Diving in Tobago
Diving takes place at points all around Tobago, and there is significant variation in both underwater scenery and conditions. Sites on the southern coast are exposed to the Atlantic and the full force of the Guyana Current, while those on the Caribbean side are more sheltered, and experience mild to no current. Water clarity can reach 100 feet at certain times, but can also vary greatly based on seasonal variations in the outflow of Guyana's Orinoco River. Many dive sites are located close to shore, but not always close to a dive center. Boat rides can range from five minutes to nearly an hour. At Tobago's southwestern corner, the area known as Crown Point is the starting point for visits to more than 25 sites along both the Atlantic and Caribbean side of the island. Sites such as Bucco Reef, Mt. Irvine and Dutchman's Reef have minimal currents and moderate depths, allowing divers to enjoy leisurely explorations of coral formations that include mini-walls, canyons, tunnels and ledges. This is prime hunting ground for macro life, including sea horses and frogfish, while more open areas are visited by tarpon, cobia and eagle rays. A favorite dive in this area is the MV Maverick, a 280-foot ferry that sits in 100 feet of water. Its superstructure rises to 50 feet and is often engulfed in schools of baitfish, rainbow runners and patrolling snappers. Second dives are often conducted at Arnos Vale, where an intricate network of nooks and crannies hide lobster, eels and Torpedo Rays. The action is very different on the opposite side of Crown Point, where coral plateaus rising from the deep waters of Columbus Channel. Here, sites such as Diver's Dream and Diver's Thirst are washed by north-flowing currents, which can range from less than a mile an hour to more than three. Drifts staged at depths from 20 to 60 feet carry divers over reefs that hold dense schools of fish, and are known for sightings of larger grouper, black tip and gray reef sharks, turtles and eagle rays, along with less-frequent encounters with manta rays and bull sharks. Closer to shore, currents are often milder at Flying Reef, which is known for huge formations of plate coral. Many of the island's most famous sites lie to the east, offshore of the village of Speyside. Eddies and counter currents swirl around the offshore landscapes of Little Tobago and Goat Island, creating a range of unique drift dives and nurturing thick forests of sponges and corals in vibrant hues of orange, green, purple, yellow and red. There are more than 25 dive sites in the Speyside area, including some of the most beautiful coral gardens the island has to offer and the largest brain coral in the Caribbean, which measures 12 feet high and 16 feet across. This is also the area where manta rays are most often encountered, and the starting point for longer boat rides to the dramatic rock formations of the St. Giles Islands. Among the signature dives in this area is the London Bridge, which is a pair of steep spires that rises from a depth of 100 feet to form an above-water arch. Divers can follow a narrow passage through the base of the arch, which often holds schools of fish. Other formations in the area deliver boulder fields, canyons and spires that attract tarpon, turtles and sharks. Many of these sites can also be reached from Chancellorsville Bay. Also nearby are the five uninhabited islands of the Sisters. These steep-sided rock spires rise from a field of large boulders at a depth of 130 feet to break the surface. Dive profiles usually involve a quick descent to the base followed by a spiraling circumnavigation that may result with a sighting of the hammerhead sharks that sometimes frequent this formation. Closer to shore, Boulder Valley provides a shallower adventure that leads divers through a maze of sponge and coral-encrusted boulders.