's kind of expensive to get the videos and photos usually, but it's more expensive to rent a camera and even more expensive to rent a housing and not seal it properly. Anyway, definitely get certified before you go, and, if you can, get someone else to get certified with you. You will want to have a buddy to go with (you should never ever dive alone) that knows you and what you like, and better yet, that likes the same stuff as you do. When you go with a group (which is what I always end up doing since my wife doesn't even snorkel, and I usually don't travel with friends who are certified) you are at the whim of the group, which is usually made up of people who are more interested in looking at some of the larger and more boring fish (at least to reefers and marine enthusiasts) and you will end up spending your time looking at stuff you're not all that interested in. As long as you have a buddy, you'll be allowed to kind of do your own thing.

By the way, when you go, you should purchase your own mask (get a good one) and snorkel and fins, and, if you can afford it, your own BCD (buoyancy control device) and octopus (regulator, spare, gages, etc). That way, you basically only rent the suit if you need it, the tank, and weights (you don't want to be lugging 5 and 10 pound weights with you on vacation, or a tank).

Enjoy! I've never been there, but I've gone diving in a few other exotic locales, and regretted not being able to go in Tahiti.

 

[spdntckt]

If you like Reefing.. you'll LOVE Diving! But be forewarned... Diving is a way more expensive hobby than Reefing! (but at least you can combine it with vacations!!)

One thing you will notice is that the real reefs have a lot more varied types of life than you'll see in most aquariums.. Lots of sponge life, and the way the different corals grow into each other is amazing.. Take a peek at these pics taken in Cozumel (carribean sea). Camera was a cheap rental so the quality isnt all that great.. but you'll get the idea..

 

[Mouse]

Diving is the only sport where you can get smashed off your face, piss your pants, and come up smiling. Have a good one!!!!!

Doing my IANTD Instructors soon, 150 meters here i come.

 

[MattM]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by naesco:
<strong>Monkeyboy there is a sunken German ship on the north side of the island.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Additional trivia...

The northwestern tip of Aruba is called California Point. This is because just off this point is the wreck of the S.S. California, it's about a mile from the German freighter mentioned above.

Now, why is the S.S. California famous? It's the ship that passed 10 miles from the sinking Titanic and failed to respond to the distress call because their radio room wasn't manned at the time.

 

[naesco]

Why is California on the bottom Matt? As you know the German frieghter had secret equipment and when it was cornered the German crew sunk it and spent the rest of the war in Aruba. Some stayed I think