Saba · Caribbean Netherlands · Reef
Customs House
A loaf-shaped reef with a roughtail stingray cleaning station
Area photo: Patrick Hawks · CC BY 2.0
Customs House is a rectangular block of reef in Ladder Bay, about 20 m deep and described locally as a loaf of bread for its shape. It is a moderate-depth dive on the sheltered west coast with a roughtail stingray cleaning station on it, and fields of garden eels standing out of the sand around the base.
Where it is and how deep
17.6334° N, 63.2569° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reef sits in about 20 m of water off Ladder Bay and takes its name from the abandoned structure on the cliff edge overlooking the bay. Its shape does most of the navigation for you: a rectangular block with defined sides, which is why it gets described as a loaf of bread. The dive starts on the sandy area beside it and is then worked multilevel, up and over the sloping reef and back.
Work the sand as much as the rock. Fields of garden eels rise and fall as you advance on them and retreat again, and southern and roughtail stingrays use a cleaning station here, so several individuals may be present and being tended at once. Off the reef, drooping sponges, gorgonians and black coral trees grow on the slope, and reef sharks pass by out in the blue. The depth leaves enough gas in hand to slow down over the cleaning station rather than pass it once.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Reef sharks
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows Saba: December–April offers the calmest seas for pinnacle access; September–October bring the highest hurricane risk.
Know before you go
- PADI describes the reef tapering to greater depths than the 20 m published for the site, so set a maximum depth before you drop rather than following the slope down.
Sources
- Customs House dive site — PADI
- Best Diving sites in Saba — Divezone
- Diving in Saba - Dutch Caribbean — Dive The World
More dive sites in Saba
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A cave under the overhangs, and reef sharks out in the blue
Pinnacle
A full circuit of the rock, then up the canyon on its northeast side
Pinnacle
A needle-thin pillar rising to 27 m, dived with Third Encounter
Boulders down to sand at 23 m, elkhorn coral in the shallows
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Muck & macro
Open sand off the harbour, searched for batfish and blennies
Pinnacle
A narrow sponge ridge topping out at 33.5 m in open water
Pinnacle
A pinnacle at 27 m with outcrops at 37 m, dived for the sharks
Similar dives elsewhere
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A coral-covered French anchor of the 1750s, hooked into the reef
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