Dive Review of St. Thomas Diving Club/Bolongo Bay Beach Club in
Virgin Islands/St. Thomas

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St. Thomas Diving Club/Bolongo Bay Beach Club, Aug, 2003, by Kenneth Marks, VA, USA . Report 595.
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 $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	St. Thomas has come out of its slump! I first dove St. Thomas in 1980. Then, there were urchins everywhere and the coral was healthy and fish plentiful. Then the urchins started to disappear and the coral declined. On this trip we saw the return of the urchins and the return to health of the reefs. Fish are plentiful again. The addition of dive site moorings is a big plus I’m sure. During this trip I was treated to first class service with the St. Thomas diving club in every way you can imagine. First, in my three days of diving, I visited some really choice sites. Second, the boat was not crowded and the crew tried hard to please everyone. Third, when one of my fin straps broke, they were there with a replacement set of fins. Fourth, something that I especially enjoyed, after determining my set up preferences, the crew set up my equipment and changed tanks between dives. Finally, the crew was a really nice group of people that you’d want to spend some time with. On my last day of diving I awoke to a glorious morning and “bathtub” calm seas. Some of the locals skipped work to dive that morning. We set off for French Cap, an offshore pinnacle offering potential for large pelagic fish. I dove a mini-wall with lots of ledges. Fish were plentiful and larger than those closer to the island. There was spectacular stag horn coral growth. The second dive of the day was to an equally choice dive site – Dog Rock. Again, beautiful ledges, plentiful fish and nice coral growth. As I look back on the six dives made on the island in three days of diving, I realize that I saw many large lobsters on almost all of my dives (14 on one dive alone). I also saw several large rays and at least 2 small black tip sharks. I was very surprised and happy to see that St. Thomas diving is returning to its legendary status. Combining a visit to St. Thomas with a trip to St. Croix for some wall diving would be a stellar combination. There is a high speed boat between the islands, that operates only in high season, that makes diving both islands in one trip very easy to do. In St. Croix, I dove with Dive Experience (which I recommend).
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	101-250 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, St. Croix, Tahiti, Martinique, Tortola (BVI), New York, Rhode Island, North Carolina
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	0-80°F / -18-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Gave max depth and max time guidelines with different times for those with/without dive computers.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
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	[None]

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Dive Review of St. Thomas Diving Club/Bolongo Bay Beach Club in Virgin Islands/St. Thomas

St. Thomas Diving Club/Bolongo Bay Beach Club, Aug, 2003,

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 St. Thomas Diving Club/Bolongo Bay Beach Club in
Virgin Islands/St. Thomas