Caribbean · Martinique
Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
Ships sunk by Mount Pelée's 1902 eruption lie in Saint-Pierre bay
Photo: Waielbi · CC BY-SA 3.0
Martinique's Caribbean coast runs from the bay of Saint-Pierre in the north, where ships sunk in the eruption of Mount Pelée on 8 May 1902 rest on the seabed, to Rocher du Diamant in the south. Clubs at Saint-Pierre, Les Anses d'Arlet, Le Diamant and Trois-Îlets work the coast, mixing the historic wrecks with walls, canyons and rocky plateaus between 6 and 38 m. The draw is a bay of wrecks sent down by a volcano.
About diving in Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
Every dive here is a short boat run or a beach entry along the Caribbean coast. At Saint-Pierre the boat waits off the beach in front of the club and reaches the sites in 5 to 20 minutes; three of the wrecks, the Biscaye, the Dahlia and the Diamant, lie 200 m from the town pontoon and 50 m from one another. In the south, boats leave Grande Anse d'Arlet for sites 10 to 15 minutes away, some dives start straight from the beach, and dives run by day and by night. A club at Anse à l'Âne runs two trips a day, along the coast between Les Trois-Îlets and Le Diamant and north to Saint-Pierre.
The bay of Saint-Pierre holds the wrecks of the eruption of 8 May 1902, now resting on the floor of the bay. The Biscaye, one of the three hulls near the pontoon, is explored between 30 and 38 m, and at these depths decompression stops come quickly. Away from the hulls the coast drops in steps: rocky plateaus crowded with fish, walls that fall past 60 m, and canyons. The shallow Amélie sits inside a nature reserve, and the protection has turned it into a natural aquarium.
Most of the good sites are open from level 1 with an instructor, so a newly certified diver can join the boats to Rocher du Diamant. The Saint-Pierre wrecks need level 2, and the Tamaya is a trimix dive, so the north rewards divers with deep experience and steady air consumption. Divers who come mainly for sharks should look elsewhere, as they appear only rarely on this coast.
Best time to dive Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
The dry season runs from December to April, and February to April is the best stretch underwater, with visibility reaching 30 m and the water between 26 and 28 °C. May stays diveable before the wet season, or hivernage, sets in from June to November. September and October are the months to avoid because of the cyclone risk, and the island is vulnerable to devastating hurricanes every eight years on average. The Saint-Pierre boats still run all year, and the water stays warm through the wet months.
Dive types & marine life
Sea turtles can be seen in every month. Barracuda and turtles are seen at Rocher du Diamant, where manta rays turn up now and then, and stingrays and turtles are regulars in the Babodi canyons. Lemon and nurse sharks appear only rarely, off the Diamant rock and in the bay of Saint-Pierre.
- Wreck
- Wall
- Sea turtles
- Barracuda
- Stingrays
Best dive sites in Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
- 1
Roraima
Liner sunk in the 1902 eruption, with the bow at 36 m and the anchors down to 60 m
- 2
Rocher du Diamant
Rock facing the beach town of Le Diamant, open to divers from level 1
- 3
Nahoon
Sailing ship scuttled in 1993 to create an artificial dive site
- 4
Canyons de Babodi
Canyons from 12 m to beyond 60 m where stingrays and turtles pass regularly
- 5
Tombant et Plateau des Ancres
Rocky plateau at 12 to 20 m above a wall that drops past 60 m
- 6
Amélie
Scattered wreck pieces at 9 m at most, very easy to reach
- 7
La Perle
Rock in the north of the island, dived only when the weather allows
- 8
Tamaya
Sailing ship on her starboard side at 85 m, a trimix dive
Site guides
Wreck
Scattered pieces of the Belem's sister ship in a shallow reserve
A copper-sheathed cod schooner once mistaken for La Gabrielle
Wreck
A US-built minesweeper that burned in Saint-Pierre harbour
Wreck
The Fort-de-France ferry that sank fleeing the 1902 eruption
Wreck
A three-master scuttled in 1993 to make a dive site
An arch and a fissure cut into an islet off Pointe du Diamant
The largest wreck in Saint-Pierre bay, a steamship lost to the 1902 eruption
An iron barque on her side at 85 m, the grail of Saint-Pierre diving
How to get to Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
Flights land at Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport in Le Lamentin, a suburb of Fort-de-France. Shared taxis run from Fort-de-France to Saint-Pierre and Le Diamant, and a ferry crosses the bay to Trois-Îlets. Dive centres sit at Saint-Pierre, Grande Anse d'Arlet, Le Diamant and Trois-Îlets.
Photos from Martinique — Saint-Pierre Wrecks & Rocher du Diamant
Waielbi · CC BY-SA 3.0
Emmanuel Maros (IFREMER, Pôle Ifremer par le mot et l'image, Centre Bretagne - ZI de la Pointe du Diable - CS 10070 - 29 · CC BY 4.0
Redjanek · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dive videos
Martinique - Plongée dans la réserve Albert Falco - Saint Pierre · Benoit San Nicolas et Cathy Matera on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification is needed to dive the Saint-Pierre wrecks?+
The Saint-Pierre wrecks call for level 2, and the Nahoon is open from PE40. Rocher du Diamant and most of the other good sites are open from level 1 with an instructor.
When is the best time to dive Martinique?+
February to April, in the dry season, brings the best visibility. September and October are best avoided because of cyclone risk, although the Saint-Pierre boats run all year.
Can Saint-Pierre and Rocher du Diamant be dived from one base?+
Yes. A club at Anse à l'Âne runs two boat trips a day, along the coast between Les Trois-Îlets and Le Diamant and north to the Saint-Pierre wrecks.
Is there shore diving?+
Some dives start straight from the beach at Grande Anse d'Arlet. The Saint-Pierre wrecks are dived by boat, with the closest only 200 m from the town pontoon.
Sources
- Club de plongée sous-marine en Martinique | Apapadlo Plongée — Apapadlo Plongée
- Centre de Plongée aux Anses d'Arlet | O Fil de l'Eau Martinique — O Fil de l'Eau
- Top spots de plongée en Martinique — Air Caraïbes
- La plongée en Martinique : le guide pratique — Lonely Planet France
- Saint-Pierre Average Sea Temperatures | Martinique — SeaTemperature.org
- Martinique — Wikivoyage
- Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- A red-and-white banded shrimp with long white antennae stands on a pink sponge by Waielbi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A flatfish patterned with blue rings and spots lies on a mottled rocky seabed by Waielbi, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A white eel with dark spots winds between coral heads, with a small grey fish and a black spiny urchin by Emmanuel Maros (IFREMER, Pôle Ifremer par le mot et l'image, Centre Bretagne - ZI de la Pointe du Diable - CS 10070 - 29, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- A blue bay with moored sailboats and a shoreline town below a green, cloud-capped mountain by Redjanek, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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