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Diver's Tales aims to bring you the extraordinary dive spots around
the world. Experience the special, the mystical off-the-beaten-path
places not yet known to everyone. Enjoy!
Our Diver's Tale this month is from St. Barthelemy,
French Caribbean - Written by Charlotte van Weeghel
 Nestled
between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, in the Northern Antilles,
St. Barthelemy, popularly knows as St.Barths is a small island that
manages to combine the best of everything. With a history dating back
to Swedish and French settlers, this island has succeeded in guarding
its untouched wildlife and precious environment while offering a sophisticated
and fun place to spend a holiday.
The weather is always good with very little rain. Swimming and diving
in transparent waters is possible year round expect for the occassional
rain during hurricane season. St. Barths is composed of 22 beaches,
a small but beautifully historical capital called Gustavia, luxury hotels,
spectacular rental villas, fun music festivals & carnavals and sailing
regattas.
It had been at least six years since I had last visited St. Barthelemy
and it was wonderful to be back as I had voted it my most favorite island
in the world back then already. It is a tiny piece of paradise that
has all the ingredients for a perfect getaway in my opinion: the food
and language are French but English is widely spoken, it's quiet and
lovely in the off season and fun and crazy in the high season. There
are lots of gorgeous beaches that are all different and vistas to die
for. The residents are a mix of characters from all over the world and
the atmosphere is great.
It got even better when I found out the island has pretty good scuba
diving to boot. Rich in fauna and one of the widest varieties of flora,
most of the seascape in St-Barths was classified as a "Natural
Marine Park" almost a decade ago.
 For
those of you who love to sail AND dive, St. Barths is the ideal base
for a diving/sailing vacation. No boat? No problem! St. Maarten/St.
Martin, an island only 15 miles away and main port of arrival into the
area is home to all of the major yacht charter companies which do both
crewed and bareboat charters. Charter your own boat for a couple of
weeks, sail over to St. Barths and go diving and sailing all around
the island.
At night you can anchor in the gorgeous harbor of Gustavia, eat at good
restaurants and soak up the local color. A friend of mine and his family
were doing just that. Their yacht came with a dinghy, of course, so
off we went to explore the local reefs! What a wonderful surprise. St.
Barths is full of very nice and completely un-crowded dive spots and
the water is pleasantly warm. No need for dive schedules, you just go
wherever you want to at ta moments' notice.
If you prefer to go out on a dive boat, there are at least five dive
operations on the Island to choose from: Mermaid
Diving, Plongee
Caraibes Catamanran and Birdy Dive who can be reached by email
are just a few of them.
Most of the dive sites in St. Barths form part of the Marine
Park. Caution must be exercised when diving with your own dinghy.
Check the sea conditions beforehand and plan your dive accordingly.
The seas can be rough, currents ripping and the trade winds strong.
Make sure your engine is working properly, have additional fuel, a radio,
an oxygen tank and all the other necessary equipment to make it a safe
dive. Go out with someone who knows the area and learn the ropes before
you venture on your own.
Here is a overview of some of the popular dive sites:
 Anse
de Colombier - Ile de la Pointe and Rockefeller Point.
Depth: 27ft-7Oft / 8m-21m
Dinghy over and anchor in the lee of the Ile De La Pointe if the weather
conditions permit. Explore the south and southwestern reefs. Very pretty
hard and soft corals with a good variety of reef fish and also a good
chance of seeing turtles, rays, great barracuda, etc. There is a white
buoy for dinghies, but please note that Gustavia dive clubs have preferential
use of it.
Anse de Colombier - West of Ile de la Pointe.
Depth: 7Oft/21m
This is a mini wall. Please anchor over sand in the area shown to the
east of dive site, if weather permits. You may need a longer dinghy
anchor line to ensure you do not anchor over coral. This is a magnificent
mini wall with very pretty hard and soft corals with a good variety
of reef fish and an excellent chance of seeing turtles, rays, great
barracuda, etc.
Sea conditions: this is an advanced site and extra caution must be exercised.
Current is likely due to its exposed position and the sea will be rough
during northerly and westerly swells and very strong trade winds.
 Anse
de Colombier -Pointe Colombier.
Depth: 27ft-43ft/8m-13m
Anchor your dinghy in the lee of Pointe Colombier, or you could even
scuba from your yacht if you are anchored in the north of the bay. There
are pretty hard and soft corals and a good variety of reef fish.
La Baleine outide Gustavia Harbour.
Depth: 24ft - 57ft 1 7m - 17m
Coral Pinnacle. Anchor off Ans de Corossol or off Fort Oscar. Both are
well protected in normal trade wind conditions, but can be rolly in
northerly or westerly swells. Corossol has a nice beach while the Fort
Oscar anchorage is a shorter dinghy ride into Gustavia Harbour. Anchor
your dinghy over the shallow patch (24ft /17m) north of La Baleine,
which is the small rocky pinnacle which just breaks to surface ESE of
the navigational (Cardinal) buoy shown on the sketch chart. This is
an excellent dive site with very pretty hard and soft corals and plenty
of reef fish. Here you will see giant barrel sponges reaching to five
or six feet in height.
 Nonstop
wreck outside Gustavia Harbor.
Depth: 2Oft / I6m to top of keel of upside down wreck and 50ft /1 5m
to sand bottom next to wreck. The wreck of the Nonstop lies just to
the east of La Baleine. The 200ft Nonstop, which was a well known, luxury
motor yacht, sank during hurricane Hugo, the center of which passed
approximately 40 nautical miles southwest of St. Barths during September
1989. After unsuccessful salvage attempts, Nonstop now lies upside down
with its bow pointing approximately south and its upper superstructure
crushed. Many varied hard and soft corals have taken hold on the steel
hull and the wreck is teeming with a large variety of reef fish. Do
not attempt to penetrate the wreck and exercise caution as this wreck
is reported to be breaking up as of August 1997.
Gros Islets
Depth: 30ft-45ft / 19m - 13.5m
This is the best easily accessible dive site in the Gustavia area with
very pretty hard and soft corals and abundant reef fish. This is also
an excellent snorkeling site.
The weather in St. Barths is pleasant and warm temperatures are normal
year round, with sunny skies, minimal rainfall and steady easterly trade
winds. Wind velocity is stronger during the winter months and weakest
during late summer. The average air temperature varies from a low of
28°C/82°F from December to February, to a high of 31°C/88°F
from July to September. The average sea water temperature varies from
a low of 25°C/77°F from January to April, to a high of 28°C/82°F
in September. All this means is that you will experience very pleasant
scuba diving conditions with excellent visibility. This will be as much
as 120 feet or 36 meters in very calm conditions. Although the water
is relatively warm, it is advisable to wear at least, a 3mm "shorty"
wetsuit which will also give you full body protection against stings.
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This
can be quite an adventure in its own right. You will have to fly
into St. Maarten first, the biggest island close to St. Barths.
From there you can choose to continue onwards by (chartered yacht),
plane or by ferry.
By plane: because of the tiny runway at St. Barths airport only
little prop planes can land there. The island is linked primarily
to the island of Saint Martin (St Maarten) by regularly scheduled
10 minutes flight. |
| The beautiful rugged back roads
of St. Barths |
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Departures
are made from the Dutch side of St Maarten at Juliana airport international
or from the French side at Grand case Espérance airport. The
landing in St Barths is spectacular and a tiny bit scary as planes have
to reach the landing strip right after a mountain top and the strip
is very short. Most of the major international airline companies
have direct flights from Europe or the US to St Maarten.
By boat: It is just as easy to fly into St. Maarten and then take a
ferry to Gustavia. Departure is several times a day and it's a scenic
trip into Gustavia. The trip between the islands is fairly fast depending
on the boat you choose. Be aware of sea sickness and getting wet if
you choose to sit on the outer deck. The seas can be quite rough at
times.
 
St.
Barths Marine Reserve
St. Barths.com
St. Barths Online
Sunsail USA
Sunsail UK
The
Moorings
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