dived St Thomas

[scubachris]

all4scuba05,
Might have been Eagle Rays. While the most frequent ray that's seen in St. Thomas is the Southern Sting Ray we do see Eagle Rays from time to time. Check out http://www.fishbase.org as a good reference, here's the link to the eagle ray.
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Aetobatus&speciesname=narinari
and lot's more photo's
http://www.fishbase.org/Photos/ThumbnailsSummary.cfm?ID=1250

Also the Paul Humann and Ned DeLoach books are great, http://www.fishid.com/


Best

Chris

 

[scubachris]

ppo2_diver
You're right Blue Island is a great operation. Aitch, Ian and company are great people to work and and dive with. It shows in the operation.
If you go back you may want to try Chris Sawyer if you want to dive some of the SE side sites or go to the Rhone. The two operations will occasionally refer divers to each other ie, dive the Rhone with Chris Sawyer and then the Southside wrecks with Blue Island.
Blue Island's also much better now that they've got barefoot diver, she's a nice dive boat, fast and comfortable.

Interested, where did you go with the staff diving?

Chris

 

[all4scuba05]

wow, i'm sold...i definitely will hookup with them when i go next May...thanks alot...

 

[RAD Diver]

I dove with Ian & BID last oct. & had great dives, went to the WIT Concrete on Barefoot Diver then to Horseshoe Reef & stayed down for an hour.
They picked us up off the dock & dropped us off at the same. It was pouring rain, but when we called they were very upbeat & never thought of calling the dives off.

 

[zuzanne]

Hubby & I are headed to St Thomas in December. We need 2 nights Dec. 8th & 9th at a clean, reasonable priced hotel. Does anyone have any places they could recommend in the Red Hook area if possible? Doesn't need to be fancy just clean.

Suzanne

 

[scubachris]

December may be tough for a reasonably priced hotel. Near Red Hook there's the Wyndam and the Ritz Carlton. There are various condo's but I don't know if you'll find one for two nights. Are you diving from Red Hook (Chris Sawyer?), you might want to call them if so as they could recommend some places. Their number is 877-929-3483 or http://www.sawyerdive.vi

Before we moved to St. Thomas we stayed at the Mafolie. It's above town (Charlotte Amalie) so is a drive to Red Hook. But if you cut across Skyline or middle road you'll be going against traffic in the morning to Red Hook so it's maybe 15-20 Min.Here's their URL. http://mafolie.com/
The Mafolie bar has one of the best views on St. Thomas at night.

best,
chris

 

[zuzanne]

Thanks Chris, we will be staying at the Elysian Beach Resort in a condo from Dec. 10 thru Dec. 17th. We will have a car so if we need to, we would stay elsewhere on the Island for the 2 additional days. We thought a place in Red Hook would put us close to the Elysian. We are planning to take the Ferry over to Virgin Gorda that runs on the Saturday the 10th. We planned t leave the car at the Elysian since we can't check in until after 4PM and do not want to leave things in a car in the parking lot at the Ferry Dock. Any ideas on this would be appreciated. Do you know of a company that does a day trip to Virgin Gorda on a day other than Saturday? We really want to go over and see the Baths, we don't care which day we go as long as we get to go. We are planning to dive with Chris Sawyer as he is highly recommended on this board.

Thanks again for your help.

Suzanne

 

[scubachris]

zuzanne,
If you're just wanting a day trip to see the baths you've got a couple options. Instead of the ferry think about a small charter or going on an island tour boat.
The ferry takes just under 2 hours and if I remember is about $50 each round. You're also stuck on a ferry for a while, pretty view but there's bette ways to go.
In red hook there are a number of small charter operations: Nauti Nymph, Water's Edge, etc. that you can rent a 25-30 foot boat with captain or around $400/day (not including tip). Then you can set your itinerary, go to the baths, to Peter Island's caves, to Jost Van Dyke (a visit to the soggy dollar bar is a must), etc.

A little less pricy are the day boats, New Horizons runs two from near Red Hook that go to the baths and make various bvi island stops, including the soggy dollar bar (home of the pain killer and beautiful white sand beaches with hammocks). They also have marvelous food and even better drinks on board and the crew really take care of you. I think it's around $125 a person, that includes boat snacks (which is an understatement) and drinks. Lunch is not included but they usually stop at Pussers on Marina Cay (next to Tortola) and everyone eats there.

Both of these options are avaible 7 days a week, space permitting, it is the high season in Dec.

Since you're going to be diving with Chris Sawyer give Pat a call there and she can help you book or tell you more about the options I outlined.

Chris

 

[zuzanne]

Thanks so much for your help Chris, this is just the information I needed. We will definately contact Pat and also check out Horizons schedules. We have taken these type of day trips on other Islands and really enjoy them.

Suzanne

 

[scubachris]

Suzanne,

No problem, glad to be of help. I think that New Horizons has two powerboats now with slight different itineraries but they both go to the Baths. Bring a camera as the trip there, the Baths and the trip around the BVI are fantastic. It's much better then the Ferry! Ahh, I'm missing it already! Now that we're back in the states, why did we come back?

Also you might want to ask Pat about Point Pleasant, they are condos on the other side of Red Hook then the Elysian and might have space for two days.

Ohh almost forgot bring your passport for your BVI trip. It's that or your Birth Certificate and Drivers License (or govt. ID) but the Passport is much easier. And you get a nice BVI Virgin Gorda stamp! This also goes for the Rhone if you dive that with Chris Saywer, they go every Friday.

Chris