| |
2Dive4 Menu
Take the
Contact Info:
Dave Mickley
Email
(800) 564-5350
(724) 872-8748 |
|
|
St. Croix,
the DIVErse Virgin
.... walls, reefs, wrecks, and a pier all on the same island by
boat or shore
St. Croix
is a hard-core diver's island, offering shore and beach diving,
walls, reefs, pinnacles, wrecks and a spectacular pier dive.
Whether you are a beginner, advanced, or even a tech diver, there
is something for everyone. Overview
Most of the diving takes place along St. Croix's substantial
northern shore. The north coast wall begins sloping away about 100
yards from shore and drops to over 3,200 feet. (Tech divers
can really explore here).
Click here: DIVE THE ISLAND PASSPORT |
| Diving Pages |
|
|
| St. Croix Diving Articles |
|
|
|
|
|
The view from our pool deck of the rocky beach entry at 2DIVE4.
The rocky beach entrance at 2DIVE4. |
However, one need not go very deep to
enjoy the wall as shallow coral gardens of sea fans, brain and
star corals give way to barrel and elephant ear sponges as well as
plate and pillar corals. While diving the wall you will also enjoy
a variety of formations including caves, pinnacles, swim-throughs,
and a trench. Salt River canyon splits the north shore wall with
an ancient river bed that reaches a depth of 1000 feet. The east
and west walls of this canyon both offer very different diving
experiences.
|
| "(Score:85.5)
#9 U.S. Virgin Islands
If you want to get vertical in the Virgin Islands, head for
St. Croix, where two distinct wall dives are separated by a
yawning chasm. Salt River East
drops steep and deep and is forested with black coral.
Salt River West
is marked by narrow passageways where sections of the reef
have separated from the main wall." ~March
2004 issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine entitled "The
Worlds Best Wall Diving" |
|
| Off the northwest corner
of the island is Butler Bay. Here lies a small armada of 4 wrecks
of varying size and depth all within 100 yards of each other. Wide
angle photo opportunities abound among these sunken majesties
cloaked in red encrusted corals, pink tube sponges and an
abundance of soft coral. This is an excellent site to visit when
calmer conditions are desired. |
Dive map of 2DIVE4's back yard. |
|
|
|
Written
shore diving information is available about the sites in blue on
the above map.
Click here to view a map of St. Croix's major dive sites.
|
One of the most spectacular night dives in St.
Croix is under the Frederiksted pier. Located on the west side of
the island, this commercial pier extends 450 yards from shore. It
is a "must" dive for anyone shooting macro photography
or if you just enjoy seeing the creatures of the night that
inhabit this area. |
Some divers like the relative ease of guided boat
diving. For you there are 2 full service scuba shops offering boat diving
just a short drive from 2Dive4. However, if you are like me and you prefer
shore diving then you have come to the right place. A few dives like
Gentle Winds and both walls of Salt River Canyon are best done by boat.
However, the majority of St. Croix sites are accessible from shore.
In the most recent Top 100 poll taken in Rodale's
Scuba Diving Magazine, readers gave the US Virgin Islands very high
rankings in a number of categories. These rankings are from the 2005
January/February issue.
Following are the current rankings relative to
the US Virgin Islands:
- Top overall Caribbean / Atlantic destination # 6
- Top wreck diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic # 4
- Top shore diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic # 3
- Top beginner diving in the Caribbean / Atlantic
# 3
- Top snorkeling Caribbean / Atlantic # 3
| "(Score
84.6)#2. U.S. Virgin Islands Divers looking for some boat-free action in
"America's Caribbean" head for St. Croix, the largest of the U.S.
Virgin Islands. the most popular shore dive on the island is
Cane Bay
Drop-off, which is accessed from the picturesque and uncrowded beach
at Cane Bay. Swim out 100 yards or so over the shallow inner reef to
find spur-and-groove formations at 40 feet, leading to the wall, which
drops well beyond recreational limits. After the dive dry off and walk
across the street to have lunch at Boz's Beach Bar. Now, with a full
stomach, you can head west a mile from Cane Bay to find the entry for
Northstar Wall, another great shore dive. This site features a number
of abandoned anchors. a cavern filled with silversides at 60 feet and
frequent visits from turtles. On the west side of St. Croix, the
pilings of Frederiksted Pier are blanketed with sponges and corals and
inhabited by macro species including arrow crabs, brittle stars, coral
shrimp and feather duster worms." Taken from the April , 2004
issue of Rodale's Scuba Diving |
If you are like me and prefer to dive on your own
schedule, you will appreciate that the USVI is
"# 2 for the best shore diving" . To help you take full advantage of
St. Croix's world renowned shore diving, in conjunction with a local
instructor, I have pulled together written information about various local
shore dives. Each travelogue includes driving directions with
trip-o-meter settings from 2Dive4, a description of the dive and a map of
the dive where useful. Written shore diving information is available about
the sites in blue on the following map.
Click here to view a map of
St. Croix's major dive sites. 2DIVE4...Making
the world a better place for divers. |
|
