St. Eustatius · Caribbean Netherlands · Wall
Drop Off
An almost vertical drop at the island's southern tip
Area photo: SV Zanshin · CC BY-SA 3.0
At the southernmost point of the island the sea floor falls away almost vertically, and this is the dive that works that edge. Deep lava flows run down the face, groupers hold on the rock and reef sharks patrol along it, and the open water off the wall is where the pelagic action happens. Both operators list it as an advanced dive.
Also known as Drop Off East.
Where it is and how deep
17.4550° N, 62.9730° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The southern tip of the island is where the sea floor stops shelving and goes down almost vertically. Deep lava flows run out and over that edge, and the dive follows them: you drop onto the top of the drop-off, pick a working depth and swim the face rather than trying to reach a bottom that lies below anything recreational.
Reef sharks patrol along the wall and groupers sit into the rock, so the near face is worth watching as closely as the blue. Off the edge is where the pelagic traffic goes through, and the site is listed for it. Depth ratings differ between operators, from 30 m and beyond to past 40 m, so the sensible plan is to agree a maximum before splashing and work back up the face for the ascent.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef sharks
| 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.
Know before you go
- The wall goes far deeper than recreational limits and there is no shallow ground to drift onto, so fix a maximum depth and a turn pressure before the dive rather than following the terrain down.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Drop Off dive on Statia?+
Golden Rock lists it at 30 m and beyond, Scubaqua past 40 m; either way it is run as an advanced dive on an almost vertical wall.
What can you see at Drop Off?+
Groupers on the rock, reef sharks patrolling the face, and pelagic fish in the open water off the wall.
Sources
- Dive Sites at St. Eustatius — Golden Rock Dive Center
- 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
Muck & macro
Seventeenth-century Dutch beads in the sand at 17 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
Steep lava flows and narrow cracks dropping past 40 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A face that starts at 15 m and drops straight into the blue
Eagle rays off a sponge-hung wall on Turneffe's east coast
Near-vertical face of tube sponges, sea fans and black coral
A sand chute from 15 m to a coral ledge at 30 m