BVI - the Rhone - 2 tank a.m. dive, or 1 tank p.m. dive?

[cawhite]

Hi everyone,

Our family will be staying on Virgin Gorda in late June. My husband and daughter (age 16) are OW certified divers, but are still novices with only a few dives under their belts. My son (age 12) and I just come along and snorkel. While on VG, we will be taking a couple of dive trips with Dive BVI.

For the Rhone, there are 2 options:

(a) 2-tank a.m. dive for hubby and daughter. 1st dive is bow, I think; 2nd dive is mid and stern sections. My son and I will do something else that day as I'm told that trip is not good for snorkelers.

(b) 1-tank p.m. dive for hubby and daughter. The p.m. dive is to the more shallow areas (mid and stern sections, I believe) and this trip, I'm told, is a good one for snorkelers. I've read that the Rhone is less crowded in the afternoon, but I also read that it's more choppy at that time.

So which should we do? Is seeing the mid and sterm sections during a 1 tank dive sufficient, or will they really prefer to do the 2 tank dive and see the whole thing? Also, is the Rhone really a good place for snorkelers? We will be snorkeling other places as well (either the Dogs, the Indians, or the Caves most likely). So my son and I don't mind skipping out on the Rhone trip unless it's also a "must do" for snorkelers.

Thanks, in advance, for any input!

Carole

 

[drew52]

Definately the 2-tank morning dive.

The snorkeling will depend on whether you have an interest in seeing the Rhone or not. This is a pretty famous wreck so it would be a shame to miss it and the snorkeling is good. You can still see parts of the stern and many fish and coral up against the rocks towards Salt Island.

 

[cawhite]

Thanks drew.

So snorkeling is good at the Rhone. Good to know.

It will be a compromise either way. Either the divers just do a 1 tank dive, and the snorkelers get to go... or the snorkelers don't go at all, but the divers get to do the 2 tank dive.

Hmmmm....

Carole

 

[drew52]

Yeah. If pushed for time the 1-tank is fine but I'd definately rather do the 2-tank dive.

I'd miss the snorkeling then and let the divers do both dives.

 

[cawhite]

Thanks again... we don't really mind missing out so the divers can do the 2 tank dive.

We actually have good snorkeling (I'm told) right where we're staying... so my son and I can hang out there and snorkel that day.

 

[diversteve]

Your husband/daughter should inform Dive BVI of their experience level before they go out there. It's not a beginner dive, the viz can be mixed, there's a lot of other divers on the wreck and it's surprisingly confusing at times to stay with/identify your group. As I recall we had a guy join us briefly on one dive till he found his group.

When we were there, the hatch Jacqueline Bisset came out of in the Deep was so crowded with other divers taking pictures that we didn't bother waiting our turn.

Most groups do the swimthrough also, it's a long overhead obstructed swim. One thing to do if they don't want to penetrate the wreck is to follow the bubble trail of their group but swim over the top of the wreck. It leaks like crazy so it's really easy to see. Tell the DM during the briefing if they're not going in since the 2nd DM's lead/follow everyone through the wreck. Where they come out can't be seen from the entrance.

Sawyer's brings a full boat over from St. Thomas Friday so other days might be better.

If they're PADI OW, the Bow section is beyond their 60' depth limit depending on where they go. The deck is at +65', the top of the Bow at 70' and under another 15-20' or so. Also the viz was only 40' so you'll see nothing snorkeling. It wasn't until we dropped that it came into view.

As I recall, Salt Island is not particularly close there, after our dives the captain took us past there so we could see it up close. But I could be wrong, we dove most of the islands that week so they blur together.

The good stuff to see on the stern is about 55-60' but there's some parts that are shallower. And mostly stuff you swim over, there's one area where you drop down the side but it's not that interesting except for the fish that live there now. It's a very easy, long swim over interesting wreckage that used to be the ship. Surprisingly still intact in some areas. And there's a swimthrough by the huge prop that's easy and photogenic, it appears in magazine/web ads occasionally.

Depending on the day/time you're there, there can be as many as 4-5 other boats on moorings there. Most move from the bow moorings to the stern moorings between dives. So watch overhead if you snorkel towards Salt Island.

The snorkelers could also just go to the Baths on VG that day instead.

Dive BVI is a first-class, well-run, friendly outfit. One of the top 3 I've ever used. Nice new big Newton dive boat also for the run over. We had a snorkeler in our group and they were able to accommodate both by choosing dive sites in the Dogs/Indians that he could easily swim to.

 

[diversteve]

We actually have good snorkeling (I'm told) right where we're staying... so my son and I can hang out there and snorkel that day.

If you're staying at Little Dix, that's right. It's amazing there out in the bay, nice beach and the bluest water you've ever seen. We went by there a couple of afternoons to pick up divers. And there's turtles out there shallow, we saw them every single time.

 

[cawhite]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the detailed information. Very useful!! I will tell my hubby and daughter about the swim through ahead of time. I did tell Dive BVI of their experience level and they said doing the Rhone was not a problem.... I'm sure they will take them to "appropriate" locations.

Yes, my husband and daughter are PADI OW certified. It's odd.... but when we went to Grand Cayman, the DM took them down to something like 100' as I recall.

We were going to go with Chris Sawyer to the Rhone originally (on a Friday)... but that was before we decided to actually stay in the BVI (that decision was mostly because of the diving!). So now we're going with Chris Sawyer while in the USVI, and Dive BVI while in the BVI - they do the 2 tank dives on Tues. and Wed. from different locations on Virgin Gorda, and the one tank dives on Saturday afternoon.

Oh, and we're not staying at Little Dix... we're staying at Mango Bay Resort on Mahoe Bay.

Carole

 

[diversteve]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the detailed information. Very useful!! I will tell my hubby and daughter about the swim through ahead of time. I did tell Dive BVI of their experience level and they said doing the Rhone was not a problem.... I'm sure they will take them to "appropriate" locations.

It won't be a problem, one of our group had about 12 dives and she did it.

Yes, my husband and daughter are PADI OW certified. It's odd.... but when we went to Grand Cayman, the DM took them down to something like 100' as I recall.

I've seen that happen also there. Mostly because the drop off the wall starts deeper. With a DM that's ok, new PADI OW divers probably shouldn't exceed 60' on their own for a while.

We were going to go with Chris Sawyer to the Rhone originally (on a Friday)... but that was before we decided to actually stay in the BVI (that decision was mostly because of the diving!). So now we're going with Chris Sawyer while in the USVI, and Dive BVI while in the BVI - they do the 2 tank dives on Tues. and Wed. from different locations on Virgin Gorda, and the one tank dives on Saturday afternoon.

That's a better idea for the Rhone, the Sawyers trip is all day and you have to clear immigration twice. We had our own boat (11 divers) which is why we did it on Friday - we asked for it.

PM if you have other VG questions, we were there last April. 2 recommendations for dinner - The Rock Cafe and the Friday night Buffet at Leverick Bay - everybody goes to it, even the locals.

 

[alashas]

HI Carole,

We learned to dive on VG with DiveBVI out of Leverick Bay 4 years ago and actually did a portion of the Rhone as our 4th check out dive, so it can be done by new divers. The water can be a bit rough at times and I'm sure DiveBVI will not take your family if they have any concerns regarding the conditions.

It's definitely the right idea to dive the Rhone from the BVI rather than the USVI - it's a long day. If I recall, DiveBVI left VG around 8 a.m. the day we dove and we were the first boat there and the only boat there until about 1/2 way through our dive.

I dove the Rhone 3 times in the same day this past Oct., and it's a great night dive if your gang is up for it! (And yes, we've also been chatting on TTOL!)

You are going to have a great time on VG (and maybe Fiji)! alashas
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