dived St Thomas

[all4scuba05]

5/15/05-5/22/05 stayed at Bluebeard's Castle resort...rented a car for 200/week..taxi could break you...did a beach dive at Coki beach about 30' max...then a two tank dive with Admiralty Dive shop at the Holiday inn...we did Buck Island and Stoneface...both locations were good spots...69' dive with 81degrees...Visiblilty was always 50'+...all had turtles, mantas, large crabs, and all kinds of fish. The good thing about Admiralty Dive Center is that they let you dive till you have 500 in the tank...no time limit...they rinsed off my equipment and kept it drying at their shop for 2 days until i was ready to pick it up...Had my own equipment...$40 for the guided beach dive at Coki...$80 for the two tank boat dive...$90 if you use their equipment(good for those looking to travel light)....by the way,went to dive Saphire Beach and snorkeled instead because it was only about 15-20 feet deep and was not worth diving...did swim with the turtles there though...

 

[ppo2_diver]

You survived Bluebeards? My wife and I were there last September and it was so bad at Bluebeards, we left after two days and stayed at the Marriot. I dove with Blue Island Divers. Great op if you ever get back there.

 

[scubachris]

Glad you enjoyed your St. Thomas dives. Did you dive the wreck at Buck Island, the Cartanzar Snr., or on the north side. Coki's a nice shore dive as well, did you go out with Chris? When I lived there we'd go to Coki and go to the left (away from Coral World) as it was ususally a little less crowded. But at night it was always cool to see the pipes by Coral World.

ppo2's right, try Blue Island or Chris Sawyer if you go back. They dive some different sites from admiralty.

 

[all4scuba05]

ppo2 diver...you're so right...can't believe i bought a timeshare there 5 years ago...first time using it...came home and sent back some bad critiques as well as online...already looking to sell it...
i'll try blue island divers next time as long as they let me dive an hour...thanks

 

[all4scuba05]

scubachris, i think that was the spot we were going to originally dive but too many boats there when we got there...didn't get to see any wrecks...definitelt doing one next time.
as a matter of fact i did dive with chris...he was cool...it was just him and i 'cause i got there at an odd time...went straight out from the beach

 

[DiveMaster176493]

love feeding the sgt majors at coki

 

[scubachris]

all4scuba05,

glad to hear you dove with Chris (at Coki), he's a good guy. Sold him my truck when my wife and I moved away from St. Thomas (but we'll be back). Do try Blue Island, they dive the same sites that Admiralty does and more. Although Marty has some secret sites, Aitch at Blue Island does too. Also Blue Island will dive the wrecks like the WIT Shoal on the tides, sometimes a later leave time but worth it.
They are in Crown bay marina, so just a few minutes farther then the Holiday Inn. Also if you want to do some South East side dives or go to the Rhone, Chris Sawyer is a great operation. If you haven't dove the Rhone it's a great friday trip to dive a very historic wreck.

 

[KidK9]

I stayed at Bluebeard's Beach Villas, not the castle, and it was awesome. So nice, peaceful, no college spring breakers...it was amazingly peaceful. The taxis did kill us as we didnt rent a car.

Dod you really see Manta Rays? Or just big stingrays? I havent heard of too many people at all seeing mantas. Even the DM at Blue Island Divers said Manta sightings just dont happen there unless on some rare occasion. Cool if you did tho!!!

 

[all4scuba05]

shows how much i know about sealife...gotta get a book to read on it...must be sting rays then...thanks for the correction, was gonna label it wrong in my album

 

[ppo2_diver]

Blue Island Divers let me dive my own profile. All six of my dives were over an hour. The shallowest dive was about 90 minutes. I was there in September. I guess it was a slow week as I was the only paying customer on the boat. So the rest of the staff went with us. They took me to their favorite dive sites. I'm an avid wreck diver, so they took me to a few wrecks. I had so much in common with they guys. I'm sure Sawyer's is good, but I will stay with BID due to the way they treated me when I was there. The did pick me up at Bluebeards Castle the one day I stayed there. When we moved to the Marriot and they picked me up on the dock.