Saba’s diving can be categorised into three dive site types: seamounts and pinnacles, fringing reefs, and true coral reefs.

Off the west coast of Saba the seabed drops quickly to 700 feet or more and would limit diving to the fringing reefs if it were not for an underwater mountain that rises to within 90 feet of the surface. Saba’s seamount has three peaks (sites 1 to 3) with a plateau joining them at 130 feet—conveniently just within no decompression recreational diving limits. (See sample dive below for description of one of Saba’s pinnacle dives.)

From the north west corner round to Fort Bay, Saba is fringed with coral encrusted rocks. In some areas the coral has fused the rocks together so that the base substratum is no longer visible and it appears to be built entirely by coral.

Saba’s marine life is healthy and varied and, because on some of the sites you are diving in the open ocean, the chances of seeing pelagic species are high.

Saba is one of only a few islands in the Eastern Caribbean chain where you can dive using nitrox. Because of the depth of the dives, various mixes of oxygen are used in order to extend bottom times on the pinnacles by around 50 per cent. (See sidebar in the book for more information about nitrox diving.)