Vieques, Puerto Rico and the two dive sites you cannot miss

By Tania Puell & Arnaud Erhart

Isla Nena Scuba Scuba is Reopening in November!   

Vieques, the small island off the eastern seaboard of Puerto Rico and best known until recently as having been used for target practice by the U.S. Navy has been getting a lot of press as of late. Even though it is almost twice the size of St Thomas, it only has about a fifth of the population, meaning there still aren’t any fast food restaurants, chain stores, or even traffic lights- and it boasts almost 18,000 acres of protected lands, making it an ideal destination for eco tourists looking for the road less traveled.

Just as the rest of Puerto Rico, however, Vieques is less known for its underwater beauty. This is not due to a lack thereof, but due to a dearth of SCUBA operators and scarcity of promotion of its great dive sites. We want to change that. The following are descriptions of a two of our most popular sites:

1. Patti’s Reef is a vast expanse of beautiful healthy reef 20 to 45 feet deep off Esperanza in the South of Vieques. Two large sand bowls describe a figure eight, dotted with a multitude of coral heads and encircled by a meandering atoll which is a pleasure to get lost in. Moray eels and nurse sharks hide in its overhangs, French grunts, yellowtail snappers and blue headed wrasses decorate its many crevices, and with a little luck you will spot an eagle ray gliding by. But the star player here is the coral. Elkhorn, staghorn, pillar, finger, star, brain, plate, sheet, and lettuce coral are all prospering with sea fans, sea rods and sea plumes gently swaying in the typically surgey environment. Thankfully, because of the shallow depth our dives here regularly exceed 70 minutes! Patti’s is threatened by invasive lionfish which is relatively new phenomenon in Vieques. We can use some help trying to eradicate them (Photos by Arnaud Erhart).

2. Mosquito Pier is easily every local diver’s favorite. The mile long breakwater that was built by the Navy with an old pier at its very end has the character of a wreck. At a maximum depth of 40 feet it boasts an impressive population of hawksbill and green turtles, large swarms of colorful parrot fish over sleek barjacks to enormous French angelfish, large green and smaller goldentail moray eels, Caribbean lobsters, common octopuses, and more species than one can name. Moreover, it is a favorite visiting place for various types of tuna, dolphins, goliath groupers, southern stingrays, and manatees. And very recently we even spotted a Manta ray! Mosquito Pier’s diversity sadly is threatened by its recent opening to recreational fishing. We need help from the global community of divers to protect this unique treasure (Photos above and below by Edward Lyle Gomez).

Isla Nena Scuba, our PADI dive shop, was born out of our love and respect for the sea and its inhabitants. We are doing our utmost to instill that same passion in our students and to equip them with the skills necessary to be excellent divers and responsible stewards of our ocean planet. And we love to share our local waters with divers from all over the world. Nothing is more gratifying to us than when well traveled divers tell us how much they enjoy diving here. It confirms our suspicion that Vieques does belong on the map of serious dive travel!

Come and find out for yourselves!

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