Trip Report Great Week on Statia (St Eustatius)

[tursiops]

I don't usually post trip reports but this week on Statia was terrific.
We (group of 14) stayed at The Old Gin House (TOGH) and dived with Scubaqua (SA).
All was arranged though Marieke, owner at Scubaqua.
On-island logistics, meals, diving, all terrific. Great service from Scubaqua.
TOGH had Nespresso machines in the rooms, with capsules provided. Sweet!
Highly recommended, and I'm a pretty critical diver/group-leader.

Some details:

• picked up at the airport (late afternoon flight on WinAir from SXM) by Scubaqua. Bags delivered to rooms while we had dinner at TOGH.
• two am dives, one pm dive, baguette-sandwiches (ordered at breakfast) at the dive center for lunch.
• Only one dive Sunday morning,,,,nice slow start for paperwork, sorting out.
• Dived Sunday-Thursday -- 14 total -- plus an optional night dive Wednesday.
• Nitrox included in our package, analyzed on the boat and signed for, all were 31-33%. Good fills.
• Almost all the sites were deepish...my log shows most dives were 60 ft plus, some were 80+, one was 102. Pretty much square profiles except the deepest one.
• Some sites had pretty good currents; entry was by a giant stride followed by pulling along a tag line to the mooring line and holding on while descending.
• Dive times were not limited; NDLs and gas usage (especially if there were currents) kept most to one hour or less.
• Two divers removed their gear in the water and ti was lifted out by the dive crew.
• We had the "dine-around" package, with fixed menus at several restaurants pre-arranged. I was not keen on this, but it worked out very well and the group loved just diving hard, having a Gin and Tonic, and eating dinner, with no arguments about where to go and when. The outstanding meal of the week was an Indonesian Rijsttafel at the Quill Gardens, which is also owned by the Scubaqua folks. We also loved the Boardwalk restaurant.
• Some of the diving was topographically interesting, but a couple of sites were somewhat featureless and flat...almost muck diving, which paid off for the folks shooting macro.
• My wife and I did Reef.org fish surveys; most sites were quite fishy with good abundance, but not the greatest biodiversity. No big stuff, no charismatic megafauna.
• Our final dive was at Aquarium. Wow.

I give the diving 9/10 (but not suitable for the inexperienced), the on-island logistics and Scubaqua 10/10.
=========================
Any problems? WinAir SXM-EUX and EUX-SXM. Exorbitant extra bag fees, very limited carry-on allowance (Twin Otters), could not check-in on-line if you had extra bags paid for in advance, and they lost the reservations for two divers. I give WinAir 1/10.

Would I do this trip again? Well, this was my second time there, so I already did it again.....but I'd certainly consider a third time.
However, I might use the ferry from St Martin, rather than WinAir. Makana ferry leaves St Martin at 5:15pm and arrives Statia at 8:15p (M-Th-Fr-Sa-Su). The return is at 6:00a or 7:10a, arriving St Martin at 9 or 10a. RT price is $85, less than half the WinAir basic price, not even counting the $50 bags fees each way.

Suggestion for Group Leaders: WhatsApp is the communication tool of choice for a trip like this. Issues arising were quickly dealt with my a direct line into the management at TOGH and SA, and with a group chat among the group participants.

 

[drrich2]

Very glad to see a trip report for St. Eustatius. It's one of those destinations where every trip report I see is complimentary, but I see so few trip reports for it, leading to that awkward cognitive dissonance where I ask 'Why isn't this place more of a 'thing' in the scuba hobby?'

Did it take you 2 days to get 2 or from there? Would using the ferry instead of WinAir have changed that?

Where 100-cf tanks available, or were 80-cf tanks the largest?

Almost all the sites were deepish...my log shows most dives were 60 ft plus, some were 80+, one was 102. Pretty much square profiles except the deepest one.

That's good to know. Why square profiles? Were you near the top of the wall at those depths?

Some sites had pretty good currents; entry was by a giant stride followed by pulling along a tag line to the mooring line and holding on while descending.

Was the current still present at depth through the main portion of the dive? Did it complicate getting back to the boat at dive's end? Did you guys do any drift diving?

Some of the diving was topographically interesting, but a couple of sites were somewhat featureless and flat...almost muck diving, which paid off for the folks shooting macro.

That was my next question; those sites that weren't flat/somewhat featureless, what was the topography? Sloping wall like Bonaire? More vertical wall? Diving over hard bottom like the Florida Keys?

Thanks again for posting. Great to see St. Eustatius getting some press.

Richard.

 

[tursiops]

Very glad to see a trip report for St. Eustatius. It's one of those destinations where every trip report I see is complimentary, but I see so few trip reports for it, leading to that awkward cognitive dissonance where I ask 'Why isn't this place more of a 'thing' in the scuba hobby?'

It is small, with only 1.5 dive operators (I say .5 because the other operator is REALLY small, and is part of an all inclusive very expensive resort).

Did it take you 2 days to get 2 or from there? Would using the ferry instead of WinAir have changed that?

One day each way: non-stop or one-stop to St Martin, wait for the evening WinAir flight (or ferry). return via morning WinAir flight (or ferry), wait for non-stop or one-stop home. Those from Colorado nad Minnesota on the trip took a little longer.

Where 100-cf tanks available, or were 80-cf tanks the largest?

Did not ask, did not see one. 63's WERE available, so maybe there were 100's too.

That's good to know. Why square profiles? Were you near the top of the wall at those depths?

Not wall diving. Here is a typical profile; the site was Triple Wreck:

Was the current still present at depth through the main portion of the dive? Did it complicate getting back to the boat at dive's end? Did you guys do any drift diving?

The dives were well led....no problem getting back to the anchor line, to which you could hold on as you ascended. Current was minimal near the bottom, so the diving was easier than the descent/ascent.

That was my next question; those sites that weren't flat/somewhat featureless, what was the topography? Sloping wall like Bonaire? More vertical wall? Diving over hard bottom like the Florida Keys?

Of those three choices....more like the Keys.

Thanks again for posting. Great to see St. Eustatius getting some press.

Richard.

 

[Zonicles7]

Tursiops -
There are two dive shops on the island - Subaqua and Golden Rock. Dive Center Subaqua is more suitable for largish dive groups and Golden Rock Dive Center for divers who like to dive in small groups = usually less than 6 in my experience. Subaqua hauls divers to the dock in seats in the back of a pickup truck and Golden Rock is located at the dock. Both have excellent dive staff and quality equipment. Golden Rock Dive Center is a Padi 5 star has been around since 1995 and is not associated with the new expensive resort, also named Golden Rock. that opened last year.
Padi 5 Star Dive Center | Golden Rock Dive Center | Caribbean Netherlands

 

[tursiops]

Tursiops -
There are two dive shops on the island - Subaqua and Golden Rock. Dive Center Subaqua is more suitable for largish dive groups and Golden Rock Dive Center for divers who like to dive in small groups = usually less than 6 in my experience. Subaqua hauls divers to the dock in seats in the back of a pickup truck and Golden Rock is located at the dock. Both have excellent dive staff and quality equipment. Golden Rock Dive Center is a Padi 5 star has been around since 1995 and is not associated with the new expensive resort, also named Golden Rock. that opened last year.
Padi 5 Star Dive Center | Golden Rock Dive Center | Caribbean Netherlands

Thanks for this additional info. I did not mention Golden Rock (but see below) because I had no info on it except from one of the principals at the Golden Rock resort, who led me to believe the dive center was connected to their operation. Perhap he misspoke or I misunderstood. But my review was of Scubaqua (not Subaqua), with no intent to mislead.

I agree, the Golden Rock Dive Center seems better for small groups, the Scubaqua (not Subaqua) center for larger groups. Yes, there is a ride to the dock in a pickup truck, but there are fore-and-aft benches to sit on, and your gear is taken to the boat separately and loaded for you. Quite efficient and comfortable.

Since I wrote that quick review, two of my friends went to Statia and dived with Golden Rock. They quite enjoyed it. However, they took the ferry as I suggested in the OP. That was a bad idea, they said, both for timing and for comfort.

 

[Zonicles7]

I agree that the St. Maarten airport and Win Air flights were about the worst part of a trip to Statia we took last December. I am headed back in a few months and thought that the ferry sounded better than waiting in SXM for 4 hours. And the ferry and the plane get in to EUX roughly the same time.

The ferry website doesn't work to book passage. So I called and they made a reservation but they didn't take a deposit. Just merrily said I could pay when I showed up. Their boat is, at least, back in service, after having been broken.

So what was your friends' experience with the ferry?

 

[tursiops]

I agree that the St. Maarten airport and Win Air flights were about the worst part of a trip to Statia we took last December. I am headed back in a few months and thought that the ferry sounded better than waiting in SXM for 4 hours. And the ferry and the plane get in to EUX roughly the same time.

The ferry website doesn't work to book passage. So I called and they made a reservation but they didn't take a deposit. Just merrily said I could pay when I showed up. Their boat is, at least, back in service, after having been broken.

So what was your friends' experience with the ferry?

Mostly that it was a bumpy ride, and either wet or crowded, depending on where they were.

 

[TLBoehnke]

I don't usually post trip reports but this week on Statia was terrific.
We (group of 14) stayed at The Old Gin House (TOGH) and dived with Scubaqua (SA).
All was arranged though Marieke, owner at Scubaqua.
On-island logistics, meals, diving, all terrific. Great service from Scubaqua.
TOGH had Nespresso machines in the rooms, with capsules provided. Sweet!
Highly recommended, and I'm a pretty critical diver/group-leader.

Some details:

• picked up at the airport (late afternoon flight on WinAir from SXM) by Scubaqua. Bags delivered to rooms while we had dinner at TOGH.
• two am dives, one pm dive, baguette-sandwiches (ordered at breakfast) at the dive center for lunch.
• Only one dive Sunday morning,,,,nice slow start for paperwork, sorting out.
• Dived Sunday-Thursday -- 14 total -- plus an optional night dive Wednesday.
• Nitrox included in our package, analyzed on the boat and signed for, all were 31-33%. Good fills.
• Almost all the sites were deepish...my log shows most dives were 60 ft plus, some were 80+, one was 102. Pretty much square profiles except the deepest one.
• Some sites had pretty good currents; entry was by a giant stride followed by pulling along a tag line to the mooring line and holding on while descending.
• Dive times were not limited; NDLs and gas usage (especially if there were currents) kept most to one hour or less.
• Two divers removed their gear in the water and ti was lifted out by the dive crew.
• We had the "dine-around" package, with fixed menus at several restaurants pre-arranged. I was not keen on this, but it worked out very well and the group loved just diving hard, having a Gin and Tonic, and eating dinner, with no arguments about where to go and when. The outstanding meal of the week was an Indonesian Rijsttafel at the Quill Gardens, which is also owned by the Scubaqua folks. We also loved the Boardwalk restaurant.
• Some of the diving was topographically interesting, but a couple of sites were somewhat featureless and flat...almost muck diving, which paid off for the folks shooting macro.
• My wife and I did Reef.org fish surveys; most sites were quite fishy with good abundance, but not the greatest biodiversity. No big stuff, no charismatic megafauna.
• Our final dive was at Aquarium. Wow.

I give the diving 9/10 (but not suitable for the inexperienced), the on-island logistics and Scubaqua 10/10.
=========================
Any problems? WinAir SXM-EUX and EUX-SXM. Exorbitant extra bag fees, very limited carry-on allowance (Twin Otters), could not check-in on-line if you had extra bags paid for in advance, and they lost the reservations for two divers. I give WinAir 1/10.

Would I do this trip again? Well, this was my second time there, so I already did it again.....but I'd certainly consider a third time.
However, I might use the ferry from St Martin, rather than WinAir. Makana ferry leaves St Martin at 5:15pm and arrives Statia at 8:15p (M-Th-Fr-Sa-Su). The return is at 6:00a or 7:10a, arriving St Martin at 9 or 10a. RT price is $85, less than half the WinAir basic price, not even counting the $50 bags fees each way.

Suggestion for Group Leaders: WhatsApp is the communication tool of choice for a trip like this. Issues arising were quickly dealt with my a direct line into the management at TOGH and SA, and with a group chat among the group participants.

By the way, your report was posted a few weeks before I left for Statia. Your comment on the Aquarium site allowed me to ask them to take me and the two other divers there. So thank you! It had the best critters on the trip! I asked not to be taken to any modern wrecks but I did one because the rest of the group of eight that day was interested. The only modern wreck I've gone ga-ga over is the frigate off of Cayman Brac. So many critters living in and around it!

 

[tursiops]

Did you log the depths of your dives? Were they really at 50 ft?

 

[TLBoehnke]

I didn't log them but know what the bottom depth was for each. Only one dive did I go deeper than 60 feet, and that was the Chien Tong 'modern' wreck. I did not make it as far south as Drop Off or Grand Canyon or any further north than Aquarium, due to current. Here are some of the dive briefing posters from my trip of 223 dives. I did a couple twice. 3's are meters. They're all at 45-55 feet. I wasn't in to doing Blue Bead Hole either. Obviously, like you, I go for the fish and creatures, as well as Flora. My background was in biology and botany. If I had grown up around the ocean, I'd like to think I would have been a marine biologist!