Name: Salt River West Wall
Rating: 3.0

St. Croix

Christiansted

U.S. Virgin Islands

Salt River West Wall is a 3.0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Virgin Islands, Saint Croix Island which is accessible from shore based on 1 ratings.

Salt River West Wall



North East of Cane Bay - a short swim from shore

The Pavilions is also known as Pavilion.

The Pavilions

Cane Bay is one of the nicest shore diving spots on the island:  lots of parking, a scuba shop, a restaurant, and a beautiful beach perfect for off-gassing.  Make sure the conditions are favorable for safe diving before you enter the water.  Ocean swells here can cause a formidable rip tide, so ask around for some professional advice.

On highway 80 (the North Shore Road), you can't miss the long stretch of beach and the restaurant just across the street.

Cane Bay

Alien Nation is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Virgin Islands, Saint Croix Island which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

Alien Nation

String of Pearls is a night dive best done on Waxing Crescent, New Moon or Waning Crescent (or on a cloudy night).  The string of Pearls are actually shrimp that bioluminesce when mating, giving the appearance of a string of pearls flashing from the bottom up to about 2 feet.

The dive typically starts as a night dive exploring the reef and active marine life, then proceeds to a sandy bottom area where all divers turn off all lights,  Within a minute, you will see the "string of pearls" start lighting up.  If you try to focus farther out, it almost looks like twinkling stars in the night sky.



String of Pearls

Despite the name (which we'll explain below) this is a very tame and beautiful tropical reef. The mooring is in 35' of water and sits on a sandy bottom. There are a lot large patch reefs with plenty of fish and other creatures. So the name, years ago there were a couple of 13 year old divers on the boat. They though the name of the dive site, Dan's Reef, was "lame, nobody will remember that", so they were challenged to come up with a better name. You've gotta admit that a t-shirt that says "I survived the swirling reef of death" sells better than "I survived Dan's Reef".

Swirling Reef of Death

Excellent spot for spearfishing Lionfish.  Larry, Moe and Curley (Caribbean reef sharks) frequent the area.



Jungle

Vertigo is a very advanced site.  To truly appreciate it, you need to dive down the side of the drop off.  Properly done, you swim from the mooring (which is in about 40 feet of water) on a compass heading of about 30-40 degrees, watching the sand flats below you.  Follow the right side of the sand flat staying shallow (15-20 feet) until the edge of the sand flat is disappearing from view.  Start your descent and angle 30-40 feet to the right of the sand flat, over the coral.  There is an area of the coral that comes to a point, somewhat like a ski jump.  This ski jump is at approximately 80 feet.  After you leave the edge of the wall, it is a sheer drop off, and part of the wall actually cuts back under itself.  The wall doesn't start coming back out until about 260 feet down.  Follow the wall East, and up the side where it slopes a little more gently, and work your way back up.

liveaboard, boat, advanced shore (requires 4 wheel drive)

Vertigo

Three shallow wrecks - Tugboat, barge and a biosphere habitat

The Northwest end of St. Croix, North of Frederiksted.

Butler Bay

The Wreck at Butler Bay is a 0-star rated scuba dive and snorkel destination in Frederiksted, St Croix which is accessible from shore based on 0 ratings.

The Wreck at Butler Bay

Hawksbill Turtles.

Update: There's a Merry-Go-Round horse at 10m witch is very cool for avatar pics :-)

The Temperature of the water on 03 Feb 2010 was around 27-28C

Nekton Pilot

Salt River West Wall

Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Salt River West Wall