The green edge

Today, the Bianca C has assimilated herself nicely into Grenadian ecology. Spotted eagle rays frequent the wreck as do barracuda, reef and nurse sharks and some truly gigantic resident moray eels. And every inch of the wreck has become fertile territory for sponges, corals, anemone, blennies and ornamental fish of all sizes.

Depth and sometimes currents make the Bianca C an advanced dive and one that can be most thoroughly enjoyed by technical divers. But even those still early on the scuba learning curve can enjoy a trip to this most southerly of the Windward Islands. Dives such as “Purple Rain,” so called for its abundance of Creole wrasse, bottom out at about 80 feet, and you can drift-dive and enjoy sponge-, turtle- and coral-dense Kahonee Reef without once dipping below 45 feet.

That makes it the perfect complement to the Grenadian countryside, a place that includes Annandale Falls, a 50-foot waterfall cascading into a pool so perfect that it looks like a set designed for a Tarzan movie.

A little closer to the water, Grenada is famous for Grand Anse Beach, two miles of sand curving around a picture-perfect bay, and for its capital, St. George’s, where the Carnival spirit lives 365 days a year.  If your idea of the perfect dive vacation is a mixture of adventure, nature and just plain fun, then Grenada just might be the perfect way to spice up your life.

Hello, Columbus
Dominica
It’s been said that, if Christopher Columbus were transported to the 21^st century, the diminutive Lesser Antillean nation of Dominica would be one of the few places he would actually recognize.

Mountainous and wild, Dominica is unique among Caribbean islands in that it is still home to a significant population of individuals who are descended at least in part from the Kalinago, or Carib, people who were on the island when Columbus first visited in 1493. None too eager to turn their homeland over to European interlopers, the Kalinago resisted colonization and found Dominica’s dense rain forest and mountainous terrain excellent assets in that struggle; it  was one of the last islands in the Caribbean to be colonized. With the Kalinago, the English and the French all engaged in poking holes in one another over land rights, it’s little wonder the Kalinago once called the place “Waitukubuli,” The Land of Many Battles. Today the hostilities have been over for centuries, and the Kalinago are viewed as a national cultural treasure.

Ty Sawyer Discovering the wonders of Black Jack Hole

Some of Dominica’s interior still remains unexplored. While tourism is gaining traction, the lion’s share of the nation’s income still comes from the cultivation of bananas. This gives visiting and diving Dominica a real pith-helmet-and-compass feel. Above water, the topography goes from the tip of Morne Diablotins, a 4,700-foot volcano, to the sea with stunning steepness. And underwater, this tendency toward verticality continues. A true volcanic seamount, Dominica’s pinnacle-in-the-ocean stature attracts creatures of all sizes, ranging from the truly miniscule (seahorses) to the breathtakingly gargantuan (a resident pod of as many as a dozen sperm whales).

That, plus the diving is varied. It ranges from Champagne, where geothermal vents release bubbles in three to ten feet of water, to Scott’s Head Pinnacle, which stands up from a 120-foot sand bottom and features a swim-though, crustaceans and invertebrates galore. You can find batfish, frogfish, flying gurnards and more on Dominican dive sites. And anecdotal evidence shows that you’ll have a 50/50 chance of seeing dolphins every time the dive boat leaves the dock.

All of this happens against a topside tableau that is so beautifully wild, so serene and so laid-back, it’s little wonder many people on Dominica live to well beyond 100. And if Columbus were to come back today, we’re betting he’d stay.

Creature Comforts
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
St. Vincent and the Grenadines is all about pristine beaches, rain-forested volcanic ridges dropping steeply into the sea, hiking under dense green canopies and diving on sites where, if it weren’t for the mooring balls, you’d swear you were the first visitor.

SVG, as it’s known in the dive world, is composed of 32 islands with 150 square miles of land among them. Of this, nearly 133 square miles are occupied by the island of St. Vincent alone, with its 4,000-foot volcano called — as is the custom on other Caribbean islands with a French past — La Soufriere.

You’ll find evidence of La Soufriere’s fiery side underwater in the form of huge coral-and-sponge-covered boulders that were ejected and launched far out to sea when the volcano erupted in1902. Many of the dives along St. Vincent’s lee (western) side, such as Alternative Bay or New Guinea Reef, have steep slopes and are associated with volcanic origins. But dramatic topography is simply an attractive plus for those who dive here. The real draw is the critters.

Abundant plankton forms a nutritious foundation for St. Vincent marine life, and this southern Caribbean island is known for serving up unusual animal sightings on a regular basis. Frogfish, seahorses, sailfin blennies and eels of all species are not hard to find here; nor will you have to look far to find an azure vase sponge, bullseye lobsters or pencil corals. And on one site, Hans Reef, the “Hans” in question is reputed to be the world’s largest Caribbean reef lobster.

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