Where in the Virgin Islands

[DandyDon]

Wintertime on the Atlantic is some of the worst for blo thot I'd be safe in Roatan last February but while the diving was fine, had to wear a coat one day after a norther made it down there.

Hey, we knew it was an adventure sport...!

 

[travelersinparadise]

Yeah! the winds can blow anytime. However the Canes only hit in the summer.

Usually late summer or early fall. September is the worst month in recorded history. Things are usually safe by November 1st and until late May. If i was going to the Caribbean then on a dive trip, I would suggest travel insurance, and I hate insurance.

Right now most of the Charter operators have their boats in hurricane holes or up on the hard.

The ABC's are usually safe as they are far to the south. But they still get hit every now and then. Belize too.

Wow, I just read what I wrote above and don't I sound like a know it all. My apologies.

 

[DandyDon]

Yeah you get Canes, TDs, TSs, and Waves in the summer. Cozumel is closed today. Northers blow you out in the winter, springtime storms happen - weather is part of the adventure. I use TravelSafe.com insurance to hedge my bets.

I've never canceled a trip for a storm, even when I should have. Travel is part of the adventure, including evacuations.

 

[wausman]

Yes I will not be traveling with my own tanks but thanks for the info. We just got certified last summer and only a couple trips to the keys and local diving. Any help is appreciated.

And as far as the Feb. trip its a free trip with work so can't really change the time.

 

[kierentec]

don't bother going to the BVIs or St. John or St. Thomas for a dive trip, you will most likely be disappointed. there are a few decent wrecks, but aside from that, it's pretty boring. I've spent a lot of time sailing over there, and always stop for a few dives along the way just for something different, but have never been impressed (the wreck of the RMS Rhone is not nearly what people make it seem). St. Croix, the red headed step child of the Virgin Islands, however, is GREATLY underrated. going on 1000 dives here on STX, and have yet to get bored. super healthy shallow reefs and amazing wrecks on the west end, one of the best walls in the Caribbean along the entire north shore, and Long Reef, one of the longest continuously living barrier reefs in the Caribbean also on the north shore. We have had divers dive with us for 3 weeks straight and never dive the same site twice, and they are all unique. oh, and St. Croix is also FAR less expensive than the other islands, way more laid back, and our economy is not tourism/cruise ship driven, so you get a very different experience here than almost any other island in the chain.

hope that helps

 

[DandyDon]

It's been over 20 years since I've been there but my understanding is that St.Tom is the rocking tourist island, St.John was neat for a drive around - exploring ruins and sights, but St.Croix is the divers island of those three anyway.

 

[mitsuguy]

don't bother going to the BVIs or St. John or St. Thomas for a dive trip, you will most likely be disappointed. there are a few decent wrecks, but aside from that, it's pretty boring. I've spent a lot of time sailing over there, and always stop for a few dives along the way just for something different, but have never been impressed (the wreck of the RMS Rhone is not nearly what people make it seem). St. Croix, the red headed step child of the Virgin Islands, however, is GREATLY underrated. going on 1000 dives here on STX, and have yet to get bored. super healthy shallow reefs and amazing wrecks on the west end, one of the best walls in the Caribbean along the entire north shore, and Long Reef, one of the longest continuously living barrier reefs in the Caribbean also on the north shore. We have had divers dive with us for 3 weeks straight and never dive the same site twice, and they are all unique. oh, and St. Croix is also FAR less expensive than the other islands, way more laid back, and our economy is not tourism/cruise ship driven, so you get a very different experience here than almost any other island in the chain.

hope that helps

I couldn't agree more, and have almost the exact same experience, haven't dived the Rhone yet, but heard the same thing from some co-workers that went last year (good chance I'll get over there in the next month or two I believe)

At any rate, travelersinparadise, the hurricanes are far less of a threat than you make them seem. All of the dive ops in St. Croix and St Thomas are still operating on a daily basis right now. There is very little fear of a hurricane coming through, and if it does, thats when the boat gets pulled out of the water. Last year, I was diving the day that a hurricane passed just North of us and the seas were quite nice actually... Obviously, there are exceptions, but unless we take one head on, I'm not too worried... A few years ago, Omar did quite a bit of damage to the island, (and I wasn't here), but, even though power was out at the shop, the diving continued until they ran out of full tanks...

The nice thing about summer is that it is typically much calmer here (st. croix) in the summer than it is in the winter. I say typically, because the last couple weeks have been crappy, but I feel that will calm down soon... Having lived here for a while, if I were coming on vacation here, I would choose August or September - usually the calmest of seas, good water temps (84ish), and its the slowest part of the year, meaning less people to deal with...

 

[kierentec]

we were diving again the day after Omar hit

 

[travelersinparadise]

We would love to hit St Croix for this trip but our production schedule is already overflowing.

I have heard that St Croix is a great place to dive and we will be back to dive there. I'm thinking in season three.

As to the Canes. They become a bit more of an issue for us as we live on a sailboat. It's not so simple to just put your home up on the hard. Especially when you always have a schedule.

Thanks for the intel. I will keep in touch and when we get there lets do some diving together. You can show us the hot spots.