Water was 72F as was the air so chilly for my taste but balmy for the UK folks. Lovely dive with Laz, seeing lion seahorse playing with the photographer (me), 2 adult Manatee, various starfish, several octopus – one willing to shake hands with Laz, various bottom and muck creatures.
Really enjoyed it and seems like it would work well for the family outing in June.
Spent 1.5 weeks at St John, USVI and dove with Low Key divers and they seemed to be the only boat diving daily at St John. St John is more of a beach and hiking location than dive destination and the diving infrastructure shows it. Low Key has friendly staff and they made certain to take me to new locations each day. But no dunk tank for rinsing gear (shower near dock only), no fresh water shower in boat, worthless camera rinse tank on board, wading up to waste to boat rather than docked was the infrastructure.
Seeing the divers present, it all made sense however. Most all others rented nearly all their gear so no dunk tank required for them. I had the only camera on board for all but one day and I bring my own rinse tank so that worked. Many divers on board had less than 10 ocean dives total. Usually 8-12 divers on board a 36 ft boat. Most St John area dives were in 40-60 feet with a 50 minute required max time which put me in the boat with 1200-1500 psi on most dives. The guides gave a fast paced 20 -30 min tour then left you under the boat for the remaining time. The newer divers often had enough after 40 min and were back in the boat early.
The diving is not going to excite the world travelers here but it was acceptable for my trip. The wife loves beaches and St John has fabulous beaches. She loved it so I loved it.
The best dive at St John was Booby Rock near Coral Bay both for coral and fish – a truly lovely dive and a good place for a wide angle lens, if only I had one. Other dives at St John were no better than average for the Carib.
Staying at Coconut Coast Villa’s Near Cruz Bay was very nice. Shore is just below your room for hearing the ocean while falling asleep, watching ocean/boats from balcony was great. Its an easy walk to town for dinner without any noise from town.
Dove the RMS Rhone at BVI the last day and that was GREAT! Did not know lobsters could get so massive. The dive guide said he has caught 11 lb lobsters (at other locations) before and these were bigger. In the dark cavern of the ship, running across this big guy was like finding the ‘lobster that took over NY City’!
The fish at Rhone see divers constantly and were not camera shy. I swam through schools of grunts and snappers with them nearly brushing me as I passed, had a barracuda that allowed photos from 18 inches, massive lobsters in several places, first sighting of 5 file fish together (white spotted), friendly porcupine fish, adult spotted drum.
If you need great beaches and some good hikes for partners with at least some reasonable diving for a vacation, it’s a fun spot. If you are a photo pro, its not going to rank high.
This was my first trip with the Canon G9 and two Inon Z-240’s. The pics were much better overall with 2 such powerful strobes and the better camera. I still have plenty to learn but I have far more ‘keeper’ photo’s than before. They will not compete here but the family and I like them which is what my work is for.
Enclosed is my first seahorse attempt at BHB and a few other pics from the trip.
Thanks for all the advice/suggestions posted here. It has helped me have a clue to what to do. Still not doing it, but at least have a clue what to do.
trunk Bay
My favorite RMS Rhone shot
Diver at RMS Rhone
