2000 Chapbook

St. Lucia lies in the hurricane belt west of Barbados in the Windward Island chain. Diving on this beautiful, heavily-forested island, with pretty reefs and tiny fish, is managed and controlled.... Anse Chastanet hotel is located near the Pitons on the southwestern part of island, where the better diving is; there's not much worth seeing elsewhere underwater.... The year-round high is in the 80s days; night lows are in the 70s. Afternoon cloudbursts are common....

For a full review of the following St. Lucia destination, see:

Anse Chastanet - St. Lucia, Undercurrent- July 1999

Anse Chastanet, 1998, Kathleen O'Connor, Virginia Beach, VA. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 82-84 degrees. Convenient, professional operation. Boats ideal for divers; short boat rides. Strong currents in some locations; no big fish, but on one dive saw a batfish, two scorpion fish, a seahorse and other creatures. Anse Chastanet is picturesque, with a great beach, and is in the Marine Park. Very expensive, no air conditioning, a long hike up to meals or back from the beach. Wildlife everywhere. In our room we had visits from lizards, tree frogs, birds, rats, and millions of mosquitoes. In the dining room they had birds during the day and bats (and mice) at night. Isolated from shopping and restaurants. (Ph: 809-459-7000, Fax: 809-459-7700)

Anse Chastanet, May 1999, Chris Smith, Calabasas, CA. Vis: 70-90 ft. Water: 80-82 degrees. Restriction: Led by divemaster, max depth 60' but not enforced. Well-run operation, good boats and crews. Great place for couples and beginners. Diving not challenging but some of the healthiest reefs I've seen in the Caribbean. I was pleasantly surprised. The resort is well run, great service, good to excellent food. No A/C.

Anse Chastanet, June 1999, John, San Juan Cap, CA. Vis: 40-80 ft. Water: 78-85 degrees. Dive restrictions enforced: N.D. limits. Due to the number of novice divers, those with advanced C-cards and hundreds of dives were forced to a beach dive check out. Fortunately this dive had more marine life than any of the other boat dives. If you are not into unruly kids and families, and like romantic resorts, stay at Ladera.

Dive St. Lucia/Anse Chastanet, November 1998, Ken Yager, Hermitage, PA. Vis: 50 ft. Restrictions: 500 psi. Must dive from shore first dive. Marine Park best shore dive ever. Great coral and tropicals. Boat dives good also, some current. Fish traps outside of park. Beautiful, lush green island. All dives guided.

Frog Dive/Rosamund Divers/Oasis Marigot, May 1999, Janine Davis, Dallas, TX. Vis: 80-120 ft. Water: 79-82 degrees. Restrictions: 90' max, OK with computer. Took UW photo class, great corals, good diving in 15-60'. Little need to go deeper. Great service from Marcus at Frog's. Couldn't arrange night dive. Huge pufferfish, unafraid marine life, large barracuda, coral and sponges the best I have seen. Rosamund Divers unreliable, no divemaster on 2nd dive - out of air, I was forced to monitor novices. (Telephone: 758-459-7666 or 758-452-0913; Fax: 758-459-7667)