Dive Review of Octopus Diving/Private Residence in
St. Maarten

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Octopus Diving/Private Residence, Jun, 2010, by Cameron Cole, GA, US ( 2 reports). Report 5539.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude	N/A	Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Octopus Diving is what I would consider a good operation with excellent owners. They take your gear to one of their two small 6 pack boats for you. You do a short 3' or so deep wade to their boats so careful not to take anything that can get wet or make the proper precautions. Divers sit in the bow in a comfortable, clean and well organized but open area while the crew connects all your gear. On sunny days, a hat is advisable as finding a shady spot isn't easy. Snacks are provided in a small cooler. The first day we got a nice variety the second day of diving only two water bottles were in the cooler so you may want to bring along your own goodies if you need them between dives. Dive plan on both days was straight forward, thorough and simple. The first day we did the French side and found it to be somewhat barren of corals and quite silty. Lots of fish and we did get right next to a large sting ray, turtles in the distance, several barracuda and a seahorse. Lots of fish expected for the region and a nice variety of terrain including an interesting rocky area with lots of crevices to swim through. Between dives they change the gear over to the other tank and help you don your gear. The second day, we went over to the Dutch side for some simple wreck diving in 45' or so of water. We went to this side due to the rough seas on the French side. The first dive site had four small wrecks with some interesting creatures most of which we saw the first day including a large group of lobsters and a close encounter with a barracuda cutting a fish in half. Still lots of silt and not many corals. The second dive of the day and final dive for us was on a larger cargo ship. More of what we saw earlier with a big eel and small shark but still enjoyable. Currents at the surface were moderate and light towards the bottom. I would classify the diving as easy for most divers. One thing to note is that the ladders are pretty short on their boats. I don't think it is a significant issue but it does require some lifting if you decide to keep your gear on while boarding the boat. In calmer seas, it was easy to hand them the BC rig then come aboard but the second day in rough seas had us keeping our rigs on as we were in 3'-4' seas. They do help and again not a huge concern if you are reasonably fit or calm seas. When the dives are done, they carry your gear back to the shop where they have a nice big rinse tank for an easy soaking. If we ever get back their way, I would use them again.
Websites	Octopus Diving
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	0-25 dives
Where else diving	Boynton Beach, Fl
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	86-86°F / 30-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-40 Ft/ 9-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	?
Enforced diving restrictions	First diver to reach 1500psi marks halfway and has everyone heading back to the boat. Our dives over 40' had a 3 minute safety stop.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Octopus Diving/Private Residence in St. Maarten

Octopus Diving/Private Residence, Jun, 2010,

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 Octopus Diving/Private Residence in
St. Maarten