TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums US VI and Puerto Rico Scuba rental

Contemplating moving my June charter to the USVI. What companies are recommended for scuba gear rentals? Is there a updated list of places to get fills?
G

Coki Dive Center - St Thomas - talk to Peter. He delivers to your boat (assuming you are chartering out of the East End - such as Compass Point) & picks up (just leave your gear on the dock). Rented from him twice. Peter is great!

Thanks, we will be out of Yacht Haven Grande in CA but perhaps he will deliver there.
G

https://www.admiraltydive.com/rentals in Frenchtown (next to CYOA)

Cheers, RickG

Thanks Rick, that is a lot closer. It’s been 10 years since I did a lot of USVI diving. I have looked for updated dice guides but can’t really find anything. Suggestions?

George - we really like Flanagan and LeDuc (St. John) and of course Eagle Shoal when conditions are good. We dove inner Tektite in February (last of three dives of the day) and although not a deep dive it was fabulous - 3 nurse sharks, 4 eagle rays and octopi. We were really pleasantly surprised.

MIDiver hit some great ones near Coral Bay. Add in Haulover Bay and Pelican Rock in Round Bay. Booby Rock and the wall between Kiddel Bay and Grootpan are great. Busy Bay will do rendezvous dives out of Coral Bay as well, great team. They do tank fills too near the Coral Bay dinghy dock.

Here is a list I like - https://www.stthomasscubadiving.com/st-thomas-diving/st-thomas-dive-sites/

French Cap island and Cow & Calf Rock are on your way. Lindt Point has a sunken airplane.

Have fun! I need to buy a tank from Busy Bee for our trip south. Their locals 10-tank card is cheaper than thank fills, so why keep a tank onboard?

Cheers, RickG

Pelican is also a great night dive with Busy Bee.

I will have a newly certified 11 year old on this trip so probably no night diving. Will eliminate most of the wrecks also. Keep the ideas coming!
G

Good for the new 11 year old diver! All my kids were Jr. certified at 10 - they are my favorite dive partners. We've had so many wonderful trips together.

It’s my granddaughter and she has probably half a dozen BVI trips under her belt and swims like a fish. Both my kids were certified young. She was very unhappy the last few trips when she could not dive with us!

This is great info regarding dive sites. George, we used Admiralty Dive for our rentals in December which was very easy as we were with CYOA and they are at the same dock. Not sure if he delivers to YHG or not.

RickG and MIDiver, for the sites you referenced above that do not have mooring balls (which is most of the ones near Coral Bay), do you anchor at the sites mainly or dinghy over from one of the anchorages mainly? I am speaking about places like Kiddel, Tektite, Eagle Shoal, and Leduck? Mooring Balls seemed almost non-existent for a lot of these places in December and I did not want to risk damaging coral or anchoring in the NP areas.

Also curious if Frenchman’s Cap has a ball as well? The sunken airplane you refer to is at Lind Point just north of Cruz Bay?

Hi cruzdoc. Tektite has day use/dive site mooring balls. We saw several dinghies visit them (moored at the Lameshurs for two days). We did rendezvous diving with Busy Bee last trip (typically are land based on STJ and dive with them whenever we are there; we also had several discover scuba guests this sailing trip that needed the divemaster's touch) - they drop anchor at Flanagan, LeDuc, Hansen (for Pelican Rock) and Haulover (S) in sand (no mooring balls available). RickG is the local expert and can provide more insight re anchoring at these sites.

Dinghy access to Booby Rock and Kiddel/Grootpan is best as they are in the Coral Reef National Monument. Eagle Shoal is not in the monument. Day charters do anchor at Kiddel/Grootpan as moorings have been full and the usual snorkel stops have been crowded this season.

Cheers, RickG