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Dive Review of Ocean Explorers Dive Center/N/A in
St. Maarten/Simpson Bay Beach

Ocean Explorers Dive Center/N/A, Dec, 2010,

by Richard Basch, NJ, US ( 1 report). Report 5863.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Jef and Lucianna run a tight ship with a very well stocked dive store and professional, friendly and well trained divemasters. They were very accommodating when I needed to change my schedule and even held up one dive for 30 minutes, allowing my dive buddy and I to still go on our dive after getting stuck in uncharacteristic island traffic.

Diving during the off season meant that there were no more than 5 divers on an outing, although they can take up to a maximum of 8 divers on either of their boats. The small number makes for an intimite group and allows Jef and his divemasters to provide personal attention to everyone on the dive.

The staff are all avid conservationists and seem to know their dive sites very well. They seemed to take pleasure in passing on knowledge, like how to find an octopus or where to look for banded shrimp and lobsters, and where the local Moray eels lurk.

Jef doesn't need to use a GPS - he knows where to find the reefs and wrecks - including some that only he can locate, and also knows when to dive on which based on the prevailing conditions. The shark dive he took us on was absolutely fantastic! Who knew that reef sharks were as playfull as puppies?

The rental equipment Ocean Explorers provide as part of their package is top notch. The rental also includes fins and wetsuits. I regret having had to lug my own wetsuit, fins and booties around the island with me (anything left in a locked car tends to disappear).

To conclude, I had a really good time diving with Ocean Explorers in St Maarten. I will recommend them to anyone wanting a quality diving experience.
Websites Ocean Explorers Dive Center   N/A

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Sodwana Bay (South Africa), Cape Town (South Africa), Marathon Key (Florida), Hawaii
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm
Water Temp 78-82°F / 26-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 1
Water Visibility 20-50 Ft/ 6-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Maximum seabed depth was 95 feet, bottom time restricted to 40 mins on deeper dives, 60 mins on shallow dives
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? no

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments There was plenty of opportunity for pictures. Jef or one of the divemasters always had a camera and took great pictures of all the divers with octopus, shark, porcupine fish, stingray, moray eel, barracuda, wreck or coral as opportunity permitted.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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