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Among the places offering warm-water snorkeling are the following.
Virgin Islands National Park
One of the best spots in the
National Park System for beginners is Virgin Islands National Park on the Caribbean
island of St. John, site of one of the world's first underwater snorkel trails.
The self-guided trail in Trunk Bay is in well-protected water 15 feet deep or
less. Unfortunately, the popularity of the Trunk Bay trail has led to tremendous
damage to the reefs by careless snorkelers. So after a little practice in the
bay, most new divers will want to venture onto less-visited reefs with healthier
coral growth and a greater variety of plant and animal life. A few notable spots
accessible from the beach include Waterlemon Cay, Haulover Bay, Saltpond Bay,
and Tektite. Concessioners at the park offer boat trips to outer reefs where the
human presence is even less evident. For information, contact park headquarters
at 809-776-6201.
Sadly, the rapid pace of development on St. John outside
of the park boundaries also poses a continuing threat to the health of the reefs.
The island is steeply sloped, and construction exposes soil to the effects of
erosion. Silt smothers the reefs and grass beds that serve as breeding habitat
for many fish, crustaceans, and other sea creatures. The park is also a popular
stop for boats, from small sailboats to huge cruise ships, and careless anchoring
practices have destroyed many acres of reef.
Buck Island Reef
Another great spot not far from St. John is the 880-acre Buck Island
Reef National Monument, which is six miles off the island of St. Croix. The reefs
surrounding Buck Island feature vast stands of elkhorn coral, branching out and
reaching as high as 40 feet in places. Although the reef suffered severe damage
in Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the monument still offers plenty to see.
The
uninhabited island is an important nesting area for three endangered species of
sea turtles—hawksbill, green, and leatherback. Adult and juvenile turtles are
frequently spotted grazing around the reefs. Buck Island also offers a marked
underwater trail in a sheltered lagoon that is ideal for beginning snorkelers.
With the monument accessible only by boat, six concessioners operating out of
Christiansted, St. Croix, offer half- and full-day trips. Contact monument headquarters
at 809-773-1460 for information.
Dry Tortugas National Park
Closer to the U.S. mainland is Dry Tortugas National Park, composed of seven
small islands and 67,000 acres underwater. The park is at the westernmost edge
of the Florida Keys about 70 miles from Key West. Because of their remote location,
the islands have the most pristine reefs in North America. Although only 40,000
people visit the park each year, park managers are concerned about the growing
number of cruise ships that pay a port call to Key West and organize day trips
to the Dry Tortugas.
In addition to the spectacular reefs, the park has
a couple of human-made submerged structures that make for exciting snorkeling.
A three-masted, iron-hulled sailing ship that wrecked on Loggerhead Reef in 1901
is the first popular spot. The ship has become an artificial reef, attracting
a wide variety of marine life. Water depths range from zero, where the wreck breaks
the surface, to 20 feet at the deepest point. At the second spot, many snorkelers
also enjoy a nighttime dive in the sheltered water of the moat that surrounds
the fort. The underwater world changes dramatically when the sun goes down, as
nocturnal creatures venture out in search of food. Bring a strong dive light and
prepare to enter another world.
Visitors come to the Dry Tortugas by
boat and seaplane out of Key West. Day trips and some overnight trips are available
by boat. The only accommodations in the park are a small number of primitive campsites.
For more information, contact the park at 305-242-7700.
Biscayne
National Park
Biscayne National Park, located between the Florida
mainland and the northern point of the Florida Keys, is even more accessible for
U.S. mainlanders than Dry Tortugas. In addition to some spectacular hard coral
formations, the reefs in Biscayne have especially abundant soft corals. Giant
sponges and sea fans of many shapes and colors attract a variety of marine life.
The snorkeling sites are accessible only by boat. The concessioner, who leaves
from the Convoy Point Visitor Center daily at 1:30 p.m., can be reached at 305-230-1144.
Reef trips are conducted only in good weather from May to October. Other times,
snorkelers are taken to the mangroves inside Biscayne Bay. Many juvenile fish
live in the protection of the entangled underwater roots of the mangroves until
they are large enough to venture out to the reefs.
The water quality
in Biscayne National Park is quite good, but the heavy boat and ship traffic in
the area poses a constant threat to the reefs. A small boat going aground can
do tremendous damage to a coral reef, and a collision with a large ship, as happens
with disturbing frequency, can be devastating.
The coral in Biscayne
and the Caribbean parks is also subject to bouts of coral "bleaching,"
a condition that seems related to a rise in water temperature. When the water
reaches a certain temperature, the coral expels the colored algae that it depends
on for food. Short bleaching incidents do not seem to affect the coral's health,
but park biologists worry about the long-term impact as the frequency of bleaching
increases.
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