Jamdiver
Guest
Hey all thought Id contribute something to the board and give a list/brief description of some dive sites in Jamaica along with my favorites.
The list is by no means exhaustive and is categorized by parish (analogous to counties in the U.S).
Ill indicate which sites Ive personally been to by a * and my opinion of it.
Feel free to add to the list if you can as Id like it to be a resource to those diving independently of hotels and looking for dive sites.
Resources
http://www.metservice.gov.jm/forecast.asp (Meteorological service Jamaica. Great resource for determining if the weather conditions will permit a dive. Generally anything over 1.5 meter waves, or 15 knot winds is gonna be too much for diving)
http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/jm/jmmap.shtml (Map of Jamaica, a bit cluttered but good detail)
http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=2245 Nice trip report from someone staying at couples Negril.
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Caribbean_/Jamaica_/index.htm Detailed description and directions to two of my favorite shore sites written by a friend of mine. GPS co-ordinates included.
Kingston & St. Andrew
Most if not all diving here will have to be done from Port Royal. Theyre boat dives mostly. Theyre a couple wrecks and reefs surround most of the cays here (Lime Cay, Maiden Cay, Drunkenmanns Cay).
Wrecks
Cayman Trader *: Easy shallow dive, wreck sits in about 40 feet of water. Remains of some sort of cargo ship carrying bananas that sank about 40 years ago. The wreck is not in the best shape as its basically in open water, no cays or anything protecting it. Its pretty spread out and upside down in portions. Profuse coral growth on portions of the wreck along with abundant marine life.
Last time I was there, about 2 weeks ago, I encountered 3 nurse sharks (all greater than 4ft), a family of spotted eagle rays, Scorpion fish, large Mutton snappers, goat fish, yellow tail, a few small parrots and a Spanish hogfish. Also saw a rather large barracuda towards the end of the dive.
Edina:
Havent been there myself. Wreck sits in about 90ft of water, its usually frequented by blacktip and reef sharks. Seems to be a very good wreck dive as people are always ranting and raving about it.. Hope to dive it soon.
Reefs:
Well this area is subject to heavy shipping traffic, Kingston harbor is the seventh largest natural harbor in the world and the port itself is a major trans-shipment point for tons of cargo. Hence the reefs arent in great condition.
Lime cay*
Home of the local glitterati and beautiful people, rivals Miami beach in skin exposed per square meter of beach. Go on Saturday or Sunday and youll see what I mean.
Anyway theres reef on the northern side of the cay. Sloping wall, usually the vis isnt that good due to surge. However lots of crustaceans (slipper lobster, spiny lobster), creole wrasse and lots soft coral.
This is a good 2nd or 3rd dive of the day maybe, coupled with the white sand beach to chill out on afterwards, it isnt a really bad choice.
The reefs around the other cays (Maiden and drunkenmans) are diveable provided conditions permit.
Portland
Beautiful parish, breathtaking scenery. The blue lagoon and the port Antonio marina are 2 of my favorite spots.
Alligator Head*.
Boat dive from Blue Lagoon, variable depth. Excellent dive very clear waters - a drift dive so bring a SMB if you have one or just pray the boatman can follow your bubbles. Last time I was there, there wasnt much of a current. Nice coral, lots of soft coral (barrel sponges, elephant ear sponge, vase sponges) some nice hard coral (brain, fire coral, Acropora palmata, staghorn coral etc.) Usual tropical fish present. Ive heard reports of people seeing hammerheads there, but I think youd have to be very lucky to see any.
Blue Hole*
Boat dive from Blue Lagoon, about 65ft depth. Great vis, spur and groove coral formation. Nice coral with some lovely gorgonians. Saw some stingrays there last time.
Catherines wreck
Havent been there, I believe its a boat dive that can be done from Boscobel hotel.
Orange Bay East and West:
Sigh , its pretty much crap now due to Hurricane Ivan. I wouldnt dive it for the marine life but just for the interesting under-water formations river sediments have taken over so the underwater landscape is eerie.
St. Mary
Pagee
Boat dive. variable depth but usually 60-120ft
. Excellent Dive - can also be very clear on a good day. also a
bit of a current so plan for drift dive. You can see nothing, can see
everything, depends on your luck or how early you start.. Excellent local seafood available on the beach for end of dive. Comments from a member of my dive club, % coral cover was amazing at >70% at a depth of 70 to 90 feet with visibility over 100 ft. No fish. Coral cover was the best that I have seen in Jamaica in a long while. Buttresses were spectacular, rising from 70-80 ft to 20 ft
St. Ann
Pear Tree*. Boat/shore dive. variable depth.
Increasingly difficult by shore due to highway development. Also
dangerous by shore if rough. lovely dive, can have excellent viz.
often see eagle rays and squid. can have excellent coral structure.
There are many ways to dive this site, very variable. Theyre lots of swimthroughs and overhangs at this site. Refer to the shorediving link for a reference to this dive site and one of the possible entrances.
Dary Bull. Boat only. This dive is excellent for a new
diver. this dive may be equally fabulous at 25ft as it is at 100ft.
great for photography and night dives.
Trelawny
Yows/ aka Rio Bueno*: One of my absolute favorite dives sites.
Directions and GPS co-ordinates at shoredive.com.
Shore/boat.variable depth, but best if 100ft not exceeded - starts getting
crappy below 100ft.
This dive boasts one of the best vertical wall dives in Jamaica. The
view at the top of the wall is fabulous. Can occasionally get a few
large specimens, turtles, barracudas, but over fishing is still very
evident. Damselfish, 4-eye butterflyish, creole wrasse, trigger-fish, squirrel-fish blah blah.. can be seen. Has shown some recovery in fast-growing coral but not even
close to its former glory according to others.
Lovely shallow dive at end can be used to off-gas. can be difficult
to enter and exit if shore diving - must be calm day AND early. Believe me Ive been bashed by waves there while exiting before. On a bad way, Ive seen waves break over the cliff. Check my gallery for a pic of the descent point which is right next to the cliff.
If going by shore please patronise Yow's Jerk centre, they have
excellent local seafood available and tolerate the divers.
Oyster bay- Havent been there but I think that its a shore dive.
Planes This is really a boat dive, but if youre cheap like me it can be done as a shore dive with a 40 minute swim out to the site and 40 minute swim back in. Its called planes because the remains of a plane transporting marijuana crashed there. The remains of 2 fishermens boat are there also. Nice hard and soft coral in the area, not much fish though. I dont have exact directions, but its near Hedonism 3. Look out for idiots on jetskis as you swim out.
St. James
Spanish Anchor and Basket reef Boat dives can be done from Pier 1 in Montego Bay. Theyre both in the Marine park, so fish numbers and size are above average. Beautiful breath-taking dives, healthy diverse coral, huge sponge and great vis. Spanish anchor is so named because of the remains of 2 massive anchors from some ship that anchored there and broke away in a storm I believe.
Airport wall: Comments from another diver who has done it. Airport wall was magnificent as always; the soft corals, gorgonians, black coral and staghorn coral in good health and quite a diversity of fish life. After 20 minutes on the deep, we ascended to 40 ft and made our way back to the buouy over beautiful gardens of brain coral and tube sponges. 45 minutes of pure diving heaven.
Widowmaker I believe this is done as a boat dive from a lot of hotels around Montego Bay. Supposed to be phenomenal.
It involves descending through a vertical tunnel about 6 ft wide from about 45 ft to 80 ft and then across horizontally another 30 ft to exit out on the wall. There are numerous large heads of coral that ascend from hundreds of feet up to about a 100 feet. We saw three or four very large mutton snapper swimming together and a host of smaller reef fish. The coral wasn't as healthy as over on the airport side but overall the reef structure was very impressive. We ended the dive immersed in a school of sergeant majors, yellowtails and parrot fish
Hannis Reef, aka Chalet Caribe*
Found In Reading, which is just west and outside of Montego Bay. Directly opposite from a hotel called the Chalet Caribe. Just park across the road, kit up and be prepared to be gawked at by tourists in tour buses and locals as you kit up. Walk down the concrete jetty? And hop in. Swim to the buoy and descend to a plaque honoring the efforts of Hanni who was involved in the creation of the marine park I believe.
Shore dive, variable depth, great vis can be had. Can be good whether deep or shallow, lots of marine life. Did some of my first dives there and according to my logbook I saw a Moray eel, king crab?, spiny lobster, school of creole wrasse. Nice wall if I remember.
So there you have it, I hope this is of some help to you guys who might be in the island looking for somewhere to dive.
The list is by no means exhaustive and is categorized by parish (analogous to counties in the U.S).
Ill indicate which sites Ive personally been to by a * and my opinion of it.
Feel free to add to the list if you can as Id like it to be a resource to those diving independently of hotels and looking for dive sites.
Resources
http://www.metservice.gov.jm/forecast.asp (Meteorological service Jamaica. Great resource for determining if the weather conditions will permit a dive. Generally anything over 1.5 meter waves, or 15 knot winds is gonna be too much for diving)
http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/jm/jmmap.shtml (Map of Jamaica, a bit cluttered but good detail)
http://dive.scubadiving.com/members/tripreports.php?s=2245 Nice trip report from someone staying at couples Negril.
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/Caribbean_/Jamaica_/index.htm Detailed description and directions to two of my favorite shore sites written by a friend of mine. GPS co-ordinates included.
Kingston & St. Andrew
Most if not all diving here will have to be done from Port Royal. Theyre boat dives mostly. Theyre a couple wrecks and reefs surround most of the cays here (Lime Cay, Maiden Cay, Drunkenmanns Cay).
Wrecks
Cayman Trader *: Easy shallow dive, wreck sits in about 40 feet of water. Remains of some sort of cargo ship carrying bananas that sank about 40 years ago. The wreck is not in the best shape as its basically in open water, no cays or anything protecting it. Its pretty spread out and upside down in portions. Profuse coral growth on portions of the wreck along with abundant marine life.
Last time I was there, about 2 weeks ago, I encountered 3 nurse sharks (all greater than 4ft), a family of spotted eagle rays, Scorpion fish, large Mutton snappers, goat fish, yellow tail, a few small parrots and a Spanish hogfish. Also saw a rather large barracuda towards the end of the dive.
Edina:
Havent been there myself. Wreck sits in about 90ft of water, its usually frequented by blacktip and reef sharks. Seems to be a very good wreck dive as people are always ranting and raving about it.. Hope to dive it soon.
Reefs:
Well this area is subject to heavy shipping traffic, Kingston harbor is the seventh largest natural harbor in the world and the port itself is a major trans-shipment point for tons of cargo. Hence the reefs arent in great condition.
Lime cay*
Home of the local glitterati and beautiful people, rivals Miami beach in skin exposed per square meter of beach. Go on Saturday or Sunday and youll see what I mean.
Anyway theres reef on the northern side of the cay. Sloping wall, usually the vis isnt that good due to surge. However lots of crustaceans (slipper lobster, spiny lobster), creole wrasse and lots soft coral.
This is a good 2nd or 3rd dive of the day maybe, coupled with the white sand beach to chill out on afterwards, it isnt a really bad choice.
The reefs around the other cays (Maiden and drunkenmans) are diveable provided conditions permit.
Portland
Beautiful parish, breathtaking scenery. The blue lagoon and the port Antonio marina are 2 of my favorite spots.
Alligator Head*.
Boat dive from Blue Lagoon, variable depth. Excellent dive very clear waters - a drift dive so bring a SMB if you have one or just pray the boatman can follow your bubbles. Last time I was there, there wasnt much of a current. Nice coral, lots of soft coral (barrel sponges, elephant ear sponge, vase sponges) some nice hard coral (brain, fire coral, Acropora palmata, staghorn coral etc.) Usual tropical fish present. Ive heard reports of people seeing hammerheads there, but I think youd have to be very lucky to see any.
Blue Hole*
Boat dive from Blue Lagoon, about 65ft depth. Great vis, spur and groove coral formation. Nice coral with some lovely gorgonians. Saw some stingrays there last time.
Catherines wreck
Havent been there, I believe its a boat dive that can be done from Boscobel hotel.
Orange Bay East and West:
Sigh , its pretty much crap now due to Hurricane Ivan. I wouldnt dive it for the marine life but just for the interesting under-water formations river sediments have taken over so the underwater landscape is eerie.
St. Mary
Pagee
Boat dive. variable depth but usually 60-120ft
. Excellent Dive - can also be very clear on a good day. also a
bit of a current so plan for drift dive. You can see nothing, can see
everything, depends on your luck or how early you start.. Excellent local seafood available on the beach for end of dive. Comments from a member of my dive club, % coral cover was amazing at >70% at a depth of 70 to 90 feet with visibility over 100 ft. No fish. Coral cover was the best that I have seen in Jamaica in a long while. Buttresses were spectacular, rising from 70-80 ft to 20 ft
St. Ann
Pear Tree*. Boat/shore dive. variable depth.
Increasingly difficult by shore due to highway development. Also
dangerous by shore if rough. lovely dive, can have excellent viz.
often see eagle rays and squid. can have excellent coral structure.
There are many ways to dive this site, very variable. Theyre lots of swimthroughs and overhangs at this site. Refer to the shorediving link for a reference to this dive site and one of the possible entrances.
Dary Bull. Boat only. This dive is excellent for a new
diver. this dive may be equally fabulous at 25ft as it is at 100ft.
great for photography and night dives.
Trelawny
Yows/ aka Rio Bueno*: One of my absolute favorite dives sites.
Directions and GPS co-ordinates at shoredive.com.
Shore/boat.variable depth, but best if 100ft not exceeded - starts getting
crappy below 100ft.
This dive boasts one of the best vertical wall dives in Jamaica. The
view at the top of the wall is fabulous. Can occasionally get a few
large specimens, turtles, barracudas, but over fishing is still very
evident. Damselfish, 4-eye butterflyish, creole wrasse, trigger-fish, squirrel-fish blah blah.. can be seen. Has shown some recovery in fast-growing coral but not even
close to its former glory according to others.
Lovely shallow dive at end can be used to off-gas. can be difficult
to enter and exit if shore diving - must be calm day AND early. Believe me Ive been bashed by waves there while exiting before. On a bad way, Ive seen waves break over the cliff. Check my gallery for a pic of the descent point which is right next to the cliff.
If going by shore please patronise Yow's Jerk centre, they have
excellent local seafood available and tolerate the divers.
Oyster bay- Havent been there but I think that its a shore dive.
Planes This is really a boat dive, but if youre cheap like me it can be done as a shore dive with a 40 minute swim out to the site and 40 minute swim back in. Its called planes because the remains of a plane transporting marijuana crashed there. The remains of 2 fishermens boat are there also. Nice hard and soft coral in the area, not much fish though. I dont have exact directions, but its near Hedonism 3. Look out for idiots on jetskis as you swim out.
St. James
Spanish Anchor and Basket reef Boat dives can be done from Pier 1 in Montego Bay. Theyre both in the Marine park, so fish numbers and size are above average. Beautiful breath-taking dives, healthy diverse coral, huge sponge and great vis. Spanish anchor is so named because of the remains of 2 massive anchors from some ship that anchored there and broke away in a storm I believe.
Airport wall: Comments from another diver who has done it. Airport wall was magnificent as always; the soft corals, gorgonians, black coral and staghorn coral in good health and quite a diversity of fish life. After 20 minutes on the deep, we ascended to 40 ft and made our way back to the buouy over beautiful gardens of brain coral and tube sponges. 45 minutes of pure diving heaven.
Widowmaker I believe this is done as a boat dive from a lot of hotels around Montego Bay. Supposed to be phenomenal.
It involves descending through a vertical tunnel about 6 ft wide from about 45 ft to 80 ft and then across horizontally another 30 ft to exit out on the wall. There are numerous large heads of coral that ascend from hundreds of feet up to about a 100 feet. We saw three or four very large mutton snapper swimming together and a host of smaller reef fish. The coral wasn't as healthy as over on the airport side but overall the reef structure was very impressive. We ended the dive immersed in a school of sergeant majors, yellowtails and parrot fish
Hannis Reef, aka Chalet Caribe*
Found In Reading, which is just west and outside of Montego Bay. Directly opposite from a hotel called the Chalet Caribe. Just park across the road, kit up and be prepared to be gawked at by tourists in tour buses and locals as you kit up. Walk down the concrete jetty? And hop in. Swim to the buoy and descend to a plaque honoring the efforts of Hanni who was involved in the creation of the marine park I believe.
Shore dive, variable depth, great vis can be had. Can be good whether deep or shallow, lots of marine life. Did some of my first dives there and according to my logbook I saw a Moray eel, king crab?, spiny lobster, school of creole wrasse. Nice wall if I remember.
So there you have it, I hope this is of some help to you guys who might be in the island looking for somewhere to dive.
