Dive Review of
Dive Saint Vincent/Young Island Resort in
St. Vincent and the Grenadines

All Caribbean: 23 years.....12 years of snorkeling before that. 
Roatan in '05 was great with my 15 yr. old son at AKR; Grand Cayman (3X);
Dominica; Curacao; St. Croix;Tortola; St. John; Martinique; St. Lucia; St.
Vincent; Key Largo; T&C.

Dive Conditions

None...It was shallow critter diving....20' to 60' .   

[None]  

Overall Rating

 I have read for many years about Bill Tewes' Dive Saint Vincent Operation
and Critter Diving in SVG...wel i finally got there and it was beyond my
expectations!
My wife, Joan (non-diver) & I spent 8 enchanted nights in Paradise at
Young Island Resort - a 34 acre Cay - 5 minutes away by small ferryboat
from the mainland of St Vincent. SV is a Volcanic, Tropical/Jungle Island
with low impact tourism...No big resorts & cruise ships hardly visit
there. Young Island is a luxurious resort, but reasonably priced in the
off-season. The place was a fifth full; the (all inclusive) food and
service was very excellent. 
It really is the only place to stay that will excite the non-diver. It
really was like Paradise. The rooms, grounds & service were very
good.The snorkeling around Young Island was very good. Joan did her first
night Snorkel and spotted a large Moray Eel, Lobster, Crabs & many
bright Red Brittle Starfish.Too bad they don't have shore diving available.

Bill Tewes is an amazing diver and Dive Guide  extraordinaire , who
specializes in small critter diving: Sea Horses, Eels, varied Crabs &
shrimp, Frog Fish, Sea Slugs, Nudibranch, Pipe Fishes and many more. Many
times I would use my 4" magnifying glass to gaze at these tiny
beauties....many critters being less than an inch long. It's amazing to
follow Bill and watch him find these Marine Treasures, all in 20 -50 feet
of water. He would use his pointer to show me the Critter and then use his
underwater slate to write it’s name and info like, “full with eggs”. I
learned how to look more closely and carefully, and to have much better
buoyancy control, which I previously thought I was quite Ok …thankyou!.
 Larry was an outstanding DM and warm personality and easy demeanor was a
good balance to Captain Bill. 
 I bonded with Bill Tewes– Texan, dove in Papua New Guinea and then set up
shop in SVG for the last 23 years. The most famous Dive photographers, who
publish the best FISH ID books, dive with him to find the rare –the small-
the beautiful. As well described by the many accounts I have read about
Bill, he is uniquely a personality that can give you a boat -load of
ribbing ..part out of sarcasm/fun & part out of instruction-mentoring,
and you relish the attention….you look forward to the next encounter with
this man who knows his Island , his crew & boats, his dive sites and
most importantly his Critters. He gets very personal with his customers and
holds you to a high standard. Initially it was intimidating for a non
photograher- fun diver (that's me) to be with VERY experienced divers
/photo geeks:people who have perfect bouyancy and can stay down
forever....!  I was consistantIy with very experienced divers who were very
Cool...Execpt for a couple of days -this one woman was "the boss"
of a dive club from Michigan.. She was way over the top giving
advice/orders to everyone.At one point early on I had to tell her to back
off and that i took orders only form Bill.It's a shame someone so talented
in diving has to give off such a "difficult to take" aura.
 I learned a lot from Bill about how to find these critters. He would see
me screw up and give me a look and wave his fist while writing on his
slate,"breath less heavy!”, and “inhale to float up!” The pressure was
on to dive like him and gain his respect. I know i am a much better Diver
because of Bill. Ok - well the Critters so many that i have never seen
before: Decorator Nimble Spray& CeramicCrabs, Magnificent urchin,
Social feather Duster,Opposum Pipe Fish, Harlequin Pipe Fish,Box crab,
Painted Elysia Slug and more..AND the largest Sea Horses anywhere!

One day we flew in a puddle jumper to Union Island --South in the
Grenadines, and took an all day Catamaran Sail to desolate white sandy
beaches, which included the uninhabited, pristine Tobago Cays. Captain
Yanni's Catamaran Tours did an excellent job!
Definitely worth the money. Young Island can arrange it all.
 It was Carnavale time at SVG, which is multi day holiday. Thousands of
people organized into groups they call "bands" dress up and dance
and parade throughout the small capital town -Kingstown. This Carnavale is
for the locals- VINCY MAS 2007! They wear bathing suits and put incredible
themed costumes on. At times the dancing gets quite wild &
erotic...very hot!  Each band is accompanied by a large truck with massive
sound systems-  I danced in the street (hot & humid), rum drink in
hand, for 2 hours either on the side with all the spectators or behind
various bands. I probably saw 6- 12 white folk the whole afternoon. The
people were so friendly and loved to see me out there dancing with them.
Street Vendors were everywhere- selling cold bottled water, beers, rums
drinks and food. I was told that this is the one time of the year the young
folk are allowed to get semi naked and go wild in public...and man do they
"let it all hang out!" One very small band did have a few white
folk in it. They carried the banner "European Arrivals". This
struck me as the group that descended from slave owners...Well right after
them there was a Band titled "Slave Traders" with bright orange
African costumes carrying spears. Right after them in yellow costumes came
a band where everyone had shackles on! I got it all on film.
 One afternoon we went to the Botanical garden. The oldest in the Western
Hemisphere- 250 year old trees & the original Breadfruit Tree that
Captain Bligh brought there from Tahiti...before the mutiny trip.Joel was a
terrific guide ..ask for him!
 And Ricky is the best cab driver.
 I miss being there!
joe@mercurypersonnel.com 

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