Great Vis Scuba Blog

Bonaire is our next big tropical dive trip.  Tucked in the southwest corner of the Caribbean, Bonaire is the shore diving capital of the world.  The weather will be awesome in January and the diving is incredible year round.

We'll be staying at Captain Don's Habitat.  Habitat has it's own house reef which is great for easy access and makes a quick night dive or dive before lunch an easy feat.  Our group will have one boat dive per day and unlimited shore diving.  This means Captain Don will let you dive as many tanks as you can  handle.  We have arranged for one truck for every four guests on the trip so we can access the myriad of sites on the calm west side of the island.

We have mostly Ocean View rooms for 2 people and a couple of 2 Bedroom units that will accommodate four guests (these rooms are slightly less per person.  Breakfast is included everyday, and we have included a seaside barbecue for our closing Dinner on Friday Night. 

As with all Great Vis Scuba dive trips, we try to include as much as possible.  The price of the trip includes Air Fare from LAX, transfer from the airport in Bonaire to the resort, lodging, the diving, departure tax, reef tax, commemorative t-shirt, one pair of cheap sunglasses and accompaniment by seasoned escort/dive instructors.

The dates of the trip are January 18-25, 2014.  Check our trips page on our website for more details or call the shop. Price per person for double occupancy in an Ocean view room is $2199.  Discounts for non-divers, children traveling with 2 parents, and cash available.  Single supplement available.  Call (951) 929-8356 to secure your spot!

The "warmer weather" everyone has been waiting for has finally arrived.  The higher temperatures make the beach and boat trips much more appealing.  Great Vis Scuba encourages those of you who have been waiting, to come on in and learn to dive.

Whether you dive from the beach, the Dive Park at Catalina or from a charter boat like the Sundiver, you can enjoy the beautiful California aquatic world while escaping the Inland Empire heat.  Taking classes or once certified you'll find that nothing beats diving as an escape into adventures.  Enjoy the camaraderie of post dive story telling and talking about the cool things you saw.  Take up underwater photography and share pictures of what you saw on Facebook or other social media.

Bottom line, Bottom Time is the best way to beat the Heat!

Once we complete the process of becoming certified in SCUBA, we become part of the fraternity of divers.  As divers we revel in going to depths where most of world's population has never, and will never go,  We love visiting the underwater realm, whether in oceans or fresh water for the adventure which is diving.  Whether your dream dives are for taking pictures of tropical reef fish, exploring historic wrecks, or just chilling out, diving is the best vacation.

But the diving is only part of the adventure.  Because we can only stay as long as air supply and nitrogen load limits allow, the biggest part of any trip, local or faraway, is the social aspect.  Take our recent trip to the Bahamas, many of us did four dives per day, spending an average of an hour per dive in the water.  The rest of the day was spent in social activities like conversations about what we saw, telling yarns about past trips and exploits, and sharing plans and bucket lists for future adventures.

Not only do we have stories about our dives, but getting to boat, resort, island, etc., gives us stories.  With international travel we visit remote islands and villages, tropical cities and experience different cultures.  In Fiji we visited an isolated island village and drank Kava, in Cozumel we experienced a real local Mexican food in  non-tourist trap establishment and in Bimini we had Conch Salad and local Rum! (Some of us more than others).  All great shared experiences with our diving buddies! 

 We really hope to see you on our next trip when we go to Bonaire next January.  Come make some adventures and new stories to share!

A group of Great Vis Scuba divers just returned from the Bahamas after a week long trip on the Juliet.  We did several dives a day and had a great time above and below the water.  For a sample of what we saw underwater check out our Photo Gallery.  Just a few pictures,to give you  an idea what you can see in the Caribbean!

In the foreground of this picture is a Lionfish.  The Lionfish is a non-native invasive species with no natural predators in the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean. They eat voraciously, cleaning out the reef nurseries of juveniles and cleaner fish.  We hunted some, and they are tasty.  I don't normally condone hunting on our dive sites, because we go to see the fish, but this is one exception.

 Our next Gallery will have pictures of the divers on the trip.  The friendship and cameraderie we shared on the trip was incredible.  I hope we can share future memories on our next trips!

 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Great-Vis-Scuba/184283249422

Congratulations to Chris and Don on completing their Open Water Certifications!  After braving some tough conditions at Corona Del Mar on Saturday for dives one and two, they had Great Vis and awesome conditions on dives 3 & 4 on Sunday.  Chris's dad, Dan (certified with Great Vis two years ago), dove with Josh and our friends The Sundiver Express at Catalina.  A beautiful day, lots of critters, from Sea Hares to Horn Sharks.

After completing their training dives, they really enjoyed the third dive of the day on Sunday - no training, just diving.  Just enjoying the fruits of their training and the camaraderie that comes with the fun of sharing your dives with your friends.

Dan welcome back, with Chris diving now, we hope to see more of you! Don and Chris, welcome to Great Vis Scuba, and hope to have you keep diving with us!

For those of you thinking about getting certified and enjoying this lifestyle, we have a class starting the second week of April!

Great Vis Scuba will be going out on the Sundiver Express Sunday, March 24th.  This will be a 3 tank trip with stops at some of our favorite spots, where ever conditions are best.  The first dive of the spring should have great weather and great vis if the latest conditions hold.  So jump back into diving with us on a nice laid back boat trip!

The ocean has been calm, visibility upwards of 50'! The boat leaves at 7 am and returns around 5 pm.  Food, parking, fun all included!  Sometimes we can stay on the Sundiver the night before, check in with Josh for more details.

Congratulations to Geoff Preece from Twentynine Palms!  Geoff completed his Rescue Dive Certification on Sunday at Corona Del Mar.  They had great conditions, with minimal surf and plenty of sunshine!  "The Rescue Diver course is one of the best I've taken, learning everything from avoiding problems to how to help my buddy".  

Thanks to John, Rob and Ken for their help in finishing this class.

Congratulations to Seth of Hemet for completing his PADI Open Water Certification.  Seth made four dives to complete this scuba class.  Two were made last Saturday at Corona Del Mar, and the last two at Catalina from the Sundiver Express!

Thanks to Ken for helping Saturday as the Divemaster, and the boat and crew of the Sundiver Express, especially Jules!

Too cold to dive?  Come get a SCUBA "snack" at the dive club meeting.  Wednesday's meeting will be a photo night!

Bring and share your funniest and or best photos.  Every photo has a story, so bring a few with the best story to share. Limit one or two please.  Josh will  put your picture up on the TV and you can tell your story. 

 The meeting will start at 6:30. Come talk diving with your buddies, plan that next dive whether next weekend or next month!

Our Liveaboard trip on the Juliet to the Bahamas is Sold Out!  Thanks to all the divers joining us on the trip.  We are really looking forward to a solid week of endless diving, cameraderie and sunshine! 

These trips are always a great time with friends and adventure.  This trip we'll have great food, be guided by a marine biologist and some will hunt Lionfish! Some are very excited about taking pictures, one of the best parts of every dive trip

Watch for details on our next trip coming up next January.  We have reserved spots at the Plaza Bonaire for the third week of January 2014.