María La Gorda, International Diving Center
The International Diving Center “María la Gorda”, ideal place for both, beginners and experienced divers. The sea bottom in this area has the most clear and colorful contrasts for the practice of sub aquatic photography since the transparency of the water allows a visibility of 30 m long up to 30m of depth; the medium water temperature varies between 24 C in December and February to 30 C in August. The marine platform is very thin and ends very close from the coast with depths between 200m and 1000m. The dive Center is efficiently run and the dive guides give excellent briefings and try very hard for you to get the most out of your diving.
The Diving Shop counts with highly qualified dive instructors, and beginners can be certified with SSI and CMAS. Non divers can snorkel, fish or take boat rides, apart from enjoying of the unrivalled nature on the tropical forest surrounding the resort and taking the sun at the beach.
Technical Specifications
- Name: María La Gorda "Mary The Fat"
- Operated by Gaviota
- Location: Guanahacabibes, Sandino's Peninsula, Pinar del Rio, Cuba
- 50 Dive Sites or Dive Places
- International Diving Center Inside the Resort
- 8 Instructors
- Instructors Certifications: CMAS, SSI, PADI
- Boats: 3 Yachts of 41 - foot with two engines Volvo Penta and with(in spite of) capacity for 28 divers each one
- Average of Annual Visibility: 30 horizontal meters
- Average of the Annual Temperature: 28 ° Celsius
- Compressor: 2 Bauer K-18
- The first aids: Qualified medical staff and resuscitation equipment that includes oxygen on board and in land
- Emergency procedures: Helicopter up to the Havana
- Nearest Recompression Chamber.: 45 minutes in helicopter up to the Havana
Services
- Coral reefs diving: YES
- Wall Diving: YES
- Cave Diving: NO
- Night Diving: YES
- NITROX Service : NO
- Diving Equipment Rent: YES
- Classroom for classes: YES
- Diving courses for all the levels: YES
- Diving courses for instructors: YES
- Special diving courses: YES
- Photos and films exposed service: NO
- Service for Systems IN / DIN: YES
- Training Diving Tank: NO
- Specializing shop: NO
- Medical services: YES
Security Regulations
- Sign the agreement for release of personal responsibility.
- Present to the dive shop a diving certification or log book documenting their diver’s experience.
- Use no drugs or drink alcohol before performing diving activities.
- Be grouped on teams of 6-8 divers per guide instructor.
- Dive in pairs and never be out of the sight of the guide instructor.
- Never exceed the maximum depth of 30M.
- Ask for a check dive, if more then 6 months have past since your last immersion.
- Check the air in your tank before each immersion.
- Check that your two second phases are functioning properly before each immersion.
- Never wear knifes or gloves.
- Never take out coral or any other underwater item. It is forbidden to take ¨souvenirs¨ from the reefs.
