Frederiksted Pier
Dive site
The Frederiksted cruise pier on St Croix's west coast is one of the Caribbean's great macro and night dives. Pilings colonised over decades host an improbable density of invertebrate life — seahorses clinging to wire coral, frogfish frozen in ambush on sponges, banded shrimp, arrow crabs, and juvenile fish sheltering in every crevice. Visibility is typically low by Caribbean standards but that forces you to slow down and look closely, which is where the magic is. Night dives here are legendary: octopus, squid, and Spanish lobster emerge while huge tarpon orbit the pier lights.
Conditions
Depth
3 to 12 m
Good for beginners
Current
Variable
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
4 to 10 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
25 to 30°C
Shorty wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 |
| Vis (m) | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Current | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm | calm |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Lined seahorse
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Longlure frogfish
Photo: terence zahner · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Atlantic tarpon
Photo: Rachel Andres-Beck · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Caribbean reef squid
Photo: Matteo Cassella · CC BY-SA
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Banded coral shrimp
Photo: uwkwaj · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Field journal
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