There are few places in the world that offer more unique scenic beauty and gorgeous dive

options than the British Virgin Islands. Lush coral gardens thrive on the sloping reefs that

surround the islands, many seamounts emerged from the seafloor, and a whole armada of

shipwrecks have been dozing in the deep water for centuries. The majority of established dive

sites lie opposite the Sir Francis Drake Channel from Tortola around the unpopulated islands of

Peter, Norman, Cooper, Salt, Ginger and Dead Chest where floundering ships never made it to

shore. The second largest island, Virgin Gorda is a bit more laid back than Tortola and

surrounded by the Dog Islands with very intriguing underwater landscapes complete with arches

and caves.

The wreck of RMS Rhone and other sunken ships

If you’ve followed diving in BVI at all, you’ve come upon the Royal Mail Shop Rhone, sunk in

1867 and now the most popular dive site in the islands. Consider dedicating a day to diving here.

Even though the Rhone has been underwater for more than 150 years, the ship in a remarkable

state of preservation. It’s still filled with many fascinating historic artifacts (you can still see the

silverware!) with more scattered in the surrounding waters. The ship blew apart when the boiler

explored, with the stern landing in 35 feet of water, while the bow, at 80 feet below the surface,

is positioned to allow exploring its cavernous interior. You’ll be swimming with snappers,

barracudas, morays, octopuses and more.

About 12 miles northwest of Virgin Gorda (only reached by chartered yacht), the 246-foot

Chikuzen, a recent addition to underwater crafts, was a Korean refrigerator ship brought in to

service a Japanese fishing fleet. Today it rests in 75 feet of remote and quiet water, the only place

for marine life to congregate anywhere in site. That makes it a magnet for marine life. Snappers,

grunts, and jacks, as well as schooling barracudas are coupled with sharks, cobia, and rays. There

is also a purported 600-pound Goliath Grouper roaming around. The starboard rail, which can be

reached through open hatches, runs for 50 feet.

The Kodiak Queen is another even more recent BVI diving wreck. One of only five US Navy

ships that survived the Pearl Harbor attack in Hawaii, it became a fishing boat after the war. It

was discovered rusting in a Road Town junkyard and with the help of Sir Richard Branson was

purposefully sunk off the shore of Long Bay on Virgin Gorda. Placed next to a kraken of the sea

monster underwater sculpture, the tentacles were wrapped around the ship. Since it has only

been underwater since 2017, it offers a different kind of experience where you can see the actual

structure, not yet covered with coral and other sea life.

For more shipwrecks, Wreck Alley, just off Cooper Island, is the site of four separate sunken

ships. The most recent descended in 2009, yet it is now covered with lots brightly colored

marine life plus home to large garden eels, massive green moray eels, angelfish, barracuda and

lobsters. Be sure to carry a light to see inside all the fascinating twisted, hulking wrecks.

Beautiful Sea Life & more

Located just off the tip of Norman Island, Angelfish Reef is a maze of rocky canyons and

slopping ridges on the reef where angelfish, triggerfish, lobsters and eels have found great places

to hide. Extensive sea grass beds below deliver a great habitat for sea reptiles, including turtles

which can be viewed in abundance. The grassy bottom also attracts seahorses, masters of

camouflage which can be spotted by only the keenest eyes.

The visually stunning Painted Walls dive site, with colorful canyons that serve as unique

passageways for swimming, is perfect for beginners. Thin partitions between the rocks deliver

dramatic silhouettes of light with fish darting between the crevices against a dark backdrop.

Much of this beauty is created by sunlight penetrating far into the water, making the beautiful

corals and sea life a kaleidoscope of colors. As you swim through the canyons, you’ll be

followed by schools of fish, punctuated with stingrays and green turtles. Colorful lobsters hide

among the white, yellow, green, orange, and purple sponges.

While scuba diving in the British Virgin Islands, you can’t miss the Chimney, one of Jacque

Cousteau’s favorite diving sites. Two rock formations that come together to form a gap that

resembles a chimney are surrounded by canyons, ridges and other underwater structures lying

parallel to the shore. The shallow water filled with penetrating sunlight makes the turtles, eels,

groupers, snapper, trigger fish, and rays easy to spot. Bring a dive light and look up under the

overhangs filled with cup corals and brightly colored sponges.

One of the most interesting dive sites in the BVI is Blonde Rock which rises 60 feet from the sea

floor to within just 15 feet below the surface. This is one of the many seamounts found in these

waters, remnants of the violent volcanic upheavals that originally formed the chain of islands.

The crevasses, ledges and honeycombs that formed in the molten rock as it cooled underwater,

are home to an unusual abundance of sea creatures that find shelter here.



And the British Virgin Islands may be one of the only places on earth where you can dive

through Fred Flintstone’s and Barney Rubble’s Bedrock homes. The site, filled with boulders,

rocky outcroppings, ledges, caves, and crevices are home to colorful, wonderful marine life of all

shapes and sizes.

Ask your LaRoma Yacht concierge to assist to arrange transportation or a charter to any one of

these wonderful dive spots. Keep in mind, the British Virgin Islands are one of the best places

for divers in the world.