Undercurrent reader
Rivka Arieli got in a two
and a half week trip to
Dominica in November
staying with friends and
mostly diving the northwest
end with Cabrits Dive
Center near Portsmouth
and writes of “really unusual dive sites with tremendous
variety and colors in sponges and an amazing
variety of critters, huge basket stars, weird shapes of
barrel sponges (storm damage healed over?). Much
of the diving was on sites that are relatively unexplored
or previously unknown.
“Cabrits is a very friendly and helpful shop, but
no cover on their open custom-built aluminum skiff.
This is not fun in pounding tropical rain and wind
— November is definitely the rainy season, and it
can be ferocious! This is more ‘adventure diving’
than anything else. The owner is highly experienced
and an excellent diver, but the other staff needed to
learn more about boat-tending and diving.
“I did go to the south side of Dominica and got
in a few dives with Dive Dominica. Their dive sites
were great. Different from the north end of the
island, but just as good. All their dive sites were
buoyed—in contrast to the anchor drops at Cabrits
where anchor damage was evident.
“I found Dive Dominica a safe operation. I had
requested diving on the Atlantic side, but surf and
current were strong, and fellow divers not as
experienced, so we retreated to a protected pinnacle
on the Caribbean side. Disappointing, but
SAFE!
“Every one of the four sites with DD was quite
different from the others. One site offered us
almost a dozen seahorses in various sizes and colors.
Gadzillions of critters everywhere—you need your
underwater-critter-identification books for
Dominica—north or south.”
Cabrits Dive Center : Telephone: 767-445-3010