|
With miles of easily accessible sandy beaches and the
vast ocean never more than a couple of miles away, St Lucia is perfect for watersports. The island is at the tip of
an underwater volcano where both beginner and experienced divers alike will enjoy the stunning variety of coral,
sponge and marine life. As mountainous below sea level as it is above, St
Lucia offers incomparable sightseeing for divers who are drawn to the tremendous variety that nature has to offer:
huge gorgonians, black coral trees, gigantic barrel sponges, purple vase sponges and lace coral. Angelfish, black
beauties, golden spotted eels, seahorses, Stingrays, nurse sharks, turtles and many varieties of schooling fish are
as plentiful as they are colorful and varied. A few submerged shipwrecks and a mysterious serpentine creature of
mythical proportions known as “the thing” add to the excitement of diving in the waters of St Lucia.
There are several spectacular diving sites just off St Lucia, ranging from easy to
challenging. Keyhole Pinnacles consists of 4 seamounts rising from incredible depths to within a few feet of the
surface. Superman's Flight, a drift dive on a gentle wall which drops to 1,600 feet. At the base of Gros Piton the
Coral Gardens rise from a depth of 15 to 50 feet and Anse La Raye, midway up the west coast is a superb wall and
drift dive, where huge boulders cover a shallower slope creating fascinating formations to explore. On the point of
Anse Chastenet, a plateau slopes gently from 40 - 60 feet. The reefs fall away to a depth of 140 feet in a unique
coral chain, meandering out from the Bay.
Larger resort hotels often have their own watersports facilities, usually
snorkelling, scuba diving, sea kayaking, windsurfing and sailing on small, single-sail one- or two-person Sunfish
boats. Some places also have their own yachts, often catamarans, for sunset and snorkelling excursions, as well as
fishing trips.
There is some very good diving off the west coast, which is somewhat dependent on
the weather. Diving on the east coast is recommended only for competent and advanced divers. Visitors must dive with
a local company.
One of the best beach entry dives in the Caribbean is directly off Anse Chastanet, where an underwater shelf drops
off from about 10 ft down to about 60 ft and there is a good dive over Turtle Reef in the bay, where there are over
25 different types of coral.
Below the Petit Piton are impressive sponge and coral communities on a drop to 200 ft of spectacular walland are
filled with gorgonians, black coral trees, huge barrel sponges and plenty of other beautiful reef life.
The area in front of the Anse Chastanet Hotel is a Marine Reserve, stretching from the west point at Grand Caille
North to Chamin Cove. The area is buoyed off and only the hotel boats and local fishermen’s canoes are allowed in.
Just by the jetty, this is a roped-off area used by snorkellers and beginner divers and is an exceptionally
rewarding spot.
Other popular dive sites include Anse L’Ivrogne, Anse La Raye Point and the Pinnacles which is an impressive site
where four pinnacles rise to within 10 ft of the surface.
The wrecks, such as the Volga, in 20 ft of water north of Castries harbour, the Waiwinette, several miles south of
Vieux Fort, and the 165-ft Lesleen M, deliberately sunk in 1986 off Anse Cochon Bay in 60 ft of water. |
Home
- Site Map -
Contact us
