Vieques Shore Diving?

[troyce1]

I am wondering for those who are familiar with or have dove in Vieques if they could provide any input on good shore diving?

My wife and I like to go at our own pace, and save $$$ my doing shore dives and we get to check out some areas not frequently visited as well.

I've heard mixed reviews about the diving, but we are already going (leaving Weds AM) so any advice or tips would be great!

 

[VDCFitz]

troyce1,

Vieques has some shore diving that is worth noting. We have Mosquito Pier with an exceptionally high concentration of sea life. In single dives I have encountered 7 - 10 hawksbill turtles, 2 octopi, a green morray, southern rays, spotted eagle rays, and countless schools of typical caribbean fish. The vis out there is hit and miss. It ranges from 20' to 60'. 30' - 40' to is about average. The max depth at the pier about 40'.

Pirate's cove on the south side has two dives..one on the left and one on the right. Vis is also hit and miss depending on the weather. Average vis is about 40' average depth 25-30'. Typically not as much sea life as at the pier, but does have some great coral gardens and coral formations. There are more dive sites around the point to the east from Pirate's cove that are more shallow but have abundance of sea life.

We do a lot of diving/training at these sites because they are easy and shallow...and newbies can still see lots of stuff.

The west end green beach area has some great reefs and also lots of sea creatures...it is a long drive out there, but if you are not in a hurry you should check it out.

If you want to see the best reefs with the best vis...ya gotta get off the coastline away from shore.

Hope this helps
VDCFitz
www.viequesdivers.com