A Guide to Scuba Diving From Your Yacht in St. Maarten and the Surrounding Islands

St. Barths - Dive Sites # 12, 13 & 14

DIVE SITE #12 - St. Barthelemy / St. Barths (French)
LA BALEINE OUTSIDE GUSTAVIA HARBOUR
Depth: 24ft - 57ft 1 7m - 17m CORAL PINNACLE
Yacht Anchorage: Anchor off Ans de Corossol or off Fort Oscar. Both are well protected in normal trade wind conditions, but can be rolly in northerly or westerly swells. Corossol has a nice beach while the Fort Oscar anchorage is a shorter dinghy ride into Gustavia Harbour.
Dive Site: Anchor your dinghy over the shallow patch (24ft /17m) north of La Baleine, which is the small rocky pinnacle which just breaks to surface ESE of the navigational (Cardinal) buoy shown on the sketch chart. This is an excellent dive site with very pretty hard and soft corals and plenty of reef fish. Here you will see giant barrel sponges reaching to five or six feet in height.
Sea Conditions: This dive site is only affected by strong trade winds and rare onshore winds, or northerly and westerly swells.

DIVE SITE #13 - St. Barthelemy / St. Barths (French)
NONSTOP WRECK OUTSIDE GUSTAVIA HARBOUR
Depth: 2Oft / I6m to top of keel of upside down wreck and 50ft /1 5m to sand bottom next to wreck.
Yacht Anchorage: The same as for Dive Site #12.
Dive Site: The wreck of the Nonstop lies just to the east of La Baleine. The 200ft Nonstop, which was a well known, luxury motor yacht, sank during hurricane Hugo, the centre of which passed approximately 40 nautical miles southwest of St. Barths during September 1989. After unsuccessful salvage attempts, Nonstop now lies upside down with its bow pointing approximately south and its upper superstructure crushed. Many varied hard and soft corals have taken hold on the steel hull and the wreck is teeming with a large variety of reef fish. Do not attempt to penetrate the wreck and exercise caution as this wreck is reported to be breaking up as of August 1997.
Sea Conditions: As per Dive Site #12

DIVE SITE #14 - St. Barthelemy / St. Barths (French) GROS ILETS
Depth: 30ft-45ft / 19m - 13.5m
Yacht Anchorage: The same as for Dive Site #12.
Dive Site: There are two white buoys for dinghies but please note that Gustavia dive clubs have preferential use of them. This is the best easily accessible dive site in the Gustavia area with very pretty hard and soft corals and abundant reef fish. This is also an excellent snorkeling site.
Sea Conditions: As per Dive Site #12.

A guide to

SCUBA DIVING FROM YOUR YACHT

In the waters of St. Maarten / St. Martin and St. Barths

Dive site 7 and 8 (Ile Fourche)
Dive site 9, 10 and 11 (St Barths)
Dive site 12, 13 and 14 (St Barths)
Anguilla, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts & Nevis

Dive Where You Want, When You Want

At The Scuba Shop, we make it easy to pair your love of sailing with the freedom of diving. From convenient airport access and gear rentals to detailed dive site guidance and lagoon-side pick-up services, every aspect of your trip is designed for maximum flexibility. Whether you’re exploring shallow reefs just off the anchorages or venturing further to surrounding islands, our services ensure a smooth, stress-free experience from start to finish. By combining expert support, high-quality equipment, and unmatched local knowledge, The Scuba Shop makes St. Maarten / St. Martin the ideal destination for your next sailing and diving vacation.