I just got back from a week diving in St. Croix. As a new CCR diver, I needed to find a place with good rebreather support, and I definitely found one in the Sweet Bottom Dive Center.
SBDC is a fantastic shop, with great customer service and a well designed layout. It’s situated in the Carambola resort on St. Croix’s north coast; one of the best reef walls in the Caribbean is a 75 yard swim from the beach. The shop is a family business, run by Mark and Laura Linse, their son Tim, Tim’s fiancee Lizzi, and a number of other excellent dive pros.
For recreational divers who just want to dive and enjoy the resort, SBDC is perfect. The staff deals with rinsing, storing, and transporting your gear to the beach, the dive boats, or the Frederiksted pier. Of course, you can take care of your own gear if you prefer - the loading platforms, rinse tanks, drying racks and gear lockers are set up perfectly for that.
For me, Tim was my go-to guy. He had everything I needed, with a well equipped shop for equipment issues. There were aluminum or steel rebreather bottles, plenty of sorb, and a great setup for washing and sterilizing the loop on a regular basis. Also, Tim was always happy to chat with me and answer my newbie questions. He is a technical instructor and an Optima diver, with a lot of experience.
St. Croix is a great if under-appreciated dive location. For US visitors, it sure is nice to just walk off the plane and pick up your bags and rental car in a few minutes with no passports or visas. US cell phone plans also work here. The diving is terrific - wrecks, healthy reefs, and the pier is one of the best dives in the Caribbean, day or night. For technical divers, the wall goes down as far as you need - Tim told me stories of sea caves and vibrant reefs in the 200-300 foot range. And it’s much more fun to do a few hours of deco on a wall dripping with marine life than on a line.
SBDC is a fantastic shop, with great customer service and a well designed layout. It’s situated in the Carambola resort on St. Croix’s north coast; one of the best reef walls in the Caribbean is a 75 yard swim from the beach. The shop is a family business, run by Mark and Laura Linse, their son Tim, Tim’s fiancee Lizzi, and a number of other excellent dive pros.
For recreational divers who just want to dive and enjoy the resort, SBDC is perfect. The staff deals with rinsing, storing, and transporting your gear to the beach, the dive boats, or the Frederiksted pier. Of course, you can take care of your own gear if you prefer - the loading platforms, rinse tanks, drying racks and gear lockers are set up perfectly for that.
For me, Tim was my go-to guy. He had everything I needed, with a well equipped shop for equipment issues. There were aluminum or steel rebreather bottles, plenty of sorb, and a great setup for washing and sterilizing the loop on a regular basis. Also, Tim was always happy to chat with me and answer my newbie questions. He is a technical instructor and an Optima diver, with a lot of experience.
St. Croix is a great if under-appreciated dive location. For US visitors, it sure is nice to just walk off the plane and pick up your bags and rental car in a few minutes with no passports or visas. US cell phone plans also work here. The diving is terrific - wrecks, healthy reefs, and the pier is one of the best dives in the Caribbean, day or night. For technical divers, the wall goes down as far as you need - Tim told me stories of sea caves and vibrant reefs in the 200-300 foot range. And it’s much more fun to do a few hours of deco on a wall dripping with marine life than on a line.