点评:Had a great time diving with SXM Divers. It’s a solid operation that only takes out small groups.
OPERATION: During our week there, we never went out with any more than seven divers, usually less. The prices were very reasonable in comparison to other options on the island, and I was given a discounted rate for booking multiple dives. There did not appear to be any hotels in the area near the dive shop. However, the shop and boat dock are located in Cole Bay, which is a short drive/ taxi ride from the Simpson Bay area. Divers would meet at the shop for the morning dives, do any necessary paperwork, and load up in the boat. You were welcome to set up your own gear or allow the DM to set it up for you. We had our own gear, but the rental equipment that I saw other customers using appeared to be solid and in good shape. Tanks fills were in the 3200 PSI range, and the shop easily handled both DIN and yoke regulator setups. Dive and safety briefings were thorough but “to the point” and not unnecessarily long.
STAFF: Great staff. The owner, Dan, was very responsive through email and Whatsapp prior to our arrival. After we arrived, he ran things very efficiently and was very knowledgable. He is also a solid boat captain and clearly knows the island’s dive sites and conditions very well. As a bonus, he is an extremely funny guy and possesses that classic British sense of humor. He could talk about something completely mundane like the weather, but somehow still make it funny and entertaining. Our divemaster for the week was Keanu, from South Africa. Keanu was awesome. Very knowledgable and skilled as well. Once you dove with him and he had an opportunity to assess your skill level, he allowed you to dive your dive and didn’t unnecessarily “hover or nanny.” He was also very helpful with my older octopus that developed an issue during the dive week.
DIVING: Sint Maarten diving was what I would describe as typical Caribbean diving, not mind blowing but not bad either. Fish life was what you would normally expect with pretty good variety, but I wouldn’t call it “super fishy.” We did see at least one Caribbean reef or nurse shark on each dive, and turtles made very frequent appearances. We had several days that were windy, but SXM was willing to brave the chop and swells to go to the more interesting sites as long as the divers on the boat were OK with it. Surface intervals took place in protected coves, and you were more than welcome to swim or snorkel during the break. Snacks were a variety of local cookie brands, and reusable water bottles were provided to each diver. Most dives were 40-60 feet (Sint Maartin sites are on the shallower side), and I personally enjoyed the variety of different wrecks that we dove during the week. Penetration was allowed as long as your skills were up to it. Divers were allowed to dive their own air consumption, and divers that went through air more quickly were escorted back to the boat line while divers that were better with air consumption were allowed to continue their dives. Almost every one of our dives went 60-70 minutes. If the swells were rolling, we tried to keep dives closer to 60 minutes for the sake of the people on the boat getting tossed around.
Overall, SXM was a very solid operation. I would absolutely dive with them again. And it’s always a compliment if you feel like the staff are people that you’d be willing to hang out with after the diving day. I can definitely say that about the staff at SXM.
翻译:在SXM Divers潜水时玩得非常开心。这是一家口碑不错的潜水公司,每次只接待小规模的潜水团队。
实际体验:我们在那里的那一周里,每次潜水的人数都从未超过七人,通常更少。与岛上的其他潜水服务相比,他们的价格相当合理;由于我预订了多次潜水,还享受到了折扣优惠。潜水店附近似乎没有任何酒店,不过该店及停船码头都位于科尔湾。那里离辛普森湾地区只有很短的车程或出租车行程。潜水者们在早上会在店里集合,办理必要的手续,然后登上船只。您可以自行组装装备,也可以让潜水指导员帮您安装。我们自己带了装备,不过我看到其他顾客租赁的器材看起来也很不错,状态良好。气瓶压力一般维持在3200 PSI左右,这家店也能轻松处理DIN和Y型衔嘴式调节器两种类型的设备。潜水与安全说明非常详尽,但“直奔主题”,并无不必要的冗长内容。
工作人员:员工素质极佳。在我们抵达前,老板丹通过电子邮件和WhatsApp回复迅速且贴心。我们到达后,他高效地安排各项事务,且知识渊博。他也是一位出色的船长,对岛上的潜水点及海况了如指掌。更难得的是,他极其风趣,具备典型的英式幽默感。他可以谈论一些极其平常的话题,比如天气,但总能把话题变得风趣有趣。这一周的潜水向导是来自南非的基努。基努简直太棒了,不仅知识渊博,技术也相当娴熟。一旦他陪你潜水并评估了你的技术水平后,就会让你自由潜水,而不会无谓地在旁边“徘徊或过多干涉”。在潜水周期间,我的旧款潜水电脑出现了故障,基努也提供了极大的帮助。潜水:圣马丁的潜水体验可以说是典型的加勒比海地区潜水——虽不算惊艳,但也还不错。这里的鱼类种类相当丰富,符合一般预期,不过我并不觉得这里有“超多鱼类”。每次潜水时我们至少都能见到一只加勒比礁鲨或护士鲨,海龟也频频出现。有几天风势还挺大。不过,只要船上的潜水员们没有异议,SXM也乐意顶着海浪和风浪前往那些更有趣的潜水点。水面休息时间则是在一些避风的海湾中度过,在此期间大家完全可以自由游泳或浮潜。提供的零食有多种当地品牌的饼干,每位潜水员还都获得了一个可重复使用的水瓶。大多数潜水深度在40至60英尺之间(圣马丁岛附近的潜水点大多水深较浅)。就我个人而言,我很喜欢这一周里我们所潜入的各种不同的沉船。只要潜水者的技能水平达标,就可以进行穿入沉船内部的潜水。潜水者们可以自行控制氧气消耗量;那些耗氧较快的潜水者会被护送回船边,而那些耗氧控制得较好的则可以继续潜水。我们几乎每次潜水都持续了60到70分钟。如果海面有浪的话……为了不让船上的人被晃得太难受,我们尽量把每次潜水时间控制在60分钟左右。
总的来说,SXM的运营非常出色。我绝对会再和他们一起潜水。如果觉得那里的工作人员是那种潜水结束后还愿意一起闲逛的好朋友,那绝对是一种褒奖了。对于SXM的工作人员,我完全有这种感觉。