Dive Review of Blue Island Divers/Palm Cottage, Water Island in
Virgin Islands/Crown Bay

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Blue Island Divers/Palm Cottage, Water Island, Dec, 2013, by Mark Winnett, PA, US ( 1 report). Report 7470.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Excellent dive operation in terms of customer service, safety, local know how, boat ops, and location for the western side of St. Thomas. Good instructors/DM: focused, careful, but not officious. Decent rental gear (basic ScubaPro mostly). Boat is the Barefoot Diver; holds 12 plus 3 crew, which can feel crowded if many novices or jerks--not too bad if everyone is cooperative and careful. 4-6 experienced divers is perfect. Stern ladder. No head on board, showers on shore. Staff takes care of all the gear so just leave it with them. I had some personal gear issues and they were very helpful to solve them. Wreck dives were good, but visibility and current were marginal on our trip--in better conditions these might be excellent sites. Near shore was too murky to enjoy. Reef looks a bit beat up, not as many fish as I've seen in other spots, but turtles are common and unafraid. On shore, Crown Bay Marina has good services and transportation, close to airport, but can get crowded when the cruise ships dock (and there can be >6 big ones in high season). It's a working harbor, so lots of noise when the container ships unload. Friendly locals, no security concerns. Restaurant meals are very expensive ($40-50 for lunch or dinner) but you can buy almost anything at the Pueblo Market if you have a kitchen. Gourmet Gallery caters to the yacht crowd, but if you want something special, very convenient. Overall, a very enjoyable trip despite the less than perfect diving conditions. Much better than diving last year out of Farjado, Puerto Rico. I highly recommend both Palm Cottage for rental accommodations and Blue Island Divers for your dive shack.
Websites	Blue Island Divers Palm Cottage, Water Island
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	The Keys, St. Lucia, Tofino, Victoria, Bermuda, Barbados, Dominican Rep., Puerto Rico, St. Thomas
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	choppy, currents
Water Temp	80-83°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	5-50 Ft/ 2-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Stay with group, time limits, 15ft safety stop, no collecting
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	rinse bucket on board, no special arrangements on shore, but staff is very accommodating.

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Dive Review of Blue Island Divers/Palm Cottage, Water Island in Virgin Islands/Crown Bay

Blue Island Divers/Palm Cottage, Water Island, Dec, 2013,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Blue Island Divers/Palm Cottage, Water Island in
Virgin Islands/Crown Bay