St. Barthelemy remains a quiet mystery to most of the world. Because of its relative remoteness and the fact that it caters to mostly upscale clientele, the marine life has reaped the benefits of being off the ‘beaten path,’ so to speak. In 1996, the Saint Barths’ Marine Reserve was also established to minimize careless anchoring and to protect the beautiful corals and marine life damaged by hurricanes. Today, the reefs are healthy, the fish are diverse, and the populations of marine species are abundant. Should you make it to this one-of-a-kind island in the Caribbean, diving is a must. And, it’s easy to do–most dive sites are only a few minutes from anywhere on the island.
Diving Sugar Loaf
Of the sites in St. Barths, one called Pain de Sucre–which translates to Sugar Loaf in English–seems to be the most popular. Of the small community of divers who’ve been able to dive Sugarloaf in St. Barts, the memories are abundant. The currents are mild, visibility is great, and the marine life at the dive sites includes many interesting species of coral and sponges, as well as turtles, sharks, spotted eels, goldentail eels, blennies, chromis, creole wrasses, barracuda, groupers, hermit crabs, and blue tangs. And, the dive is accessible to all divers–with average depths from 6-21 m (20-60 feet), and max depths to 28 m (80 feet), there’s enough for beginners to see and plenty more for advanced divers to explore.
Because the dive at Pain de Sucre is fairly shallow, divers will begin heading down toward the seabed at their leisure. The seabed is flat and lies at a depth of 55 feet (16 m). On the way down, marine life begins to teem at depths of about 20 feet (6 m), and continues until reaching the sea floor. Of the most notable are the turtles and barracudas, which quickly and dramatically seem to change color from a shiny silver to a dull, dark gray–seemingly like flashes of light.
As divers meander their way over to the rocky peninsula, the sea floor drops another 5 feet or so to a depth of 60 feet (18 m). Divers may spot the occasional nurse shark in the distance, but the abundant schools of fish that circle the divers are the most exhilarating. Creole wrasses are the most prevalent, and schools of chromis, blue tangs, and sergeant majors are also likely to visit divers at Pain de Sucre in St. Barts.
But the journey doesn’t end there. On one end of the rocky peninsula, a tunnel promises new sights, including tiny eels that poke their heads out from underneath the rocky overhangs near it. The actual mouth of the tunnel is about 3 feet (1 m) wide and the tunnel is short; only about 20 feet (6 m) long. Inside, the walls are encrusted with red, pink and yellow sponges. The sound of the sea breaking on the cliff above is believed to make the “noise” heard by divers inside the tunnel–a strange, rumbling sound. Divers should beware of the large patches of fire coral that line both the entrance and exit of the tunnel at the Pain de Sucre dive site.
After the tunnel experience, divers can lurk around at the bottom for a bit longer before table limits are reached and the ascent happens. As divers slowly say goodbye to the sea fans and groupers, they will once again drift through the schools of fish and the ever-present barracudas, which seem all too fond of the divers–even making safety stops with them.
Of course, Pain de Sucre is not the only dive site in St. Barths. In fact, there are actually several good snorkeling and dive sites just off shore in shallow water such as Lorient Beach, Colombier Beach, Petite de Anse, and Forchue Island. In the summer, dolphins are occasionally seen, and whales can be heard singing in St. Barth’s waters in the winter months around the island for good ambiance diving. In addition, divers have said that some of the best scuba diving in St. Barth’s actually takes place far offshore–and dive operators schedule half and full day trips to the open water sites near St. Barths. Overall, this tiny island carries its weight in terms of underwater offerings.