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| Harry’s Diving Page Under the Sea |
by Harry Hauck
The Old Man of the Sea
The Old Man of the Sea
One of the first things that new visitors to Puerto Rico will ask about, is the
availability of snorkeling and scuba diving. Most of them are anxious to
pursue a sport that they are already qualified to do, or else they are
novices eager to try out the warm waters of the Caribbean. The following is
a mini guide to snorkeling and diving in Puerto Rico.
Most of Puerto Rico’s major Hotels are in San Juan, and there the diving is
not so good. Here is the reason why. The island of Puerto Rico is basically
a rectangle – 100 miles by 33 miles, with a mountain range running along
the middle of the 100-mile length. The prevailing winds (Trade Winds) blow
from the northeast (upper right-hand corner of the rectangle), bringing
warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean into these mountains. Here they
condense and drop rain that create rivers that flow north to the sea. These
rivers carry sediment that cloud the waters of the north shore (San Juan
area).
Therefore, the best diving in Puerto Rico is on the opposite side of the
island, the
South side, and it is mostly boat diving, requiring an hour or two of driving
to the boat, an hour boat ride to the reef, and then return to San Juan. This
type of diving takes a full day of your vacation.
Now for the good news! Within the San Juan area, I have a couple of dives
sites that can be reached from shore, and are basically easy, shallow-water
dives, with fairly good visibility. One is 15 minutes from your hotel, and is on
a reef where I have been hand-feeding a large school of friendly, medium-
sized fish for the last two years. This dive makes for a fine photo shoot (with
the fish). You can purchase an inexpensive Kodak one-use underwater
camera and take home a classic souvenir of your Puerto Rico vacation.
The other dive is about 30 minutes from your hotel, and it, too, is a shallow
shore dive (walk-in). At this site are the remains of an ancient wooden ship,
complete with a ballast pile (rocks) and ship’s timbers, anchor chain, etc.
During this same dive, we go to a nice live reef, complete with marine life.
Experienced divers who don’t want to spend a whole vacation day diving,
yet still want to add Puerto Rico to their diving resume, will enjoy these
sites. I also conduct a “Resort Course” for novices right at the dive site, so
that anyone can enjoy the underwater world of Puerto Rico.
For information, call Harry Hauck – 787-780-2497
availability of snorkeling and scuba diving. Most of them are anxious to
pursue a sport that they are already qualified to do, or else they are
novices eager to try out the warm waters of the Caribbean. The following is
a mini guide to snorkeling and diving in Puerto Rico.
Most of Puerto Rico’s major Hotels are in San Juan, and there the diving is
not so good. Here is the reason why. The island of Puerto Rico is basically
a rectangle – 100 miles by 33 miles, with a mountain range running along
the middle of the 100-mile length. The prevailing winds (Trade Winds) blow
from the northeast (upper right-hand corner of the rectangle), bringing
warm, moist air from the Atlantic Ocean into these mountains. Here they
condense and drop rain that create rivers that flow north to the sea. These
rivers carry sediment that cloud the waters of the north shore (San Juan
area).
Therefore, the best diving in Puerto Rico is on the opposite side of the
island, the
South side, and it is mostly boat diving, requiring an hour or two of driving
to the boat, an hour boat ride to the reef, and then return to San Juan. This
type of diving takes a full day of your vacation.
Now for the good news! Within the San Juan area, I have a couple of dives
sites that can be reached from shore, and are basically easy, shallow-water
dives, with fairly good visibility. One is 15 minutes from your hotel, and is on
a reef where I have been hand-feeding a large school of friendly, medium-
sized fish for the last two years. This dive makes for a fine photo shoot (with
the fish). You can purchase an inexpensive Kodak one-use underwater
camera and take home a classic souvenir of your Puerto Rico vacation.
The other dive is about 30 minutes from your hotel, and it, too, is a shallow
shore dive (walk-in). At this site are the remains of an ancient wooden ship,
complete with a ballast pile (rocks) and ship’s timbers, anchor chain, etc.
During this same dive, we go to a nice live reef, complete with marine life.
Experienced divers who don’t want to spend a whole vacation day diving,
yet still want to add Puerto Rico to their diving resume, will enjoy these
sites. I also conduct a “Resort Course” for novices right at the dive site, so
that anyone can enjoy the underwater world of Puerto Rico.
For information, call Harry Hauck – 787-780-2497
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