Today's
vacationers are often looking for some activity around which
to shape their warm weathered Caribbean travel time. SCUBA
diving, with its opportunity for adventure into a different
world fits the bill for more and more people. Divers can be
virtually anybody from age 12 on up to senior citizens. SCUBA
diving adds adventure to Caribbean
honeymoons, bonds families together in a quality time
activity and revitalize middle agers.
Dive/sail
chartering is an ideal, yet relatively unknown vacation
option for experienced and novice dive travelers to the
Caribbean. After years of being funnelled into large group
trips to resorts or liveaboard dive boats by the dive shops
that train them, many divers, especially couples and families
are looking for an alternative. Privacy, custom tailored
schedules, one-on-one service, off the beaten track dive
sites and being "the only buddy team on the reef" makes
these dive adventures unique.
The Dive/Sail Charter Options
There
are 4 ways you can choose to mix SCUBA diving with a crewed
yacht charter vacation.
Dive
Dedicated Yachts - These are yachts that are completely
equipped to fulfill the needs of earnest divers. That
is divers experienced or novice that want to make diving
the focal point of their vacation. These boats have sufficient
tanks for 2 dives per day, equipment and an insured, experienced
dive professional. They probably also have an onboard
dive compressor. These yachts are suitable for anyone
who wishes to have diving on their crewed
yacht charter vacation.
Dive
Oriented Yachts - These are yachts who are seriously
interested in having divers aboard but who have not made
the full committment that the Dive Dedicated Yachts have.
There is, however, an insured diving professional on board.
These yachts are suitable for divers who wish light to
moderate diving on their charter vacation.
Unsupervised
Diving - These are yachts who will provide to carry
tanks for certified divers who wish to dive on their own.
No one is taking official responsibility as a dive professional,
and they may or may not have any kind of diving insurance.
Gear, if not provided by the guests, may be rented on
shore. These yachts are suitable for experienced, independent
certified divers.
Rendezvous
Diving - Any yacht in the fleet can coordinate with
shore-based operations throughout the USVI and the BVI
to take you for a morning or afternoon of diving activities.
Subject to availability. In rendezvous diving, you join
a group of variable size on scheduled dives.
Popular Dive/Snorkeling Sites
Wreck
of the RMS Rhone. Before she was sunk here during
a hurricane, the Rhone had been the pride of the Royal
Mail Steam Packet Company and carried 313 passengers.
During the storm she hit Salt Island, was broken in two
and promptly sank. Today her two halves are well preserved
on a sandy bottom and her steel wreckage has become home
to myriad species of fish and encrusting corals. The Rhone
is now a marine park that is part of the B.V.I. National
Parks Trust, and is perfect for a two-tank dive. The bow
section, which lies in about 80 ft of water, reveals the
coral encrusted cargo hold and other interior chambers.
Outside, a careful survey of the wreckage reveals the
ships fore mast complete with crow's nest, and it's bowsprit
lying in the sand. The stern section contains the ship's
once- powerful engine, her prop shaft and enormous propeller.
Blonde
Rock is another favorite. It is a pinnacle between
Dead Chest and Salt Island which rises from a depth of
60 feet to a mere 15 feet below the surface. It's rock
ledges, tunnels, caves, and overhangs are home to crabs,
lobsters, beautiful fan corals and hordes of reef fish.
Painted
Walls is a shallow dive off
the southern point of Dead Chest. Here divers delight
at the kaleidoscope of colors created by encrusting corals
and sponges on the walls of four long gullies. The depth
ranges from 20 to 30 feet.
Santa
Monica Rock lies about a mile south of Norman Island
and is a pinnacle that reaches from about 10 to 100 feet
. Because it is on the outer edge of the island chain,
it is a good place to see larger open ocean (pelagic)
fish like spotted eagle rays, and possibly a nurse shark
or two.
The
Indians. Not far from Peter and Norman Islands, four
large, jagged pinnacles protrude from the surface after
rising 50 feet from the ocean floor near Pelican Rock.
These tooth-like formations yield a series of canyons
and grottos which feature both soft and hard corals.
The
Marie L, Pat and Barge and Grill. This fascinating
modern shipwreck site is the resting place of the Marie
L, a locally owned cargo boat and the Pat, a 75 foot tugboat.
These two vessels, which lie side by side with only a
narrow gap between, are best viewed from overhead. Located
off Cooper Island's Machioneel Bay and marked by a National
Parks Trust mooring, the wrecks lie in calm waters at
a depth of 45-90 feet and our considered an intermediate
level dive. A third wreck, the Barge and Grill is located
a little to the north of the other wrecks.
Alices
Wonderland. Experienced divers looking for a deep
dive,will enjoy this one at South Bay on Ginger Island.
The wall here slopes gently downward from 15-100 feet.
Huge mushroom-shaped coral give the site its name.
Brewers
Bay Pinnacle offers spectacular diving when conditions
are right. Lying about 200 yards off the west point of
the bay, this towering rock rises for 90 to 20 feet and
abounds with fish life.
Great
Dog is another good spot for diving beginners. The
southern side is a pretty site indeed, divers swim along
the parallel reef from 10 feet down to 60 feet.
The
Chimneys is in the same area. Within this series of
arches and canyons, you'll be dazzled by the colorful
soft corals and charmed by the variety of fish.
The
Chikuzen is one of the British Virgin Island's truly
great dive sites. Lying at a depth of 75 feet, six miles
north of Beef Island, the ship was sunk in 1981.The full
246-foot length of this once-refrigerated vessel is teeming
with fish of every description. You may see big rays,
horse-eye jacks, barracudas and more.
