Dive Review of Carbrits Dive Center/Comfortel de Champs in
Dominica/Portsmith

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Carbrits Dive Center/Comfortel de Champs, Oct, 2008, by C Vernon Hartline Jr, TX, USA ( Reviewer 5 reports). Report 4496.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This is a our second trip to Dominica. On our repeat visit to Portsmith ,we stayed at a new B&B/Guesthouse named Comfortel de Champs - owned by an ex-pat Dutch couple we met diving last year. Great facility with a killer view of Portsmith harbor. AC,ceiling fans, well stocked refrigerator, great new bathroom, great cooked to order breakfast, "eco friendly" operation, great Spanish wines by the glass and friendly Dominica knowledgable hosts. They have chosen to live here, traveled as tourists in the country, and it shows they love their newly adopted country. They are presently completing a new bar and hot tub as an extra addition for their guests. Last visit was in November - we went this time in early October. It is the rainy season and one day we chose not to dive because of storms including storm including lightening. It rains in buckets. I guess it's the reason this island is so incredibly green. But the rainy season had caused huge potholes and sometimes rockslides onto the road. Drive on the left(holdover from the Brits). This is the 30th year of independence from the British and large celebrations are planned in early November. We rented an SUV (Rav4) and can't imagine not having your own transportation. Lunch and dinner are on your own. We had the best and cheapest meal at "Iguana" a seaside shack owned bt rastas. No meat but great seafood (including grilled lobster), pasta and vegetables. We also ate at the Purple Turtle, Blue Bay , Tomato , Strawberry and the local "foodstalls" near the US based medical school - Ross University. Diving: Helen and Peter ,the owners of Cabrits are passionate about quality service for their clients. That attitude works down to the staff and crew. Cabrits owns 3 dive boats (although we heard one was damaged severely after we left by the backwash of Omar). John, Evan and Fabin are careful and attentive divemasters. They do their best to point out interesting critters,unique formations and sea life to make the diving enjoyable for what ever level of dive experience you have. Portsmith does not have the walls of the South but the sea bed is alive with sponges,tropical fish of every kind (including an electric ray and flying gunard), turtles, squid,eels (including the snake eel) and invertbrates. We even did a small "ship wreck". Pole to Pole is still our favoritr dive - in spite of the viz being lower because of rain. The underwater scene is equal to the above water. Between dives Helen even sends her famous English tea (milk and sugar) and "biscuits". Very elegant and classy. Dominica deserves the title "Nature Island" and it would be missing a substantial portion of Dominica's underwater wonders to dive only in the South.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Cayman(s), Belize, Bahama, Turks & Caicos, St Vincent, Dominica, Red Sea, Mexican Caribbean and Pacific, Coco Island, Truk, Palau, Indonesia
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, currents, no currents
Water Temp	79-84°F / 26-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-60 Ft/ 9-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Don't run off and get lost - often we were the only two on the boat - custom dive guide and buddy
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	1 or 2
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		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
UW Photo Comments	I had my HD Video -crew helped with the camera on and off the boat - put on board a separate rinse tank. No separate camera table but took special care with our equipment.

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Dive Review of Carbrits Dive Center/Comfortel de Champs in Dominica/Portsmith

Carbrits Dive Center/Comfortel de Champs, Oct, 2008,

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 Carbrits Dive Center/Comfortel de Champs in
Dominica/Portsmith