St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

Dive Experience, December, 1994. "No currents; water temperature 82°; visibility 70­120 feet; could dive own profile; allowed to dive your compute with buddy. Dive Experience is a well­run dive operation. They do a fish feed that is excellent, including a barracuda and several free­swimming large green morays. Worth the trip." Jeff Kugler, Hicksville, NY

Undersea World, February, 1995. "Safe, well­run operation. Clean; friendly; polite; efficient. Feeding chopped fish to eels was fun to watch. Don't walk streets at night." George W. Karr, Rolla, MO

St. John, U.S.V.I.

Low Key Watersports, Gallows Point, October, 1994. "Had rain three days; visibility was poor. Diving OK. Chose to snorkel great beaches on island instead on last two days diving. Tends to cater to novices. On one dive, sat on bottom, burning 15 minutes until guide arrived with last diver. At one point a diver ran low on air; guide grabbed diver by gauges and took off with diver. Didn't know if he wanted us to follow, stay put, or what. Tried to follow but lost in bad visibility. Finally came back and completed dive. . . . Nice island, decent restaurants, many rental units. Hyatt is beautiful. Car recommended." Joe Ruf, Vineland, NJ

Low Key Watersports, April, 1995. "First­class operation. Divemasters and boat captains are knowledgeable, professional, willing and ready to serve. Will change to another dive site if conditions are not favorable. Couples can share dive packages to save money. These guys run every dive by the book, which to us as newly certified divers, was comforting and important. They are PADI Five Star. . . . The Bad: check out a dive operation before you leave to get sense of their attitude. We switched to Low Key from another resort dive operation that was so laid­back and casual to the point of being dangerous. We were doing our check out dive with the resort and were greeted with 'no skins, no snorkels and no skills, only $$ attitude.' Luckily, we found Low Key. U.S. Virgin Islands great for diving. Lots of sites, wrecks, challenge for novice to advanced." Dee Hope, Atlanta, GA

St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Billy Budd Dive Center, April, 1995. "My wife and I took a cruise of the eastern Caribbean. We are experienced divers and based on a recommendation, we prearranged dives on our own to avoid the cruise ship dive excursion crowd. We were told a representative of the dive shop would meet us at 9:00 a.m. at the ship gangway and we waited. At 9:30, we called the shop and were told to call back in five minutes. On that call, we were told, 'he's on the way and will be there soon.' Four calls and two hours later the shop confirmed that a boat left at 9:00 a.m. and there were no plans for another one that day. They suggested we could get on a dive with another dive shop leaving in an hour to take a cruise ship dive excursion group for a 30-foot dive." Joel & Mary Anne Kluger, Chapel HIll, NC

Dive Inn, Sapphire Beach Resort, June 1995. "Ken and Mike really made it special. We were a group of advanced and expert divers (5 to 500 dives). They went out of their way to accommodate us. Let us dive our own profile ­­ we all had computers. The trip worked out great." Marc Seidman, Silver Spring MD

Underwater Safaris, August, 1995. "The only dive operation handy to where our cruise ship docked. I was here about a year and a half ago and we took the same dives: twin barges and a beat up coral location. Setting up scuba dives on a cruise (Royal Caribbean Cruises, Monarch of the Seas) is dubious at best. My planned dive in St. Maarten was canceled due to the weather and a planned dive in Antigua was missed because the ship got in too late to get the dive boat." Ed Karnes, Winnetka, CA

Tortola, B.V.I.

Dive-In, Sapphire Beach Resort, July, 1995. "Dive-In is the dive shop at the resort; they are accommodating; package prices are reasonable. Most dive sites are a short boat trip. Beach dive and night dive are available. The marina is a 5-minute walk from hotel. Steven F. Mazer, Rockville, MD

Baskin in the Sun, May, 1995. "Baskin personnel were competent, informative, friendly, and offered full service including rinsing gear and helping put gear together. Tanks were always full and waiting on the boat. Willing to go out with as few as two divers. Guide always available; free to dive own profile. Ecology conscious and care about safety. The customer is royalty with Baskin. Had a comfortable, laid back week with beautiful, nonthreatening diving. . . . LIAT Airlines is the most unprofessional we have experienced. Reservations are meaningless and you better check in at least one hour ahead even with connecting flight. Fly to St. Thomas and take ferry." Anon.

Baskin in the Sun, Prospect Reef Resort, May, 1995. "In May you have the place to yourself; in the fall (apparently) is when the whales and dolphins migrate through. Also too rough to dive the north side of the island (the south side got boring after ten days). The 'big dive' is the Rhone - scattered wreck. Nice; three or four times is boring. The bow section is a must-do night dive but deep for inexperienced night divers (95 feet). . . . Service at Baskin in the Sun dive operation was great - friendly and helpful people. You bring your gear to the boat once; after that, they set up and change over your gear for all dives. They knew how to handle photographers as well. Good macro and wide-angle. Dive package was three boat dives/day; night dive was extra $50. Late fall the big stuff comes in and the north side becomes diveable. . . . Plenty to do on the island including side trips to Jost van Dyk and Virgin Gorda. Overall good to great diving. A staff member from the shop is always in the water - good for beginners. Once you show them that you know what you are doing, you can do your own thing; strong recommendations were made on depths, times and safety stops. One week is enough for an experienced diver on the south side. . . . P.S. I like your publication a lot." Gary Birkmaier, Trumball, CT

Virgin Gorda, B.V.I.

Kilbride Underwater Tours, Bitter End Yacht Club, August, 1995. "Diving operation is first­rate. They have comfortable boats with heads, shower, and handle all your gear. Guides (all nonlocal) are knowledgeable and friendly. Diving only so­so. The area has been fished out and not a lot of coral. However, wreck of the Rhone was a fun dive. . . . A wonderful place to stay for people who like watersports. They have a fleet of Lasers, 24­foot sailboats, wind surfers and Boston whalers. You can sail, explore other beaches, etc. Food and accommodations at the resort were A­ 1. It's pricey, but less in summer and worth it. No air­ conditioning, but fans were OK even in August." Marie Abbott, Ann Arbor, MI

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.