Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2017 (#28)

Underwater Garden of
Eden
Tobago has some of the best diving in the
Caribbean. A wide variety of marine life, especially
in the offshore reef systems, is supported
by the convergence of nutrient-rich
outflows from the Orinoco River, the Guyana
current, the Southern Atlantic, and the Caribbean
Sea.
There are some 300-odd species of coral
documented in Tobago’s plankton-rich waters
— fire, star, plate, sea fans, sea whips,
staghorns, elkhorns, and the largest living
brain coral in the world. Living among them
are 700-odd species of reef fish; rays (southern,
roughtail, lesser electric ray, spotted
eagle ray, and the stunning giant manta rays);
moray eels; invertebrates (crabs, shrimp, and
octopus); sharks (tiger, bull, nurse, reef, blacktip,
hammerheads, and lemons); and their
favourite prey like jacks, barracuda, wahoo,
tarpon, and tuna. Between December and
May, if you’re really lucky, you might just catch
sight of magnificent whale sharks — especially
off Speyside.
At a glance
Season: year-round (the
island is south of the usual
hurricane belt)
Best visibility: April–August
(average: 50–120ft/15–37m)
Average water temperature:
24–29°C/75–84°F
Depth: 30ft–110ft/9–34m
(deeper dives are not
recommended).
diving
Diving in Speyside
When you’re ready to
take the plunge…
First of all, hire one of the PADI/SSI-certified Association
of Tobago Dive Operators (ATDO, tobagoscubadiving.com)
vendors.
The gentler waters of the south (including
Store Bay) are ideal for novice divers, but appealing
to intermediate and advanced ones as well.
Popular dives include Flying Reef, Mt Irvine Wall,
Arnos Vale, Englishman’s Bay, Diver’s Dream and
Diver’s Thirst, and — for experts — the Maverick
wreck (sunk in 1997), off Mt Irvine. Drift diving
the Columbus Passage in the south is also a
phenomenal experience.
In the north, Speyside and Charlotteville attract
more experienced divers; the visibility is
greater, the water deeper, and the marine landscape
richest. Popular dives include Keleston
Drain (where you can see the world’s largest living
big brain coral), Japanese Gardens, London
Bridge, Bookends, the Sisters rocks, St Giles Island,
and — popular with beginners — Black Jack
Hole and King’s Bay.
As always, we encourage care in these delicate
ecosystems, especially with fragile coral. Be
mindful of damaging them, and certainly do not
remove any.
126 discovertnt.com
stephen broadbridge