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Dive Review of Blue Water Divers/Myett's Hotel in
Virgin Islands/Tortola, British Virgin Island

Blue Water Divers/Myett's Hotel, Oct, 2006,

by Jeff Robertson, CA, US (Contributor Contributor 15 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 3338.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 4 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments [None]
We are a diver & non-diver traveling together, so this wasn’t necessarily a dive-dedicated trip, but it worked out perfectly. We had no planned reservations other than our first night on Tortola where stayed in Road Town at the centrally located Village Caye Marina & Hotel. It was an excellent choice to overnight after arriving on island. The a/c rooms were nicely furnished, clean, and affordable and the staff was friendly and helpful. They have a very good bar & restaurant on premises overlooking the marina. The next day we rented a car and took off to explore the island. We had researched several places beforehand and visited a few before dropping into Cane Garden Bay. As soon as we saw it from the road overlooking the bay that we’d want to stay there for at least a couple of days – we ended up staying there for the rest of our 2 week trip. Right on the beach in the middle of the quiet half moon bay was family owned Myett’s Hotel. They have 3 rooms and a beach bar & grill restaurant that offer a surprisingly good selection of tasty affordable fare.The staff went way out of their way to make sure everyone had a good time. By the end of our stay, we were on a first name basis with everyone.

Blue Water Divers is based at Soper’s Hole Marina on the western end of the island. It’s a 20-minute car ride from Cane Garden Bay and we were on our own to get there. A couple of times Sandy dropped me off so she could have the car to shop in Road Town and Soper’s Hole. The other times, I took the rental car as she was content to enjoy the beach in Cane Garden Bay. Blue Water Divers is closer to the dive sites so the boat trips were shorter only 15 to 20 minutes. Blue Water is owned and operated by brothers Mike & Keith from Australia. They came to Tortola 12 years ago, started a dive shop and have been running it very well since then. They charge $93 for a two-tank boat dive if you have your own gear.

Blue Water Divers has a nice 34-foot dive boat with snacks, head, water and plenty of room. We picked going in September / October knowing it was low season and we never had to fight a crowd. No more than 5 divers on any boat. Both ops dive the Salt, Peter & Norman Islands across the Sir Francis Drake Channel. The viz usually ran 60 to 80 feet, but that was because we had breezy days. We were told that normally this time of year there is no wind and the viz gets over 100 feet. We saw lots of reef fish, turtles, sponges, Creole wrasse, gorgonians, lobster, morays and a couple reef sharks. The reefs looked healthy and in pretty good shape.

I also went out with We Be Diving who had a shop right in Cane Garden Bay. $105 for a two-tank boat dive. They picked me up at Myett’s Hotel for the 20-minute ride across island to their main shop at Road Town marina. Their boat was small, never had more than 4 people, including the DM, but there was also no O2, radio, head or drinks on board. DM Kate bought “skittles” with her own money to share. We were allowed to dive our own profiles. The only limitation was to be back at the boat with at least 500 psi. We dove the HMS Rhone, the local trophy wreck dive known for its part in the movie The Deep. Between dives, the small boat had starter problems. Kate called the shop and they promised to send another boat. They didn’t. After about an hour of fiddling with it, it finally started and we returned to the marina.

Staying in Cane Garden Bay on Tortola was perfect. We could explore the island by rental car or use the ferry service to see the Baths on Virgin Gorda or cross over to Jost Van Dyke to have an “original” Painkiller at the Soggy Dollar Bar on White Bay. We had a great time and would go again in a minute.



Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Australia Great Barrier Reef, Palau, Yap, Chuk Micronesia, Tonga, Niue, Fiji, Cook Islands in the South Pacific, Bimini Bahamas, Turks & Caicos, Belize, Honduras, Cozumel, Bonair & Curacao and the Cayman Islands in the Caribben.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, dry Seas calm, choppy
Water Temp 80-84°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 60-80 Ft/ 18-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Return to the boat with 500 psi in your tank.
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 2 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 4 stars
UW Photo Comments [None]
Pretty much non-existent with Blue Water Divers or We Be Diving. We were on our own. We did find a fresh water hose at the BWD dock that we could use to rinse cameras, gear, etc. at the end of the day.



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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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