Diving

Dive operators around Virgin Gorda [1] often take divers to Mountain Point at the end of the island’s westernmost tip, where overhangs and caves make for exciting diving. Conditions here can be rough in the winter. Another nice dive site is The Invisibles, named because it lies almost invisibly under the sea east of Necker Island, north of Virgin Gorda. A twin-rock pinnacle here attracts reef fish as well as the occasional pelagic species.

Dive operators and day sails from Virgin Gorda often take passengers to the Dogs, a cluster of islands that lie between Virgin Gorda and Beef Island [2]. The Chimneys, at the western end of Great Dog, is a site popular with both divers and snorkelers, who can admire underwater archways and tunnels. Other popular sites are Bronco Billy’s, reputedly named by Jacques Cousteau himself, between Cockroach Island and Seal Dog, and Wall-to-Wall, which is usually packed with schooling fish.

Another popular site for Virgin Gorda dive operators is the Chikuzen, a wreck lying northwest of the island. The Chikuzen, a 246-foot refrigeration ship, sank in 1981, and its carcass attracts pelagic fish species, eagle rays, sharks, and many more species.

There are dive shops in the Valley [3] and North Sound [4]. Dive BVI Ltd. (Yacht Harbour and Leverick Bay, 284/495-5513 or 800/848-7078, www.divebvi.com [5]) has been around for more than 30 years and gets consistently high marks from customers. On Tuesdays and Fridays Dive BVI offers a day trip to Anegada. It also rents diver propulsion vehicles (underwater scooters) to divers with proper certification.

Or try Kilbride’s Sunchaser Scuba (Bitter End, 284/495-9638 or 800/932-4286, www.sunchaserscuba.com [6]), named after Bert Kilbride, its founder and one of the BVI’s first underwater explorers and discoverer of many wrecks.

Expect to pay about $120 for a two-tank dive.