|
St. Croix,
the DIVErse Virgin
.... walls, reefs, wrecks, and a pier all on the same island by boat or shore St. Croix is a hard-core diver's island, offering shore and beach diving, walls, reefs, pinnacles, wrecks and a spectacular pier dive. Whether you are a beginner, advanced, or even a tech diver, there is something for everyone. Overview
Most of the diving takes place along St. Croix's substantial northern shore. The north coast wall begins sloping away about 100 yards from shore and drops to over 3,200 feet. (Tech divers can really explore here). St. Croix Diving Articles Three Saints sportdiver.com St. Croix, St. John, St. Thomas, and a cast of characters in the U.S. Virgin Islands
However, one need not go very deep to enjoy the wall as shallow coral gardens of sea fans, brain and star corals give way to barrel and elephant ear sponges as well as plate and pillar corals. While diving the wall you will also enjoy a variety of formations including caves, pinnacles, swim-throughs, and a trench. Salt River canyon splits the north shore wall with an ancient river bed that reaches a depth of 1000 feet. The east and west walls of this canyon both offer very different diving experiences. 
The view from our pool deck of the rocky beach entry at 2DIVE4. The rocky beach entrance at 2DIVE4.
"(Score:85.5) #9 U.S. Virgin Islands If you want to get vertical in the Virgin Islands, head for St. Croix, where two distinct wall dives are separated by a yawning chasm. Salt River East drops steep and deep and is forested with black coral. Salt River West is marked by narrow passageways where sections of the reef have separated from the main wall." ~March 2004 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine entitled "The Worlds Best Wall Diving" 
Dive map of 2DIVE4's back yard.
Off the northwest corner of the island is Butler Bay. Here lies a small armada of 4 wrecks of varying size and depth all within 100 yards of each other. Wide angle photo opportunities abound among these sunken majesties cloaked in red encrusted corals, pink tube sponges and an abundance of soft coral. This is an excellent site to visit when calmer conditions are desired. One of the most spectacular night dives in St. Croix is under the Frederiksted pier. Located on the west side of the island, this commercial pier extends 450 yards from shore. It is a "must" dive for anyone shooting macro photography or if you just enjoy seeing the creatures of the night that inhabit this area. 
Written shore diving information is available about the sites in blue on the above map.
Click here to view a map of St. Croix's major dive sites.
Some divers like the relative ease of guided boat diving. For you there are 2 full service scuba shops offering boat diving just a short drive from 2Dive4. However, if you are like me and you prefer shore diving then you have come to the right place. A few dives like Gentle Winds and both walls of Salt River Canyon are best done by boat. However, the majority of St. Croix sites are accessible from shore. In the most recent Top 100 poll taken in Rodale's Scuba Diving Magazine, readers gave the US Virgin Islands very high rankings in a number of categories. These rankings are from the 2005 January/February issue. Following are the current rankings relative to the US Virgin Islands: Top overall Caribbean / Atlantic destination # 6 Top wreck diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic # 4 Top shore diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic # 3 Top beginner diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic # 3 Top snorkeling Caribbean / Atlantic # 3
"(Score 84.6)#2. U.S. Virgin Islands Divers looking for some boat-free action in "America's Caribbean" head for St. Croix, the largest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. the most popular shore dive on the island is Cane Bay Drop-off, which is accessed from the picturesque and uncrowded beach at Cane Bay. Swim out 100 yards or so over the shallow inner reef to find spur-and-groove formations at 40 feet, leading to the wall, which drops well beyond recreational limits. After the dive dry off and walk across the street to have lunch at Boz's Beach Bar. Now, with a full stomach, you can head west a mile from Cane Bay to find the entry for Northstar Wall, another great shore dive. This site features a number of abandoned anchors. a cavern filled with silversides at 60 feet and frequent visits from turtles. On the west side of St. Croix, the pilings of Frederiksted Pier are blanketed with sponges and corals and inhabited by macro species including arrow crabs, brittle stars, coral shrimp and feather duster worms." Taken from the April , 2004 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving If you are like me and prefer to dive on your own schedule, you will appreciate that the USVI is "# 2 for the best shore diving" . To help you take full advantage of St. Croix's world renowned shore diving, in conjunction with a local instructor, I have pulled together written information about various local shore dives. Each travelogue includes driving directions with trip-o-meter settings from 2Dive4, a description of the dive and a map of the dive where useful. Written shore diving information is available about the sites in blue on the following map. Click here to view a map of St. Croix's major dive sites. 2DIVE4...Making the world a better place for divers.
|
