mystkittsdivebuddy

Turn left outside the port and follow the main road out of town with the sea to your left.

Pass the bus station and keep walking.

It will take about 10 minutes and you will see on your left a restaurant called fisherman's wharf with a very small beach at the side of it.

There are almost always small pieces of sea glass here.

The restaurant will be closed so please do not trespass in the restaurant area.

The beach , like all beaches in St Kitts is public and you are entitled to access.

Be respectful, don't leave anything behind and have fun hunting for sea glass. 

Everything you need is available at both beaches, personally I prefer Friars tends to be less busy, shipwreck is one of about 4 or 5 bars on that beach, Shipwreck is always open. Some of the others can be a bit hit and miss.

Carambola beach club is right at the other end of the same beach.

https://shipwreckstkitts.com/

We on St Kitts do not move our clocks forward.

Right now local time is + 1 hour on EST.

Check with your ship.

Most ships coming out if mainland USA stay on EST.

This causes confusion all the time but most ports of call in the Caribbean DO NOT use daylight savings time.

All the boat tours take you to the SE coast so the snorkeling is all in the same area.

Jan to March can be windy, the last few weeks here have seen some very wet and windy days, not ideal for snorkeling.

Take a taxi to Cockleshell beach and snorkel there or go to Friars Bay. Both areas have reefs you can snorkel. You can rent gear at Reggae Beach Bar on Cockleshell and at Shipwreck bar on Friars.

That way you can change your plans if the weather is not so good.

On 1/6/2019 at 11:19 PM, ScubaDuck said:

I was under the impression they are the excursion providers on St Kitts for Carnival, and as such would not work with me separately. Am I confused? Either way, I went out and submitted our info, will look for the response back. 

 

Thanks for the pointer! 🙂

The tour provider for the cruise lines here is Dive St Kitts.

Why are you booking through the cruise ship, a little bit more work to book it yourself but you will get a better operator, dives that suit your timing better and a lower price.

There is only one  5 Star Padi resort in St Kitts Pro Divers St Kitts

Check my website for more about St Kitts scuba diving and Scuba Diver training.

Full face snorkel masks are literally injuring snorkellers. Google for the news from Hawaii where they are considering banning these

There is a trend in both diving and snorkeling right now to SUBSTITUTE TECHNOLOGY FOR SKILL. 

Technology has its place in assisting you to minimise risks. Skills, taught correctly keep you alive.

Buy your children a good quality, properly fitting mask and a snorkel of the correct size without a flap on the top to "keep the water out", you do not even need a purge valve at the bottom.

There is a skill in learning how to clear a snorkel and to control your airway while doing so. These in water skills are easy to learn and improve your safety tremendously.

I would never teach anyone to snorkel using a full face mask unless there was some very good medical reason for using one.

Enjoy your snorkeling, diving and your cruising.

Terry

The issue here I think is access to the dive boat.

In the case of an emergency a diver may have to be lifted onto the dive boat, this can be extremely difficult if the person is heavy.

There was I believe a case in the US where an operator was sued because a diver was too heavy for them to recover from the water after an accident. These sort of rules are there to protect the operator, or more likely the cruise line as they can be held responsible.

Although you say your husband is healthy, being so heavy puts him at great risk from DCS, if he/you understand the risks and he continues to dive then that is fine but I would travel with a Doctor's sign off saying he is fit to dive.

Edit.

Found this article for you

http://divermag.com/obese-divers beware-‘saturated-fat’/

As a Padi Instructor who teaches a lot of younger children I often come across similar problems.

The advice about ensuring there is no underlying medical problem is sound, take this advice to heart and follow it.

I often find kids just do not understand the technique of equalising, sometimes I have to explain in numerous different ways and get them to practise, practise, practise.

Also I have seen scuba masks, especially some of the cheap ones, that small fingers simply cannot compress the nose piece sufficiently to seal the nose. I sometimes get them to equalise in the pool without a mask (kids usually don't mind this) so i can check the technique.

In a head up descent, with one ear causing problems, I get them to tilt their head with the bad ear higher, this often helps.

All this takes time, lots of time, so your daughter needs to be in a one on one session with an experienced scuba instructor.

Dont push her too hard on this, she will get it, it just takes time.

Last month I had an 11 year old from a cruise, who the previous day could not equalise on a discover scuba. He was travelling with his grandparents who were experienced divers. With me, he manages to clear his ears and has 2 great dives. No it was not easy, took us a while to get underwater but we managed it together. He is coming back this xmas for his open water course.

I hope diving goes well for you and your daughter, the underwater world is amazing.

US$90.00 for a 2 tank dive in Barbados, is this a good price?

Prices vary a lot as you have probably already realized. You cannot compare the price on one island with another island, only between operators on the same island.

A few thoughts from my own experience:

Apart from price, some other things you should be considering:

• Shore or Boat dives or one of each?
  
• If Boat dives what type of boat are you happy with?
  
• Using rental gear --- What is actually included? Wetsuit? Dive Computer?. Does the gear look good on their website? Have other divers commented on it?
  
• Is transport to and from the ship included?
  
• Does the operator have good reviews? - Scubaboard/Cruise Critic/Tripadvsor.
  
• How many Instructors / Staff on the boat?(If this is important to you).
  

Often the cheapest is not the best and can work out more expensive.

It is very easy for an operator to cut costs and deliver a "cheaper service"

Please do not consider diving the day you fly.

The minimum time for flying after diving is 12 hours (even after a shallow discover scuba).

How much of your Padi course have you done? If you have completed Academics and Pool you could do Open water 1 + 2 in one port and 3 + 4 in another. I have guests who do this all the time.

This is at the Shipwreck Bar located on South Friars Beach.