St. Kitts

Author: Doug Whitley

Returned 3 weeks ago and figured it’s about time to write a report. My wife and I spent two weeks in St.Kitts and Nevis unfortunately doing more time topside than bottom, one of life’s little compromises. Initially, my non-diving wife (soon to be remedied) and I planned on Dominica but conflicting schedules had us settle for St. Kitts. Though not noted for spectacular diving and advanced sites, you can still get wet and have an opportunity to encounter something you haven’t come across before

Accommodations

We stayed at the Bird Rock Hotel primarily because of the onsite Dive Shop, St. Kitts scuba as well as its proximity to the town of Basseterre (40 min walk). Our accommodations featured a small kitchen equipped with the necessary appliances, clean living quarters, kingsize bed with separate sitting area that included sofabed. Great view of the sunset from the balcony. The property is in good shape but the battle scars from hurricane George are apparent. In particular the dive shop, ocean side restaurant and dock ended up in the sea though they are presently re-building the infrastructure, you just have to adapt in the interim

St. Kitts Scuba (the good)

I booked my dive portion of the trip prior to arrival and to my good fortune I was the only diver on three different day excursions and was accompanied by one other diver on a night dive. Just me, the blue sky, a 33 foot vessel and "Dancehall", the divemaster. This combination offered the opportunity to explore nooks and crannies at a leisurely pace and given that we were two, our bottom time was dictated solely on our gas management, I still swear Dancehall has gills. At no time during the first week were their more than five divers and I was quite pleased that my dive schedule was not altered as a result of the lack of divers (kudos to the dive op)

The Diving

It is unlikely that you’ll encounter much in the way of big stuff around the frequented dive sites typically those close Basseterre. However if you’ re into macro life, little critters, corals and sponges, a nice assortment can be found. Profiles are basically square with some sites such as Paradise Reef offering swim throughs and coral mounds. Paradise Reef lies below Brimstone Hill Fortress (Sandy Point) and is one of the better sites to dive. I counted about half a dozen anchors in the area that presumably found their fate at the hands of the British cannons. Typical depth about 80 feet though areas do drop 130+ , viz ranged 30 ft, first dive and 80 on the second. A full 3mm wetsuit was the order as water temperatures ranged from 76-80 degrees

At the southern end of the island where the Atlantic and Caribbean waters meet, is the crossing between St. Kitts and Nevis. The dive site here is Nag’s Head and is considered a drift dive offering the opportunity to see large pelagics. This dive featured lots of critter life, no real drift or large pelagics, though interesting topography as a result of the sloping landmass. I can’t remember ever seeing so many spotted drums in one area, as well as my first encounter with a chain moray, a beautiful vibrant yellow pattern.

One of my preferred dives was off of Nevis and known as Doughnut reef. This is a shallow reef system that features what look like manmade grid like cuts and recesses in the reef covered in a variety of soft and hard corals. Within these cuts and grooves live just about every small and medium sized reef fish one has ever seen or read about I was particularly enthralled with the abundance of Black Durgeons, literally hundreds that moved about in unison decorating the reef like an endless mosaic.

Our night dive (lights were included) was on the wreck of the River Taw, depth 45-50ft. All the local residents were out in full force and since we were three, our presence was accepted and everyone carried out their business as usual. Numerous Hawksbills’ take refuge on her for a little R&R, while the local rays circle above in search of a landing pad in the sand filled haul. The resident Octopus was reluctant to leave security of his winch compartment, maybe next time I’ll bring some peace offerings!

St. Kitts Scuba (the bad)

As with all good things, something has to give. The owner(s) of the hotel also own the majority stake in the dive op and for reasons unknown, have encountered a couple of management changes in the past two years. The present manager has been with the shop since early January and acts as the divemaster, instructor and from what I could gather, technician. The only other employees are two locals, one a divemaster and the other a deckhand. With the apparent lack of personnel and changes in the management area, equipment and processes were showing signs of neglect such as;

Tank Valve O-rings in deplorable condition (I refused numerous tanks on different occasions and brought the matter up with manager, as did an instructor who brought in a group from Chicago). I eventually saw a couple new tanks appear the following week as well as some tanks equipped with new rings but they were few and far between.

A leaking air compressor for which no current log exists (asked the manager and was told "that’s another thing I have to do). As far as tank VIP’s, I don’t know but do have my suspicions. Hydros aren’t due for another year.

DAN O2 kit on-board that the manager isn’t even sure is operational. I suggested that he may want to look into it.

A night dive on the second week of my stay had to be canceled due to lack of available tanks. It seems that 13 tanks out of approx. 45 were being used by the conch divers (over-fishing is a whole other story) and not returned. I wasn’t planning on doing this night dive since the boat was going to be quite busy with the group of 11 divers from Chicago. Needless to say the Chicago gang was quite displeased, as they had scheduled their other activities around the dive schedule.

Some tanks were not checked and loaded onboard with as little as 1200psi.

No rinse tank or fresh water for gear. You either left it in their lockers or hauled it to your to rinse and dry. In my opinion, there are a lot of little things that could be done to improve the operation that would not cost virtually zilch except a little time and effort. Perhaps things will improve in the next six months…

Topside, Restaurants and Helpful tips (briefly)

1.Rent auto from TDC. No deductible in the event of accident 2.Snorkel and feed the wild monkeys at Turtle beach 3.Friars bay for beach activities 4.Do the rainforest and/or hike Mt. Liamuiga 5.Pay taxi fares in EC. Generally cheaper than US 6.Sprat Net for dinner. Open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Fish of the day, Lobster or Chicken/ribs all served on plastic plates with plastic utensils. Reminds me of the bachelor days! 7.Ottleys plantation for Brunch. Rawlings plantation equally as nice. 8.Mango’s in Basseterre for Ribs and Banana Colladas. 9.Monkey bar for evening activities.

10. Avoid restaurant on the premises unless you don't mind a 45 minute wait (for anything) and have lots of money to burn!

Next stop, Coz in May, with newly certified wife by my side

Ta,Ta

Doug