TXRoss
Registered
My fiancee and I just returned from a week in St. Croix. We made a timeshare swap and stayed at Chenay Bay Beach Resort. The resort was nice and quiet. Guests stay in individual cabins or duplexes. They are clean and have kitchenettes in them. If you want to save money, just stop by the grocery and stock up for your meals. I would also recommend that you look at Tamarind Reef Resort as a hotel option. I suggest you rent a car, so you can see the entire island. Just remember that even though it is a U. S. Territory, they DRIVE ON THE LEFT. There are no WalMarts, but they do have two K-Marts and one Big K. They also have Home Depot, McDonalds, Wendy's, KFC, Subway, Domino's and Church's.
Make sure you visit Point Udall, which is the eastern most point for the U. S. Also check out the forts in Christiansted and Fredericksted. However, DO NOT leave your car in the Christiansted Fort parking lot after 4:30PM, because they WILL LOCK YOU IN. Trust me...we found out the hard way. You may be told to visit the Salud Bistro. I would not recommend it. I found it to be high priced and harsh on the digestive system.
Okay.....all that being said, let's talk diving.
We purchased a 5 day / 10 tank dive package from Ed and Molly Buckley at Saint Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (AKA: S.C.U.B.A.). Molly runs one efficient shop, which made booking a breeze.
The boat was never overcrowed and Captain Scott emphasizes safety at all times. He wants his passengers to enjoy the time they spend on his boat. The most divers we had on the boat at one time was probably seven or eight. One day it was just the two of us! The tanks were always full with no short fills.
We had a varying supply of divemasters during the week. Jon, John, Jeff, Lauren, Clint, Bob and Simeon were all excellent. They allowed us to dive our profiles with no limits on bottom time. Of course, they discouraged deco diving and exceeding 130 feet. Unlike some divemasters I have met over the years, you can tell that this crew still loves to get wet, which just makes it better for those of us that don't get to dive every day. My fiancee even encoutered some regulator problems during the trip, but Clint and Scott's on the fly repairs kept her in the water logging bottom time all week. Thanks guys.
St. Croix may not be Cozumel or Bonaire, but you will not be disappointed by spending a week beneath the waves of the U.S.'s little piece of the caribbean. We spent the week diving the north shore. Our favorite sites were "Shotters" and "Japanese Gardens". We encountered gray reef & nurse sharks, eagle & southern stingrays, hawksbill and green sea turtles, seahorses, walking batfish and the usual cast of water characters during our dives. Also, make sure to spend at least one dive (or two) on the Fredricksted Pier. It is full of life and only 27 feet deep! It will be the best 90 minute dive in your log book. However, if you have never done the pier before, be sure to book one of the S.C.U.B.A. gang as a guide. Getting in and diving the pier is easy, but you will need their expertise to get out. Besides, they already know where all of the good stuff hides.
So.....enjoy your next trip wherever it is, but when the current brings you to St. Croix, look up Ed, Molly and the S.C.U.B.A. crew. They will take very good care of you.
By the way, we are headed back to St. Croix in September for another week and Ed is going to officiate our wedding. A dive shop owner that is an ordained minister.....what else could an old salty divemaster ask for?
See y'all on the bottom.
Roger
Make sure you visit Point Udall, which is the eastern most point for the U. S. Also check out the forts in Christiansted and Fredericksted. However, DO NOT leave your car in the Christiansted Fort parking lot after 4:30PM, because they WILL LOCK YOU IN. Trust me...we found out the hard way. You may be told to visit the Salud Bistro. I would not recommend it. I found it to be high priced and harsh on the digestive system.
Okay.....all that being said, let's talk diving.
We purchased a 5 day / 10 tank dive package from Ed and Molly Buckley at Saint Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures (AKA: S.C.U.B.A.). Molly runs one efficient shop, which made booking a breeze.
The boat was never overcrowed and Captain Scott emphasizes safety at all times. He wants his passengers to enjoy the time they spend on his boat. The most divers we had on the boat at one time was probably seven or eight. One day it was just the two of us! The tanks were always full with no short fills.
We had a varying supply of divemasters during the week. Jon, John, Jeff, Lauren, Clint, Bob and Simeon were all excellent. They allowed us to dive our profiles with no limits on bottom time. Of course, they discouraged deco diving and exceeding 130 feet. Unlike some divemasters I have met over the years, you can tell that this crew still loves to get wet, which just makes it better for those of us that don't get to dive every day. My fiancee even encoutered some regulator problems during the trip, but Clint and Scott's on the fly repairs kept her in the water logging bottom time all week. Thanks guys.
St. Croix may not be Cozumel or Bonaire, but you will not be disappointed by spending a week beneath the waves of the U.S.'s little piece of the caribbean. We spent the week diving the north shore. Our favorite sites were "Shotters" and "Japanese Gardens". We encountered gray reef & nurse sharks, eagle & southern stingrays, hawksbill and green sea turtles, seahorses, walking batfish and the usual cast of water characters during our dives. Also, make sure to spend at least one dive (or two) on the Fredricksted Pier. It is full of life and only 27 feet deep! It will be the best 90 minute dive in your log book. However, if you have never done the pier before, be sure to book one of the S.C.U.B.A. gang as a guide. Getting in and diving the pier is easy, but you will need their expertise to get out. Besides, they already know where all of the good stuff hides.
So.....enjoy your next trip wherever it is, but when the current brings you to St. Croix, look up Ed, Molly and the S.C.U.B.A. crew. They will take very good care of you.
By the way, we are headed back to St. Croix in September for another week and Ed is going to officiate our wedding. A dive shop owner that is an ordained minister.....what else could an old salty divemaster ask for?
See y'all on the bottom.
Roger
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