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We spent a week in St. Croix, working in a total of eight dives. We booked a three-day dive package with N2theBlue, an outfitter located on the western end of the island in Frederiksted, for a total of six boat dives. And we did a couple of shore dives, one in Cane Bay and the other from the Frederiksted Pier.
N2theBlue did a great job accommodating our requests and getting us to the locations we wanted to see. They operate two smaller boats, so they cater to a personalized experience. On two of our dive days, we were the only four clients on the boat.
Most of our dives were on the western end of the island and included the wrecks at Butler Bay, Sprat Hole, the Three Amigos at the end of the Frederiksted Pier, and the Swirling Reef of Death. Turtles and big southern stingrays were pretty common, along with a few big green morays, jawfish, and some seahorses pointed out by our dive master. Although it seems to be recovering, the reef here still shows signs of damage from a recent hurricane.
We were also able to do a couple of dives on The Wall near Salt River on the northern side. Apparently it's unusual for the weather in March to be good enough to dive from a smaller boat, but we were in luck. N2theBlue drove their boat around the island the previous evening to be able to meet us at 8:30 the next morning. The coral structure along The Wall is very healthy and diverse. We saw several turtles, reef sharks and some spotted morays.
If you plan to do any shore diving, I would recommend walking the length of the Frederiksted Pier and jumping off the end. The dive shops will tell you it's too far to walk and that you won't be able to make it back on a single tank, but we had no problem with it. The jump is only about 10 feet, and the swim through the gothic columns is well worth it. Look for octopi, lobsters and frogfish in the rubble.
Shore diving on the north side is more difficult, as it's at least a 300 yard kick out, and the current is no joke.
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Edward Callahan
'Swirling reef of death' sounds intriguing! Some good tips there about the pier diving and The Wall.
Lua Méndez Terrazas
Very nice photo!
Sienna Mackenzie
LOVE! Wish I was there... I went in early 2010 and have always been a bit concerned that, after the two hurricanes in 2010 AND the two hurricanes in 2011 (which I understand both caused heavy sea surge) would have trashed the diving there.. it is nice to hear that the dive sites affected are recovering and there are still great dive sites that have come off unscathed.
Aladino Trentino
Nice juxtaposition between the descending diver and the ray!
Villa Margarita Usvi
stay at our place and use our Seadoo RS1 and RS2 scooters. That'll make those long kicks effortless and save air too, even in strong currents on the North Shore. Here's a list of STX dive shops and other resources: http://villamargarita.com/st-croix-scuba-diving-us-virgin-islands/