thepeacha

Ashley, I've enjoyed every word and image you have shared with us. I wish you every joy- you deserve every bit of it!

Sorry Earl made a mess of things... I had to board up and lost two trees, we had a lot of wind where I live... I had to hold onto things to manage the rough winds while I fed my animals around 4pm Monday. I locked my pet chickens up in my tackroom overnight, and they were grateful, let me tell you!

I really do feel bad for the tourists/ cruisers when it rains, I remember what a crushing disappointment it was on my holidays. Hope you had sunshine everywhere else.

The actually closed Buck Island National Park Monument for a few days post- Earl... but they were checking beach erosion and NPS pier stability, so hopefully all that sealife I tied down stays put. :)

Hi-

OC PAT, glad to make you happy. I saw all those fishies/ sealife Ellen mentioned between the two trips recently, schools of cuttlefish as well. However fish are on the fin- and turtles are frequently in transit from long distances, there is no telling what you'll see but I hope you smile as you snorkel. Turtle Beach on Buck (the stop on the West shore) is wonderful, all the time.

A half day trip works perfectly for me, as I avoid the sun v. carefully. Basically you can't go wrong either way, as long as you don't get overexposed! Sounds like a fab way to spend a birthday...

I second the taxi idea, renting a car to park it for most of the day is more work. If you were planning on touring the island renting makes sense. CC forum rules do not allow locals to advise on who to rent from/etc, please don't think you are being ignored. Hope another cruiser can help you there. We'll just tie down the fish for you, lol.

Hello all I usally follow the STX threads and am sorry for the late reply. I've been computerless, among other woes.

I've lived here over a decade, and and can give a now-and-then viewpoint. I did a ton of snorkelling when we first moved here but haven't done much of late. (It happens, lol.) I remember Buck Island reef from 10 years ago- saw some fish but have seen better coral, etc. elsewhere.

I've taken guests to Buck Island twice over the past month. I went with one of the big companies- they are all good, as are the smaller companies, IMHO- and had no plan on snorkelling...left my good equip at home, seriously no plan to go in the water. I got talked into it when we hit the snorkel site, and I was just being a good sport. WOW. The reef was bright and thriving, and I saw huge schools of fish and had a blast. I was so impressed at the change. It was a rough day with surge to boot, and it still was an amazing trip. I cheerfully jumped in on the second guest's trip, with my fave mask in hand, and was again amazed.

So that is my story. I was lucky enough to see loads of fish and healthy coral. Please don't call me a cheerleader- realistically I had no plan on snorkelling Buck again and had to be shamed into the water three weeks ago. I was super-pleasantly surprised and I hope you have a good snorkel day at Buck, too. Really, whatever you chose to do, I hope it's wonderful...

Hi, I've really enjoyed scuba diving with every operator on the island. The divers here have a blast at the wall at cane bay, as well as at dozens of boat dives, and I can't say a bad word about any of the staff- they are excited and love sharing the island's underwater beauty.

Antigua is beautiful as well, but St. Croix is home... happy diving!