St. Vincent and The Grenadines |
Dive St. Vincent, Young Island, June, 1994. "We saw dive owner Bill Tewes every night and told him what we wanted to see. I saw frogfish and spotted drums three days in a row; until I said 'Enough.' When they show you slipper lobsters here you don't just see one or two species. Bill told me I would see my first cherub angelfish here but I wouldn't get a picture: he was right on both counts. I filled my log book with fish and invertebrates I had never seen before and left St. Vincent delighted, even without pelagics." Anon. Palm Island, November, 1994. "125
acre island located one mile off Union Island, where there is an airport
for small islandhopper. Hotel provides a boat launch. The resort is
on a beautiful, calm, white/pink sand beach. Water temperature was 82F from
the surface down to 85 feet. About 25 adequate, screened, clean cottages
line the beach. Cottages have a ceiling fan, but no AC. A few still nights
were stuffy, even with the fan. Three above average (for the Caribbean)
meals are served in a covered common area on the beach. Resort staff were
extremely friendly and accommodating. The answer to almost every request
(reasonable and unreasonable alike) was yes. . . . The dive shop is 100
yards from the closest guest cottage. It serves divers who come on small
yachts as well as guests. The owner/dive guide/shop manager has only a basic
dive certification, but is familiar with the dive sites. Shore diving is
possible, but the closest reef area is more appropriate for snorkeling.
The dive boat is 18-20 feet long. The boat (left on island time, 15-30 minutes
late) was comfortable for the four divers in our party, but would be crowded
with more than six. There are no tank ranks or stern entrance/exit platform:
back roll, or 3' giant stride leap. There is an adequate ladder to climb
aboard. . . . The closest reefs are average for Caribbean diving. Mostly
the usual Caribbean hard and soft corals, and small but colorful critters
in an adequate quantity to keep you interested. Depth was 40-60 feet. However,
the diving in the Tobago Cays area, a 30 minute boat ride, was very good.
Visibility about 80 feet. Small and medium size fish and coral life were
plentiful (one nurse shark). There is one wreck at 40 feet. Computers were
permitted. We basically dived our own profile when the manager realized
we had sufficient experience. There is no rinse tank. The manager offered
to take our equipment for the night and rinse and store it or divers can
use the water hose at the dive shop to rinse gear themselves, or lug gear
back to their rooms to rinse. . . . A good location for a vacation with
some diving, rather than a diving vacation. Hard core divers will be unhappy."
Meo & Ramage Copyright 1996 by DSDL, Inc., publishers of Undercurrent. All rights reserved. No portions of this report may be reproduced in any way, including photocopying and electronic data storage, without prior written permission from the publisher. For more information, contact DSDL, Inc., P.O. Box 1658, Sausalito, CA 94966. |