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Dive Review of Ocean Sports/San Carlos Mexico in
Mexico (Western)/San Carlos

Ocean Sports/San Carlos Mexico, Oct, 2004,

by Debbie Crosby, CO, USA . Report 1413.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 1 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 2 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 1 stars Shore Diving 2 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 5 stars
Advanced 2 stars
Comments This was a trip set up by our local dive shop and overall information about the specifics were lacking. I wished I had known that the Hotel Fiesta that we were staying in was under construction. The restaurant was closed except for breakfast. Jesus, our waiter was a bright spot in our day greeting us on the terrace with coffee and juice and a full american breakfast while we watched the dolphins playing in the ocean. After finding that the restaurant had no hot tea, I asked for a cup of hot water on the 2nd day and brought my own tea bag, after that Jesus made sure I had my hot water without asking every morning. The construction crew made messes of our balconies during the day while our clothing, gear, etc was drying. The dive company (Ocean Sports) could only think about making money. The first day, we had pre-ordered nitrox and had to send the crew back to the shop to bring it to the boat. Therefore, the boat was late pulling out of the harbor. After completing our first dive, we were informed that we could shorten our surface interval or shorten our 2nd dive, but the boat was returning to shore in one hour due to the fact that we were late leaving. Some of our group had only 35 minute surface interval and chose to go ahead and do a 2nd dive that soon since they had paid $85 each for a 2-tank dive. On our 2nd day using this company, again no pre-ordered nitrox on the boat and the crew had to seek it out. After putting 23 divers and 4 crew on the boat, they proceeded to load 19 tourists. There was no safety briefing and now the boat was overloaded. I talked with the crew about my concerns and they put me on the phone with the shop manager. He informed me that they could handle 38 people on that boat, I told him there were now 46 and he stated "it was business". At the end of the day, the manager met our boat and offered a free night boat dive due to all of our groups problems and concerns. We did have a very positive experience with the playful sea lions at San Pedro Island - they posed and played with anyone that would play with them or had a camera. Also saw lots of torpedo rays. The following day, some of our group sought out other dive shops. We found a super alternative to this shop. The name of that shop is Surface Time and they met all of our needs including safety and comfort. For the same price, they took no more than 6 divers on their larger boat. We booked a smaller boat and they took just the 2 of us(husband and I) to do some local dive spots. On our way out to the dive sites, we were able to troll and catch fish. Our boat captain made lunch with our fresh catch while we were doing our first dive. After completing our 1 hour surface interval, we trolled to a new site and completed our 2nd dive of the day as very happy divers.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Guam, Palau, Pohnpei, Yap, Australia, Truk, Flower Gardens, Bonaire, Bahamas, Texas
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 0
Water Visibility 30-75 Ft/ 9-23 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions none
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 2 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities 1 stars
UW Photo Comments The boats only had a salt-water rinse bucket - no table for setup since they used the only table for food.
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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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