St Crox

[Sparkydoll]

Whos been, whats it like, hows the diving, What did it cost, where did you stay. Best time to go? :dazzler1:

I used Anchor Dive when I went last September. They are run by a relocated American couple. I highly recommend their operation. They were very professional and readily identified the need to separate several of us from some novice divers getting their advanced certification. These guys were like roto-tillers underwater and doing everything you are not supposed to under water. After the first dive one of the owners took on the divemaster role with those guys and let us go with the original divemaster. Also, they are the only dive operation that has ever sent me a personal thank you note in the mail. It was nice to know they appreciated my business. I would avoid the Cane Bay dive shop operation across from Cane Bay. I was not impressed and quite disappointed. I planned an advance guided dive as I was the only diver on my trip. Unknown to me until we headed for the water, they put me with 2 other guys who were taking a Discover Scuba lesson from the dive master. They did this knowing that I was an experienced diver and I was furious - what a waste of time. They also overcharged me and I did not realize it until I got home. I tried to call their shop to discuss, but the owners did not call me back.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Each person has different experiences. I found the Cane Bay shop best of the lot personally. Nitrox and rebreather were available in July 2002. O2 compatible air is standard - they use an oil-less compressor and do partial pressure blending for nitrox supply. Everyone we dealt with there was very professional, and when I asked questions about their setup, and asked if I could look it over, they gave me a tour. I cannot say I received a similar response from other shops I visited or tried a dive with, and some shop's answers on my questions regarding their air supply quality defied science (I did not take dives with those operators).

Hope you have a great time!

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

I'm not aware of rebreathers on STX and have not tried to find nitrox. Best to check with one of the dive shops like Dive Experience or SCUBA. October is hurricane season and STX has been hit before. I have never been there at that time of the year so cannot tell you what water temp is like. May 2002 was my last trip and water was 82, air was 85, and vis was 80 to 150' depending on the site.

I can answer those questions for you. Cane Bay (which IS one of the better shops here) does have nitrox ($8 a fill as I recall) and they do rent rebreathers (Draeger Dolphins). You do of course, have to be certified on same. SCUBA (saint croix ultimate blue water adventures) also has nitrox ($15 a fill)

There are 5 dive outfits here worth going with. 2 serve the west end of the island where the wrecks are (some nice reefs there too) ... 2 operate out of Christiansted harbor and run to all the sites along the north coast of the island, and 1 (Cane Bay) that while primarily a beach dive there in front of the shop, also has a big inflatable that covers the western end sites of the north coast .

The west end ops are N2 The Blue, and Scuba Shack.
The Christiansted harbor ops are SCUBA and Dive Experience.

I don't think I know anyone here that would recommend Anchor if a hurricane came and blew all the others away and it was the only one left. ..... But maybe to some one here for a visit, they may seem impressive.

While in many ways, STX is just another caribbean island where you can scuba dive. We are one island where you can come and dive wrecks, reefs, 2 different walls, and the "not to be missed" night dive the cruise ship pier, and have all that diversity in one trip.

Anyway, maybe I'll get to do a dive with ya when you get here, Wrangler.

Sparkydoll, .... sorry you had a bad experience with Cane bay. Sounds like some one at the counter screwed up the logistics for sure. They really are one of the better shops here, and try hard to do right by everyone they serve.


From St Croix,

Darlene

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

I don't think I know anyone here that would recommend Anchor if a hurricane came and blew all the others away and it was the only one left. ..... But maybe to some one here for a visit, they may seem impressive.

So what is wrong with Anchor Dive? They seemed ok to me.

 

[lhpdiver]

I can answer those questions for you. Cane Bay (which IS one of the better shops here) does have nitrox ($8 a fill as I recall) and they do rent rebreathers (Draeger Dolphins). You do of course, have to be certified on same. SCUBA (saint croix ultimate blue water adventures) also has nitrox ($15 a fill)

There are 5 dive outfits here worth going with. 2 serve the west end of the island where the wrecks are (some nice reefs there too) ... 2 operate out of Christiansted harbor and run to all the sites along the north coast of the island, and 1 (Cane Bay) that while primarily a beach dive there in front of the shop, also has a big inflatable that covers the western end sites of the north coast .

The west end ops are N2 The Blue, and Scuba Shack.
The Christiansted harbor ops are SCUBA and Dive Experience.

I don't think I know anyone here that would recommend Anchor if a hurricane came and blew all the others away and it was the only one left. ..... But maybe to some one here for a visit, they may seem impressive.

While in many ways, STX is just another caribbean island where you can scuba dive. We are one island where you can come and dive wrecks, reefs, 2 different walls, and the "not to be missed" night dive the cruise ship pier, and have all that diversity in one trip.

Anyway, maybe I'll get to do a dive with ya when you get here, Wrangler.

Sparkydoll, .... sorry you had a bad experience with Cane bay. Sounds like some one at the counter screwed up the logistics for sure. They really are one of the better shops here, and try hard to do right by everyone they serve.


From St Croix,

Darlene

WOW are you bringing back memories. I went to school on St. Croix in '76/'77. Place was called West Indies Lab - on the east end (Tague Bay) - I was a marine biology major. Some VERY interesting people used to stop in and use the lab facilities.

Then in '82 my wife (Darlene also) and I eloped to St. Croix and were married by a judge. Pulled witnesses in off the street and the taxi driver was my best man / photographer. Stayed at the Bucaneer - for 2 kids who were broke we sure rang up quite a bill.

I guess things can change in nearly 30 years (storms etc) but I remember some incredible diving. We used to dive Salt River Canyon to depths well beyond today's rec limits, Cane Bay - we used to swim in off the beach, there was another wall off Sandy Point. On the south side we dove off the beach by the GrapeTree hotel. We helped lay out an underwater trail by Buck Island. Pier in Frederiksted... I was a sponge guy myself and also liked to dive the patch reefs in the bays east of Christiansted.

Life in South Fl. is good - as is the diving - but you live in paradise !

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

So what is wrong with Anchor Dive? They seemed ok to me.

As I recall, we discussed StCroix operators last year. Here is one of the threads from those discusions, and one of my posts regarding that particular operator:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=29963&page=1&pp=10

"It's amazing how many folks have been here. Since a number of you have used Anchor and been satisfied, perhaps what are viewed as shortcommings to us as experienced local divers are not viewed the same by those of you who are just here for a visit. If that's the case, then I owe them an apology for any disservice.

There's basically 2 areas we think they could improve on. One is range, there are 14 to 18 (depending on how many balls have been lost or cut loose) mored sites along the north shore over about 6 miles or so with salt river being about 2/3 the distance east to west. It's rare to see them more than 1 ball east or west from the 4 at salt river.

Let me add here that there are now over 40 moorings, with 30 or so being along the north shore. While there are 2 new ones at the Salt River location, only 1 adds new area to explore and the other is just room for 2 boats to be there at the same time, essentially. ..... The main point being that you Still, seldom, if ever, see the Anchor boat more than 1 mooring away from the Salt river group.

The other DO's with boats do all the sites and choose which ones for each days dives based on where the vis looks best and who onboard has been where already. The other area is in giving you some choice in your profile. You will basically not be permitted to go deeper than 80'. It's like you are gonna meet some dreadfull fate instantly if you do. Qualified divers with computers, who demonstrate competant watermanship skills, should be able to decide for themselves and not have to be ducks in a row. It's my observation that most DO's believe that as well. All the other operators give you, the diver, a lot more lattitude in how you manage your profile.

At the retail end, they have a nice little shop, well stocked by island standards. They are the only shop with scooters (dpv's) in stock and for rent (you have to take the class to rent one). They have Dacors and Torpedos and their gear line is Mares. The pricing is locally competitive. I hope I've set things straight, I don't want to cost anyone business in these tough economic times, but at the same time, I don't want some one not to want to come back, or to discourage others from comming because they got less than they expected when they shouldn't have. Safe diving everyone, hope to see a few of you."



And your reply, Tim, to that post, was:

In retrospect both criticisms are very valid.
__________________
Turtle Diver


There have been other St Croix threads as well, just keep searching back.


where there's always 365 days of summer,

Darlene

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Very impressive. My reaction reading it again: Both criticisms are very valid.

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

This St. Crox you speak of...it sounds like a wonderful place! I am having trouble locating it on the map however. Is it near Moria and the Shire or more toward the east near Atlantis and Narnia?

Eric,

We're just below Atlantis.

 

[clockradio]

Whos been, whats it like, hows the diving, What did it cost, where did you stay. Best time to go? :dazzler1:

here's some information on the st.croix dive op's.
www.canebayscuba.com (cane bay dive shop)
dwryan@viaccess.net (anchor dive center)
1-800-235-9047 (dive experience)
www.stcroixscuba.com (st.croix ultimate bluewater adv.)
i dove most of the time at cane bay. good operation good people.SCUBA was also a good oper. great boat plenty of room and comfortable. hope this helps.

 

[Scuba_Vixen]

here's some information on the st.croix dive op's.
www.canebayscuba.com (cane bay dive shop)
dwryan@viaccess.net (anchor dive center)
1-800-235-9047 (dive experience)
www.stcroixscuba.com (st.croix ultimate bluewater adv.)
i dove most of the time at cane bay. good operation good people.SCUBA was also a good oper. great boat plenty of room and comfortable. hope this helps.

The website for Dive experience is:

www.divexp.com