Butler Bay

Butler Bay on St. Croix's west coast is renowned throughout the Caribbean diving world as one of the region's premier wreck diving destinations — an advanced site where an extraordinary collection of deliberately scuttled vessels has created an artificial reef complex of unusual depth, diversity, and marine life density. The bay itself is relatively exposed to the prevailing trade wind swells, and the combination of this exposure with the depth of the main wreck structures earns Butler Bay its advanced rating, but for divers who can manage these conditions, the reward is an experience that stands among the finest wreck diving in the western hemisphere. The Butler Bay wrecks were scuttled deliberately to create dive attractions, and their selection and positioning reflect careful planning. The primary wrecks — including large vessels sunk in the 1970s and 1980s — lie at various depths that allow the full range of recreational diving, from accessible shallower sections to the compelling deeper structures that require proper dive planning and gas management. Each vessel has had decades to accumulate the biological colonisation that transforms steel into living reef, and the density of coral growth, sponge coverage, and associated fish communities on the Butler Bay wrecks rivals the region's best natural reefs. The fish life around the Butler Bay wrecks is extraordinary. Large schools of Atlantic spadefish hover in the water column above the wrecks in formations of hundreds of individuals. Horse-eye jacks circle in tight schools at mid-water. The resident grouper, some of impressive size, have established territorial claims in compartments and holds that they occupy year-round, occasionally making impressive sallies out to investigate divers before retreating to their domain. Green moray eels — longer and heavier than their Atlantic counterparts elsewhere — wind through the wreck superstructure with unhurried composure. Butler Bay dives are typically conducted as guided two-tank dives from St. Croix's west coast operators, who know the wreck layouts and can help divers navigate the sites efficiently to see the highlights within available bottom time. The combination of wreck history, architectural grandeur, and overwhelming marine life makes Butler Bay St. Croix's signature dive experience and one of the Caribbean destinations that serious wreck divers specifically travel to visit.