Scuba Diving
Many charter locations offer great diving opportunities. All companies permit scuba gear aboard their yachts though there might be one or two yachts that are exceptions to this rule, so please make sure you check before you book. Most companies will require that you rent a pelican rack to hold the tanks so that they don't roll around and damage the yacht. You must have certification cards for all divers and present them to the Dive Company when renting equipment or obtaining air fills. If you don't want to lug scuba gear around and will be satisfied with the occasional dive or two you might want to consider arranging rendezvous dives instead. In many locations, rendezvous diving can be arranged by VHF radio with a local dive company. The company will supply all equipment (or as much as you need) and meet you at or near the dive site. Beginners can arrange a Discover Scuba course by this same method and meet the Dive Company for a supervised instructional dive and subsequent shallow water dives.
You can shop in advance for the best deal in rentals, or you may wish to choose the company that is located nearby to your bareboat base for convenience. We've listed dive companies at the bottom of this page. The listing shown is for dive companies in the Virgin Islands. You may select other charter locations and the listing will change accordingly.
The Virgin Islands may offer the best combination of sailing and diving in the world. There are great dives everywhere you go and lots of air fill stations throughout the islands including St Thomas, St John, Tortola, Peter Island and Virgin Gorda. The wreck of the R.M.S. Rhone is probably the best-known dive site in the BVI and was the location used for filming of The Deep. This ship went down in 1867 when she was caught in a storm and was unable to make it to open water. She lies in two parts, dives ranging in depth from 35 feet to 95 feet. Dive sites are plentiful and not far from each other, so you don't have to sail for hours to get from one to another. Water temperature in the Virgin Islands ranges from the mid 70's to the low 80's depending on season and unless you're cold sensitive you may find that you don't really need a wet suit. Visibility generally ranges from 35 to 65 feet but can sometimes exceed 100 feet. There is very little current at most dive sites.
