My Favorite Warm Water Dives

Some of the best warm water wreck diving is off the shore of Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. It is in this area that the NAZI subs were sinking cargo ships at the beginning of World War II. In the summer the water temperature will be in the eighties and the fish will be tropical.

Probably the most famous wreck is the U352 which was sunk by a Coast Guard Cutter in relatively shallow water. The submarine went down with all hands. All the human remains have been removed and the wreck is now home to much aquatic life mostly notably bait fish and sharks. You will normally see both in abundance at the site.

The area also has an oil tanker and several ships sunk as artificial reefs. Most recently the area has become home to many Lion Fish which are native to the Pacific but have been transported here.

Belize has some of the most unspoiled reefs I have seen. I have been there three times each time aboard the Nekton Pilot. The advantage of the live aboard boats is they can go where the day boats cannot and therefore the reefs have not seen the traffic of the close in sites.

My most recent trip in March of 2007 the water was warm and calm. We saw eagle rays and turtles every day. The tarpon hang out by the boat particularly as dusk approaches as they anticipate hunting in the light from you flash light during you night dive.

Bonaire is one of the ABC islands made up of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Bonaire is known for its shore diving. If you rent a small jeep or van and drive around with your equipment you can pull over at any of the many rocks painted red with a white stripe, put on your equipment and go diving.

Bonaire is a crescent shaped island with the inside of the crescent on the leeward side so there are rarely any waves.

If you do boat diving you will likely visit the small uninhabited out island of Kline Bonaire. Other famous sites include the town pier - reservations required, - 1,000 steps - there are really only about 150 steps to the beach, - and the wreck of the Hilma Hooker.

Be aware this is a large European destination and the beach attire is not always what we are accustomed to.

While Grand Cayman gets all the PR for my tastes it is too crowded, the reefs are too beat up and it is too expensive.

Little Cayman requires a short flight to a grass runway. The island is small enough that you can borrow a bicycle with no gears and circle the island in less than and hour.

The diving is world class. Every dive is to a different type of reef; walls, large coral heads, shallow, deep. The groupers are so tame you can pet them. You will see protected lobster, conch and every other aquatic life available in the Caribbean.

Warning: there is nothing else to do except dive so this is the place to dive not bring you none diving spouse.

I have been to Roatan twice. The first time the main road was a dirt track that challenged the kidneys. It was also part of the charm.

Since my first trip it seems like the island became more modern and the aquatic life seems to have decreased. It is still well worth the trip.

If you are thinking of going I would recommend spending the little extra to go the Anthony's Key. The resort is wonderful and they have dolphins on site. All the rooms are individual buildings and the island rooms are out over the water.

This sister Island of Aruba and Bonaire has exquisite untouched reefs. My favorite dive was a wreck called the car wreck. Apparently there was a ship delivering cars to the island. When it sank it rolled down the sloping reef. Every time it was upside down it dropped cars and as a result there is a line of cars then reef, then another line of cars and so on down the reef until it is too deep to dive.

The island is a port for cruise ships so downtown is deserted except when there is a ship in port. It can also be difficult find a good restaurant although I have been told they are there is you look.

The Saba experience begins when you approach the island because the landing strip is smaller than an aircraft carrier with water on one end and mountains on the other.

All the houses on the island are white with a red tile roof - it is a code requirement. There is very little fresh water so all the gutters dump into cisterns to be filtered and used. And you have to make reservations at all the restaurants so they can go out and get the food before you arrive.

The island is a mountain top and so you cannot dig on the island. It is tradition to get buried above ground...in your back yard.

The island is strictly patrolled and the intoxicated, either alcohol or drugs, are expelled from the inland.

There no beaches because the island is a mountain top and the slopes too steep for beaches.

Oh, and the diving is spectacular. My first dive there was my personal number 20 so I was more than a little green. Many of the sites are pinnacles and much of it is very deep.

I visited the Bahamas aboard the Nekton Pilot. The quantity and quality of fish was the best I have seen. We did a dive near the site where they do shark dives. There was not a shark dive going on at the moment but there were a lot of sharks so we could pretend it was real???

At many of the sites there was current and some strong. We saw huge jelly fish, sharks, eels, turtles, huge groupers, Scorpion fish, and many more.

Wrecks included the Sugar Wreck - tons of fish and Theo's wreck which was sink intentionally for divers.