Dive Review of Dockyard Divers in
Antigua

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Dockyard Divers, Jan, 2011, by Marty Kalb, OH, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 5894.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	I have had 20 years of diving experience at numerous sites in the Caribbean. For me the best diving is at Cozumel but Antigua was selected this time to see something different. My wife is not a diver but she likes to snorkel so we try and find a place that hopefully has both. The waters off Pineapple Beach Resort at Long Bay received praise from former guests about the good snorkeling so we picked that all inclusive resort. Food was good the staff very friendly accommodations very good especially in the ocean view 500 rooms. The snorkeling was indeed good. I read about the various dive operations on Antigua from their web sites and selected Dockyard Divers based on the length of time they had been in business. After arriving at Nelsen's Dock Yard where Dock Yard Divers is located I discovered that it is really a one man operation. Tony Fincham is the whole business. Tony is an expat Brit. He is engaging and very concerned about doing the best he can for you. He claims to have had decades of sailing boat building and diving experience in both the Pacific and the Caribbean.If you need it he can rent all the gear you want. Diving with Tony is what scuba diving was like in its earliest days. He has a small 18 foot wooden hulled open boat with space for about 4 divers. Of course there is no head and Tony does not provide any thing to eat or drink between dives. He ties up to a mooring or sets an anchor, gives a briefing about what the site is like geographically and geologically and you and he do a back roll into the sea. When you finish the dive he gets out first lowers a small single pole ladder assists you with your gear as you get back into the boat. My first day with Tony was just the two of us. On the second day there was one more diver. We were all on computers. Each dove more or less where we wanted I take lots of photographs and we agreed to exit together. Each dive lasted about 45 minutes. The dive site was just outside of English Harbor near what locals call the Pillars of Hercules.All the dives for the two days I was there were at or near this site. The sea was just much too rough to venture further out. The sea was choppy with strong surge. We were about 100 yards from shore. Antigua does not get strong praise for scuba diving so I was not expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised. The vis was OK about 25-50 feet.Water temp 78F. This site has many large boulders covered with very healthy coral. Large numbers of typical reef fish in schools and on their own,lobsters turtle sting ray and lots of small stuff. What was unique was swimming under the surge which was clearly visible over head as waves smashed against the shore. What pleased me was the health and variety of coral, and the really large number of reef fish. Given time this area will get better and better.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	20+ years throughout the Caribbean. Bonair, Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, St.Croix, Virgin Gorda, Curacao, Barbados,
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy	Seas	surge
Water Temp	78-78°F / 26-26°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	25-50 Ft/ 8-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	The sites did not exceed 80 feet
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The proprietor of Dock Yard Divers is Tony Fincham who is very interested in UWP. However his boat has no facilities dedicated to dealing with UWP equipment

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Dive Review of Dockyard Divers in Antigua

Dockyard Divers, Jan, 2011,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Dockyard Divers in
Antigua