stavronikita

Absolutely stunning. Covered in sooooooo much coral and fish life. I had to do it more than once! I haven't seen a wreck so encrusted in coral since I dived the WW2 Japanese wrecks in Truk Lagoon back in the mid 1990's. DON'T dive in Barbados without doing it.

Stav is a great wreck if you are an experienced diver. Quite deep, 30-40m, so monitor your dive parameters carefully. There can be some strong current so you may need to use an anchor line to get to the wreck. Good visibility and well lit despite the depth.

I first did this dive over 20 years ago and had to go back the next day to relive the experience. Entry to the boat from the bows is at about 80' though if you go exploring the stern, you can drop down as deep as 130' (so watch your time limits and allow for decompression stops).The S.S. Stavronikita was a Greek freighter that caught fire in the 1970s. SHe was eventually stripped and sunk in 1978. Referred to by dive operators as "The Stavro" the boat sits perfectly upright with her forward mast reaching to within 18' of the surface. This makes an excellent entry and exit point.After almost 40 years "The Stavro" is now a hive of underwater activity. Her masts and upper superstructure are swarming with Blue Cromis, Seargent Majors, Red Hinds and Tangs, and the hull is blessed with sponges, sea wipts, soft and hard corals and gorgoncans. Among others, you are likely to see, Mackerels, Turtles and Barracuda on the wreck.However, what made it for me, 20+ years ago was that the ship had become the home of a five-foot Atlantic Barracuda that the locals had christened George, and George was fascinated by his own reflection in the diver's air that was trapped on the ceilings of the walkways. For that reason, he would spend hours drifting vertically along the gangways, staring at the reflection of his own face! While he was doing that you could (if you were very careful) touch and stroke him (not something you'd want to do when he was out hunting!).Maybe "The Stavro" still echoes to the ghost of George! Who knows!!

Our family of 7 did this dive and it was truly exceptional! Highly recommended for experienced divers. Loved going inside the ship and seeing multitudes of fish! Look forward to doing it again!!

I am not usually a fan of wreck diving, but the Savronikita is worth a visit. It is relatively intact and so looks like a ship, requiring little imagination. There is a lot of life on, in, and around the wreck. It has the potential to be a deep dive (up to 130 ft) and so you need to be attentive throughout the dive to ensure that you do not exceed your intended depth or time limits.

This was the one dive we wanted to do on Barbados and spoke to the dive shop the first day we landed. We dove with Barbados Blue, at the Hilton hotel. The dive masters are very attentive. We stayed at about 80-85 feet down.There were a few areas that you could easily penetrate the boat. It is a cool structure. I expected more fish and more variety but it was a pretty dive and I was glad I brought my wetsuit with me. The dive group was small with one person taking their open water certification. He had his own dive master and we had one with the rest of the group. The group was small,I believe 7 divers and two dive masters. The dive master was excellent, checking in with everyone and making sure we all had a safe and enjoyable dive. We did a two tank dive and in the afternoon we did a reef dive- more fish-lots of lion fish.

Excellent wreck, easy to dive. Not as many fish as I would have expected, but that's everywhere in the Caribbean.

Enjoyed this because it was a deep and easily penetrable wreck. Visibility can be poor sometimes thou and due to depths is usually a short dive.

Accessible due to hatches open and holes cut or exploded in the side. Winches, hatch beams etc still on the decks. Good visibility and well lit when its sunny despite depth. Went with Reefers & Wreckers at Speightstown. Good dive leader, good kit, good boat. 2nd time this holiday. 2nd dive of the morning was on Dottins Reef, loads of fish, coral etc. If in doubt, Do It!

Open wreck dive with the opportunity for exploring inside and out! Depths average from 65' to 120'+. Saw a turtle and lots of large fish. Great visibility even with a deeper dive.

This was a bit of an adventure for a dive as the surface current was strong and using the anchor line for trip to the wreck was a must. Once at the bottom, the current was mild and the swim around and through the wreck was outstanding. We shared the anchor line in a group for our safety stop hanging straight out like a group of human flags being bathed in each others bubbles.

Fabulous diving the Stav with West Side Scuba. This wreck just does not lose it's appeal to me. The coral regrowth since my last trip is really encouraging too.

Make sure you dive this wreck, i almost didn't and i would have regretted it. Great dive for beginners/intermediate. Nice warm and clear water makes this a really enjoyable dive.

I loved this dive. It's a very easy-going deep dive with an easy descent and ascent along the enormous mast. There are plenty of good areas of the wreck to safely penetrate and the height of the ship means it can accommodate a range of diver [advanced] abilities (not everyone will be comfortable going down to the prop).When I was there there were plenty of shilling fish too. I look forward to diving it again.

Dived the Stav with Eco Dive. Conditions on the day were not the best, with reduced visibility and a slightly choppy surface but it was still a great dive nonetheless. Lots of wildlife, but apart from a turtle in the distance, nothing spectacular.I'll definitely be going back again, and almost certainly with Eco Dive.