SAINT VINCENT: SECRETS OF THE CARIBBEAN

Weird and rare creatures

Saturday 4th February - Sunday 12th February 2006 (9 days)

Leader: Alex Mustard

Group size limit: 9 divers plus leader

"It's the Caribbean's version of North Sulawesi!" an American photographer friend told Alex Mustard when he first asked him about diving in Saint Vincent. "It's got walls, reefs and sandy slopes, but most of all it has critters, loads of fabulous critters," he continued. "I guess where it differs from Sulawesi is that it hasn't really been discovered, yet." Alex was sold. The Caribbean is not well known for creatures, but that is because St Vincent's diving is not well known.

Your first glimpse of St Vincent will be on the short flight from Barbados over some of the clearest turquoise sea. The small and mountainous island of St Vincent, just 18 miles long and 11 miles wide, is in the Windward Islands, at the top of the tumbling chain of exotic islands that make up the Grenadines. 'Pirates of the Caribbean' was filmed here. St Vincent is easy to get to in one day from the UK, and with a time difference of only four hours, it makes an ideal escape from windy, cold, dismal, grey February days in the UK. February is during the dry season in St Vincent and the constant trade winds temper the tropical heat, making for very pleasant temperatures. For great underwater photography one needs clear, preferably warm water, good ambient light and great guides. St Vincent supplies the former and Alex Mustard and our dive centre will provide the latter.

Despite being part of the Commonwealth, St Vincent is better known to American divers and is occasionally featured in their two big magazines. Sport Diver (USA) proclaims it as "the critter capital of the Caribbean", while Scuba Diving readers voted it "the number one small animal destination in the world". The variety of creatures is far too extensive to list here. But briefly, frogfish and seahorses are common, eels are everywhere, particularly unusual and photogenic varieties such as snake eels, Spotted Spoon-nosed Eel and Viper Eel. Alex's personal favourites are the bottom dwelling Pancake Batfish and Shortnose Batfish (no relation to the Indo-Pacific batfish, also known as spadefish), which are so bizarre that they make frogfish look normal! St Vincent is also exceptional for invertebrates, with a multitude of shrimps and crabs, and is one of the best places to find unusual Caribbean nudibranchs. Photographers will be particularly interested to note that almost all of these creatures are endemic to the Caribbean. You won't find Pike Blennies or Sailfin Blennies in you photos from Papua New Guinea! Even the frogfish and seahorses are species only found in the Caribbean. A real highlight is an encounter with the Atlantic Long Arm Octopus, the rare Caribbean cousin of the Mimic Octopus and Wonderpus. But if it is octopuses (or octopi!) that you are looking for then you will also have the choice of Two-spot, Atlantic Pygmy, Caribbean Reef and Common.

Colour also plays its part in drawing divers to St Vincent. The reefs are vibrant, lush and magnificent. Sponges are clothed in brittle stars and shrimps wave their purple and white 'arms' enticingly at divers. Corkscrew anemones host both Red Snapping Shrimps and Cleaner Shrimps, so watch out if you are placing your finger near an anemone hoping for a manicure.

Just like the critter hotspots of Southeast Asia, St Vincent is volcanic and lush. Steep basalt cliffs, with vegetation sprouting from every crevice, plunge into the ocean creating dramatic walls. Underwater, these are divided by more gentle topography, either boulder strewn 'aqua-scapes' or black volcanic sand slopes. It is this mishmash of habitats, juxtaposed in a small area, which allows the island to support such a variety of unusual marine life.

This is definitely a trip for the photographer with a strong interest in macro work, but there is scope also for some wide-angle work amongst the tumbling boulders, or the forest of black coral. Masses of Tubastrea , or orange cup coral, 'flowers' at night. Diving conditions are easy in flat seas and without strong currents. We will be diving with an operator with unparalleled experience of finding St Vincent's critters. The dives are long and slow and you will be free to explore on your own or to follow the guides, but following the guides is an excellent idea in a place like St Vincent, where they have huge experience and know where all the creatures live. We will make two leisurely dives during the day, followed on most days by a late afternoon or night dive.

This trip will be led by marine biologist Dr Alexander Mustard, who first visited St Vincent more than 15 years ago. Alex has a great deal of experience of Caribbean marine life and will be on hand throughout the trip and happy to answer questions or just talk creatures. Alex is also a well-known underwater photographer and will be happy to pass on tips and advice informally during the week. There will be no formal photographic teaching during this week, but Alex will give a couple of informal lectures (probably in the vicinity of the bar) on marine life on the evenings that we are not diving.

Above water St Vincent is a fascinating island with great natural beauty. The landscape is dominated by jagged volcanic mountains, draped in lush rainforest mixed with banana and coconut plantations. The main town on St Vincent, Kingstown, is characterized by colonial architecture and a vibrant West Indian culture. Our very comfortable, elegant and intimate hotel is just a few minutes walk from the dive centre. All bedrooms have air-conditioning and en-suite bathroom, cable TV, direct dial telephone and private sea-view balcony. Relax with a refreshing fruit cocktail between dives, or with something a little stronger when the diving is over, at the beach bar. Mop up a few rays beside the swimming pool while you contemplate your next dive, or read up on the fabulous creatures you will have seen. The hotel boasts a French creole restaurant with the emphasis on seafood. Try local fish soup for starters and move on to shrimps in a mango coconut salsa or a creole curry (with chips, of course, this being the English-speaking Caribbean). How about a chocolate torte or a tropical fruit salad to round off your meal?

With accommodation in a very pleasant hotel and an island with lovely holiday facilities, this trip can be recommended for non-diving partners who can visit the market in Kingstown (Fridays and Saturdays), visit the lovely Botanical Gardens, take a fast ferry to visit neighbouring Bequia or even take a day or two relaxing by the pool.

Itinerary

Saturday 4th February: Virgin Atlantic morning flight from London (Gatwick) bound for Barbados, connecting with a LIAT flight to St Vincent arriving in the late afternoon. Transfer to the hotel for a 7 nights stay.

Sunday 5th February - Thursday 9th February: Five days of diving with 2 dives in the morning and one in the afternoon or evening.

Friday 10th February: Two morning dives and a free afternoon to dry gear, relax round the pool or explore St Vincent

Saturday 11th February: After a relaxing breakfast, return to the airport for an early afternoon flight to Barbados connecting with the early evening flight to London.

Sunday 12th February : Morning arrival at London (Gatwick).

£1764 London/London (or £1182 St Vincent/St Vincent)

Non-divers: £1146 London/London (or £564 St Vincent/St Vincent)

Includes:

" Scheduled flights London (Gatwick)/Barbados/St Vincent/Barbados/London (Gatwick) by Virgin Atlantic and LIAT.

" Airport transfers.

" 7 nights room and breakfast hotel accommodation on a twin/share basis.

" 6 days of diving (3 boat dives per day, but only 2 boat dives on the last day), dive guide, cylinders and weights.

" Services of Alex Mustard as group leader.

Important: The airfare component of the tour price is a typical economy fare available at the time of going to press. We will quote you the airfare applicable, based on current fare levels and booking class availability, at the time of booking, based on your individual requirements (for example, you may want to extend your holiday, or travel from an airport other than London, or use a different airline). Our quote, which will include all taxes and fuel supplements applicable at the time of quotation, as well as our service charge, may be higher or lower than the airfare included here.

Single Occupancy Supplement: £175. Please note that, while we will endeavour to find a room-mate for those on the expedition who are travelling alone and would prefer to share accommodation, in the event of a room-mate not being available the single occupancy supplement will apply. Room-mates will be allocated on a first-come first served basis.

Deposit: £300

Note: Should two divers travelling together apply for the last place on the tour, we may, at our discretion, increase the group size limit by one.

Extending your stay: If you would like to extend your stay on St Vincent you can do so for £120 per night including three dives per day (single occupancy supplement £25 per night). Alternatively, as daily flights connect St Vincent with both St Lucia and Dominica. Why not take some time to explore one or both of these lovely islands, staying at romantic Ti Kaye Village on St Lucia or Castle Comfort Lodge or Fort Young Hotel in beautiful Dominica. For details, please see the St Lucia and Dominica entries earlier in this brochure. Please contact our office for inter-island flight costs.