St Kitts / Special Interests / Scuba Diving

By Jane Anderson

St Kitts is aggressively developing its already well respected dive product over the next few years. The waters surrounding the island boast plentiful and virtually untouched coral reefs, shoals, hot water vents, shallows, sloping canyons, walls and swim-through caverns for divers to explore that are all home to colourful marine life at depths from 40 to nearly 200 feet. In addition, these virgin waters have now begun to reveal several hundred pristine wrecks of galleons, frigates and freighters dating back to the 17^th century that were sunk in various naval battles and skirmishes. One recently discovered and excavated dive site is located at White House Bay, where the wreck of a 1740s English troopship rests.

Additional wrecks continue to be charted and explored through the St. Kitts Maritime Archaeological Project, an enterprise conceived and instituted by the island to survey, record, research and preserve its underwater treasures and resources. In addition to advancing the island’s dive and tourism product, the project involves the establishment of several natural marine parks.

Favourite dives located in the shallow channel between St Kitts and Nevis include the Rock and Monkey Shoal, which is a very pretty coral area at around 50-60 ft. Nagg’s Head starts at 40 ft and drops to 80ft and has ledges of coral including black coral. There are coral areas directly off Basseterre at 70 or 80 ft. Farther north, directly below Brimstone Hill in the northern part of the island, is Sandy Point/Paradise Reef. A coral wall starts at 40-50ft and descends to 120 ft. Five anchors are visible and you can see other evidence of old ships in this area.

There are four wrecks, all off the northern part of the island, to the north of Basseterre. There is no penetration inside the wrecks, but they are fun to dive and are used for training. The old freighter the River Tar sits upright in the north of the island in 45-55 ft of water. It has good marine life including eels, sting-rays and sand sharks. The Corinthian is another freighter that sits in 40-50 ft.

In St. Kitts, dive operators include Dive St. Kitts located at Bird Rock Beach Hotel, Pro Divers located at Fisherman’s Wharf, Kenneth’s Dive Center, in the heart of Basseterre, operating from Port Zante Marina and Speedy4Charters at Frigate Bay. All are accredited by recognised certification agencies and can also train and certify new divers. A range of dive packages or snorkelling trips can be arranged directly with the operator or through the island’s hotels, many of whom also offer special diving packages.

Diving is available all year round in St. Kitts - the peak dive season runs from 20 December to 15 April with an off season period, offering lower rates from 16 April to 19 December.