larrandall
Guest
St. John Dive Adventures out of Coral Bay (east end of St. John) is back up and running. See www.stjohndiveadventures.com. Only a 15 minute ride to Eagle Shoals and other east end sites like Flanagan Island.
St John USV
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doeandjon
New
I can vouch St John Dive Adventures. My wife and I dove with them last Thursday. It had been a while since we had been in the water (1 year for me, 7 years for my wife). Larry was very patient with us and after a few minutes we were relaxed and back into the swing of things. We were the only folks on the boat and this is the only boat that dives out of the East End. Needless to say, we didn't see another human in the water that day.
Diving the east end of St John is the back to nature experience, I was looking for. Although St John is a hugely popular vacation destination, you don't find many divers. Most folks lay on the beach or snorkel the really shallow stuff. 90% of the tourists stay in Cruz Bay and spend their days on the north shore beaches. Although I'm not a well traveled diver (about 15 dives) the reefs we saw in St John had the same neat critters I've seen in Belize and Cozumel.
Diving the east end of St John is the back to nature experience, I was looking for. Although St John is a hugely popular vacation destination, you don't find many divers. Most folks lay on the beach or snorkel the really shallow stuff. 90% of the tourists stay in Cruz Bay and spend their days on the north shore beaches. Although I'm not a well traveled diver (about 15 dives) the reefs we saw in St John had the same neat critters I've seen in Belize and Cozumel.
FloppyFoot
Registered
I just got back after doing two days with 6paq Scuba. The earlier post about the boat is pretty close. It's a ~26' center console catamaran with twin outboards. It's not "in disrepair", but it is difficult to find a dry spot and there is no cover from the elements. We had lots of sun one day and squalls the second day. It was hot one day, then cold and wet the second. They had a poncho for the other divers and we'd brought jackets, so no one was miserable.
The diving was great. Wednesday we dove Mingo Cay and Grass Cay. Very simple topography, but it had nice corals and some interesting fish-- the highlight was a 3' octopus that was pretty curious about us. Saturday we dove Little St. James, which has some great rock overhangs that harbor all sorts of fun critters. We then dove Cow and Calf Rocks, which features some amazing swim throughs, trenches, and great topography. Weather was pretty rough, but that had just served to drive the big animals in for shelter. Lots of turtles and a pair of massive nurse sharks (8' plus-- Collette swore the bigger one was 12). Two great sites.
The captain and DM were great. Collette, the owner, dove with us Saturday. She's wacky and fun. They had beginner divers on the boat with us both days. On Wednesday they were doing open water dives 3-4 for one woman, which drove the selection of the easier sites. We had attempted another one for dive #2 but there was enough current that she couldn't have done it comfortably. On Saturday the one beginner on the boat decided to sit out after she found the swell (3'+) and significant surge at 40' more than she was comfortable with. The crew was defitely used to dealing with novice divers, with dive briefings discussing some of the specific skills needed on the site and the boat. (Entry is a roll dive, and for exit they want you to remove gear in the water before climbing the ladder). We weren't doing classes, so I can't comment on how good they were at teaching.
If you're looking for luxury, 6Paq is not your boat. They did provide lots of water to drink and granola bars for the surface interval. If you're looking to avoid 40 person cattle boats, have some fun, and get to see some great dive sites, they're terrific. We'd dive with them again if we go back.
doeandjohn, we were booked to dive with St. John Dive Adventures last Thursday morning 7/27, and Larry called me at 6:45 AM to cancel due to the weather. It was nasty enough that we agreed with him without a second thought. (Severe thunderstorms overnight with forecasts of 30 kts for the morning hours.) I'm surprised to hear you were out with him. Makes me wonder why he cancelled? His operation seemed a little bit disorganized-- his scheduling was pretty loose, and he said he didn't take credit cards. Glad to hear it worked out for you. We'd still try him again another trip due to his east end location.
Amazingly, with all the rough weather this past week, we watched the water temps start the week at 82 and drop to 77 by our last dive. How's that for a change!
FloppyFoot
The diving was great. Wednesday we dove Mingo Cay and Grass Cay. Very simple topography, but it had nice corals and some interesting fish-- the highlight was a 3' octopus that was pretty curious about us. Saturday we dove Little St. James, which has some great rock overhangs that harbor all sorts of fun critters. We then dove Cow and Calf Rocks, which features some amazing swim throughs, trenches, and great topography. Weather was pretty rough, but that had just served to drive the big animals in for shelter. Lots of turtles and a pair of massive nurse sharks (8' plus-- Collette swore the bigger one was 12). Two great sites.
The captain and DM were great. Collette, the owner, dove with us Saturday. She's wacky and fun. They had beginner divers on the boat with us both days. On Wednesday they were doing open water dives 3-4 for one woman, which drove the selection of the easier sites. We had attempted another one for dive #2 but there was enough current that she couldn't have done it comfortably. On Saturday the one beginner on the boat decided to sit out after she found the swell (3'+) and significant surge at 40' more than she was comfortable with. The crew was defitely used to dealing with novice divers, with dive briefings discussing some of the specific skills needed on the site and the boat. (Entry is a roll dive, and for exit they want you to remove gear in the water before climbing the ladder). We weren't doing classes, so I can't comment on how good they were at teaching.
If you're looking for luxury, 6Paq is not your boat. They did provide lots of water to drink and granola bars for the surface interval. If you're looking to avoid 40 person cattle boats, have some fun, and get to see some great dive sites, they're terrific. We'd dive with them again if we go back.
doeandjohn, we were booked to dive with St. John Dive Adventures last Thursday morning 7/27, and Larry called me at 6:45 AM to cancel due to the weather. It was nasty enough that we agreed with him without a second thought. (Severe thunderstorms overnight with forecasts of 30 kts for the morning hours.) I'm surprised to hear you were out with him. Makes me wonder why he cancelled? His operation seemed a little bit disorganized-- his scheduling was pretty loose, and he said he didn't take credit cards. Glad to hear it worked out for you. We'd still try him again another trip due to his east end location.
Amazingly, with all the rough weather this past week, we watched the water temps start the week at 82 and drop to 77 by our last dive. How's that for a change!
FloppyFoot
doeandjon
New
FloppyFoot,
We dove on 7/20 with St. John Dive Adventures. My description of that as "last Thursday" was not accurate.
We dove on 7/20 with St. John Dive Adventures. My description of that as "last Thursday" was not accurate.
FloppyFoot
Registered
Makes sense. Again, glad you had fun!
wjbrandt
Registered
You all should be aware there are more than 4 dive operators on St John. Paradise is no longer in business.
Chris Sawyer is now the dive operation at Caneel Bay and anyone can dive with them as well.
Enjoy the USVI, We are dancing with TS Chris now..
Chris Sawyer is now the dive operation at Caneel Bay and anyone can dive with them as well.
Enjoy the USVI, We are dancing with TS Chris now..
Hey Wayne, Zan's been filling me in on Caneel, sounds like things are going well there with the operation. That's gotta be one of your photo's from Cocos Island?
Hope TS Chris passes you guys by, talked to Zan this afternoon and he said everything was battened down but the weather was fine.
Best to you guys, Tricia and I have to come see you soon as our gear has been to dry for to long!
chris
Hope TS Chris passes you guys by, talked to Zan this afternoon and he said everything was battened down but the weather was fine.
Best to you guys, Tricia and I have to come see you soon as our gear has been to dry for to long!
chris
swimmer722
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DJG -
Do you have any information on how to contact down under watersports? I did a search for them, but didn't come up with anything. We are looking for a one day ing - will be on a cruise in St. Thomas and really love St. Johns. Do you think Down Under would work for us?
Do you have any information on how to contact down under watersports? I did a search for them, but didn't come up with anything. We are looking for a one day ing - will be on a cruise in St. Thomas and really love St. Johns. Do you think Down Under would work for us?
Give them a call or email- I couldn't bring up the website either for some reason. 340-642-4855 or email wccstj@earthlink.net. Have a good time!
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