Patch reef diving on these closely grouped islands is easy, pleasant, and similar; the quiet British Virgins and St. John are far less crowded and more pleasant than the cruise ship havens of St. Thomas and St. Croix, where hurricanes and fishing have taken a toll. . . . BVI is a yachter's paradise, with crewed or bareboat sailboats galore, served by several land-based dive operations. . . . BVI has nice little hotels, good restaurants, congenial surroundings, and British style; readers say residents of St. Thomas and St. Croix often surly. . . . Warm pleasant weather year-round, but St.Thomas was trashed by hurricanes in 1995 and St. Croix a few years before. . . .

British

Cooper Island

Underwater Safari/Cooper Island Resort, February 1997, Paul A. Behrens, Dallas, TX. "Accommodations in excellent condition. Good size and well laid out. Ceiling fan and winds good enough. Beach is narrow and filled with rocks and coral. Bay is crowded with sailboats whose occupants really don't care about the beach (trash and noise). Staff very friendly, however, some over worked by boats. Example; placed an order and were asked gruffly for payment; when we asked to add it to our room bill the server said "Oh, you are staying at the resort. I'm sorry my name is so and so and I would be glad to do that for you." . . .A popular "day trip" from Tortola; up to 100 people on the beaches at a 12 room resort. Not very peaceful for relaxing by the sea. Take your own food, kitchen and beach grill included. Resort as a whole is pleasant. For the adventuresome, pack a lunch and take the good hike around to the beautiful deserted beach. A high flat rock made an excellent spot. . . . Dive Operation: Underwater Safari. Go somewhere else. I'm sure they have some good divemasters, but ours was not. No on left on boat. Two young hot­shots picked us up on time. One was with the operation, the other with a local video group. Although there were only 6 of us on the dive, we were treated like cattle. Dive now, go through here , come over here, surface now. vis: 50­60 ft. water: 76­80 degrees. Dive restrictions: bottom depth 50, bottom time 40 min. No freedom. They didn't just want you to buy the $50 video they expected it. The trip was geared to a video that no one wanted. The briefing, the follow the leader dive and the hard, hard sell during the surface interval we were "asked" 14 times, directly, if we wanted to buy the video. Each with a no. A 15th time as we disembarked from the boat. "Last chance to buy the video." If this is the nearest way that operations are going to make money the traveling diver is in for some pretty rotten trips. The constant badgering takes away from the dives."

Tortola

Baskin in the Sun/Prospect Reef, July 1996, Merle Downing, Key Largo, FL. "Good overall operation. vis: 60­85 ft. water: 82 degrees. Reef ID course great."

Baskin­in­the Sun/Prospect Reef Hotel, December 1996, Bill Rath, Bronx, NY. "Water: 77 to 81 degrees, Vis: 80 to 100 feet. Best dive operation I have encountered. Instructors and divemasters professional, knowledgeable and helpful. Boat fast and ship shape. . . . Prospect Reef should have T.V.'s in room."

Baskin-in-the Sun, February 1997, Bill Rath, Bronx, NY. "Water 79 degrees. Limits were depth and psi. "Excellent dive facility. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. Great boats. Resort improving, clean and well kept."

Virgin Gorda

Dive BVI/Leverick Bay, February 1997, Bill Edwards, Placerville, CA. "Mark and Susan, a husband and wife team operating DIVE B.V.I., were young and eager to please. Dive sites too far from resort; some over an hour each way. Vis: 50­100 ft. water: 76­78 degrees. Dive restrictions were 110 ft. depth. Wish I had known about the B.V.I. weather; always windy, occasional showers. Locals generally slow to be helpful and really not interested in providing good service."

Dive BVI, July 1997, Daniel Spitzer, M.D., Piermont, New York. "BVI's not a "dive destination", but worthwhile to take a few dives. Dive BVI's staff was wonderful and pleasant; a real "plus" was the calm assurance provided to my wife, who hadn't been underwater in 9 years. vis: 25-50 ft. water: 83-84 degrees. She had 2 stress-free and enjoyable dives, thanks to attention and 63 cubic foot tank! (She's 94 lbs). The story in the 1997 chapbook about the sinking dive boat was confirmed, but that was a loaner boat. Dive BVI's boats are simple, basic and float."

U.S.Virgins

St. Croix

Cane Bay Dive Shop, August 1996, Julie Overstreet, Jax., FL. "Good: Shore diving very accessible. Local shops accommodating. Weather great until the end when Tropical Storm Dolly came through. vis: 100 ft. water: 80­83 degrees. Caught two huge lobster (by hand as we hadn't planned to hunt) off the wall in Caranbola. . . . Bad: Buck Island disappointing. Underwater trail markers either needed cleaning or had been overturned/moved by previous storms. Had difficulty getting Nitrox. Most times the shop had only one tank so we had to choose who used it. When we tested mixture, it wasn't the 32% the dive operator said it was. I'd gladly go there again."

Dive Experience, February 1997, Patricia Guldenpfennig, Port Jefferson, NY. "Weather uncooperative. The wind never stopped! We dove with 5 ft waves that lowered visibility and restricted the sites to just outside the harbor. Out of 5 days, we could only dive 3 days and even then only a.m. dives. vis: 30­40 ft. water: 72­76 degrees. . . . Dive Experience very conscientious about safety. They really tried their best to get us diving. They were courteous, friendly, helpful and had excellent equipment to buy and rent."

VI Divers/Hotel on the Cay, Jackie Maciel, Franklin, MA. "VI Divers very accommodating. Molly advised us not to go diving the first afternoon due to 3­4 ft. seas. We took her advice. Their boat is very crowded when filled to max. of 12 divers. Two days only 4 of us and it was great. Divemasters were good and were patient when everyone was interested in shooting photos. Always tried to be helpful. vis: 50­70 ft. water: 82­83 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced were time and depth but reasonable. The reefs were not the greatest and the visibility was poor compared to other places we've been. Mike did find a great big green moray eel for us to take pictures of! Maybe the water is clearer other times of the year, but good dive operation."

St. Thomas

Coki Beach, November 1996, Steve Neal, Fairfield, TX. "Water 85 to 80 degrees, vis: 40 to 50 feet. Shore dive only, saw four eels, spotted drum, lizard fish, flamingo tongues, trumpet fish, yellow tail snappers and sergeant majors follow you ­­they're fed. $20, gear rental, $25 if they guide you."

Dive­In/Sapphire Beach Resort, March 1997, Bennett & Toby Freeman, Bedford, NH. "Boat holds 12 divers (cramped), but we dove with 6­10. Water, soda and fresh fruit on board. Dive guide competent. Tunnels, canyons interesting. If I had known water was so cold, I'd have brought my heavier gear: 75­79 degrees, vis: 40­60 ft.. Pricey, $70 for a two tank dive. $35 for beach dive (one tank). . . . Sapphire is a great family resort. It is not a dive resort (no rinse tanks, no gear drying room). Staff sets up and switches your gear. St. Thomas is very expensive."

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.