Ray and I had logged more than 100 dives each before we bought of our property here in Puerto Rico. Since then, we had been just too busy with our vacation rental business — sadly, it had been almost 4 years since we were last underwater. But we recently decided to get back "into" diving. So our mini-vacation on Vieques in the Spring of 2009 was as good a reason as any to get wet again.

Since we own all of our own SCUBA gear, we did a refresher dive in our swimming pool at home, using our books and equipment to make sure we remembered the basics and to test our equipment (of course, we had already had our equipment professionally checked-out). We felt fine about our skills, but still were a little apprehensive about an actual dive. Our good dive friends from New Jersey were coming diving with us, and it had also been a number of years since they had been diving, too.

We wanted to find a dive operator on Vieques who would take it easy and help us out with our rusty SCUBA skills. Based on reviews and recommendations, I contacted Dave at Nan-Sea Charters. He was very understanding of our situation and said they (he and Chip) could accommodate us and help us get back into it.

Setting Up Equipment & Getting Under Way

We met Dave at the short pier in Esperanza. He welcomed us as we waited for the others to show up. Besides the 4 of us, there was another couple that was going to be diving with us that day. The husband was newly certified (having just completed his certification dives earlier during their vacation in Puerto Rico) and the wife had about 20 dives under her belt.

As we waited, Ray and I set up our equipment. The other people were renting equipment, so Dave set their equipment up for them (he would have done ours also, but we wanted the practice).

After a short wait, Chip arrived piloting the dive boat and they loaded all the gear into the boat. They did all the work us — we all just stood around chatting.

Their boat is 28 feet long, with a bench and a sun shade toward the front. They take a maximum of 6 divers out at a time. It was just comfortable enough for 6 divers who are friendly. The boat had a small platform in the back, but they prefer you do a back roll off the side of the boat and use the platform for getting back on board. Chip is a licensed coast guard captain and the boat is equipped with oxygen and all USCG-required safety equipment. One really nice thing is that if you reserve with them ahead of time, they will take you out on the boat to dive regardless of the number of people who eventually sign up.

I have to say, Chip and Dave were very thorough. They had it all down to a science. Right away, they did the usual C-card check and had us sign standard safety release forms. Then they did a gear check, so there would be no surprises when we were out there. Everyone had every thing they needed, so off we went.

I was impressed by the professionalism and the safety standards they used. Before we got out of the channel, Chip stopped the boat and they asked us each our experience level and told us what we should expect. After the talk, when they got to know us a little bit, they decided on the dive sites and away we went. Once out in open water, the sea swells were a bit rough that day — not horrible, but ranging from about 3-5 feet. Luckily, the dive sites were nearby, so we had a short boat ride to the first dive site.

Our Dives

We made two dives that day. Chip was our guide for the first dive, and Dave for the second dive. Both times, each one gave a briefing for the site and told us the air levels they wanted to be alerted of. One thing I liked is that they require everyone to do a safety stop on the way up, regardless of maximum depth. Then we donned our gear. Each time, the guide went in first to make sure we were all OK upon entry and that we were weighted properly.

The first entry was the only hectic part. My gear was closest to the back of the boat, so I was the first to go into the water — so I had to rush. I got in fine, but then ended up waiting (and bobbing in the waves) a long time for the rest of the group to get ready and in the water. But I think Dave and Chip did a great job.

The new diver lost his mask during his entry, so Chip quickly retrieved it as it sank to the bottom. One of ours friends had some real trouble with his buoyancy compensator (BC) and weights. Chip and Dave managed to fix the problem so his dive would not have to be aborted. They were calm and understanding of the problems and the divers’ concerns, and really made it a nice dive experience for everyone.

The second dive entry went much smoother — I guess because we were all a bit more calm and in practice!

The Dive Sites

The dive conditions weren’t the best while we were there — some sea swells, and visibility was only about 40 feet. Not the best, but we have been diving in worse conditions.

The first dive site was Anchor Reef. It was a good starter dive for us all. At a maximum depth of about 55 feet, it had some nice coral formations to see, a fair amount of fish and an old Spanish anchor. Chip led the dive slowly and made sure everyone was doing OK. The best part was during the safety stop when a sea turtle came right up to us to check us all out. Very cool!

The second site was called Patti’s Reef. It was a shallower dive, with a maximum depth of about 35 feet. It had more coral formations and more sea life — including a barracuda and a green moray eel. We were down for quite some time, but we got cold after about 50 minutes, so we surfaced and returned to the boat.

I can’t say that these were the best dives we’ve ever done, but they weren’t bad either! And for us, it was a nice, safe trip that helped remind us why we go into the sport in the first place!

Other Info & Thoughts

• Between dives, we had a surface interval of about 35 minutes, during which we warmed up in the sun and had some water before our next dive.
• We all wore 3mm wet suits. The water was about 77°F, but it felt cold after a while.
• The guys from Nan-Sea Charters will wash and store your equipment over night. We had to leave early the next day, so we took our gear with us. But that would have been a great bonus not to have to worry about cleaning our own stuff!
• I was also impressed with their ethic of leaving the ocean as you found it, thus preserving it for the future.

The Details

The cost of a 2-tank dive is $100/person. Cost includes tanks, weights and mask defog. Add $20/person if you need to rent equipment (BC and regulator).

They usually start their dives at 8:30am and finish around 12:30pm.

Don’t forget to bring your C-card!

You can call Nan-Sea Charters at 787-741-2390 for more information or to make a reservation.

You can visit the Nan-Sea Charters web site for more information.

Also available: shore dives, open-water check-out dive referrals, resort courses (for non-certified divers), snorkel trips and boat tours of the waters around Vieques.