South of St. Maarten; one of more adventurous and exciting Caribbean destinations, both on land and in sea. . . . Pinnacle diving begins at 70 feet with good fish life and occasional sharks and bigger fish. . . . all accommodations in quaint villages at 1000 feet and above; no beaches, a few good restaurants, no night life, delightful people, cool pleasant climate at altitude (but in hurricane belt).. . . . some divers claim that after several days of diving they get muscle pains if they climb 3000 ft. peak Mt. Scenery. . . . Close your eyes when your plane lands. . . .

Captain's Quarters, August 1996, Lulie & Jack Melton, Estes Park, CO. "After a trip on the Caribbean Explorer, we decided to lay over on Saba. The Captain's Quarters was a disappointment. It was filthy and over priced. Next time we'll stay at Juliana's. Fresh water on the island is a real problem. Consequently, rinsing dive and camera gear is tough. . . . Our stay coincided with summer carnival. Sponsored by the local Lions Club, Heineken Beer and J&B Scotch it is the major event of the year. My wife was asked to judge floats for the mini Mardi Gras parade. . . . The populace is friendly and warm. After being there for a day people start calling us by name on the street!"

Saba Reef Divers, March 1997, D.A. Little and R.J. Padgett, San Francisco, CA. "New dive operation which took over the Wilson's. In the past, dove with Saba Deep, a fine operation, but when we heard that Mike had left, decided to give Saba Reef Divers, a chance. Glad we did. Excellent operation. Five divers and two divemasters. Allowed us to pick the sites. Since divers had different interests, broke us down into two groups of 3 and 2 divers, respectively. Allowed us to dive our own profile, but kept a no­intrusive watch. vis: 80 ft. water: 80 degrees. No dive restrictions enforced although divemaster accompanied us. Divemasters, Chuck and Curtis, have superlative qualifications. 40 ft. custom boat was terrific. Plenty of room for camera set up. All paper work done on boat, so time is not wasted in the shop. Divers have choice of returning to shore for lunch, or having Saba Reef provide sandwiches onboard. Boat has great, well designed transom for easy entry and exit. Top notch operation in every respect. Shark Shoals and Tent Reef favorite sites, along with Diamond Rock."

Saba Reef Divers, August 1997, Scott Folk, New York, NY. "Water 84 degrees, 130 feet maximum depth. Best dive package of my life. Rented a house at a great price. Saba Reef Divers are light years ahead of other dive shops. Got to dive all the sites of my choice. Saba is world class."

Saba Reef Divers, August 1997, Stanley Richter, Oak Ridge, NJ. "Water temperature 85 degrees, limited to 130 feet maximum. During two week stay we felt more like family than customers. Everyone at Saba Reef made us feel welcome. Every day we had our choice of dive sites. Boat is so easy to dive from and has lots of room. Safety first always; the boat is fully equipped and has a hang bar that makes safety stops a breeze. Tried the Kayaks during our surface interval. Also snorkel during surface intervals. Maximum time on the water and no rush to get back to the boat. They are set up for Nitrox and do night dives also."

Sea Saba/Captain's Quarters, November 1996, Michael Miller/Anne Selby, Gaston, IN. "Pinnacle diving not for everyone. Tops are 80­90 feet so dives are not long. Plankton bloom restricted vis (40­70 ft), water: 80 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced; max. 130 ft., come back with air. Good comfortable boats. Tried to keep experienced divers on one boat and less experienced on the other. Island is dormant volcano, no beach, a switch back, steep­graded road, and five family names. All accommodations are small and personal because there are few people and little news. Have the resort call a restaurant on the other side of the island and they will come pick your party up and return you. Island is neat as a pin and crime free. Wonderful place to dive, hike in the rain forest, sit in the sun. The landing and take off at the 1300 foot airport is a thrill."

Copyright 1998 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.