Text and Photography by Bill Harrington
Divers on vacation want the best of both worlds, above water and below. Cuan Law goes one better, endeavoring to deliver the best of three worlds: British Virgin Islands' diving, cruise ship living and island sailing. As owners Duncan and Annie Muirhead put it, "We want to offer a holiday in a great island location, featuring superb food and accommodations-with the accent on diving." On this trip we had 18 excellent dives for those wanting maximum bottom time, however, those who only wanted one or two dives a day were also happy.
CUAN LAW
The name Cuan Law reflects Duncan and Annie's Scots heritage. Law is Scottish for mountain and Cuan is the Scottish-Gaelic word for ocean. The name is appropriate because Cuan Law's 105 foot length, 44 foot beam and 90 foot masts make her seem like a mountaintop rising from the ocean.
The crew members of Cuan Law bring this impressive boat to life. They are incredibly energetic, congenial and fun to be around. They were constantly attentive to our needs, usually anticipating them in advance. Each crew member has a main responsibility but everyone pitched in to handle moving the boat, diving, serving meals and cleaning up. Dietmar Lichota captains with a natural competence that makes everything seem easy and Dan, Tim, Kim, Emma, Jon, Fiona and Alice accomplish all the divemaster, hostess and cooking tasks with equal aplomb.
The accommodations aboard Cuan Law are spacious and fully air-conditioned. The unique design arranges all ten cabins along the outside of the boat in a horseshoe shape around the central lounge. As a result, every cabin has at least one large window and each cabin has a private bathroom with shower. Every bathroom contains an overhead hatch, which helps eliminate the claustrophobic feeling you can get in the bathrooms on some boats. Another hatch over the bed contributes to the light, airy feeling in these big cabins.
You won't find cramped bunk beds aboard Cuan Law. A special design allows the beds in each cabin to be arranged as two singles or one double. Storage room is abundant, with a hanging closet in each cabin and two large drawers for each guest. The light oak trim and colorful linens finish off the cabins perfectly.
Our evenings were usually spent socializing in the lounge, which is cruise ship sized, with five comfortable couches. Ten overhead hatches let in plenty of light during the day. A bar with John Courage beer on tap and free fountain-style sodas is between the large doors leading to the dive deck. The entire aft portion of the central hull is given over to the aptly named "snug," which seats about a dozen comfortably and is used for watching videos or slide shows. Room for relaxation was obviously a priority in the design of Cuan Law.
The dining arrangement aboard Cuan Law is different from other live-aboards and takes advantage of the tropical island setting. The broad teak aft deck, which is outside under a permanently rigged awning, is swiftly converted from dive platform to dining terrace by the crew for each meal. Protective covers are removed to reveal varnished wood tables and the aft deck becomes a restaurant overlooking the water, with gentle sea breezes.
The meals prepared by Kim are equal to the setting. This would definitely not be the time to start that diet you've been meaning to go on. Many live-boards have excellent food but Cuan Law is in a class of its own. Appetizers such as baked brie, buffalo wings and salmon mousse were set out between dives. Main courses such as roast apple stuffed lamb and baked Swordfish with local chutney were followed by freshly made desserts such as traditional English raspberry trifle, mango Pavlova and Black Forest cake that had us groaning in well fed satisfaction. Special dietary requirements are not a problem and, if you have any appetite at all left after the meals, the perpetually full chocolate basket on the bar will take care of it.
The order of the day is casual and most of us put on shorts and a T-shirt after diving or just changed into a dry swimsuit. Shoes were only needed for going ashore and then sandals were the best bet. Several excursions ashore were arranged, so we could get off the boat for a walk or "retail therapy," as the crew refers to shopping.
Captain Dietmar likes to sail and he tries to get the sails up and let Cuan Law glide on the wind at least once a day, if conditions and time permit. We were blessed with favorable winds several times on our trip and it was relaxing to sit on that broad deck between dives and listen to the water rushing past the hull. Add the cold beverage of your choice and freshly made, melt-in -your- mouth brownies and you have off-gassing at its best.
CUAN LAW DIVING
ARRANGEMENTS
Guests aboard Cuan Law handle their tanks as little as possible. You set up your tank for the first dive and from then on the crew handles it. You merely step up to the waist-high aft deck, where the tanks are stored, and a crew member helps you into your BC. No bending, no lifting. From there you either giant stride off the deck or walk down the stairs to the inflatable. After the dive you walk up to the tank deck and your tank is taken by the crew to be filled and stored out of the way.
Two 20 foot, rigid hull inflatables are used extensively for diving from Cuan Law because of the versatility and safety they offer. With both of them in the water and Cuan Law anchored over a dive site, three different locations can be dived simultaneously, ensuring you won't have to dive with a crowd. The inflatables are manned continuously during dives so you are always assured of a quick pickup, no matter where you surface. Getting back into an inflatable from the water can be difficult but cleverly designed dive ladders let you climb back aboard easily.
Weight belts, weights and tanks are provided. You can rent any equipment you need, including dive computers. Only a diveskin is recommended for the 84'F summertime water temperature and a light wetsuit should be comfortable in the winter, when the water temperature drops to about 77'F. PADI instruction from open water to divemaster is available, along with resort courses.
Underwater photographers will be very happy aboard Cuan Law. There is ample space in the cabins and lounge for storing and reloading cameras and each cabin has a double 110 volt outlet for convenient battery charging.
Additional outlets are available in the lounge for those with exceptionally high electricity needs. The crew members are experienced in handling photo gear and, when you hand your camera up after a dive, they will place it carefully in a special rinse barrel. The rinse water is renewed frequently and an extra towel is available for drying your photo equipment.
DIVE CONDITIONS
The British Virgin Islands may not be known for exotic diving but their trademark is a diversity of dive sites and consistently good conditions, which makes Cuan Law an excellent choice as a live-aboard. Barring hurricane conditions, you can be certain of enjoyable diving any time.
Damaging or removing any plant or animal life is not allowed in BVI waters and the National Parks Trust mooring buoys help prevent anchor damage, so the reefs are in good condition. Visibility is generally more than 50 feet and very often in the 80 to 100 foot range. Visibility on most of our dives was 50 to 80 feet and our best was about 100 feet at Alice's Wonderland on Ginger Island.
There are some deep sites in the BVI but most of the diving is shallower than 80 feet. Our profiles were in the 30 to 70 foot range most of the time. BVI diving is also characterized by lack of strong currents. The 8 to 10 inch tidal range normally doesn't generate the swift currents found elsewhere. When the winds are up, surface conditions at some sites can be choppy. An advantage of diving aboard Cuan Law is that Captain Dietmar won't hesitate to crisscross the islands to put you into the best conditions each day.
DIVE SITES
There are more than 60 sites available to Cuan Law divers and, unfortunately, we couldn't do them all in a week. Diamond Reef was the site of our checkout and first night dive. Fringing the south side of Great Camanoe Island, it slopes steeply from about five feet near shore down to the level sandy bottom at 35 feet. We found a wide variety of sea life, including Spotted Eagle Rays, stingrays, Sand Divers, Banded Shrimp, Arrow crabs, Garden Eels and a school of Southern Sennet.
You probably won't dive Grand Central Station from any other boat because it was discovered by Duncan Muirhead and only Cuan Law makes the trip here. Grand Central Station is fun and fascinating because it is a tunnel dive, actually passing completely through a narrow point of the island.
Two caves cut in toward land at Times Square, angling upward from 30 feet to about 7. The caves are long enough to require a dive light and have been known, on occasion, to host a large Nurse Shark. A school of Silversides resides in one of them. This is a good place to find out if you like caves enough to take a cave diving specialty course.
Diving the Chikuzen is not always possible because of its exposed location but this is a wonderful dive if the conditions are right, Eight miles north of Great Camanoe Island, this 250 foot refrigerator ship attracts an assortment of both pelagic and reef fish and is an excellent wreck for almost any level diver. We were able to make two dives on the Chikuzen and saw Greater Amberjacks, Barracuda and Southern Stingrays on both dives.
Ships avoid Blond Rock but divers seek it out because of the overhangs, abundant fish and coral and good visibility. We had about 70 feet for our dive. Glasseye Snappers congregate along several of the ledges and Orangespotted Filefish and Ocean Triggerfish were also easy to find.
Santa Monica Rock is about two miles southwest of Norman Island and, because it is a bit exposed, it's not visited
by many divers. We all enjoyed this dive because there was so much to see. This is a great reef to cruise slowly, looking under the deeply cutback ledges and watching the parrotfish, angelfish and moray eels. At first glance Fire Coral seems to dominate the bottom but, when you look around a bit, you begin to see many good sized Brain Corals, some very nice Star Corals, several very healthy Pillar Coral formations and the ubiquitous Sea Rod soft coral. Photographers can find good set-ups and subjects for any lens on Santa Monica Rock.
Painted Walls was one of our best dives of the trip. Visibility was at least 80 feet and brilliant sunshine made the reef shimmer in yellow, brown, orange and green. Three prominent finger ridges extend out from Dead Man's Island and their vertical walls are covered with sponges and corals. The northernmost valley between ridges brings you to an arch leading into a shallow pool where Silversides often gather. Numerous Banded Shrimp and other invertebrates can be found under the ledges along the bottom of the pool. Painted Walls is also a great spot to see Pillar Coral, with one particularly large colony on the most southern ridge. For photographers, Painted Walls is wide angle heaven.
The maximum depth for a dive at the Indians is 50 feet but you could stay above 30 feet and enjoy this site. The coral is luxurious on the steep sides of these massive rocks and a saddle at about seven feet between the rock pinnacles gives access to a broad, shallow pool. A cave large enough for two divers just inside the saddle is swarming with Silversides and Glassy Sweepers. After exploring the pool, you follow a narrow but short swimthrough to the opposite side of the reef.
At least two dives are needed to cover the RMS Rhone, although you could make many dives on this interesting wreck before you saw enough of it. The Rhone sank during a hurricane in 1867, breaking in two on Black Rock Point. The bow section is still largely intact and the cavernous interior can be entered in several places near the forward mast. Most people dive this section first, because the deeper profile of the bow takes you to about 80 feet. Inside, the hull is coated with Orange Cup Corals and a resident school of grunts swims about, accompanied at times by various jacks and Barracuda. You can reenact scenes from The Deep by swimming through the hatch on the port side.
Night dives inside the forward section of the Rhone are a highlight of the trip. The cup corals and sponges turn the main compartment into a kaleidoscope of orange and yellow.
Friday morning we dived Alice's Wonderland at Ginger Island, where long fingers packed with hard corals extend from the island down to about 60 feet. Alice's Wonderland is known for its clear, blue water and we had 100 foot visibility. This reef is dominated by large healthy Boulder Star Corals, Grooved and Boulder Brain Corals and common seafans.
The Blinders, just around the corner from the famous Baths, is like diving the Baths' gigantic boulders in 35 feet of water. The visibility was down to about 30 feet, possibly because we entered the water just after an ebbing tide, but everyone thoroughly enjoyed this one. Huge boulders are heaped everywhere, covered on the tops with soft corals and Fire Coral and on the bottom with sponges and Orange Cup Corals. There are lots of swimthroughs and interesting overhangs harboring snappers and squirrelfish. Several of us enjoyed another Nurse Shark encounter but we were most fascinated by a Hawksbill Turtle that nonchalantly munched sponges right in front of us.
When I polled our divers for their favorite dives, I received six different answers, which seems to indicate there is something for everyone in the BVI. For me, the highlights of the week were night diving the living orange hold of the Rhone, sailing a silent and powerful seven knots toward Great Camanoe Island after diving the Chikuzen and swimming through the colorful mini-canyons at Painted Walls. When I asked people in my group if they would sail and dive aboard Cuan Law again, the answer was a unanimous and resounding, "Yes!"
GETTING THERE
Traveling to the British Virgin Islands is easy. Connections on major airlines are available from many U.S. cities to San Juan, Puerto Rico and from there, Tortola is only a half hour hop in a twin engine turboprop. You can also fly to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and take an inter-island ferry to Tortola. Transportation to the BVI is reliable enough that many Cuan Law guests choose to arrive on the first day of the trip, coming directly from the airport on Beef Island to the boat. A passport is recommended but a notarized birth certificate and photo identification will suffice for U.S. citizens. A travel visa is not required. U.S. dollars are the currency of the BVI, so there is no need to change money.
To book your trip aboard Cuan Law call Trimarine at (800) 648-3393, fax (809) 494-5774 or write to P.O. Box 4065, St. Thomas, USVI, 00803-4065.