Beautiful chain of islands; St. Vincent heavily forested with pretty reefs and range of fish species. . . . Year-round high 80 's in the days, low 70 's at night, afternoon cloudbursts common; in the hurricane belt. . . . Grenadines - Bequia, Palm, Union, Carriacou are a sailor's dream; small hotels, little dive operations, decent Caribbean diving, few surprises. . . .

Bequia

Dive Bequia/Plantation House, July 1996, Gill Cruz, Pleasanton, CA. "Water: 80 to 82 degrees; Vis: 50 to 90 feet. Well run and dive staff is good and congenial, the best on the island though they can be more helpful in the boat. Photographers can film most any marine life here, because the reefs are prolific with marine life and very healthy. Bequia and St. Vincent are pristine. . . . New Plantation House management made us feel like we were not welcome. One day they posted signs saying the pool was for swimming, no gear allowed (masks, fins, etc.) . . .Bequia is a premier dive spot that is out of the way and a great place. Dive Bequia fulfilled our needs and helped make the trip a good one."

Dive Bequia/Plantation House, December 1996, Michael Waring, West Sussex, United Kingdom. "Water: 80 to 82 degrees, Vis: 30 to 70 feet. I reported last year on a stay at The Plantation House (1997 Chapbook), had great fun, so booked a return. Just before departure read the comments in your November issue from Ginny Berson. Well, the Plantation House has really gone down. While the local staff are still good, the management is hopeless. They spent all their time with friends visiting from France (the Manager doesn't speak English!!) and the whole place just drifted. The food was inedible ­­ we only had one dinner there ­­ what a pity its such a great setting. Dive Bequia was still well run from a really nice new shop. But we won't go back to the Plantation House till manager and owners change."

Frangipani, January 1997, Kyle Petersen, Luquilla, PR. "Dove with the guide and boat operator only - every day in the height of tourist season. Operation dives computers. No cameras for rent or services. Saw 2 big tarpon, Frogfish posed obnoxiously since I had no camera. Dive sites pristine, fish very good. Vis not perfect (30-70ft) but suffices. Water: 80-85 degrees. Best get away island in Caribbean, few people, awesome beaches and solid diving. Food traditional West Indian."

Dive St. Vincent/Young Island, December 1996, Michael Waring, West Sussex, United Kingdom. "Water 80 to 82 degrees; Vis: 70 to 100 feet. Young Island ­­ excellent food, service, facilities, staff and accommodations, but no air conditioning. We were in room 30 at the top ­­ too many steps and my wife who was sick for a few days was isolated (No room phones). Stay on beach (room 10, a suite with plunge pool is great). Only real complaint is Noise from the mainland ­­ lots of thump thump thump especially as you get closer to Christmas with all the "jump ups". . . . Dive St. Vincent was excellent, often dived with only two of us. Always on time. Callie and D.J. were excellent divemasters; not much large fish, but reefs and critters were amongst the best in the Caribbean. Swimming frog fish, sea horses, and two scorpion fish having a fight were only some of the things we saw. A must for photographers and videographers."

St. Vincent

Dive St. Vincent/Young Island, December 1996, Dr. Bob Athanasiou, Troy, NY. "Made the mistake of flying Mustique Airlines from Barbados to St. Vincent. Unless you enjoy waiting in airports and the thrill of 6-seat, single pilot unscheduled flights, you would do well to avoid Mustique Air; Fly American Eagle from Puerto Rico. . . . Young Island taxi service will meet you at the airport and the driver will be your assigned driver for the remainder of your trip. If you want to go somewhere, just ask at the desk for him. Botanical Garden is oldest in the Hemisphere and has unique plants including a century palm and a sucker from one of Captain Bligh's original breadfruit trees. . . . Young Island a classy resort. Rooms are "mini-condos" built into the hillside. Those near the water get more breeze and sound of the surf while those up the hill get a better view at the expense of about 74 steps to climb. Pick something mid way up the hill for a compromise. Food, included in package, varied and exotic. Voltage is 240V, 50 Hz but most of the bathrooms have 120 volt points for hair dryers and shavers. The room showers are outside which takes a moment to become accustomed to. Only complaint; couldn't avoid hearing the loud throbbing music from another hotel across the lagoon. At 2am, it was more than unwelcome. . . . Dive St. Vincent is a small friendly easy going operation run by Bill Tewes. Contact Bill to check out dive/hotel reservation packages. I worked with a couple of agents to get quotes and found that Bill had the best package. e-mail: bill2s@Caribsurf.com. Excellent home page: www.topher.net/~divestvincent/homenofr.html which includes information on the dive operation and accommodations. Video and serious camera rental unavailable but you can rent a housing for throw away cameras and get decent pictures. Link to Bill from my home page and see photos I took on this trip at www.netheaven.com/~athanr. NAUI and PADI courses and special course for young divers. Excellent place for introducing the kids to diving. Impressed with the approach which everyone took toward safety. Dive operation is excellent. Bill, DJ and Cali were wonderful. Dive boat would pick you up at the young Island dock and head to leeward side of the island at 10 am. Many times, my wife and I were the only divers. Most was 7. Steel tanks to 2400 psi; would usually surface with 500 psi when my computer was approaching the warning limit. Divemaster always dove with the guests but never imposed profile on anyone. . . . Water 81F. Air mid 80's to low 90's. Rainy season June through most of December. Showers usually brief. Seas calm on the leeward side of the island; never a problem getting in or out of the boat. Vis 80 to 100 feet. . . . Corals in great shape. Saw frog fish, scorpion fish, octopus and sea horses on almost every dive! Spotted drum, morays by the dozen, and the usual tropicals. No large pelagics. Night dive extraordinary with lots of critters."

Dive St. Vincent/Umbrella Beach Hotel, June 1997, Liz & Al Wentzel, Carlisle, PA. "Well run dive operation: on time, helpful with equipment, inexpensive and attentive. Dive guides Dowie and DJ show unique creatures. Outstanding small tropicals, frogfish and seahorses. vis: 50 ft. water: 80 degrees. Umbrella a basic but clean and pleasant beach hotel two doors from the dive shop. Attached kitchen helped us save on meals since groceries, fresh fish and fruit are readily available. Use public mini buses for transportation to get to beautiful land sites"

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