Brodydog
Contributor
Had a great time on the St Coix trip. We just returned home on Sat, Oct 3rd. The diving was alot better than I thought it would be. I was worried after reading all the reviews on the diving in the area. But I thought Fredricksted Pier was awesome! That and the fact that I had my first dive with dolphins made it a great trip! I've snorkled with the dolphins before but being able get close with 3 adults and a calf with scuba equipment just made my trip!
Fredricksted Pier is one of my all time favorite dive sites. It had such a wide variety of life on it. We saw morays of all kinds, batfish, frogfish, seahorses, 4-6 octopus on just 1 dive just before dusk, lobsters, crabs, scorpian fish, trunk fish, porcupine fish, trumpet fish, angel fish, spotted drum fish, a juvenile tile fish, a juvenile french angel, cowfish, flying gunard, squid (at night), stingrays, turtles, and so much more I cannot name them all. I dove this site 6 times and it was like diving a different site every time. Loved it!
I also like the wall dive North Star. It was a sloping wall with lots of nooks and crannies for things to hide out in. It had great topography. Not only was this where the dolphins were, but we also saw a couple of turtles, spotted drums, 2 scorpian fish together, flounder, trunk fish, cowfish, porcupine fish, flamingo tongues, a juvenile damselfish (how beautiful), and many many more.
The crew on the boat were very friendly and the captain was very accomadating to our wishes. We asked for a dawn dive and received it. On one morning dive we did not really care for the dive site so we asked it we could move for the second dive and the captain again agreed. We also requested to go back to the pier on the last day since we enjoyed it so much and it would be good shallow diving for the day before our flights. The captain again granted our wishes. Captain John is great! Although he is on vacation for the next couple of weeks.
This was my first trip with Nekton and I must say the only part not quite up to par was the boat itself. It could use a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting, new bedding, and they really need to find a way to get rid of the funky smell in some of the cabins. Mid week our cabin was almost unbearable to enter due to the stench. Thank goodness the smell started to die down after a couple of days. Yes, the rooms are bigger than most liveaboards I've been on but cleanliness counts also.
Overall, a good trip! Can't wait for Doc's pictures.
Fredricksted Pier is one of my all time favorite dive sites. It had such a wide variety of life on it. We saw morays of all kinds, batfish, frogfish, seahorses, 4-6 octopus on just 1 dive just before dusk, lobsters, crabs, scorpian fish, trunk fish, porcupine fish, trumpet fish, angel fish, spotted drum fish, a juvenile tile fish, a juvenile french angel, cowfish, flying gunard, squid (at night), stingrays, turtles, and so much more I cannot name them all. I dove this site 6 times and it was like diving a different site every time. Loved it!
I also like the wall dive North Star. It was a sloping wall with lots of nooks and crannies for things to hide out in. It had great topography. Not only was this where the dolphins were, but we also saw a couple of turtles, spotted drums, 2 scorpian fish together, flounder, trunk fish, cowfish, porcupine fish, flamingo tongues, a juvenile damselfish (how beautiful), and many many more.
The crew on the boat were very friendly and the captain was very accomadating to our wishes. We asked for a dawn dive and received it. On one morning dive we did not really care for the dive site so we asked it we could move for the second dive and the captain again agreed. We also requested to go back to the pier on the last day since we enjoyed it so much and it would be good shallow diving for the day before our flights. The captain again granted our wishes. Captain John is great! Although he is on vacation for the next couple of weeks.
This was my first trip with Nekton and I must say the only part not quite up to par was the boat itself. It could use a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting, new bedding, and they really need to find a way to get rid of the funky smell in some of the cabins. Mid week our cabin was almost unbearable to enter due to the stench. Thank goodness the smell started to die down after a couple of days. Yes, the rooms are bigger than most liveaboards I've been on but cleanliness counts also.
Overall, a good trip! Can't wait for Doc's pictures.