We did that Nekton trip also shortly before they closed down. That's why we came back. We wanted to see what the Salt River area diving was like and to re-visit the pier. Salt River Outer West is a beautiful site. And we are making our second trip to the pier today. On the Nekton boat we begged the Capt to take us back to the pier. We did either 5 or 6 dives from the pier that week. Every dive was a different dive.
We were on the Nekton for the last week of Oct 2009 and they went out of business in May 2010. I checked my log book and we did 3 dives on the pier but I remember that my husband had a head cold and ear problems on that trip so we didn't get to do as many total dives as we had wanted from the boat. It was ironic that the shore-based Fredricksted Pier dive was our favorite site on that liveaboard trip - but we didn't get to do them all.
We had a week on shore after the Nekton but then I got sick and developed bronchitis just as he was getting better (bad timing!) We both wound up at the clinic and we didn't do any land-based diving at all. We did get to do some snorkeling on the pier before we went home and I remember that we bumped into crew from the Nekton there.
I've always felt that we didn't have the chance to fully enjoy St. Croix's diving and I would love to dive the pier again. Where are you staying in St. Croix and who are you diving with? I think that we had to spend a night in Puerto Rico before getting to St. Croix, is that still true?
I was sorry when the Nekton went out of business, we did 4 trips with them (Belize, St. Croix, and 2 Bahamas) and they were a decent and reasonably priced-liveaboard option IMO. I read somewhere on this forum that the N. Pilot and N. Rorqual boats were just left to rot in a harbor, what a shame.
The live streaming webcam of the Christiansted harbor at the link below is one of my favorite sites for dreaming about warm, tropic isles, and it looks like you are having great weather!
Official Page for Live St. Croix Web Cam in Christiansted ¦ GoToStCroix.com
Keep sharing pics and have fun in St. Croix but remember to drive on the left side even though you are still in the US!