Scuba Diving St Lucia

If you're thinking about a dive trip to St Lucia, these are my top tips after a week underwater there in December.

Best time to go - December through to May is the dry season. We went in December and had a great time with only a few rain showers that mainly came down first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The island is covered in lush rainforest so you can't complain about a bit of rain

Where to dive - Anywhere in the south of the island is the best. There are dive sites up north but my first experience was diving Pigeon Island (or Pigeon s£*t as my log book noted) - a drift with five metres viz and one dead fish.

The next day we couldn't find a site clear enough or calm enough to warrant getting wet. Looking out to the horizon from the Rendezvous hotel near Castries you could see a line separating dirty water and poor viz with the clearer stuff.

However, anywhere south from Anse Cochon and Anse Le Raye to Superman's Flight at the base of the Pitons in the south was fine, with fantastic viz and abundant marine life.

The north maybe better in the summer months.

Best dive sites - Superman's Flight at the base of the majestic Petit Piton and Lesleen M wreck were the two that stuck in my mind.

The pitons are the signature landmark of the island. Having flown around them and gazed up at them, it was great to dive beneath them as you followed the pinnacles plunging down into the deep ocean. The reef was covered in plenty of colourful soft coral and there was a lot of profusion of small fish and it was worth looking up from +20m deep to see the mountain tower above you and break the surface. One of my favourite all time dives.

There is often a current on this site (but not when we were there) and the guides talk of whale shark and humpback whale being observed passing by. No such luck for us!

The165-foot freighter Lesleen M, near Anse Cochon area, was sunk in October 1986 as an artificial reef. It is covered with hard and soft corals and provides an ideal habitat for many juvenile fish such as Queen and French angel fish.

The wreck sits on an even keel on the sand meaning orientation is easy. It is about 12 metres to the top deck, and 20 metres at the deepest point so you should have plenty of time to explore the wreck from top to bottom.

What's to see - The reefs were teeming with life but it was lots of little stuff. There was nothing very big in the way of marine life here, only the only solitary turtle all week (over the Lesleen M wreck), one barracuda and a school of batfish.

Some reefs were packed with so many juvenile fish it looked like an aquatic nursery, and more trumpetfish than I have ever seen in one go (still couldn't get a decent pic though). Plenty of crabs, lobsters and shrimp and the black and white fish endemic to the region (which I forgot to the name of). Also octopus out hunting in the day and the below flamingo tongue. There was also plenty of vibrant coral.

Viz - on the southern dives 10-15metres. Up north, I've had better in Dosthill (if you've dived the quarry in the summer, you'll know what I mean. If not drop me a line and I'll post a pic).

Biggest gripe - dive centre insisted dives only lasted 40 minutes no matter how much air you had. As nothing was very deep you could easily squeeze another 20 minutes out of the tank.

What suit to take - Water temperature was 27-28C so 3mm was fine.

Where to stay - As south as possible if you want cheap and easy access to the best sites. We stayed near Castries and paid $75 dollars for two dives in the south but it meant a 30-45 minute boat ride each way. The resort did free local dives but from what we saw, it wasn't worth it. Maybe later in the season it is. That said, the centre staff from Rendezvous resort were fantastic fun and a good laugh to be around. The boat was fast, some days there were five or six on board, other days it was a little cramped, but it all made for fun trips. I would happily recommend them.

Miscellaneous diving info - We boarded from the beach so be prepared to get a little wet and have any valuables protected from the water. A couple of times, because of the surf, we we picked up from the harbour so wet suit boots were needed to protect feet.

Guidebook - Couldn't find a decent one.

Worth going - Yes, the diving is good but the island itself is an absolutely beautiful paradise to be. There is plenty to do on land as well, including mountain biking and hiking the rainforest.

My Top Five Dive Sites 2008

Okay, hopefully you've got the chart count down music going round your head......

Coming in at Number 5, its the Birmingham Sea Life Centre

Not a sandy beach in site and no turquoise waters - the canals don't count - but that didn't stop me getting tropical in landlocked Brum when I joined the team of window cleaners tasked with keeping the tanks clean.

And while I know the city centre can sometimes be a dangerous place, but it’s not every day you get headbutted – by a 42-stone Green Sea Turtle.

Read the full story of my exploits and watch the video here.

At 4, the Plymouth wrecks of HMS Scylla and the James Egan Layne

The Leander class frigate that once was the Scylla is the UK's first artificial reef. Now four years she is now covered with fantastic growth with anemones and sea squirts - a damn sight prettier than that gloomy grey war paint she used to have. While the owners have cut massive holes allowing you to penetrate her, that just felt a little bit rude (actually it was too bloody dark inside on the day we dived).

The neighbouring James Egan Lane was thrilling inside - well it had to be because it was the only way to shelter from the surge that ripped over the wreck on our dive. The silhouette of the Liberty ship's intact bow is said to be a fantastic underwater view and its recommended to lie on the seabed with one leg either side of the bow and look up. I had to give up after the surge left me feeling like a stubborn bottle of champagne being repeatedly battered against the hull until I broke. Inside there are loads of bits of old cargo and ship stuff to see but this whizzed by the eyes like an episode of the Generation Game on acid. Still a roller coaster thrill though.

A later entry at Number 3, Superman's Flight in St Lucia.

Beneath the majestic Piton Mountains lies Superman's Flight, a drift dive of some excitement. The beautiful Petit Piton plunges into the Caribbean and continues its slope to the sea bed 1,600 feet below.

Some say that the site got its name because the powerful current that sweeps you along makes you feel like the Man of Steel. But in reality the Pitons made a brief appearance in the sequel when Christopher Reeve flew between the two while wooing Lois Lane.

It's a good job he stayed in the air, because the Man in the Cape may have forgotten about Margot Kidder once he saw the beauty beneath the waves.

The reef is full of soft corals and loads of fish. I've never seen so many trumpetfish in one spot. (Still couldn't get a decent pic though). A stunning reef dive, my pics don't do it justice.

And falling a place to Number 2, the Whale Shark dive.

The reef, lazy sunny afternoon, Whale Shark. Who knew! Can't say much more than my earlier post other than to quote the words of the famous Jack Burton when asked what he expected to find: 'You never can tell!'

Which means we have a new Number 1. The Farne Islands.

Round of applause please

Some might say it wasn't a dive, that at two metres I was snorkeling. Well Pah to them!

For the sheer thrill of up close and personal interactions with sea life, June with the seals in the Farnes is going to take some beating.

It’s amazing how we travel the globe looking for the ultimate in diving experiences but the best of the year was in British waters (okay, considering the seven hour drive I could have to Egypt quicker).
Yes I was only in two metres of water (we did hit 18m for about two minutes) but who's going to complain when you could across the seal playground.

Resting on the top of the rock known as Hopper we enjoyed a 40 minute seal show as they swam, nibbled and rubbed their noses into my camera port. I grinned so much I thought my reg would fall out. A dive everyone should do.