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Scuba Forum / Scuba Locations / March 2007

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St Martin Best Dives

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HeidiSalty - 16 Jan 2007 20:14 GMT
Hi.  We'll be in St Martin in March and have time to do a few dives.  Anyone
recommend the BEST dives to do while visiting (we like wrecks / swimthroughs)!
Thanks!!!
scoober - 19 Jan 2007 08:22 GMT
> Hi.  We'll be in St Martin in March and have time to do a few dives.
> Anyone
> recommend the BEST dives to do while visiting (we like wrecks /
> swimthroughs)!
> Thanks!!!

Which St Martin do you mean?
-hh - 19 Jan 2007 16:42 GMT
> > Hi.  We'll be in St Martin in March and have time to do a few dives.
> > Anyone
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>
> Which St Martin do you mean?

Dutch side or French, the island of { St Martin - Sint Maarten } really
isn't all that huge.

And while some might enjoy the diving there, I wasn't too particularly
enthralled; after the first day, I stopped bothering to carry my UW
camera, which is a rare event.  I went on a couple of supposedly
advanced dives and they were to wrecks in the ~60fsw range which were
all guided dives.  Unfortunately, following everyone through the same
passage on the shipwreck = instant zero viz. Individually, the best
site was probably 'Spanish Rocks' u north, which is done as a drift
(more accurately, a swim-in, swim-out surge dive around a navigational
hazard).

So as to what's "best", I think the short answer is 'the diving over in
Saba'.

If we go back to St. Maarten/Martin, it won't be for the diving, but
for the great food up in Grand Case & the 'Talk of the Town' Lolo
there, plus one other fun family-run restaurant we found...on the hill
switchback near Orleans...that was on a par with Grand Case, but was
1/3rd the price.

-hh
HeidiSalty - 20 Jan 2007 07:45 GMT
Hi.  Thanks so much.  We will be staying in Grand Case in an apartment.  I
have heard that the diving isn't really fantastic.  So, I was thinking we
will probably only dive once or twice and if we do that, what should we do.
Seems like Saba might be the best, as I've seen a few recommendations now.  

I'd love to know more about the place near Orleans for families (we'll be
with my 3 year old) :)  Do you recall the name?

Thanks again!
Heidi

>> > Hi.  We'll be in St Martin in March and have time to do a few dives.
>> > Anyone
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
>-hh
-hh - 21 Jan 2007 12:57 GMT
> ...
>
> I'd love to know more about the place near Orleans for families (we'll be
> with my 3 year old) :)  Do you recall the name?

Unfortunately, I can't recall the name; I really wish I could.  The
husband/owner/chef was an American from New Orleans, LA and had gotten
a local write-up as he had been one of the locals who had cooked for
visiting George Bush Sr & Jacques Chirac during a political conference.

The place is a large house that sits on the hillside by the switchback.
When you're heading from Grand Case, this switchback will be most of
the way toward Orleans and you'll be going downhill ... IIRC, you first
make a sharp left (at the top), traverse the hill, then a sharp right
(at the bottom) to continue south.  As you come down the hill in this
fashion, the house will be on the uphill side to your left - - its
probably easier to spot going northbound (uphill), where the house will
be on the right.

If they're still around, I'd say it should be fine with your little
one, as a lot of the fun for us was that it was a family affair
restaurant - - we were eating relatively early (Americans), so our
waiters-in-training were the (at the time) 7 & 9 year old sons of the
owner/chef.  After dinner, we had coffee with his wife, who in a "small
world" coincidence was from a small midwestern town that I had been
travelling to business at the time.  Her husband/owner/chef was an
American from New Orleans, LA.

-hh
HeidiSalty - 21 Jan 2007 13:22 GMT
Thank you so much.  I'll copy down those directions and see if we can find it.
Sounds like a fun find.  

>> ...
>>
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
>
>-hh
stan@adkhomes.com - 22 Mar 2007 01:05 GMT
I don't think there are
'best' dives.  Their idea of the first am "deep dive" is 60'

I purchased a two tank am dive and was so disappointed, that I didn't do the
second dive.  It's a great island for many reasons, but not diving.  Go to
Sabo, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Bonaire, and many others.

I stay in the island two weeks a year but don't dive there.

Stan

>Hi.  We'll be in St Martin in March and have time to do a few dives.
AnyoneXrecommend the BEST dives to do while visiting (we like wrecks /
swimthroughs)!4Thanks!!!
 
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