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Dive Review of Bill Tewes' Dive St. Vincent in
St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Bill Tewes' Dive St. Vincent: "Macrophotography heaven", Jan, 2015,

by Mary K Wicksten, TX, US (Contributor Contributor 17 reports with 8 Helpful votes). Report 8106 has 1 Helpful vote.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations N/A Food N/A
Service and Attitude N/A Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 4 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments I flew from Houston to Miami to Barbados, overnight in Barbados, then the small connecting airline LIAT to St. Vincent. Airlines use outside stairs in Barbados--difficult if you have awkward carry-on luggage. LIAT has weight limits--be careful to weigh your luggage. I stayed in a room in a private house but there are apartments and hotels ranging from "basic" to the plush Young Island Resort. You can buy food at markets but selections are limited. Be aware that St. Vincent is mountainous. "Adjacent" properties may be over a very steep hill. Don't try to hike unless you are in good shape. Americans--don't rent a car! Driving is on the left, roads have no signs, potholes, narrow lanes, adjacent ditches. People back up on what look like vertical roads, pass anywhere. Get a taxi--drivers are glad to serve as guides.

Bill Tewes has retired, so the operation now is just "Dive St. Vincent". They have a small shop on the water. Usual routine is 2 dives in mid-morning to early afternoon from small boat with cover, camera rinse area but no head. Choppy bouncy ride to the sites but calm there. I was there during the windy season, when there tends to be more silt but for macrophotography, who cares? The dive sites are not protected as reserves, so fishing is common and large fish for the most part are absent. I saw one barracuda at a cleaning station.Corals are small but healthy, lots of big sea plumes, sponges and large black coral trees. Sand with seaweed beds or boulders close to shore but steep drop-off farther out.

What the area lacks in big stuff it more than makes up for in small! The guides have created some artificial habitats under which live an array of rare and colorful shrimp, crabs, small fishes, etc. We saw sea horses, flying gurnards, four species of hamlets, cherubfish, sharknose, glassy and peppermint gobies; puffers, pygmy filefish, arrow crabs, fingerprint flamingo tongue shells, squat anemone and Pedersen's cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, teardrop crab, octopus..the list goes on. Without too much effort, I recorded 70 species of fish alone in 5 days.The guides know where to find particular species and will point them out to you. Lionfish are here but heavily hunted. (Try lionfish for dinner at a restaurant--good!)

There was a breeze when we got out of the water, so be sure to bring a thick towel or some sort of cover-up after diving. Some folks wore only swim suits while diving and then shivered on the boat. The boat has water and ginger snap cookies for after-dive snacks.
Websites Bill Tewes' Dive St. Vincent   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving California, western Mexico, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Galapagos, New Guinea, Fiji, S. Australia, Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, Bonaire, Honduras, Belize, Grand Cayman, Florida Keys and springs
Closest Airport St. Vincent Getting There Take connecting flight from Barbados or other island. I took LIAT--20 minutes late outbound but on time inbound. Trouble with loading "space available" and overweight cargo of other passengers caused delay.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas calm, no currents
Water Temp 81-83°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 20-40 Ft/ 6-12 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Stay reasonably close to dive guide; if lost, go to surface. We also did a 3-minute safety stop at 15 feet on the way up, with a 500 psi end point but this was by mutual agreement. No coercion at all.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? no

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish N/A
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter 5 stars Boat Facilities 2 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Small boat does not have dedicated camera table or rinse tank. Group sometimes moved too fast for close-up photographers trying to get a tiny subject into focus. But endless small stuff to photograph, many species that are hard to find elsewhere or possibly unique to the area.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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