The Pacific NorthWest SCUBA Challenge Association meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:30 PM in the Boardroom at G.F.Strong Rehabilitation Hospital
For further information call Ron Stead at 525-7149
Association Mailing Address: 14286-72nd Ave Surrey, B.C. V3W 2R1
SCUBA Diving instruction for members is ongoing; specialty courses are also available
Monthly Sponsored Dives
Association videos and materials are available for demonstration purposes
The Pacific NorthWest SCUBA Challenge Association is a NON-PROFIT Organization dedicated to introducing physically challenged people to sport SCUBA diving and integrating disabled and able bodied people in social activities
By Ron Stead
Hey! Wheelchair travellers should always be prepared for problems. We had a short stop late at night at a Toronto hotel on our way to Cuba, of course June and Ken's bathroom door wouldn't allow access. Who do you call? Doug, Axel and Murray, The Door Removal Crew, that's who! With just that small glitch 15 of us (three in wheelchairs) arrived at Club Varadero. And can you believe it?...ALL of our luggage and dive gear made it too!, perhaps because of the long pink streamers our crew attached to every piece before departure.
The 12 of us whose prime motivation is diving had a spell of pure terror when they told us they were just set up for casual, resort type diving - name on the board an all that stuff. And, one more small difficulty, the food area could only be reached by stairs. Our group leader, Axel, with moral support from Rivka, explained to the manager that we had expected two dives a day and it would be inconvenient shuffling wheelchairs up and down stairs for meals. SOLUTION-Almost Immediately! They set up an early and late dive just for our group and by the next morning they had a ramp into the dining/stage complex nearing completion.
Club Varadero is a gorgeous resort on Cuba's north coast. It is almost entirely wheelchair accessible (to accommodate laundry carts?) although there are a few steep grades. The rooms with reading, lounging space and huge patios are more like suites. Sumptuous buffets, drinks by the pool, nightly entertainment, days of sunshine and exceptional service combined to make our stay memorable.
The Instructors and Dive Masters that oversee the SCUBA diving at the resort were quite solemn when they saw the wheelchairs, nervously they watched us prepare our gear and get assisted over the sand to the two inflatables that we were to dive from. After a shallow (45ft/50min) checkout dive where they observed our competence and the care we showed for the corals they were al smiles and thumbs up. In a couple of days we had become "Dive Buddies", Duni, Andy and Isauro all vying to piggy-back me from the boat to the dive shop. I accused them of showing off to the beauties on the beach but they all assured me they just wanted to teach me Spanish - uno, dos, tres....
The reefs are not as spectacular as some of the other dive destinations in the Caribbean but we enjoyed all of our dives and I did log several creatures I didn't see last year in Bonaire. Sting Rays, Sharp Nosed Puffer, White Spotted Filefish, Garden Eels, Scorpion Fish, and a few others. Our guides captured some lobsters (they sure scoot when you let them go!), attracted swarms of fish with bait and led us through coral tunnels. Doug planted a plastic Sea Turtle and started waving, it even fooled the Dive Master who gently pushed it to get it moving. The Dive Master was delighted with the "trick" and I think Doug left him the turtle.
Although there are no permanent mooring buoys the Cubans set the anchors by hand when possible and take some care with the reefs. Circumstances always dictate priorities and this beautiful peninsula with it's magnificent beaches and resorts also has oil pumping rigs just out of sight from the ocean. I hope the underwater treasures are not lost to the need for energy.
Most of the gang went on the Havana Tour the day before we left but as it would have been almost impossible in a wheelchair we did one last morning dive and then did a bit of wheeling on the peninsula. We had a video made on one of our dives and "Video Caribe" included footage of the tour including some of the night club floorshow so we got to experience some of sights without the hassle.
Cuba was GREAT! But what stands out in our memories are the people, we knew them for a week and felt we made friends for life.
