| What do you do upon realizing it's been more than a | | | | beforehand so it's waiting for you upon arrival. |
| year since your last dive trip, and you're itching to get | | | | This worked great for us, as there was a |
| wet again? After kicking yourself of course? Well the | | | | representative waiting outside baggage claim when |
| obvious answer is to drop what you're doing and go | | | | we arrived holding a placard with our name on it. Just |
| diving. | | | | signed some papers and left. Upon departure, I parked |
| So I took my own advice and have just returned from | | | | at the airport, locked the keys inside and left it. |
| St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where my son and I | | | | As for where to dive - definitely the north shore "Wall". |
| pretty much dived our brains out for about a week. | | | | Several sites are an easy swim from the beach - |
| We also ate some great food, saw much of the island, | | | | maybe 200 yards out, then drop down over the wall |
| and chilled out on our balcony overlooking the ocean. | | | | which starts at about 50' and drops to 3200'. Keep an |
| So why St. Croix? Well, why not? For one, I hadn't | | | | eye to the north where you might see the occasional |
| been there yet, and prefer diving new locations. But I | | | | black-tip shark, manta, or spotted eagle ray swim by. |
| also have a friend who used to work there as a | | | | Also make sure you dive Salt River where the wall |
| divemaster, and I figured on getting some insider | | | | has giant coral heads, some caves, and huge |
| perspective. After a few email exchanges with him, | | | | swim-throughs. The reef is healthy, vibrant, and full of |
| and scouting the web, I found all I needed to get | | | | all kinds of marine life. I saw several stands of black |
| everything booked. | | | | coral, and an unusual number of trunkfish there. |
| Considering how "last minute" the planning was, the trip | | | | While the north wall is awesome, there are a couple |
| came off smoothly. There were only a few | | | | places to note on the west end that are also "must |
| parameters to consider, namely that I wanted to do it | | | | do" dives. One is the wrecks. Actually 2 sites - the |
| cheap and get in a lot of diving - at least 2 tanks a | | | | deeper one has a tug and a vehicle ferry setting about |
| day. Oh, and I wanted to eat some fresh shrimp. | | | | 100' down. Lots of growth, but the structures stand out |
| The best diving on St. Croix, is on the famous "Wall" | | | | clearly - especially the wheelhouse on the tug, and |
| that runs along the north shore for about 7 miles or so. | | | | makes for a super photo shot. |
| With this in mind I found lodging at a small, 9 room hotel | | | | Also on the west end is the Frederiksted Pier, which |
| at Cane Bay which is just west of the mid-point of the | | | | runs a few hundred yards out, and is one of the |
| north side. As luck would have it, one of the best | | | | fishiest places I've seen. The debris on the bottom and |
| restaurants on island is also located on the same | | | | the pilings are home to all sorts of critters, including |
| property. | | | | banded coral shrimp and spider crabs by the dozen. |
| The hotel is built right on the shore, which is rocky at | | | | You're likely to get "inked" after startling an octopus |
| that point, and all rooms face the ocean. The views | | | | trying to blend into the background as you swim by, or |
| are outstanding with St. Thomas and St. John visible on | | | | watch them turning colors while hiding in some of the |
| the horizon, and the ever-present sound of the waves | | | | oddest places. The funniest was this little guy holed up |
| crashing on the rocks. Within a half mile are a couple | | | | in what appeared to be the top of a broken wine |
| more excellent places to eat, as well as the dive shop | | | | bottle. |
| we used which is right across from the beach at Cane | | | | There's lots more to see and do on St. Croix, including |
| Bay. | | | | some interesting history. It's readily apparent from the |
| I highly recommend obtaining a rental car for getting | | | | dozens of old windmills, that sugar plantations once |
| around the island. It's far less hassle than relying on | | | | covered the island, and supported a very different |
| taxi's and because there's lots to see, will save money | | | | economy from today. |
| in the long run. The best way is to arrange the rental | | | | |