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Don't know what to do in Bermuda? The following FAQ should answer many questions concerning the best watersports activity in Bermuda. If your question is not answered here or elsewhere on this undersea walk site, use the bookings page to email it to me and you may later see it here. |
Q. How much is it?A. Our 2011 prices are $95 per diver. Riders are half price and can look through the glass bottom. Undersea portraits are $15 per person, plus a $10 charge for the CD. We do not do prints.One usually gets over twice as many photos as there are people. Two people will get at least one shot per person and three of them together ($15+$15+$10=$40). Three people would get one each, plus one of Mom and Dad, one of Child and Mom. one of Child and Dad and then all three together (15X3=45+10=$55) We accept travelers cheques, U.S. personal cheques, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club, eldest child and... oh yes cash. ( eldest child must be Bermudian and able to lift diving helmets as crew.. otherwise keep him or her and we will take the cash instead). |
Q. Are there any age requirements?A. It is best if kids are at least five years old. They then have an attention span that will last the 25-30 minute dive. They will then be able to get much more out of the dive because they can read the message stick and know that the pretty blue one is an angelfish, and the one with the big nose is a hogfish. Kids are less likely to back out if they can reason that, if the first dive came back up smiling and with all their feet and fingers intact then I should be able to do this even if I am a bit scared and I have never done this before. There is no upper age limit really. If you are fit enough to get out walk up one flight of steps without wheezing and clutching your chest, then you pass the fitness test. Those with diagnosed heart and respiratory conditions must have written consent from a doctor. Q Are contacts OK? A. Yes! Your head is totally dry. Q. Should I bring my clear prescription glasses? A. Yes. More light usually brings out colours better. It is never so bright that you would need sunglasses underwater. I often put people's glasses on their heads for their photo so you do not get flash backs from the flash. |
Q. How long is the trip?A. The ride to the reef is about 30 minutes and each dive is about 25 to 30 minutes, and then there is the ride back. If we are fully booked with five dives, as we can be mid week in July and August, then the trip can be up to 31/2 or even 4 hours if there are delays. Q. Can I book on the Nassau trip? A. Chris is presently not conducting tours. However his site is www.underseawalk.com . Q. Should I bring my snorkel gear? A. It is not necessary. You will see enough to satisfy your quest for the undersea. At the moment our fish associate food with the goldenheaded divers. They will get killed by spearfishers if they associate food with the rubber footed divers. Most carnivores would love to kill Charles the Hogfish(Speared 2003), Stormin Norman or Oliver the Snapper(Died of old age2005), Barry the Black Grouper(Disappeared 1992),Herb the Hind or Graham the Grasby. |
Q. Do I need shoes?A. No foot protection is necessary. Divers are encouraged to go bare foot as this is supposed to be a sensory experience (sand between your toes, wind in your hair etc.). Bermuda has no stingrays or blue crabs and never has the even most tenderfooted diver ever cut themselves on the sand. Severe diabetics can wear foot protection if they wish. Q. Are there any sharks? A. I wish! There has been a world wide decline in the shark population due to over fishing and a lack of food for them as well as their senseless murder for their fins and cancer cures. In my 40 years of helmet diving in Bermuda I have never seen a shark. No! I did not just close my eyes. We are not invading any shark's territory as we have been diving on the same site since 1984. There are no gallons of blood and guts being poured overboard as on TV shark programs to lure them to our area. We have seen the odd barracuda which we point at excitedly until the embarrassment of being seen sends him on his way. They are no threat to helmet divers anyway. We can't give you sharks but we have seen shark suckers or remoras. Click here to seeYouTube of Hartleys helmet diving with friendly shark suckers in Nassau. |
Q. Are there lockers for valuables?A. Lockers are not required as we are all on the same boat. I threaten to frisk everyone if anything goes missing but I have not had the opportunity to make good on the threat. The bulk of your cash should be in the hotel safe and watches and cameras are easily identifiable so no one would take them. Q. Is this suitable for individuals with 'special needs'? A. Folks with Downs Syndrome, MS, amputees, visually impaired, (deaf people are at an advantage so they are not in the discussion here), mentally challenged, and even 'normal' have all participated with ease. The thing that is most likely to give divers trouble is anxieties and mental baggage. People with the previously mentioned issues have had so many real difficulties, that they are unlikely to allow self conceived anxieties to stop them. The fellow in the photo opposite was one of six similar individuals a cruise ship sent without warning or notice. I had to split them up to go on separate dives as each of them needed to be watched and attended to without distraction, which would not have been possible if they were all on the same dive. Check out the fellow with the broom stick three photos down. |
Q. Can we go swimming while others dive?A. You can deduce from the fourth question from the top about snorkelling that we prefer not. We have quite a few fish we have known for several years. All of them are non-toxic. This is a term I use to avoid saying that they are 'good eating'. Oliver was over twenty years old and this is a testament to the wisdom and suspicion gained by his years. At the moment the fish associate the vertical walking creatures with the gold heads as friends and providers of food. If we allow swimming and snorkeling while we are diving it will blur the distinction between the good and bad guys. I have lost several hogfish and a couple of groupers over the years to spearfishers as it is difficult for them to differentiate between benign snorkelers and deadly spearers. Other tours do not have the kind of fish we do. If you throw food casually as you would throw bread in the park, you will get a certain type of agressive creature: pigeons,sparrows, chub or breams depending on the environment. We do not encourage them to particopate. Breams are palatable if eaten with lots of ketchup. They, however, do not know this and are not too wary of helmet divers or spearers. Therefore they will totally take over a dive are if fed and the pretty angelfish and butterfly fish will retreat. With your 25-30 minute dive complete with hands-on contact with the fish and creatures, you should have you fill. Armed with the info learned on our trip you can rent a small boat and snorkel equipment and go on an adventure yourselves. The fish will not be as tame as at our site or look at you as friends, but it will be your adventure. |
Q. I have heard it could be a long time waiting for others to have their dive. Is this true ? What do I do?A. The only criticism that can be rarely pinned on us is that the wait can be long if we are fully booked (Mainly July and August, mid-week). We take 6 or 7 divers down at a time. A boat load of twenty divers means three dives where you have to wait for only two others to be completed. This is perfect as the time flies quickly. Having to wait for three other dives is OK, but a full boat of 35 people can seem long time, especially if there are lots of exuberant kids on board. July August is our busy time when the kids are out of school. They demand their parents take them on that undersea walk thing and then life is good. We can not turn them away because folks stay on the island for such a short time and 'When the sun is shining you must make hay'. The wait is shorter than some lines at Disney World during the holidays. We may have had only two trips last year when we had five dives. All other trips were less. Three was the median. If you can pick and choose the time you visit Bermuda, then come the week after Labour Day. Parents are getting their kids back in school and business drops right off. It is a good time to join us as the water is still warm and the wind still mainly southerly. The other option is to contact us in advance and ask when we think (according to past bookings), will be a relatively slow time of the week. Mornings are usually chartered to the ships. Fridays can be slow when all the ships have left. Some people (Who view time as more valuable than money) have rented a small boat, which we tow behind us to the reef. We stick them on the first dive and then they take off on their own after that. I think a perfect trip size is three dives but we can only take people when they call and tell us when they want to go. One option is to make the dives shorter which I am loathed to do. This is a tour where you are given personal attention. I can not dismiss a diver who is having difficulty on the ladder knowing they are so close to overcomming their fears and can so easily have a great time. Even when fully booked, our tour offers great value for the time and money spent. There is a glass bottom, fish books to peruse. Or perhaps you could view it as quality time with your spouse, child etc without the pressure of having to do something else or be somewhere else. Think about it...Why are you on holiday? |
Q. Can my spouse go on a separate dive so we can take turns looking after
our infant?A. No Problem. Often when there are other families, very small children can be distracted by feeding the fish and playing with other children so parents can go down together with their older kids. I can be called at any time to bring up a parent to console a frantic child. It has not been required yet. Kids often behave differently when parents are not looking. Q. What will I see through the glass bottom? A. Not much compared to what will be right in front of your face wearing your Hartley diving helmet. Riders ooh and ahh and claim they saw lots of stuff and that they are happy, only because they do not know what they missed. Q. Do the fish bite? A. Well yes and no! I dish out the food so I do suffer the occasional bite from Leyroy. The snappers are not interested in biting you as they must swallow their food whole and can not nibble. Q. Can I dive if I have asthma? A. It is mainly a problem if your asthma is severe enough to be brought on by something as minor as anxiety. If you use your inhaler daily, and never leave home without it, then this is not for you. I have other reccomendations on how to reduce inflamation. Scuba diving is not recommended for lung scarred asthmatics where decompression from deep dives is required. |
Q. Can I dive when pregnant?A. This is a personal decision, like 'should I cross the road' or 'should I go up in a plane'. The second trimester is the safest. Our dive is less stressful than holding your breath and momentarily swimming to the bottom of a pool. Q. I am very large, will the helmet hold me on the bottom? A. We have different sized helmets as not all people are created equal. Sometimes we give larger divers weight belts if it is necessary. Note the belt and the extra air hose in the photo on the left of the larger diver. Q. I am very thin/small will the helmet be too heavy? A. No. We have floats to put on the helmets to make them lighter as well as small helmets for children. Q. I went diving years ago in Flatts Village. Is it the same operation? A. No. My father started his Flatts operation years ago but sold it to his crew a few years back to retire. Paul Pike has renamed it Bermuda Bell Diving. He has since retired for medical reasons. |
Q. Will I get sea sick?A. We dive just over a mile from shore to avoid the sediment near the coast. We do not go right our the edge or the reef line, where the water is the clearest because of the ocean swells that can make you ill. We point the boat bow into the wind and the surrounding reefs suppress the waves so we are fine even if the wind is fairly strong. We make confirmation calls to assure you the weather is good as we still go if it is cloudy or rainy. Q. Do I need to make reservations? A. Yes please. We have a toll-free number. Call as soon as practical at (866) 836-3989. This is important if options are limited by a short stay in Bermuda or complicated by varying cruise ship locations. There is only me to take you to see our finny friends and only so many days in a week so space is limited. If you call during the day you will probably get my wife or the answering machine if she is on the road. Press 1 for prices and info, press 2 for cell numbers (hers 335-2981 his 334-7607), or press 3 to leave a message. If you call after 5pm EST but before 9pm EST you will get us at home. We are an hour later than the east coast. Please, DO NOT wake us up in the middle of the night. |
Q. Do I have to bring a towel?A. Yes please, and your bathing suit. If you wear your bathing suit, then bring dry underclothes so you can have a rinse and change into dry clothes after your dive. Q. How do I get back? A. You can take a bus, bike, ferry or taxi. We can use the cell phone to call one and have it waiting upon our return. Q. Can I fly on the same day I dive? A. We do not dive deep enough for such problems. Book early and do not leave our adventure for the last day. It takes nerves to take off on a boat when you are supposed to be at the airport later the same day. |