Rhone Man's British Virgin Islands diving guide
I get quite a few PMs at this time of year (I suspect other BVI resident SB members do too) asking for advice about diving in the BVI. I have no problem with replying to PMs, but I thought it might be useful to set down a few guidance notes on BVI diving (according to Rhone Man) for anyone who wants to visit.
Dive Sites
I am biased obviously, but there are a lot of good dive sites in the BVI. Depending upon where you will be, I'd try and prioritise the following:
[1] Wreck of Rhone. Most local divers get tired of it quickly, but all the visitors gush, and unless we are really jaded we remember our first breathtaking dive on the Rhone. Not a classic penetration wreck dive, more of a blown-open artificial reef. Tons of marine life and gripping tale to go with it (ship went down in 1867 with almost all hands).
[2] Indians. The "other" big dive in the BVI; 4 large pinnacles plunging down to about 65 feet, speckled with shallow caves. Pretty good snorkelling too for the kids.
[3] Ginger Steps. Rhone Man's personal favourite; a plunging wall, with a fanastic garden of sand surrounded by coral at the top. Really nice reef dive.
[4] Carrot Shoal. Lovely pinnacle between Peter and Norman Islands. Rarely dived, but loaded with interesting marine life.
[5] Blonde Rock. Tough to do in bad weather, but a lovely pinnacle full of caverns, ledges and crevasses. Packed with lobster, but sadly, the site is a national park.
[6] Wreck of the Chikuzen. Very tough to do in bad weather, but a really nice wreck dive if you get the opportunity. Largely in tact 240 foot freighter sunk about 12 miles north of Scrub Island.
[7] Wreck Alley. 4 artificially sunk wrecks just off Cooper Island, next to a reef wall. Better if you can do the Inganess Bay, which is the bigger wreck, split off from the other three.
[8] Thumb Rock. Often overlooked dive site right next to wreck alley, which is pretty good dive itself - good place to spot sharks.
[9] Seal Dog. Another weather dependent site, but a really good dive - very sharp pinnacle that breaks the surface and goes down to 80 feet pretty much vertically.
[10] Santa Monica Rock. (Yet another) weather dependant site (so much so, that Rhone Man hasn't been there for 15 years), but a really nice deep water pinnacle (although the dive itself is not very deep at all).
Others will have their own favourites. There are also some pretty good dives not listed there for various reasons: Wreck of Parmatta (in Anegada, just too hard to get to), Grand Central Station (cave system - no longer marked because the Government doesn't want tourists killing themselves), Two Towers (perfectly good dive, but too far East so most dive operators don't go there much).
Just to balance the score card, I'll mention what I tend to think of as slightly overrated dives:
[1] Vanishing Point. Shallow reef that I never think has much going for it, except being close to a popular mooring site (Cooper Island).
[2] Wreck of the Fearless. Used to be a good dive - now the superstructure has almost completed rotted away, there is not much to see and it is an accident waiting to happen. Visibility is always poor around the wreck.
[3] "Airplane wreck", sometimes called by its old name: Coral Gardens. It sounds cool - diving on an airplane. And it is, for about 5 minutes. Then you have to spend 55 minutes wandering around a reef that never recovered from an ill advised bleach fishing incident some years back.
[4] Bronco billy. The Marmite dive site - some love it, some hate it. I think of it as a bit unremarkable except for one decent swim through. But (so local legend says) it was Jacques Cousteau's favourite dive in the BVI, so people seem to take the great man's advice a lot.
[5] Painted Walls. Bit like a Reese's peanut butter cup. It is nice enough, but too small to really satisfy. Mind you, others gush about it, so maybe it is just me.
Dive Operators
Most of them are pretty sound (except for one, that I won't name, lest I be sued). I'll just mention four here though:
- I dive mostly with Sail Caribbean Divers. This has absolutely nothing to do with the large number of attractive blonde dive instructors. Honestly. They are probably the most professionally run dive outfit in the BVI (IMHO). Bit too professional sometimes - bordering on anal. But they are good, you have fun, and you'll be safe. Just bear with them over "boat briefings" and "tank pressure checks".
- Blue Water Divers are probably the opposite - also a really nice bunch of guys, but so relaxed as to be almost catatonic. Muffy and Keith may be the last of the real old guard divers. They also taught Rhone Man how to dive, so they have a lot to answer for.
- Dive BVI. Never dived with them, but I hear good things. They are also the only operator with Nitrox, so that has to be good. Downside is that they are based on Virgin Gorda, which is a bit out of the way.
- UBS. Tony and Kate run a slightly smaller, more bespoke operation (think taxi cab rather than bus). Never dived with them, but it sounds good on paper, and Tony and Kate are genuinely nice people. I have to say that or Kate beats me up.
Liveaboards
Really only two based in the BVI:
- Cuan Law. I spent 3 very happy days on Cuan Law once (which also has Nitrox incidentally), and had an absolute blast. Really, really good time - big, roomy, lots of fun - can't speak highly enough of it. Although I wasn't picking up the tab (which was substantial), so that helped.
- Promenade. Don't know much about them. Sorry.
Other
How to get here:
From Europe, fly to either Antigua or St Martin, and then catch the LIAT flight up
From US, either fly to Puerto Rico, and then take either American Eagle or Cape Air across, or fly into St Thomas and catch the ferry (more of a pain than it sounds when you type it - the ferry schedules never tie up with the flights so you usually have to overnight in St Thomas).
Cell/mobile phones: Should all work here on roaming, although a lot cheaper to buy a local SIM card and put it in your phone ($10). For some reason US Blackberries work here, but European ones tend not to. Go figure.
Nearest deco chamber: In St Thomas. But very few dive sites in the BVI go deeper than 80 feet, so decompression injuries are pretty rare in BVI.
Electricity: 110 volts, US style plugs.
TV: American cable TV.
Useful links:
- List of all the major BVI dive sites
- BVI Scuba organisation - not for profit association of dive operators
- BVI Tourist board - official government propoganda
Happy to answer any questions by PM, but remember I am just a guy in the BVI who likes to dive - not a dive pro.
I get quite a few PMs at this time of year (I suspect other BVI resident SB members do too) asking for advice about diving in the BVI. I have no problem with replying to PMs, but I thought it might be useful to set down a few guidance notes on BVI diving (according to Rhone Man) for anyone who wants to visit.
Dive Sites
I am biased obviously, but there are a lot of good dive sites in the BVI. Depending upon where you will be, I'd try and prioritise the following:
[1] Wreck of Rhone. Most local divers get tired of it quickly, but all the visitors gush, and unless we are really jaded we remember our first breathtaking dive on the Rhone. Not a classic penetration wreck dive, more of a blown-open artificial reef. Tons of marine life and gripping tale to go with it (ship went down in 1867 with almost all hands).
[2] Indians. The "other" big dive in the BVI; 4 large pinnacles plunging down to about 65 feet, speckled with shallow caves. Pretty good snorkelling too for the kids.
[3] Ginger Steps. Rhone Man's personal favourite; a plunging wall, with a fanastic garden of sand surrounded by coral at the top. Really nice reef dive.
[4] Carrot Shoal. Lovely pinnacle between Peter and Norman Islands. Rarely dived, but loaded with interesting marine life.
[5] Blonde Rock. Tough to do in bad weather, but a lovely pinnacle full of caverns, ledges and crevasses. Packed with lobster, but sadly, the site is a national park.
[6] Wreck of the Chikuzen. Very tough to do in bad weather, but a really nice wreck dive if you get the opportunity. Largely in tact 240 foot freighter sunk about 12 miles north of Scrub Island.
[7] Wreck Alley. 4 artificially sunk wrecks just off Cooper Island, next to a reef wall. Better if you can do the Inganess Bay, which is the bigger wreck, split off from the other three.
[8] Thumb Rock. Often overlooked dive site right next to wreck alley, which is pretty good dive itself - good place to spot sharks.
[9] Seal Dog. Another weather dependent site, but a really good dive - very sharp pinnacle that breaks the surface and goes down to 80 feet pretty much vertically.
[10] Santa Monica Rock. (Yet another) weather dependant site (so much so, that Rhone Man hasn't been there for 15 years), but a really nice deep water pinnacle (although the dive itself is not very deep at all).
Others will have their own favourites. There are also some pretty good dives not listed there for various reasons: Wreck of Parmatta (in Anegada, just too hard to get to), Grand Central Station (cave system - no longer marked because the Government doesn't want tourists killing themselves), Two Towers (perfectly good dive, but too far East so most dive operators don't go there much).
Just to balance the score card, I'll mention what I tend to think of as slightly overrated dives:
[1] Vanishing Point. Shallow reef that I never think has much going for it, except being close to a popular mooring site (Cooper Island).
[2] Wreck of the Fearless. Used to be a good dive - now the superstructure has almost completed rotted away, there is not much to see and it is an accident waiting to happen. Visibility is always poor around the wreck.
[3] "Airplane wreck", sometimes called by its old name: Coral Gardens. It sounds cool - diving on an airplane. And it is, for about 5 minutes. Then you have to spend 55 minutes wandering around a reef that never recovered from an ill advised bleach fishing incident some years back.
[4] Bronco billy. The Marmite dive site - some love it, some hate it. I think of it as a bit unremarkable except for one decent swim through. But (so local legend says) it was Jacques Cousteau's favourite dive in the BVI, so people seem to take the great man's advice a lot.
[5] Painted Walls. Bit like a Reese's peanut butter cup. It is nice enough, but too small to really satisfy. Mind you, others gush about it, so maybe it is just me.
Dive Operators
Most of them are pretty sound (except for one, that I won't name, lest I be sued). I'll just mention four here though:
- I dive mostly with Sail Caribbean Divers. This has absolutely nothing to do with the large number of attractive blonde dive instructors. Honestly. They are probably the most professionally run dive outfit in the BVI (IMHO). Bit too professional sometimes - bordering on anal. But they are good, you have fun, and you'll be safe. Just bear with them over "boat briefings" and "tank pressure checks".
- Blue Water Divers are probably the opposite - also a really nice bunch of guys, but so relaxed as to be almost catatonic. Muffy and Keith may be the last of the real old guard divers. They also taught Rhone Man how to dive, so they have a lot to answer for.
- Dive BVI. Never dived with them, but I hear good things. They are also the only operator with Nitrox, so that has to be good. Downside is that they are based on Virgin Gorda, which is a bit out of the way.
- UBS. Tony and Kate run a slightly smaller, more bespoke operation (think taxi cab rather than bus). Never dived with them, but it sounds good on paper, and Tony and Kate are genuinely nice people. I have to say that or Kate beats me up.
Liveaboards
Really only two based in the BVI:
- Cuan Law. I spent 3 very happy days on Cuan Law once (which also has Nitrox incidentally), and had an absolute blast. Really, really good time - big, roomy, lots of fun - can't speak highly enough of it. Although I wasn't picking up the tab (which was substantial), so that helped.
- Promenade. Don't know much about them. Sorry.
Other
How to get here:
From Europe, fly to either Antigua or St Martin, and then catch the LIAT flight up
From US, either fly to Puerto Rico, and then take either American Eagle or Cape Air across, or fly into St Thomas and catch the ferry (more of a pain than it sounds when you type it - the ferry schedules never tie up with the flights so you usually have to overnight in St Thomas).
Cell/mobile phones: Should all work here on roaming, although a lot cheaper to buy a local SIM card and put it in your phone ($10). For some reason US Blackberries work here, but European ones tend not to. Go figure.
Nearest deco chamber: In St Thomas. But very few dive sites in the BVI go deeper than 80 feet, so decompression injuries are pretty rare in BVI.
Electricity: 110 volts, US style plugs.
TV: American cable TV.
Useful links:
- List of all the major BVI dive sites
- BVI Scuba organisation - not for profit association of dive operators
- BVI Tourist board - official government propoganda
Happy to answer any questions by PM, but remember I am just a guy in the BVI who likes to dive - not a dive pro.
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