1. love
triangle
50 M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M 51
“America’s Caribbean”
If that phrase doesn’t register on your dive meter, then it’s time to take a
look at the lively, peaceful and funky U.S. territorial triplets of St. ­Thomas,
St. John and St. Croix. Like a buy-one, get-three bargain, each has its own
distinct vibe above and below the surface. “Close and convenient” applies
to everything, and both currency and language are courtesy of Uncle Sam.
Betteryet, thereare enough dive sites to explore for years — complete with
most of the attractions that lure divers to far-flung places. As we’ve found
time and time again, there’s a lot to love in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Athree-peat
journeytothe
U.S.VirginIslands
confirmsthat
adiver’slove
isneverlost
By Ted Alan Stedman
Photos by Steve Simonsen

2. st.croix
Cane Bay
Wall
Salt River
Canyon
Frederiksted
Pier
ST. CROIX
Frederiksted
Christiansted
52 M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M 53
Remembrances of your first love might leave you, in turn, giddy, sappy
and sentimental — this mix of emotions perfectly sums up my feelings
forSt.Croixafteravisitmorethanadecadeago.AndnowthatI’mback,
I’m all choked up. “You’ve dived here before?” Rick Meyers, my obser-
vantdivechaperonewithCaneBayDiveShop,half-askswhileIsuitup.
Ispillmylong-cherishedSt.Cmemories.Afterhundredsofdiveselse-
where, returning to the USVI feels like an old lover’s warm embrace.
Mention St. Croix to any diver, and talk immediately turns to the
wall.BornfromatectonicplateseparatefromtheotherVirginIslands,
St. Croix is a mountain poking from the depths. After a series of ver-
tical shelves, the north shore slopes to 2,500 feet a meager 200 yards
offshore, and eventually plummets to 13,500 feet. The underwater
topography triggers upwellings that supercharge marine life with a
nutrient-rich buffet.
St. Croix’s dramatic diving complements the island’s wild-child
­demeanor.AsthelargestoftheUSVItriplets,it’sthemostundeveloped
andhaslargelyturneditsbackonarmadasofcruiseships.Dreadlocked
Rastasareplentiful,andoneoftheisland’ssignatureattractionsisthe
Mt. Pellier Domino Club’s 650-pound beer-swilling pigs, albeit nonal-
coholic brew. Turn seaward and divers get bug-eyed at the encircling
50-mile ­fringing coral reefs, with at least as many named dive sites.
Rekindling my love affair here keeps me busy. From the island’s
main town of Christiansted, I hook up with St. Croix Ultimate
­Bluewater Adventures for dives along Long Reef, a 3-mile barrier
reef section outside the town harbor. With divemaster Mark Fuller,
we leap into Scotch Banks, named after a colonial
­Danish ship’s attempt to increase its draft and avoid
theshallowreefbyjettisoningitscargoofhooch.This
underwatermountainsootheswithagentledriftthat
shuttles us over elephant ear sponges, and pillar and
brain corals, to limestone ledges that drop into a wall
descending 1,000 feet. I’m eager to glimpse manta
rays that occasionally do flybys here, but in their ab-
senceI’mstillecstaticwiththereefsharks,barracuda
andonewide-eyedpufferfishthesizeofamicrowave.
ThreemoredaysandI’mprivytoother­magnificent
St. Croix sites barely 10 minutes from the dock. Tur-
quoise Bay comes up big with two loggerhead turtles
and eagle rays, plus the sensation of gliding over a
backlitjewelryboxglitteringwitharainbowcoalition
of sponges, corals, wrasses, and parrotfish. At Eagle
Ray, just outside the harbor entrance, I descend to
85 feetandspythesite’sburlynamesakesouthernrays
andanaffable6-footgreenmoray.It’sadive-eat-sleep
rhythmthatcouldmakeanyrecreationaldiveraban-
donhis9-to-5routinetogopro.WhenIpackmybags
for my next USVI stop, I realize that everything on
St. CremindsmewhyIbegandivinginthefirstplace.
DIVERS GUIDE TO ST. CROIX
DON’T-MISSDIVES
Salt River Canyon East
and West Wall
The East Wall begins
at 40 feet and drops
like a 5,000-foot eleva-
tor shaft. Across the
submarine channel,
the West Wall gets ver-
tical from 20 to 90 feet
and sprouts fishy
­narrow passages.
Cane Bay Wall
This famed north
shore dive begins over
sandy flats and slopes
to the dropoff, craggy
with corals until the
bottom drops into
the 13,500-foot Virgin
Islands Trough. Watch
for hammerheads and
reef sharks.
Frederiksted Pier
Your ticket to night-
diving bliss lies
40 feet beneath this
aging pier, a macro
dive renowned for
spectacular corals and
sponges, plus a cast of
characters like frogfish,
batfish, seahorses, spot-
ted eels and lobsters.
DIVEOPERATORS
Cane Bay Dive Shop
canebayscuba.com
N2theBlue
­Scuba ­Diving
n2theblue.com
St. Croix Ultimate
­Bluewater Adventures
stcroixscuba.com
Average water temp 79 degrees F winter/83 degrees F summer >> What to wear 3 mm wetsuit or shorty >> Average viz 60 to 120 feet >> When to go year-round,
with chance of hurricanes from July through October >> For more information, go to sportdiver.com.
LEFT: Butler Bay’s five wrecks
(the deepest at a little over
100 feet) are best seen over two
to three dives. BELOW: Cane
Bay’s famed wall is accessible
via shore from Cane Bay.

3. st.john
ST. JOHNCow and Calf
Rocks
Ledges of Little
St. James
Cruz Bay
Carval
Rock
54 M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M 55
If I had any regrets about leaving St.
Croix,St.Johnlovinglyconsolesme.The
ferry from St. Thomas arrives in Cruz
Bay,endearinglydubbed“LoveCity,”not
just for its heart-shaped bay but also for
theisland’swarm,welcomingattitude.In
the mood for mellow? Try this: St. John
— “The Park Island” — has protected
nearly half of its 20 square miles, plus
12,708 underwater acres of federal sub-
mergedlandthatmakeupVirginIslands
Coral Reef National Monument. Divers
droolforitsnorth-shoresiteslikeCarval
Rock and other rocky outcroppings and
cays,repletewithcanyons,pinnaclesand
coral-encrusted rock formations teem-
ing with Spanish mackerel and tarpon.
My ticket to St. J’s diving begins and
ends with Low Key Watersports in Cruz
Bay,whereIwadetothediveboat,board
with a handful of newbie divers, and
meetmydivemaster,SarahMcCutcheon.
“I’ve been here only one month, and I’m
stilllearningaboutallthesites,”shetells
me.Iquizheraboutthebetterdives,and
she provides me the perfect answer. “I
think that applies to everything here.”
Mingo and Grass cays are our first
DIVERS GUIDE TO ST. JOHN
DON’T-MISSDIVES
Carval Rock
This legendary rocky
upthrust has divers
going in circles. You’ll
muscle through a stiff
current to navigate a
shallow cut leading to
a sheer 80-foot north
wall, where platoons
of tarpon hit baitballs.
Watch for nurse sharks
and octopuses.
Cow and Calf Rocks
The sister rocks barely
jutting above the
surface are a labyrinth
of swim-throughs and
caves that max out at
45 feet. Fin into Cow
Rock’s “Champagne
Cork,” a narrow open-
ing where the surge
sucks in and spits out
divers like a cork.
Ledges of Little
St. James
This funhouse of coral
ridges, alcoves and
ledges (also accessible
from St. Thomas) runs
at two depths, 45 (out)
and 25 (back) feet. Fin
out and see angelfish,
parrotfish and the
occasional eagle ray
­snoozing on sand flats.
DIVEOPERATORS
Low Key Watersports
divelowkey.com
Average water temp 80 degrees F winter/82 degrees F summer >> What to wear 3 mm wetsuit or shorty >> Average viz 60 to 100 feet
RIGHT: Cow and Calf Rocks (also
accessible from St. Thomas)
offer a labyrinth of swim-throughs.
BELOW: Snorkeling the sparkling
waters off Mingo Cay.
I’m not averse to celebratory
­happy-hour cocktails after diving, but
St. John nudges my sober side, and I
spendafternoonswanderingsomeofthe
park’s 22 unique nature trails. In 1976,
UNESCOdesignatedtheareaaBiosphere
Reserve, paving the way for long-term
preservationstatus.Amongthebenefac-
tors is the Cinnamon Bay Trail, where I
walkbeneathacanopyofguavaberryand
mango trees, and the marvelously aro-
maticbayrumtree,whoseleavesareused
in fragrances and flavored rums. After
perusing the ruins of the Cinnamon Bay
Estate, where settlers processed sugar
cane, the trail deposits me at its name-
sake Cinnamon Bay. The paper-white
crescent sand beach lapped by water
that’s every shade of blue is as perfect as
they come — a scene I want to stash in a
bottle and keep forever.
A couple more days and I’m smitten
by the island’s marquee dives, like Lind
Point, Ledges of Little St. James, Cow
and Calf, and my favorite, Carval Rock.
Carval reminds of me of a giant ring-
toss game, with a core jutting from the
surface and surrounded by a coral val-
ley base. Like paratroopers, we hit the
water on the sheltered south side and
immediately kick hard into current
to thread through a cut leading to the
north side. We swim fast over a ridge
formation, then drop 80 feet to the cor-
al and a reverse archway. All our work is
rewarded when one of the divers in our
group becomes enveloped by ­thousands
of ­silversides corralled by a nearby
school of huge tarpon, which take turns
strafing the baitball like silvery incom-
ing missiles. Whoever coined St. John’s
mellow ­reputation hasn’t dived here.
stops,aduoamongseveralcayswithvast
fringing reefs in the protected waters of
Pillsbury Sound. We drop in 55 feet on
the south shore of Grass Cay, and I feel
like I’ve invaded someone’s aquarium.
The 100-foot-viz water explodes with
reef fish, swaying lavender sea fans and
purpletubesponges,heftybarrelspong-
es, and on and on. Predictably, perhaps,
reef sharks make a showing. An hour
later at Mingo, we enjoy a repeat of the
same idealized Caribbean marine show,
onlythistimeahawksbillturtlemakesa
courtesy showing.

4. st.thomas
ST. THOMAS
Charlotte
Amalie
WIT Shoal II
Armando’s
Paradise
French Cap
Cay
56 M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M M A RC H 2015 | S P O RT D I V E R .C O M 57
The last stop — the first, for most — in my USVI trifecta
isSt.Thomas,aquintessentiallyCaribbeancruise-ship
port where pricey duty-free jewelry stores outnumber
kitschy T-shirt shops 10-to-1. I’m struck by cosmopoli-
tan Charlotte Amalie’s emerald-green hills, dotted by
red-tiled roofs, all spilling down into a stunning azure
harbor. The mile-long shopping district buzzes with
gleeful cruise-ship day-trippers, and there’s no short-
age of open-air bars filled to the brim with revelers. It’s
not for me to say St. T is being loved to death. Because,
really, I can’t say I blame them.
I soon make a beeline for Bolongo Bay, a picture-­
perfect slice of Caribbean where my digs and St.
Thomas Diving Club await. It’s worth knowing that the
Club comes with some dive history; namely, that Andre
Webberfoundedtheshopyearsagoandwasinstrumen-
talinputtingdivingontheUSVImap.Sincehispassing
last year, his widow, Pam Balash, has run the shop.
Of its siblings, St. Thomas has the monopoly on
wrecks, and WIT Shoal II is a favorite. The 327-foot
freighter sits at 90 feet with expansive, easy-to-explore
passages and plenty of resident marine critters, includ-
ing one 600-pound goliath grouper. Another is the USS
John F. Kennedy, just outside the city harbor, that lies at
65 feet and is home to large southern stingrays. But on
this day, it’s captain’s choice — captain being Club dive-
master David Tracy, a gregarious Oklahoma transplant
who seems like your best friend in minutes.
“Enough talkie, talkie; let’s do some divie, divie,” he
says as we giant-stride
off the boat. We drop
in 35 feet at Wye Reef,
a hangout for massive
schools of Bermuda
chubthatmakemediz-
zy as they thread around us. We explore a multitude of
grottoes,swim-throughsandcavesthatamounttoavir-
tual Hobbit’s shire, inhabited by spotted drum, spotted
morays, angelfish of all stripes, and a snoozing nurse
shark. We fin 75 yards to what’s left of the Cartanzar
Sr., a derelict freighter-turned-drug boat thrashed by
Hurricane Hugo and broken into three main pieces.
Countless wrasses, gobies, grunts, squirrelfish, and
yellow snapper have taken up residence in the wreck’s
cracks and compartments. Tracy tugs my fin, and as I
pivot, I see the gauzy form of a sizable shark (lemon,
blacktip … ­tiger?) in the distance.
Like St. John, St. Thomas sits on a subsea plateau
DIVERS GUIDE TO ST. THOMAS
DON’T-MISSDIVES
WIT Shoal II
The islands’ most
notable wreck, this
327-foot freighter is on
its keel at 90 feet with
its pilothouse at 30 feet.
Five decks offer plenty
to explore, but the
poop deck is the stand-
out with its bounty of
orange cup corals and
numerous sponges.
Armando’s Paradise
Thissite,namedafter
thecelebratedunder-
waterphotographer,
hostsawho’swhoof
Caribbeancritters.
Swim-throughs,forests
ofsponges,coral-en-
crustedoutcroppings
andpassagewaysmake
this50-footdiveoneof
theislands’mostscenic.
French Cap Cay
Rock pinnacles spiral
upward from 80 feet
at this small mountain
piercing the surface
6 miles south of St.
Thomas. As crashing
waves create a foamy
surface halo, divers
below can spot trum-
petfish, angelfish and
spotted eagle rays.
DIVEOPERATORS
St. Thomas Diving Club
stthomasdivingclub​
.com
Average water temp 80 degrees F winter/82 degrees F summer >> What to wear 3 mm wetsuit or shorty >> Average viz 60 to 100 feet
TOP RIGHT: Charlotte Amalie’s
picture-perfect harbor lures tour-
ists by the thousands. BOTTOM
RIGHT: The wreck of the 327-
foot WIT Shoal II is one of St.
Thomas’ most popular dive sites.
that makes for relatively shallow reef dives, and I’m
loving the long bottom times with four dives per day.
Armando’s Paradise is hands-down the fishiest of my
USVI dives — not surprising since it’s named after re-
nowned photographer Armando Jenik, who used this
site as his go-to for images of an A-to-Z list of species.
Following Tracy’s lead, we cruise scenic passageways,
explore shallow caves and enjoy the company of surly
sergeant majors pecking our masks. Another dive at
PacketRock,andI’mfanningawaysandat50feettofind
pottery shards and clay smoking pipes from the HMS
Warwickthatsankherein1816—just2milesfromshore
and after a 2,000-mile journey from England.
Back at Iggies Beach Bar at Bolongo Bay, I buy a
­coupleofrounds forTracyandotherSt.Thomas ­Diving
Club staff. Tongues gradually loosen; people talk. Most
all hail from stateside, and each has his own stories
about the USVI — favorite islands, favorite dives. But
what connects everybody is a sense of community and
appreciation that diving is their job, and that, techni-
cally, we’re still in the U.S. “Think about it,” says Tracy.
“We’re diving the Caribbean, the ocean’s 84 degrees,
rum is cheap, and we’re still in the States. How cool is
that?” And, once again, my long-standing love affair
with the USVI is confirmed.
SpecialthankstoUSVITourism,CaneBayDiveShop,St.
Croix Ultimate Bluewater Adventures, N2theBlue Scuba
Diving,LowKeyWatersportsandSt.ThomasDivingClub.