Atlantis - Paradise Island

WHo the fuck want to dive with an arsehole..................

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 00:50:43 GMT, moyo <moyolawn@mindspring.com>
wrote:

>On 18 Sep 2003 08:23:47 -0700, dontat@cox.net (Don T) wrote:
>
>>I will be staying at the Atlantis in about ten days. I will only have
>>time for two mornings or one full day for diving. I see many folks
>>like each of the dive shops. Have sent emails to four and received a
>>personal response from DiveDiveDive, a form response from Nassau
>>Divers and none yet from the others. I would like to do wreck dives,
>>sharks are ok but not necessary unless you all say it's a "gotto do".
>>Any thoughts on what shop to use. They all seem to have the same
>>price but I do not know how far they are from the Atlantis. I don't
>>particularily like cattle boats. Thanks, Don
>
>
>Buddy, I don't know you and you don't know me but I have to CAUTION
>you on PI and Atlantis. If you've never been there be prepared for
>sticker shock. I will never go back to that place. I will go back to
>the Bahamas but not there. Also, Do not dive with Stuart Cove's. In
>being kind, I want to use the word cluster fuck sparingly but the
>truth is the truth. Anybody but them. I have over 400 dives and asked
>not to be paired with anyone who was unqualified and I got stuck with
>the 2nd most skilled diver on the boat, 7 dives, 5 years ago...
>
>Moyo

moyo wrote

> Hi Lee, I asked Stuart's to let me dive solo because I was doing
> underwater photography but they are PADI and since I do not have a
> specialty card for solo diving (and will not ever get one) they said
> that I had to have a buddy. There were other divers with greater skill
> but it was a cattle boat operation so I guess I got the bums rush. I
> generally don't do cattle boats but never having been to bahamas
> before I had nothing to compare to for dive operators. Alas,,,it's
> over and life goes on...

In my experience in the Bahamas and, for that matter in Florida and the
Caribbean, few operators will accept solo divers that they don't know. The
operators around here that know us, look the other way when we obviously
aren't following strict buddy protocols, but their rules all seem to require
buddy pairs. Such is life.

Generally, I travel with my buddy. Usually it's my wife, but sometimes it's
just somebody I've known for a while. We tend to book together at least
partly so that we can have a known buddy. When traveling, I also tend to
dive with the same operator enough that I am able to meet and make
arrangements with people of comparable preferences, if not comparable
skills. It is tough, however, to get a good buddy if you're taking
pictures. The fact is, us photographers are not particularly attentive to
our buddy's needs. That's at least part of the reason that my camera says
dry much more often than it used to.

Lee