If your question is not here, or elsewhere on this undersea walk site, use the bookings page to email it to me, and you may see it here later. |
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 the ride back. If we are fully booked with four dives, as we can be mid week in July and August, then the trip can be up to 31/2 or even 4 hours. Q. Can I book on the Nassau trip? A. Chris is presently conducting small tours.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(Charles III 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. Socks are best. 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 a friendly shark sucker in Nassau. |
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 and older children can go down together. I can be called at any time to bring up a parent to console a noisy 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 looking through the glass bottom do ooh and ahh and claim they saw lots of stuff that they are happy. Probably because they were not pressured to go outside of their comfort zone. Q. Do the fish bite? A. Well yes, and no! I dish out the food so I do suffer the occasional bite from Leroy. The snappers are not interested in biting you, as they must swallow food whole, and can not nibble. Q. Can I dive if I have asthma? A. It is mainly a problem if your asthma is very severe. If you use your inhaler daily, and never leave home without it, then this is not for you. I have other recomendations on how to reduce inflammation. Scuba diving is not recommended for lung scarred asthmatics where decompression from deep dives is required. If in doubt, see the PRINT, FILL OUT AND BRING THIS FORM, and check with your doctor. |