Headed to Saint Thomas and would like to dive the Rhone

[OceanObsessed]

My wife will be staying in Saint Thomas on a business trip and I might go along. I know that Saint Thomas is in USVI and the Rhone is in BVI. For anyone that is familiar with the area what is the best way to go about this? Take the ferry from Saint Thomas to Saint Johns then take a charter from there? Is this possible in one day? Also, any dive operations that you would recommend? Any idea of charter boat prices?
Thanks

 

[RICHinNC]

Most dive ops on both islands go to the Rhone. Be aware the Rhone is in Brit country and you will need your passport.

I used Sawyer dive ops but I am not sure if he is still operating.

 

[Antietam]

St Thomas has plenty of good shipwrecks, they have just not been marketed like the BVI markets the Rhone.

LST 467/WIT Shoal... almost 400ft of WWII tank landing carrier. Served in the pacific during the war. Sits upright in @90 ft of water and almost fully intact. Lots of easy penetration, and lots of palegics visit this wreck. Orange and yellow cup coral abound. The crane sits at a shallow 35ft. Kinda gives you an idea of how big she is.

WIT Concrete...400ft of bulk fuel carrier. Sits upright in @ 90ft of water and fully intact. Deck is at @50 feet. The sides of the ship make an awesome wall dive. Lots of palegics and turtles.

Miss Opportunity...310ft Navy hospital ship, upside down in @ 85ft of water. Full hull penetration from stern to bow with blue water and exits always visible. Always seems to produce turtle sightings.

The list goes on. The SS Grainton, Kennedy, Navy Barges, WIT Power, WIT Service, Chrysler, and even a DC3. Don't sell St Thomas wreck diving short. Look in the latest Sport Diver magazine about some of the wrecks there. The BVI does a great job marketing the Rhone. Maybe someday St Thomas will do the same with some of their wrecks. Please don't overlook St Thomas for quality wreck diving.

 

[vfox]

We're also going to St Thomas soon - ThanX for sharing this info so we can ask the dive shop about these sites !

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

If your looking for an easy wreck right in the Charlotte Amalie harbor the navy barges are worth checking out. Great vis and lots of schooling fish. Good warm up dive for the depper wrecks. The Rhone is a day trip that most ops do once a week. Its a full day on the water and don't forget your passport. I can recommend Chris Sawyer out of Red Hook. They do a nice job.

 

[Rhone Man]

The Rhone is a nice dive, but it is a bit of a pain to get to from USVI (clearing customs, long boat ride) and the USVI operators tend to charge accordingly. To be candid, if I was staying in Charlotte Amalie I would probably go for one of the "local wrecks". For my money the marine life is not as good, but they are closer and cheaper, and still very good dives in their own right.

Just my 2 psi.

 

[diversteve]

I can recommend Chris Sawyer out of Red Hook. They do a nice job.

Chris Sawyer moved over to St. John last year:

Welcome to Chris Sawyer Diving Center at Caneel Bay Resort, St.John, USVI

I've read someone else took over the diveop in Red Hook but have no details.

OO, an alternative would be to do a Rhone dive out of Tortola. Certain days it's possible to leave either Charlotte Amalie or Red Hook on a commercial ferry and be there later that morning. The Tortola to Rhone run is much shorter, probably under an hour. You'll want to do 2 dives as the front and back are separated by enough distance that most diveops move moorings during your SI. I would guess that you could be back on Tortola around 4PM or so. On Wed. there's a last ferry leaving Tortola at 5:30 PM so s/b plenty of time to get back. Or go over to St. John in the morning first and then onto West End Tortola. It's often dove as a cruise ship dive from Tortola so they must have it worked out to be back early enough.

But a couple of things to know: Tortola is a really long island and the two stops - West End and Road Town are miles apart. So make sure both diveop (pickup?) and ferry stop are the same. Otherwise it's a cab ride across to Road Town - and the time it takes. One of the diveops there is at a resort on the East End so slightly further away. AquaVentures or UBS in Road Town do the Rhone, not sure when.

Here's the BVIScuba page, it lists most of the diveops on Tortola with links to their sites. I can completely recommend DiveBVI if you can get to Virgin Gorda and back in time, but I doubt you will be able to. http://www.bviscuba.org/portal/DiveShops/tabid/58/Default.aspx

Some of the ferries are fast - doing the crossing in as little as an hour - esp. Cruz Bay to West End as it's the closer part of both islands. It's how everybody gets around. My friends left Virgin Gorda one morning around 8AM and were back in Charlotte Amalie early enough that they shopped for a couple hours before their 1:30 flight.

You also have to clear customs/immigration both ways so bring your passport. I don't know what it's like on Tortola, but Virgin Gorda was quick. As was coming back into St. John. I think there's even some night ferries from St. John back to Red Hook, it's 20mins. or so apart.

Here's the ferries schedules: http://www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/ I don't know if it's still the case but a couple years ago I was told to call first to make sure they were running when we were there, some are seasonal.