Review - Blue Island Divers, St. Thomas, USVI

[w&k]

Dive review – Blue Island Divers, St. Thomas USVI

November 25, 2004 (Celebrity Zenith)

 

Rating of 1-5 stars:

Overall **** ½

 

People *****

Equipment ****

Diving *** (Wreck ** 66ft/29min Reef *** 43ft/54min)

 

BID will be my first contact when diving St. Thomas again.

 

Personal dive biases: I am a Floridian with >300 dives, certification through rescue. My diving experience has been under all sorts of conditions, but I no longer dive rough, deep or cold water (why bother?), and avoid weekend warriors whenever possible. My diving preference is drifting on reefs, and I have been known to bring home a bug or two.

 

I got the original tip on BID from Hilary on the Cruise Critic Scuba board. I had been considering BID and another operation in St. Thomas, but booked with BID because of the personal E-mail, good recommendations, and their pickup at Crown Bay Pier. I also liked the clean, functional website. http://www.blueislanddivers.com All correspondence by E-mail was prompt and courteous.

 

Of course, I cannot find my notes for this trip, so I apologize to anyone given the wrong name in this review.

 

Ian(?) picked us up right at the gangplank, walked us down the pier to his car, and drove us around the bay and marina to the dive shop, which we could actually see from the ship. Upon arrival at the shop, we completed the business and paperwork, and walked out front of the shop about 10 steps to the boat, where a small group of divers were prepping gear. Tanks and weights were already on the boat, and my husband Keith and DM John (?) set up our tanks, BCs and weight pockets. Fills were 2800-3000 psi in standard Aluminum 80s (100s not available). There were 7 other divers on the boat, and we assessed 6 of them to be experienced novices with 1 real diver + 2 DMs and the Captain. I informed both DMs that I had a new BC, and thus needed to do a weight check before descent, and not to worry if they saw me rolling around a bit. I heard that the first dive was going to be a wreck, and adopted a wait and see attitude, because I had requested shallow, sheltered reefs. The water going out was rough – 4-5ft with a few 7s thrown in to keep things interesting. I kept waiting for the boat to curve around the island, but the Captain cut power and announced the intention to anchor. Being a shy, retiring person, I spoke right up and stated my strong opinion that the water was too rough for comfort, if not safety. This started a discussion with the Captain and DMs on typical St. Thomas offshore conditions. Also, I was told that the wreck dive was a special request by the group on the boat, and that the second dive was going to be a protected reef. The Captain would have moved the boat if I had pressed the issue, but I decided to be a sport and not ruin the special request. We got out of the way, and confirmed our earlier assessment of the divers on the boat. I would like to emphasize that the DMs did a FABULOUS job getting the group suited up and off the boat safely. I need to emphasize that their expertise in handling staggering divers was incredible (not to mention quite entertaining for us). We then suited up, scuffled back, and hopped in without incident. Buddy teams joined up on the tag line, then dropped below the surface and swam forward to, then down the anchor line, which was set on the wreck. Top of the wreck was about 60ft. We were assigned Sally (?) as DM, but she assessed that we were fine in the first couple of minutes, and went to help keep an eye on the group. Viz was about 70ft, water temperature cool ~82F, and almost no current. The wreck had myriad sponge growth, a good assortment of tropicals, one extremely fat barracuda, and one turtle with 6 thrashing bubble machines lurking about. We headed back up the anchor line and did our safety stop feeling like we were swimming in a water cooler jug rather than floating in a champagne glass. From the stop, we swam subsurface to the tag line singly and in pairs, and waited our turn to get back onto the boat. The DMs and Captain put on another EXCELLENT performance getting the group out of the water and back into seats without any major damage. We timed waves and popped back onto the boat with little trouble beyond my bad knee making a serious creak in protest to remind me why I don’t dive rough water. Back on board with 1800 psi. There was some difficulty getting the anchor off the wreck in the rough sea, but the DMs finally managed to unhook and set off.

 

We then headed back into the island, and motored up into a protected cay for our surface interval and dive #2. Captain then solicitously inquired if this site was more to my liking, and I answered ‘much better’ and winked at him. Water, soda crackers and licorice were available for nibbling. We hung out for about an hour, swapping dive stories, and some of us splatted off the back for a swim. We confirmed that the good diver in the group was a DM-in-training.

 

Dive #2 was a beautiful patch reef, starting in about 40 feet of water. We went in one lazy group, and I stuck mostly to the back, trying to take pictures while my camera was not cooperating. Unfortunately, it turned out that my batteries were only minimally charged. I did manage to get some shots before it shut off entirely. The reef has a good coverage and variety of hard corals, good sponges, and many areas with juvenile tropicals. Edges abounded with small sand patches in the structure. Actually, my favorite area was at the end of the dive, almost under the boat. Everyone else was out of air, so I hung out in the vicinity of the stern and cruised around looking at worms, shrimp, fry and other cool stuff. Back on board with 1100 psi because I got a bit cold & everyone else was back on the boat already.

 

We then returned to the dock, and everyone helped unload the boat. There was a hose available, so we rinsed and spread out our gear out to drip-dry. DM Sally (?) was our ride back to the ship, so we arranged to meet at the adjacent Tickles bar as we were in no hurry, and she had some things to do. We repacked dry gear and wheeled it over to Tickles, and I went to have a quick shower-off and change into dry clothes. We indulged in a couple of Caribe beers & some ‘Happy Thanksgiving from paradise’ cell phone calls to family and friends at home. Sally (?) joined us, swapped dive stories, then she drove us back to the pier with a stop by a grocery store for some supplies for us to take back onto the boat.

 

Blue Island Divers is a great operation with its strength in its people, and I highly recommend them. The rental equipment I saw appeared to be in great condition, although I much prefer soft weights to hard. I intend to book with their operation for St. Thomas when we return on a ship, but with the absolute stipulation that the diving will be protected water only.

 

Wendy

 

Check out the photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/wendyandkeith

[WISara]

Wendy-

 

Great review! We went with Coki on our cruise since we were newbies, but we are planning another cruise in that area and wanted to try something new there. I will definitely keep BID in mind!

[nancyhi]

I went out with them on Dec. 19, and they came right to the dock next to RCCLs Serenade. As far as service goes, and their boat - it was 5 out of 5. They took us to a wreck called Witch Shoal, where they said others don't go, but it offered lots of things to see, and had lots of color. Well, the boat captain admitted later it was his fault, but we ended up on a dive that was pretty rough current, and it was more than I could handle, and I almost gave up before even going down, cuz we needed to get in the water from the back of the boat, but the mooring to go down was at the front of the boat. The current was moving from front to back, so most of us were using a good part of our tank, just getting to the ropes to go down. After I actually made it, I noted my air went from about 3100 to 2500 just in the first 3 minutes. I went down easily enough though, so I thought I was in the clear. They told us that the currents would only be on the surface and it would be fine at bottom depth (80'). We came down on the port side, swam around the stern and as we rounded the starboard side, we hit some really rough currents. I knew you're not supposed to really touch the wreck, and that it had lots of sharp edges, but we started going backwards, and I was fighting the current the whole time we were on the starboard side. I thought I was in bad shape (actually I am) and felt bad about starting to come up so soon. I think my total dive time was 20 minutes, and I had about 500 psi left. My husband faired better than me, but he's in much better shape and a much stronger swimmer. even he said it was rough and wasn't impressed with the operation strictly because of the one dive. But they made up for it by taking us to a nice reef called Flat Cay for our 2nd dive. Had no currents, and lots of fish to see. I had a great time there. And after seeing the dive boat operations in different islands, I think they are a good operator and have a really nice boat. they did have some problems at the end of our dive when they were taking us back to the ship. We were the only ones they had to drop off at the ship, then they were headed back to their shop, and the boat died right outside our room's balcony. My daughters were on board watching us and waving to us while we were stuck in the boat. The operator had friends on the next boat over (the BOB people) and they were glad to jump on and help out. Our divemaster asked if they'd take us back to the dock, and told us to get in their boat. Then they fixed our boat as we settled in, and before we could ask "what's happening" the other boat took off waving goodbye. The BOB people looked at us funny and asked "so, why'd you jump ship?" We said they told us to get in their boat. Then the BOB people said "Well, their boat's OK now! I just fixed it. No matter, we have to go in anyhow, but next time stay in your boat." But the BOB people were really sweet and showed us their set up and it was still fun being in their boat too for the five minutes it took to get into dock.

 

So I actually have some mixed feelings about the operation, but might try them again. I expected they would only have 6-8 divers, but we had about 10-11 divers on our boat. A couple were novice divers like me, but a couple were more experienced, and all agreed the first place was a dive we could done without.

 

Make sure they check their spots well before going if you go with them. And ask when's the last time they fixed their engines. Otherwise, the service is great and it's still worth it.

____END OF REVIEW FOR BLUE ISLAND___

Dive report on rest of trip:

 

Best diving was in St Maarten with Leroy French. He had a small boat made for 6 divers and that's what he took down, and has his operation down pat, and told you exactly what was going on, what you needed, had a place to rinse our stuff at his shop, and the dive spot was just off shore of his dive shop. Highly recommend. He made an area that was OK a great dive because of how he ran his operation.

 

Dove with Frogs in St Lucia, and his boat was down when we got there. Make sure he's using his boat if you go. he combined up with another outfit. His divemaster was late for the boat, and kept us all waiting. ANd again I thought this was a six pack type of boat, and we ended up with 12 divers on a regular boat that was made more for 6-8 people. Our stuff got ALL wet, there was no dry areas anywhere on boat, our stuff was all piled next to our feet on top of each other's equipment, and it was horrid. The worst part was that this alternate boat arrangement had a back entry dive off the side where there was a poor ledge, and I couldn't balance well, and have a bad back, and ended up hurting it going in, then at the end of the dive, I was waiting to get aboard, and tried to maneuver around the propellers that were right next to the ladder, and ended up getting smashed into the propellers getting back in. Then I had to get aboard, and had a difficult time getting my equipment off because of the propellers too. Try to climb into a boat with all your equipment on with a bad back. I've learned something from this experience and will definitely ask about the type of boats I'll be on from now on. But, while I didn't care for the boat or the way things went at all that morning, and that it took longer than expected to do our dives because of our late start, at least he helped make it right by taking us back to our ship instead of making us take a taxi back. He actually offered to do so beforehand, so it was expected. And by the time everything was over, I really needed for him to do that, or this review would be scathing. I think if we were on Frog's own boat, the dives would have been great and the only thing I could say was his DM was late. Plus, there would have been only 5-6 divers on a huge boat. So, just check and make sure everything is in working order. If he says he has other arrangements, go get another boat operator yourself.

[kathalinamarie]

Nancyhi, that is the first good thing I have seen written ANYWHERE about diving in St. Martin. Could you give more details on the dive operator?

 

thanks much.

[Hilary]

We dove with Blue Island on 12/25/04 and also would give them 4.0-4.5 stars. We dove the Navy Barges (42' for 51 min), and Sandy Cove Reef (51' for 52 min). We had no current, no waves, no surge on either dive... basically ideal conditions. The Nitrox divers on our boat got extra bottom time on both dives and the DM's did a good job of getting the air divers into the boat with plenty of air. On both dives, I had over 1000 psi left in my tank at the end, but my buddy (husband) was at the 600 psi mark so it didn't matter what I had left.

 

I thought they did a good job on the boat and that service was very good. We had a combination of totally guided dives, and were left to do our own thing on the reef once we were oriented. The DM's did an excellent job of babysitting the newbies (2 guys still had paper C-cards!), including stopping one guy from a runaway ascent and reminding the other guy to let the air out of his BC (twice). Conversely, they also did a great job in letting the more experienced divers have some freedom.

 

No regrets in booking with them, and I do recommend them. Have heard good things about Admiralty, and if we go back to St. Thomas, my give them a try to compare.

[w&k]

Nancyhi-

 

Your description of dive #1 is PRECISELY why my attitude starts to go downhill fast when I hear 'wreck dive.' I think my personal proportion of wreck dives is 1 good / 5 stink, and I'm probably being generous because our wreck in St. Kitts was so awesome (dive #2).

 

I'm also interested on hearing lots more about your dive on St. Maarten - I did not book a dive for there because of the rough water. The combination of old, fat rump with bad knees just makes rough water a disaster waiting to happen.

 

HIlary-

 

I was so glad to see your review, and to hear you had a great set of dives o your cruise!

 

Wendy

[nancyhi]

I can't vouch for the operation itself or the type of dives that Admiralty offers, but I saw them at our dock where we waited for Blue Island. They come in earlier, picked up their divers, and were gone... FAST. If you're not there, they probably can't wait, cuz they share the dock space with everyone else. We got there early to wait for our boat, and saw 3 other boats come in and leave. I was envious that Admiralty only had 2 divers aboard, but the boat was smaller than Blue Island, and I only saw one guy captaining the boat. Maybe a DM was there too, but I didn't see him. Looks like a smaller operation, but also looked like a nice boat. Since they got out sooner, they probably got back in earlier too. That was important to me, because I wanted to spend some island time with my daughters after our dive.

 

Leroy at Ocean Explorers was right on time. He said to be there at 8:30, and we were. We got right off the boat, (docked, not tendering like we thought) and grabbed a taxi that got us to Ocean Explorers really quick. Taxi said it normally takes a lot longer cuz of morning traffic, but since it was Xmas vacation, the kids are out of school. Normally the school buses jam up the streets since its a 2 lane road most of the way. So if you're going while school is in session, be sure to leave enough time to get there.

 

When we arrived, we got fitted for equipment, then he told us to change and get everything we needed for our dive. We weren't used to that and asked if we should change on the boat. He said NOPE, change now, there's no room on boat. He's right. But - it worked fine. We got into our 2 ml skins and brought our wet bag with gear on, and left EVERYTHING else locked in his shop. You hike about 50 feet from his shop to their medium sized boat, comfortable for 6-9 divers. He had a driver, DM and him on the boat, and he and the DM were there for 6 divers. It was an easy 50-55 minute reef dive just five minutes from his shop, and one dead area where we went that was like crossing a desert. My adventure here was I've never done a "back entry" before, I usually jump off the back of diveboats. So, I saw that we were about 3-4 feet up from the water and freaked out. But their DM helped me out, coached me through it all, sat next to me and told me everything to do, and Boom! It was easier than I thought. Phew. Then we stayed at about 45-50 feet, were in a nice reef, saw lots of stuff like trunkfish, angels, a HUGE lobster, a barracuda "protecting" the lobster (like a scene out of "Sharktale"), and then they took us through the "desert" and I saw lots of sand dollars on the sea floor, and conchs too. Then came to another small reef area and saw some more tropicals. I was breathing easy, had lots of air, and we all stayed down for a long leisurely dive and still came up with 700 psi. It was just a one AM dive, and we wanted to come back in early cuz we wanted to grab lunch on the ship and go to the butterfly farm and horses in the afternoon. I just wanted to get some dive time in. Leroy got us going about 9 AM, and had us back to the shop by 10:15. VERY efficient in my book. We told the taxi to come back at 11 for us, and she did. But it only took us about 20 minutes to get cleaned up, packed and dressed back into clothes. So we sat around and waited for the taxi at the diveshop, and they were good sports and let us hang out and dry our stuff off. Leroy had to run an errand but said if the taxi didn't come back and he was back, he'd take us to the ship. Wasn't necessary. But it was a long drive back to the cruise docks cuz we hit traffic. I get a little nervous about sleeping in a foreign country's taxi, but it was OK, if you can. Just don't be surprised by screaming taxi drivers and swerving, kinda like NYC ;-) Anyhow, the dive wasn't "spectacular," (hey, it aint Turks & Caicos) but I had read mediocre reviews of St Maarten and didn't expect much. After our dives in St Thomas, St Maarten really wasn't bad by comparison, and we had about 70-80 ft visibility. It more than made up for the area, that Leroy knew his stuff. Knowing what I know now, I could have gotten back to my ship about 30 minutes sooner. But I was happy I got a nice long dive in, and got back to the ship before 11:30.

[kryos]

Blue Island Divers is a great operation with its strength in its people, and I highly recommend them. The rental equipment I saw appeared to be in great condition, although I much prefer soft weights to hard. I intend to book with their operation for St. Thomas when we return on a ship, but with the absolute stipulation that the diving will be protected water only.

I just wanted to add that I dived with Blue Island myself this month. I did my first two open water certification dives with Ian and found him to be an excellent instructor. You also talk about the entertainment getting everyone back on the boat ... I provided quite a bit of entertainment trying to get both off and on the boat wearing 16 pounds of weight, as well as all the gear. It's one thing to do it in a pool, and quite another in a moving vessel! :) Both Ian and the dive master were very patient with me, and took pains to make sure I was comfortable.

 

I absolutely loved the dives! While I am not comfortable yet moving around on a boat weighted down with equipment, once I am in the water ... I love it! Ian invited the group to join us on our tour (the first OW dive really doesn't involve many skills assessments) and the group waited while we did the couple of things we had to do at the bottom. Then we were off exploring the beautiful reef. Note to self ... buy dive gloves to protect hands from that damned fire coral. :) I was the only student diver on the boat.

 

The second dive had more skills to be accomplished, so most of the rest of the group paired off to do other things ... like shoot photos ... while we completed the requirements for OW 2. Then we were off on another reef tour where I got to see a huge turtle and lots of colorful fish. This dive too went off without a hitch, and all too soon we were climbing back aboard the boat ... or I should say, I was climbing and falling off the ladder trying to balance on the fins. :)

 

Once back at the shop, Ian filled out my logbook and referral forms so that I would be all set for the remaining two dives in St. Maarten the next day. He also made sure I had the shop's phone number in case the water was too rough in St. Maarten to complete the dives. He said that he could then give me paperwork that would allow me to dive at another port with an instructor ... just in case I couldn't complete the second two OW dives at those ports for some reason.

 

Luckily, I was able to complete dives 3 and 4 in St. Maarten the next day. There I went with SCUBAFun and had another great instructor, Celine (?). Those dives got a bit dicey due to the skills needing to be performed at the surface, with very rough seas making them a real challenge.

 

Like you mention in your review, Ian picked us up right at the cruise ship dock and drove us over to the shop. There were three of us from our cruise ship; another couple who were also CCers and certified/experienced divers who were making dives in every port, and myself.

 

I will definitely book with this outfit again when I next find myself in St. Thomas.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[karen2cruz]

We just got back and give Blue Island 5 out of 5. Agree with all of the above enthusiastic endorsements. Many of the dive shops on our cruise were not as professional as them. We did nitrox with them and they did everything textbook perfect. Take dive lights, they really enhance the beauty of the coral there.

 

NancyHi- We agree about Frog's in St Lucia. His boat was still down this past week and was an hour late. He was nice and all...but was not the greatest dive experience. Sealife was good though.