BVI - You call the dive site

[Thiad]

I've been "coerced" into a catamaran trip to BVI in a few months (horrible, I know). Apparently we dictate where we're headed.

So considering you've got the helm, what's on the "must do" list of dives - from novice on up (we have a full range of folks/skills and some will skip dives if necessary).

I've already plotted The Rhone, The Chikuzen, Coral Garden (Peter Island) and maybe Jost Van Dyke (The Playground)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TSandM]

HERE is my trip report from our week on the catamaran in the BVI. My favorite dives were the Chikuzen, the Fearless, and the Painted Walls, as well as Coral Gardens. We had a good time; you will enjoy yourself, I think.

 

[diversteve]

Everyone can dive Seal Dog Rocks. Have the novices stay on the BVI side. Should be big pelagics on the Atlantic side. I actually had a better time on the Carib side, there was a school of baitfish and I watched a barracuda pick some off. In about 30' - scales everywhere. I understand from a recent trip report that they're still there. My buddy and I are pretty advanced but there was also a 14 yr. old doing his checkout dives on that trip.

We all (varying skill levels) liked The Chimney off Great Dog. It's pretty shallow - I don't think we broke 50'. We saw several sharks there and a couple of turtles near the "chimney".

Ginger Steps off Ginger Island is another possibility everyone can dive to the step that they're comfortable with. I think the last one is about 90'.

Two dives on the Rhone also. And move between the moorings after the first dive. I think anybody could do the back - you can either stay shallower on top or drop down the sides. The front also except that most people like to do the swim thru so that could be a little intimidating to the novice divers. We didn't have the greatest viz on the front either but that certainly changes constantly.

 

[Thiad]

Thank you for the information - both of you! I'm glad you reposted the link on your trip report. I had found a reference to it, but couldn't find it.

 

[Rhone Man]

Boy, so many options. If I had to do a free week and a free hand picking sites, the ones I would want to try and make sure I hit would be:

• Chikuzen (obviously)
  
• RMS Rhone (because you kind of have to - it's like a law)
• Blonde Rock
• Carrot Shoal
• Santa Monica Rock
• Devil's Kitchen
  
• Tip o' Scrub
• Thumb Rock
• Rainbow Canyons

Those tend to reflect my "patch", so sites near Jost Van Dyke or Virgin Gorda might be under represented, but those would certainly be high on my list. I suspect they will pressure you to go the traditional touristy dive sites, like the Indians, Wreck Alley, The Chimney and Coral Garden/Airplane Wreck. None of those are bad, but I prefer the less often dived sites.

 

[Rhone Man]

PS. Feel free to PM me if you want to ask about any specific sites.

This map is not complete, but is certainly a good starting point.

You can also find a lot of basic info on the WikiTravel BVI diving article.

 

[Thiad]

I wanted to thank all of you for your input. Got back last Sunday from an absolutely fantastic week aboard the 52' catamaran Aldebaran. We managed to squeeze in 13 dives and I could happily have done many, many more. We didn't do too much on any of the islands (there was the requisite stop at the Soggy Dollar Bar and The Bath), but really just spent most of the time sailing around and just enjoying life on the water. The dive sites I absolutely loved were the Chikuzen, Painted Walls and Brewer's Bay Pinnacles.

The catamaran experience is something that truly can't be described. I've not done a live-aboard before and if this is a taste of that type of diving, I'm hooked. My experience aboard boat was almost identical to yours, TSandM. Excellent, excellent food, extremely comfortable accommodations and a crew that treated us like family. It was very relaxed. We did head out for a few dives aboard our small dinghy. Definitely reminds one why ensuring you can get in and out of your gear in the water is a very important skill to master.

As for the sea-life, lots of it from small to large. We saw four reef sharks, multiple numbers of nurse sharks, quite a few southern stingray (but only 1 spotted eagle ray), snappers, barracuda and more tarpon than I've ever seen ... the normal fish of the area. Quite a few turtles but we noticed more surfacing while on the boat than actually in the water. Lionfish weren't terribly abundant but present.

The only sad thing? I didn't see a single green moray eel. Garden eels, yes but no other eels!

 

[TSandM]

Glad you had a good time! I loved the Chikuzen, too, and was very glad that the ocean conditions permitted us to dive it.

 

[Rhone Man]

Glad you had a great trip. I sympathise about the lack of Green Morays. I think they are an amazingly beautiful animal, but they are quite uncommon down here for some reason. But we do have them, I promise!