St. Croix - Scuba Diving
Cane Bay Dive Shop
The Cane Bay Dive Shop is a PADI 5-STAR IDC facility with several locations on St. Croix. The original is at Cane Bay on the north shore, directly across from the water.
This prime location is just 200 yards from the reef and the famous Cane Bay Wall with its 3200 foot drop-off. They are a full service facility offering shore diving, boat diving, rental gear, and a well stocked retail shop.
Shore dives can be done with just a short walk off the beach there at Cane Bay. Boat diving is available for getting to some of the other prime dive sites along the 7-mile wall, as well as trips to Salt River or the wrecks located further east along the north side, and also at the west end.
The boats are rigid inflatable's that carry a maximum of six people. Entry and exit are accomplished easily through a zippered floor section in the bow. The boats capacity is great for keeping the groups small, letting divers visit the sites they want.
Cane Bay Dive Shop has some friendly, and very helpful folks that will work hard to make your dive trip everything you wanted. If there's a particular place you want to try, just ask.
Prices are excellent, especially on dive packages. Cost was $210 for 6 tanks off the boats, plus a days worth or shore diving. This of course included tanks and weights, but also included an extra regulator for the whole time. Anytime you can get your dive cost down to around, $30, you're doing pretty darn well.
To the group there at Cane Bay Dive Shop - well done! Besides Susanne and Hal, the owners; kudos go to divemasters Nick, Julia, Dan, J.D. and Autumn, along with boat captain Dusty, for their hard work at providing a first-rate diving experience.
Dive Sites Around St. Croix
Must-do sites lie just about anywhere along the "Wall", but specific recommendations include, NorthStar, Pavillion, Salt River, Frederiksted Pier, and The Wrecks on the west end. Depths range from 30' to 110' except for the Pier which averages about 35'. Visibility is generally quite good, averaging approximately 75 feet.
Expect to see a wide variety of marine life, including tropical fish, trunkfish, filefish, parrotfish, angels, Hawksbill turtles, lobster, crab, nurse sharks, and stingrays. When over the wall, keep an eye out to the north for the occasional black-tip shark or eagle ray. Salt River is especially nice with its huge coral heads and giant swim-throughs, as well as some small caves.
You'll also see healthy reefs with many types of coral, including some stands of black coral. And everywhere are barrel, tube & vase sponges. In particular there are a great many tube and vase sponges that are a sort of iridescent or translucent lavender color on the outside, with a pale pink hue on their inside - very pretty!
The Pier at Frederiksted is a top-notch macro dive. It's incredibly fishy, with tons of critters, and beautiful coral growth. You'll want a camera for sure. Look for lots of banded coral shrimp - red & blue, spider crabs, flying gunards, and an amazing number of octopus. A few were hiding in some of the strangest places, like the top of a broken wine bottle, and others you'll catch in plain sight if you look closely.
The Wrecks lie in a couple places on sandy bottom where you'll often see a carpet of garden eels swaying in the current. In the deeper location, bottoming out at 110', are a vehicle ferry and a tug lying at right angles to each other. Both are well covered with growth, and suitable for limited penetration. As with the pier, the photo opportunities are outstanding, with the structures still clearly discernable.
If you're a diver, St. Croix has miles of reef waiting to be explored. But for those who enjoy snorkeling, the reef system all along the north side of the island, along with park reserve at Buck Island, offer a veritable playground of shallow reefs, perfect for snorkeling.
find more pictures on St. Croix Photo Gallery...