St. Croix · U.S. Virgin Islands · Artificial reef · Muck & macro · Night
Frederiksted Pier
A 7 m shore dive that photographers run day and night
Photo: Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view · CC BY 2.0
The dive at Frederiksted is the structure under the town pier: pilings standing in about 7 m of water, with seahorses, batfish and frogfish living on and around them. It is a shore dive, shallow enough for first-time and resort-course divers, and night diving is one of the standard ways it is run.
Also known as Ann E. Abramson Marine Facility.
Where it is and how deep
17.7139° N, 64.8883° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is a shallow dive from start to finish. The pilings and the creatures on them sit at about 7 m, so the profile is flat and the limit on the dive is your gas rather than your computer. The standard version is a shore dive and needs no boat ride at all, which is why the site doubles as a training and resort-course dive; boats and sailing charters come alongside the 1 m access platforms built onto the pier itself, whose deck stands 3 m above the water at the outer end.
What divers come for is small. Seahorses, batfish and frogfish live down among the pilings at 7 m, and the site's reputation rests on underwater photography rather than on wide-angle reef scenery. Night diving is one of the standard ways it is run, and the shallow, sheltered profile suits it: a torch, a long unhurried dive and time to work one section of the structure rather than cover ground. Extended shore diving on the same pilings is the other way people use the site.
Background
The original pier was destroyed in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo and ravaged again in 1995 by Hurricane Marilyn. Some of the old structure was used as landfill for the platform of the current pier, but most of it was removed and sunk two miles north in 34 m (110 ft) of water, where it now forms a separate dive site known as Armageddon.
Marine life and season
- Frogfish
- 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. Croix: Nov–Jun is calmest and clearest; Aug–Oct is hurricane season, though the pier and shore walls stay divable in most weather.
Dive videos
Epic St. Croix SCUBA Dive at the Frederiksted Pier · Cane Bay Dive Shop on YouTube
Scuba Diving St. Croix's Most Diverse Site! (Frederiksted Pier Underwater Family Travel Vlog) · Triton's Realm on YouTube
ST Croix 2020 Frederiksted Pier Dive · Kenny & Danette PhD Horne on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Frederiksted Pier?+
About 7 m. The pilings and the animals that live on them sit at that depth, which is why the pier works for first-time and resort-course divers as well as for photographers who want a long, shallow dive.
Is Frederiksted Pier a good night dive?+
Yes — night diving is one of the standard ways the site is run. The dive is shallow and entered from shore, and the animals it is known for, including seahorses, batfish and frogfish, are found among the pilings at about 7 m.
Sources
- Frederiksted Pier — Wikipedia
Photo credits
- Frederiksted's town pier stretching out over the water, with people walking its length by Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view, CC BY 2.0, via Openverse
In The Logbook
- Why things look bigger underwaterOcean science · 12 min read
- Frogfish: species, behaviour and where to diveMacro & muck · 12 min read
- Why your ears hurt diving, and how to stop itBody & health · 8 min read
- The best muck diving in the worldMacro & muck · 6 min read
- The best shore dives in the worldShore diving · 8 min read
More dive sites in St. Croix
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Wreck
Three sunk ships and a retired underwater habitat in one bay
Wall
Nineteenth-century anchors lie along a wall that drops past 975 m
Two facing walls a quarter mile apart, cut by a prehistoric river
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