St John USV

[JCH26]

I am taking the family to ST John USVI at the end of this month. We will be staying at Cinnimon Bay. I am looking for some good dive boat opperators on the island. I have 2 sons that are 12 (twins)and going to be bubble watchers or snorklers while my wife and I dive. While I spend most of my time in the Florida caves or deep in N GA lakes, the wife is looking for somenthing pretty tame. I imagine that most of the opperations are geared for recreational / vaca type diving andway. Any input would be much appreciated. By the way, I am a brand new registrant on ScubaBoard, so please excuse any faux pas I might make in this post.

Also - If you do happen to know of a more technical dive charter there - I would like to hear about it.

Thank you
JC

 

[starlan]

Hi,

I am going to St John in early May. I found 4 operators on St John, Low Key Watersports, Curz Bay Watersports, Paradise Diving and 6paq Scuba. Most on the board seem to recommend Low Key and Cruz Bay. I talked with Low Key ob the phone and they seemed nice, their boats leave around 8 - 8.30 and get back by 11.30-12.00. I dont think you can dive your own profile though, you have to go with their Divemaster (didnt seem to matter I am Advanced certified, and thier dives are about 45 mins or so and mostly not past like 70-80 ft. I think this is the case with most operations on the island as they all have similar schedules. THe only different one seems to be 6paq-scuba who do both long and shorter trips, but their long trips take about 6 hours I think but you still only get like 50 mins or like an hour max. Dont know if you have to follow their diveguide or if you and your buddy can plan your own dive.

Any input from someones whos experienced and of these operations would be appreciated by me also. I was just diving in Turks and Caicos and it was great, awesome walls on West Caicos and French Cay and its where I got the advanced certification.

 

[ruggermike]

Hey all,

I will also be there next week. I arrive on Sunday afternoon, the 26th of March. I have contacted both cruz bay and 6paq. I like the idea of taking a longer trip with 6paq to other islands and more advanced sites. However, their small boat only has room for 6 divers. Colette (proprietor of 6paq) told me that my non-diving gilfriend would have to pay the same rate as a diver minus $20. A pretty penny if you want to take the whole family snorkeling while you dive. 6paq does offer night dives, which I am very intersted in. Also Colette is a bartender at one of the major water holes. I have found that is ALWAYS good to get friendly with your local barkeeps!

I am staying at the Westin Resort, where Cruz watersports divers is located. I am going to use them for some mornign trips and then go with 6paq on a night dive.

I haven't reserved my spots yet, as I'm hoping for more info as you are. Between the 3 of us on this post, perhaps we can figure somehting out.

Cheers, Mike (Boston, MA)

 

[starlan]

I am also considering doing a night dive. However I have no experience when it comes to night diving, but I think that St John might be a pretty good place to start as most dives are not too deep and there seem to be many critters, etc..

I also havent decided on the dive-op, I will be stayin in a villa for the week towards the Coral Bay side of the Island but will also have a rental car so location of the dive shop does not really matter. I am trying to decide between Low Key and 6Paq I think.
6paq sounds good, but their boat looks a lilttle small to be on comfortably for a longer day trip, doesnt look like theres much space. I know Low Key and all the operators on the island dive Carvel Rock, Pilsbury Sound and many of the sites in between St John and St Thomas, but do you know if 6paq does the diving St Thomas operators would do. Like for example the the Shoal wreck dive off St thomas? If they do I think it will be worth it, but if they still stick mostly to the same dive sites I might prefer the quick out and back tours so I can explore St John on land more aswell. Kind of tough to decide really, I think I might give 6paq a call and have a talk with them tomorrow too and then see. Good luck to you both as well for now, Ill check up the board later tomorrow probably.

 

[ruggermike]

check out their website for excursion details. www.6paqscuba.com

I think I will do the 6 hour USVI excursion and a night dive with them. Perhaps a short in and out wih Cruz bay becuase it is attached to my hotel.

It seems (from the posts) that my side of the island (Cruz Bay) doesn't offer all that much to see.

I'll write back and tell you when and where I'll be in the water

Mike

 

[starlan]

I gave 6paq a call and talked to the owner, she seemed very nice and told me about the diving in and around the USVI's. I might also do what you just said above as well. Maybe a quick tour with Low Key or 6paq for St john sites (Carvel Rock and Eagle Schoal apprarntly are very nice) and Cow and Calf. Also 6paq said that we can dive our own profiles instead of having to follow a divemaster as long as they judge that we have the training and skill. I also liked the sound of the longer day trips as well and mentioned her the WIT Shoal and she said she would try to start doing that site as well for the longer days but will also do other dives off St Thomas that the other operators would not usually go to. So i will probably do a longer trip with them aswell. She also mentioned the night dive and said that her favorite night dive was in a spot very close which is nicely protected and reachable from the island, so I am contemplating that too. It seems I wll go with 6paq for a long day trip, and maybe even chose them for the shorter trip since they dont take more than 6 and you seem to have more freedom and say as to where you want to go and thus more likely be able to dive the better sites as long as the weather isnt bad, they do cost a lilttle more but they are a much smaller operation so it may be worth it. May is a good time of year apparantly. Night dive I am considering doing still but havent fully decided yet.

There isnt really much on St John other than the islands natural beauty and lush landscape. Cruz Bay is the main town center. All the best beaches are along the north shore of the island. But its nice to have a car to drive around and take in all the scenery. Thats it for now so I guess you and I both agree about 6paq being a pretty good choice and getting in some diving off St thomas with them. Enjoy your trip and Ill check bater later if you or anyone has anything to add.

 

[Seuss]

I am also considering doing a night dive. However I have no experience when it comes to night diving, but I think that St John might be a pretty good place to start as most dives are not too deep and there seem to be many critters, etc..

I highly recommend doing at least one night dive while you are down here. They are absolutely amazing! All the critters you see in the daytime are hidden away and all the critters you hear about, but never see, are out and about.

See the thread at http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=83974 for a good discussion of night diving tips.

Also, don't forget about St. Thomas... it is only a twenty minute fairy ride from St. John. The east end dive operators of St. Thomas all go to the same sites as the St. John dive operators. However, operators from the south side of St. Thomas, such as Blue Island Divers, will visit different types of sites.

 

[hammerhead45]

East End of St.Thomas dive operators are excellent, but beware of some!

 

[Rick Murchison]

East End of St.Thomas dive operators are excellent, but beware of some!

"Some?" Care to expand that to something we can actually use???
Rick

 

[starlan]

Thanks for the link to the discussion board about tips on night diving. I think it should be a great experience and am almost certain I will love it once in the water with the lights looking around, I do think St John seems like a very good place to do a night dive. Also with regards to diving on St Thomas, I was thinking I would use 6paq and use them for a longer trip and get in some diving on that site (hopefully WIT Shoal), or any other recommendations for best dive sites in the area that would be reachable by boat from St John? Colette who runs 6paq said she did want to get a Shoal dive up and running, she does also go to other spots so I guess if anyone has any personal favorites sites along the South Eastern side of St Thomas and the areas in between STT and STJ I would appreciate it. I think I will also do a short 3-4 hr trip with them as well which probably be diving around St John sites and the sites in between the islands. Any recommendations as to the best sites to request (weather permitting) to go to for the shorter trips from St John as well? I hear Carvel Rock is good as is Cow and Calf and Eagle Shoals. Not sure however, if Eagle Shoals is considered close or not since its on the other side of St John.

I guess I could always use a St Thomas operator for one day of diving, but none the less even then I am not guaranteed a dive at the Shoal so I dont know if it will be worth arranging that and taking the ferry myself and all, seems more convenient to go with 6paq who will just take me on their boat from STJ. Thanks for the replies, as always more input is always welcome.