St. Eustatius · Caribbean Netherlands · Muck & macro
Blue Bead Hole
Seventeenth-century Dutch beads in the sand at 17 m
Area photo: SV Zanshin · CC BY-SA 3.0
A mixed bottom of coral heads, sand patches and sea grass between the old harbour and the reefs on the southern corner of the island, dived to 17 m. Seventeenth-century Dutch beads may be found in the sand here, which is what the site is named for, and flying gurnards live on the same ground.
Where it is and how deep
17.4690° N, 62.9820° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The ground is a mix rather than a reef: coral heads standing on their own, patches of open sand between them, and beds of sea grass filling the gaps, all of it within 17 m of the surface. The site sits between the old harbour and the reefs on the southern corner of the island, so it is a shallow, unhurried dive once you are down.
Most of the dive goes on the sand. Seventeenth-century Dutch beads may be found in the bottom here and are the reason the site has its name, so the diving is largely a slow hover with your eyes a metre from the ground. That same style of diving is what turns up the flying gurnards that live on this bottom, spreading their fins as they move off across the sand.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows St. Eustatius: Nov–Jun is calmest with the clearest water; Aug–Oct hurricane season regularly closes the exposed western sites.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Blue Bead Hole?+
Seventeen metres at its deepest, over a bottom of coral heads, sand and sea grass, which makes it an Open Water dive.
Can you find blue beads at Blue Bead Hole?+
The site is named for the seventeenth-century Dutch beads that may be found in its sand, and hunting for them is what most divers spend the tank doing.
Sources
- St. Eustatius Dive Sites — Scubaqua
More dive sites in St. Eustatius
Reef
A coral-covered French anchor of the 1750s, hooked into the reef
Reef
Barracuda over a volcanic mini-wall, in groups of five to twenty
Reef
A small coral island with a vertical wall, to 19 m
Wreck
A 100 m cable layer with a 40 m cable corridor through her hull
Wreck
A 52 m Taiwanese trawler, top at 15 m and seabed at 27 m
Reef
Ballast fused into the shape of a ship, and two anchors at 18 m
Wall
An almost vertical drop at the island's southern tip
Wall
Steep lava flows and narrow cracks dropping past 40 m
Similar dives elsewhere
Open sand off the harbour, searched for batfish and blennies
Seahorses, batfish and flying gurnards under a cruise ship dock
Black sand to 20 metres with regular rhinopias sightings
The original longfin grouper reef, open only in late autumn