Dive Review of Scuba Montserrat in
Caribbean (General)/Montserrat

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Scuba Montserrat, Nov, 2013, by Mark A. Magers, CA, US ( Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 25 Helpful votes). Report 7452.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spent 5 days diving with Emmy and Andrew of Scuba Montserrat, and were very happy to see a good underwater environment. With the exception of some algae, it compares favorably with Dominica for the variety and health of coral and fish. Since the volcano displaced most Montserratians, only about 4000 people remain on the island that used to have a 4 times the population. Lots of healthy soft corals/gorgonians, barrel sponges, and sponges of all kinds. Lots of juvenile fish of many species. Saw literally 1000s of scad (guess that is why they call them scad?) about 4-5” long on a shore dive, they were being hunted so the action was incredible. We did most of our surface intervals at an isolated beach called Rendezvous Beach. It is accessible by a somewhat strenuous hike, but we never saw another soul while there. What we did see were a lot or large turtle nests, and almost every day we were there there were fresh tracks from the previous night. The tracks they left look like monster truck tire tracks. It was very cool. Scuba Montserrat basically shares a small, open boat with a couple of local fishermen. The boats are small but sufficient for up to 4 divers plus Andrew & Emmy. Entry is a backward roll, to get back onboard you remove all but fins in the water, grab the gunwale, and “time” your finning and pulling yourself up with the swells, if there are any. If you want a 42’ fiberglass boat with ladders and onboard freshwater shower and camera shelf and tanks, this is not your deal. It was fine by our standards, given the untouched reefs we got to see. We were the only two diving with the exception of one day, when we had a “full boat” of 4 divers. A note – we were cautioned before we booked our trip that there were sometimes winter swells which make diving almost impossible. We had excellent luck and very calm seas, but check nonetheless when you plan your trip. And you should plan a trip there! Reef ball project – Emmy and Andrew are also running the Montserrat Reef Ball project, and to date have placed nearly 200 concrete reef balls on a large sandy expanse in 15 to 40+ feet. We toured the area and saw a lot of juveniles, an octopus living in one ball, and a school of about 30 reef squid that followed us for the entire dive. There is even turtle grass starting to grow in the sandy expanse where the reef ball have been placed. They have also been moving some endangered elkhorn coral away from the dredging near Little Bay, and the transplants appear to be doing well. The dredging is a government project to build a better deepwater pier for bringing goods into Montserrat. They lost the main port in Plymouth after the volcano started erupting in 1995. Above water there is plenty to do if you like the outdoors – hiking, kayaking, exploring. Drinking Carib beers at Pont’s Place after the diving. Most of the very few Undercurrent reviews talk a lot about the charm of the island, the lovely people, the incredible scene of the volcano’s aftermath, and the just downright peacefulness of spending time there. It is all true.
Websites	Scuba Montserrat
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Most of Caribbean, GBR, most Hawaii
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	83-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Just monitor your air and communicate with DM.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Not a photographer, no facilities on small boat, but content looked great.

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Dive Review of Scuba Montserrat in Caribbean (General)/Montserrat

Scuba Montserrat, Nov, 2013,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Scuba Montserrat in
Caribbean (General)/Montserrat