We made amazing memories during a week of diving with East End Connection in July 2024. I was able to complete my Open Water Diver certification during the first few dives, thanks to my dive instructor Kevin, who handled my complicate scuba referral that spanned nearly 10 years 🙂 Kevin is a fun but firm instructor who made sure I had the necessary knowledge and skills to be safe.
For the remainder of the week, we dove with Ben, a great dive master with amazing local knowledge to share -- both underwater and around the islands. He has a relaxed style, but was always alert, and he structured dives so that we slowly elevated to a safe depth towards the end of each dive to swim around and explore during our 3 minute safety stop. We also were delighted to have Handford as our skilled and helpful captain, getting us to all the great locations, watching for us as we surfaced, and assisting us in and out of the water.
We learned about East End Connection through Camp Bay Resort's owner, Chris. The dive shop is a short drive from Camp Bay, on the Paya Bay Resort property, and had all the required equipment. I had never dove off a Panga dive boat, so it was fun to do the backroll entry.
The team at Camp Bay and East End Connection were so welcoming and down to earth. When not serving as a dive instructor or giving Kitesurfing lessons, Kevin was in touch with the guests and the owner to make sure people were connected with fun activities, including suggesting local activities that made our trip even more memorable. We made great friendships and at the end of our week, it felt like leaving summer camp 🙂