AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Advanced Diver Blue Hole

Kathy -- relax! You are getting some very good advise here. Actually, many times youngsters do better without a parent. Talk to the dive master who will be in the water with her. Do it in front of her, not behind her back. Three of the most important parts of diving are trust, awareness and agreement.
Going "DEEP" is not all that it's cracked up to be. (I'll say no more)
What is CRITICAL is knowing how to read your gauges and to remember to read them often.
I've never had a desire to do the Belize Blue Hole but will probably end up doing it soon. Why? Because to get to where I want to go, Lighthouse Reef, everyone else want's to do the Blue Hole.
Friends who have done it tell me the most interesting part is in the top 20 feet.
Harriette

I hate to be negative here, but this topic is valid.

My dive experience in the blue hole......

I show up to a day trip with aqua divers to go out because the overnight boat is broken.

First thing, here's this girl with the worst case of mask squeeze I have ever seen.. Yesterday was her first log book dive and she was blaming the dive instructor for descending too fast.. and she could not catch up.....

On the way out another girl is saying this is her first log book dive ever, along with the guy next to her....

All the other people on the boat have rented gear.....

I brought along my dive book and certification....and was never asked to see anything.....

Several people are having trouble getting off the boat...

I wait till last and get in, with dive instructor to follow...

My wife, the solo snorkeler, is enjoying herself....

We go down 20 ft, the dive instructor looks around, nods, and we're off....and I mean off..

I follow dive master over the edge...That was great....we descend to 100 ft.- the ceiling and the stalactites come into view...That was great...We swim in and out of the stalactites...That was great...I'm right behind the dive master, he points over and there's 3 bull head sharks, doing figure eights, back and forth in front of us...That was great, I drop to 140 ft. and snap a couple pics, shown on my trip pic report...That was great... eight minutes and we start ascending.... hang out on line for ten minutes, and back on boat...GREAT DIVE...

On board, the girl, with her first log book dive, had to abort, for she couldn't equalize fast enough, the dive master never knew she had aborted dive... she spent the time snorkeling with my wife...

Well there you have it... The good, The bad, The ugly...

The Blue Hole dive was GREAT!!!! It's as if God himself had core drilled a 1000 ft dia. hole in the middle of the ocean...The water was the most incredible blue I have ever seen, you can't really tell how great the vis is until the sharks show up...

Ken

I had gotten my OW shortly before going to Belize. I did dive the Blue Hole. It was amazing. I mentioned the concern I had about the depth since I was inexperienced. One of the dive masters hung back and stayed close to me and my buddy (who's been diving quite a bit). I was nervous (who wouldn't be?), but felt totally comfortable. You're at depth before you know it, so be careful about that, especially if you're not advanced (as Gaz said). I was to 100' before I knew it.

I suggest asking the operation (as I did) you dive with if there will be a DM available to stay with you if you decide you don't want to go down quite that deep. If not, I wouldn't dive with them. There are people out there just to make money. That was not my experience. I was glad I went and would do it again. I can't wait to further my training so I can experience even more! Sharon

There was a girl on my trip there(from Ramon's) and it was her first dive after being certified. She was fine.
Hearing people running out of air is amazing since the entire dive is about 25 minutes.
Your bottom time there is only 8 or so minutes. Most people won't even use 1/2 of their air. No sweat. Probably 4 out of the 12 people on our trip there were fairly new divers.

If a new person makes sure the divemaster knows they are new, and doesn't do anything reckless/stupid on purpose, they should be just fine. 110' is not some magic limit that if you pass it you suddenly freak out. If you stay calm and just enjoy the surroundings and say in that general depth range, you'll probably be fine. Just make sure the divemaster knows how you feel and what your concerns are. They seemed really good on my trip there.

I was at 140 for a bit to get some good shark pictures and they just clank their tank and motioned for me to come up a bit, so they do watch out.(I go by myself, so I don't have a real "buddy" on these dives).

I've been open water certified since '77 and no place I've ever been asked to stay above 60'. This is just a "recommended" limit. It will all come down to how you handle being in the water and your actions.

Personally I say it's so people will continue to spend money on certifications.

If you're with a competent divemaster and that person is informed about your skill level and most importantly, you are a relaxed/calm diver you shouldn't have any problems. A paniced/hyper diver is a problem no mater what the certification level.
I've been on boats with idiot divers who have master diver certifications, and dove with people without any certifications who were much more confident and capable. The certification itself doesn't mean squat.

I see some people join the fire service and think after a couple of months on the job that they know it all, rank doesn't matter and experience doesn't mean squat.

They have the bad habit of getting themselves and the people around them hurt. Then they want to say that it was just an accident and accidents happen.

Well, here we go again!! Gaz, you are still the man in my book as far as what you said. It seems like we try to save lives by doing something right and "idiot proof" things for people to prevent accidents. Just when you think you might be getting it right--------someone comes up with a better idiot!!
Personally, I don't like taking people into chambers, pulling dead or drowning "smart" people out of the water or telling anxious loved ones things that ruin their vacation.