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Review
ScubaTech is a small and friendly dive operator based at the head of L’Anse aux Epines or Prickly Bay on Grenada’s meandering southern coastline. It sits on the sand at the Calabash Hotel, looking out onto the bay, which is a popular anchorage for yachts. There are also a number of villas and small resorts around the shores of the bay and in the immediate area. Dives are open to sailors and villa occupants as well as guests of the hotel.
ScubaTech has a daily schedule of 2 x two dives (one dive in the morning and one in the afternoon). The boat departs from the jetty at the Calabash next to their dive shop. Dive sites tend to be off the south-west peninsular and up along the western coastline of the island. ScubaTech has one boat, which takes a maximum of 12 divers per dive.
In addition, ScubaTech offers a full range of training courses, from beginner up to specialty level. You can get an introduction to diving through their Discover Scuba Diving course, or you can top off your training with a Divemaster qualification. Then the company offers a number of more exotic courses including the Nitrox Rebreather course, Advanced Nitrox, Decompression Procedures and the Extended Range course. ScubaTech is also happy to support referral training, in which you study the theory and/or do the confined water training at home before travelling (saving you time when you are actually on your holiday) and then complete the open water diving in Grenada itself.
For courses based wholly in Grenada, initial instruction takes place in the pool at the Calabash Hotel. Or if you happen to be staying in a villa that permits it, ScubaTech will come to you and give the instruction in the villa pool. For the other family members there are plenty of things to do on board or ashore while you are scuba diving.
ScubaTech Ltd was founded by former owners Rob and Katie Bryant in 2003 and so it is a relatively young company. However, the present owners, German husband and wife team Jochen and Sabine Lenz and their partner Carsten Andres, have a long pedigree in scuba diving in the Caribbean and elsewhere. They bought ScubaTech in November 2006.
Jochen has been diving since he was 17 and it is no surprise that Sabine, then his girlfriend, should take up the sport – they were working in a German dive shop at the time. In 2000 the opportunity arose to move to Egypt, where they established a dive centre the following year. Many holidays to the Caribbean and another dive shop later they came to Grenada in 2006 to find that there was a dive operation for sale. The perfect dive centre in the perfect location – all they needed was a partner.
Carsten became a certified diver in Australia back in 1991. On a round-the-world trip he ended up in Koh Samui where he took his Instructor examination and worked for the following year on Koh Tao. After a short stint in the Philippines, Carsten went to Egypt, where he worked for more than 10 years with a German tour operator specializing in scuba diving.
When he was asked in April 2006 by Sabine and Jochen if he was interested in buying a Dive Center on Grenada, Carsten said yes almost immediately, without even knowing where the island was located on the map. He arrived on the Spice Isle in December 2006 and is more than happy about his own Dive Center, the location, the people and the opportunity to live on the island.
Carsten is a PADI Master Instructor, CMAS** instructor, PRO NRC instructor, TDI Extended Range instructor and TDI CCR Buddy Inspiration instructor. Jochen is PADI IDC Staff Instructor, CMAS* instructor, PRO NRC instructor and Draeger Dolphin instructor. Sabine is a PADI Divemaster. |
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Grenada Scuba Diving
Grenada boasts over 15 wrecks in close proximity to its shores – all between six and 40 metres below the waves. There is something for everyone, ranging from MV Veronica, a shallow dive with minimal current that is ideal for the beginner, through to the famous Bianca C, a 600’ cruise liner that sank in 1961, which is suitable only for experienced divers.
There are many different types of coral to be seen in Grenadian waters, including boulder corals, soft corals, star and stag horn as well as sponges and sea fans. And amongst this array of colour you will often find barracuda, lobster, turtles, moray and snake eels as well as large groupers and nurse sharks, even the occasional manta ray.
The waters around Grenada are generally very clear, warm and calm, even when it’s raining – so visibility is good. There are some sites that should be treated carefully due to strong currents, but the local knowledge and experience on hand at ScubaTech will set you in good stead.
Excursions with ScubaTech are generally twice a day (9am and 1.30pm) unless special dive trips are scheduled. The meeting time is 30 minutes prior to departure but your equipment will be prepared for you and put on to board. Cruising time to the dive sites is between 10 and 45 minutes and there is a break for an hour or so between the two dives.
You just need to bring your certification card and if possible your logbook.
Nitrox is available and free of charge for all certified Nitrox divers. |
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Dive Courses
PADI COURSES
Bubblemaker – theory, pool work, including equipment - US$75.00
Discover Scuba Diving - theory, pool work and 1 dive including equipment - US$135.00
1 Dive on the Discover Scuba Dive Programme – including equipment - US$90.00
Scuba Refresher - theory, pool work and 1 dive - US$110.00
Scuba Diver Course* - US$315.00
Or if pre-booked US$204.25 + US$50 manual + US$50 PIC
Open Water Diver Course* - US$485.00
Or if pre-booked US$365.75 + US$50 manual + US$50 PIC
Open Water referral per module** - US$85.00
* incl. equipment, training material, logbook, certification (if applicable)
** incl. equipment, certification (if applicable)
Adventure Diver** - US$240.00
Advanced Open Water Diver** - US$350.00
If pre-booked US$237.50 + US$50 manual + US$50 PIC
Emergency First Responder** - US$150.00
Rescue Course** - US$400.00
** incl. training material, certification
Divemaster on request
SPECIALTIES
Nitrox Course (incl. training material and certification) - US$135.00
Specialty Dive (incl. certification) - US$80.00
All prices are quoted in US$ and are subject to Government Tax.
Prices valid from 01 Dec 2008 to 30 Nov 2009 and are subject to change without notice. |
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Guided Tours
ScubaTech is happy to take guided tours using its boat, which is certainly a different way to sightsee. The coastline of the island is exceptionally beautiful from below and certainly worth discovering. ScubaTech offers custom trips to several destinations, including Hog Island, Glovers Island and Flamingo Bay. Their excursions are usually a combination of sight-seeing and snorkelling and can very well be adapted to include your specific requests. You also can book a romantic Sun Set Champagne Trip – a breathtaking trip for young and old.
SNORKELLING / BOAT TRIPS
Flamingo Bay US$45
St George's US$45
Aquarium US$40
Glover's Island US$40
Hog Island US$40
Sun Set Trip US$85
Gouyave US$90 |
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Package Plans
Single Dive US$50
6 dive package (per person) US$282 - 5% discount if pre-booked
10 dive package (per person) US$450 - 5% discount if pre-booked
Night dive US$70
Boat trip for accompanying persons US$20 |
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Boat
The ScubaTech boat comes fitted with a DAN Oxygen system, VHF radio, GPS, a depth finder, mobile phones, life jackets, life ring, medic First Aid box, flares and a fire extinguisher. |
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Shop
Facilities at the ScubaTech Dive Center include an equipment room, compressor room/workshop, reception, rinse tank, jetty, sitting area, toilets and a shower. It is possible to buy a range of souvenirs such as caps, towels, T shirts, polo shirts and women’s shirts, as well as equipment such as logbooks, safety mirrors, clips, compasses, marker buoys, hangers, mask straps, masks, snorkels and fins. It is also possible to rent an underwater video camera including DVD, digital camera including CD or underwater still cameras (MM2, MX 10). |
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Rentals
EQUIPMENT (per dive)
Complete Equipment US$15
Regulator US$5
BCD US$5
Wetsuit US$5
Mask + Snorkel US$5
Fins US$5
Computer US$10
Torch US$15 |
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Watersports
ScubaTech now offers a good variety of watersports with its new speed boat DOLPHIN, which will take you out into the calm and sheltered waters of Prickly Bay. There you can ride on an inflatable donut – always a laugh - water-ski or try wake boarding – the ‘snow-boarding’ of watersports.
WATERSPORT ACTIVITIES
Water Ski (15 min) US$35
Water Ski Lesson (3 attempts) US$29
Tube Ride 15 min, 1 person) US$35
Tube Ride (15 min, 2 persons) US$55
Wake Board (15 min) US$35
Wake Board Lesson (3 attempts) US$29 |
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Safety & Medical
The safety features on board the ScubaTech boat mean that if there is a dive accident you will be provided with oxygen treatment as soon as you are on board right up to the moment you are seen by the doctor from the nearby private hospital (who is fully trained for diving related accidents). If a decompression chamber is needed then you will be flown directly to Barbados with the arrangements being made either with ScubaTech and Barbados in person, or through a DAN operator if you are covered. |
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Grenada Dive Sites
Flamingo Reef
Set in a bay just to the north of St George’s, Flamingo Reef can be snorkelled as well as dived, making it a good option if you have non-divers along. A mounded reef rises out of a grey sand bottom, reaching to within 15 feet of the surface and descending off the lip of the bay down to a maximum of 80ft. It is usually dived from the shallow end in a circle around the reef so that you descend and then return on the top of the reef from 45 feet, coming gradually back to the surface.
The name comes from the tiny flamingo tongues that can be often seen on the sea fans, but many other hard and soft corals can be seen as well. Small reef fish - tangs, squirrel fish and sergeant majors - hang in the water above you in an explosion of colour. Other, larger fish include the long and thin trumpet fish, lizard fish, the occasional barracuda or moray. This is one of the most accessible and ‘easiest’ but most rewarding dives in the island, so it makes a good first dive.
Underwater Sculpture Park, Moliniere Bay
This is an exciting concept in the world of marine conservation and scuba diving in the Caribbean. Grenadian-born artist Jason Taylor has created an underwater world of art installations depicting Grenada’s colourful history and folklore. As you snorkel or dive your way around Moliniere Bay, shapes and bodies appear to you from the depths.
For more information about Jason Taylor and the individual pieces used in the display, please visit www.underwatersculpture.com
Purple Rain
Purple Rain is set on a sloping reef near the tip of the Point Salines peninsular and takes its name from a tiny purple fish called a creole wrasse. Schools of them sometimes swim in formation over the reef, giving the appearance of ‘raining’ down it. Other small fish are also abundant and almost encircle you at times. These include parrot fish and tangs. You may also see mackerel and barracuda, and the occasional turtle or ray. The reef also has the usual sponges, hard corals (including black coral) and sea fans that wave back and forth on the current. Purple Rain is dived at between 50 and 100 feet and there is usually a gentle current so you can drift along without having to make much effort at all.
Boss Reef
The most convenient reef close to Grand Anse beach, Boss Reef is right offshore in the shallow web of the Point Salines peninsular (it goes down to about 60 feet). Spur and groove formations heading out into the Caribbean Sea, where you will see plenty of reef fish and some pagoda-like plate corals, as well as occasional eels and schools of barracuda.
Whibbles Reef
Also set on the northern side of the Point Salines Peninsular, Whibbles Reef descends from 50 feet to more than 150, so you choose your own maximum depth. It has the usual hard and soft corals and sponges and fish life, including the shoals of small fish such as jacks and rainbow runners. This reef is next to the Bianca C (see below), so it is often used as an opportunity to ‘fizz out’ after the deep dive on the wreck. There is usually a slight current, making it a drift dive.
Shark Reef
Shark Reef is one of the most beautiful reefs on Grenada and only 5 minutes by boat from Prickly Bay. As it’s located in the Atlantic Shark Reef is frequently exposed to strong currents which makes it a great drift dive. A shallow reef on the Atlantic side of Grenada which can see a good current, making a drift dive as well as a change because it is on the other side of the island. The reef varies between 35 and 75 feet and the marine life is different from the more protected Caribbean side. The dive takes its name from the fact that nurse sharks often hide in the crevices in the reef. You can also expect to see moray eels, lobster and fish such as groupers – while you glide by on the current.
Bianca C
The Bianca C is one of the most famous wrecks in the Caribbean. She was a 600 foot, 22,000 ton cruise liner that caught fire and burned in St George’s harbour in 1961. An explosion in the engine room (which killed the only three casualties) caused a fire throughout the ship, which burned so fiercely that the hull glowed red and the sea boiled! All passengers and crew were evacuated and taken to safety by a flotilla of small craft and looked after by the local people. A statue of Christ of the Deep, its arms outstretched, stands on the waterfront in the Carenage in recognition of their bravery and generosity. After the fire, the hulk of the ship was being towed to Point Salines when she broke her towline. Her rudder seized full to starboard, she veered off out to sea and then sank.
The Bianca C sits in 160 feet of water at the base of Whibbles Reef and her decks are at an average depth of 110 feet. The bottom of the swimming pool is at 125 feet and the tip of her bow is at 100 ft. On the foredeck you can still see stairways, winches and other equipment, all of which are now covered in corals. The funnel and the bridge have collapsed, but some of the forward mast is still upright. Small fish pick over the corals but at this depth there are also barracuda and black tip and bull sharks. There is often a current over the ship and of course it is a deep dive, so you need to be confident in the water. The wreck is often dived in conjunction with Whibbles Reef, which is shallower and enables you to enjoy the reef while you are taking your safety stops in the way back to the surface.
San Juan
The San Juan is a small wreck that lies upright in 90 feet of water about a mile and a half to the south of Grenada’s south-western peninsular. She sank in heavy seas, and in dubious circumstances, carrying a cargo of whisky and cigarettes. The wreck is often home to nurse sharks but you will also see stingrays, eagle rays and turtles. The San Juan is in quite exposed waters, where the Atlantic Ocean sweeps past the island, so it is important to be comfortable in the water, but it is often a favourite dive.
Shakem
The Shakem, which sank off the Caribbean side of the island in rough seas in 2001, was loaded with a cargo of cement bound for Trinidad. The cargo apparently shifted in transit and then the boat took on water. She now sits upright in 100 feet of water and in the few years since she sank she has grown an encrustation of coral and become home to schools of small fish.
King Mitch
The King Mitch lies six miles south of the southernmost tip of the island. Once a minesweeper, the 200ft ship became a cargo ship and was carrying a load of cement when she went down. She now lies on her side in 125 feet of water and some of her panels have come away, revealing the structure and allowing you to swim in and out of the holds. King Mitch is home to a multitude of life, including a number of larger fish such as barracuda, turtles and nurse and black tip sharks. The combination of a current and the depth means that this is a challenging dive.
Isle de Rhonde
Isle de Rhonde is one of a number of small islands that stretch off to the north from the northern tip of Grenada. The area is pristine, with excellent clear water (washed by the Atlantic which passes through here into the Caribbean Sea) reefs of hard and soft corals, sponges and sea fans, and many reef fish. There are also some larger fish, including barracuda and the occasional shark. ScubaTech sometimes visits on day-long excursions to the Isle de Rhonde.
Hema 1
En route to Trinidad, this coastal freighter got into trouble in rough seas and sank three miles off the south coast. Due to its position it is influenced by strong Atlantic currents and is recommended for advanced divers only. A large collection of nurse sharks is watched by spotted eagle rays above and some reef sharks as well as inquisitive barracudas. |
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How to Book
If you wish to make further enquiries or a reservation, please use the WEB LINK or DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility at the top of this page to make contact with ScubaTech Ltd, or if you wish to telephone Sabine, Jochen or Carsten, please click on TELEPHONE CONTACT to reveal the number. |
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