US Virgin Islands-St John

[PROLINE 20]

We have some friends that live in the US Virgin Islands-St. Thomas. They have arranged for us to stay at a Major Named resort that they are a General Manager at on the Island of St. John. I was just PADI certified this past October as an open water diver. Now with this trip at hand I am wanting to get Advanced Certified and Nitrox under my belt. I was wanting to wait until the water warmed up a bit, but due to the March 2004 trip I wanted to get it done...Any suggestions.

I want the Nitrox to increase my bottom time, as it seems that I suck the tank pretty quick, gonna have to go to bigger tanks. Also I have heard that some dive boats will not even take you if you are not Advanced Certified?

Also has anybody ever been to the US Virgin Islands to dive? Any input anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I do not post here much but read this site religiously as I only hope that I can obtain the skill that many of you have acquired.

Thanks Again

PROLINE 20

[MarkH]

I also do more reading than posting. I can't help with the US VI but have done a lot of dive travel in other areas of the caribbean. I've heard the stories of dive operators requiring more than basic open water certification but have never seen anyone have a problem. It would be best to call or e-mail the dive operator just to make sure. Most operators would lose half their business if they had that requirement. There are some dive operators that do a check-out dive for everyone to eleviate any skill related concerns. I have also seen that most operators try to keep the first day divers together so that they can start shallow and allow the divemasters to assess skills and identify anyone who needs help.

The Nitrox cert is recommended. I've been using it for 7 or 8 years and like the flexibility it gives you. I use it mostly for the safety factor. I use it to extend the bottom time if the dive is good but generally try come up with a little extra bottom time remaining. One thing to keep in mind is that you have to be good on air to begin with take advantage of the extended bottom time Nitrox allows you. Although the added O2 in Nitrox may slow your breathing rate it is probably negligible. The extended bottom time is allowed because of the decreased/offset nitrogen in your tank that is absorbed by your body. They will teach you all of that in class. In the mean time, the best way to improve your air consumption is to relax, get proper buoyancy, and exert as little energy as possible. You'll get better sooner than you may think.

Have fun.

[Hunt4PinkOctobr]

I flew into St Thomas last year, and scheduled a dive to see the Rhone through Chris Sawyer Dive Center there in St Thomas. (I think we had to check in at St John, so maybe they could pick you up?) Beware of Chris' nasty Speedo habit.
The Rhone was really cool and I'd recommend you see it. It was an old boat that sank in a hurricane and has remained in good shape. The whole story is very interesting, but the details slip my memory.
I toted my BC, regs, wetsuit, etc all the way down there and wouldn't do that again if you paid me. Their rental stuff was in good shape and reasonably priced.
There was no spearfishing on that charter, and frankly I couldn't find anyone in the Virgin Islands to accomodate me. It's pretty taboo from what I gathered.
I took a killer offshore fishing trip on the Double Header (I think). We put 15 yellow fin tunas on the boat averaging 40#. I was surprised when the Capt got to keep 90% of the fish, but what would I do with 600# of Tuna?
No one cared about Advanced cert or Nitrox, but you should definitely get Nitrox if you're serious about diving. MarkH is right. You should learn to consume less air before automatically getting bigger tanks. Most rental places around the world use the standard Aluminum 80's.