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Fort de France scuba diving - a reason for your vacation

The catastrophic eruption of Mount Pelée in 1902 gave Martinique 12 ancient wrecks to supplement a coastline of fringing reefs and dramatic offshore rocks. All this and a French dinner to finish off the day. You will need to speak French to get the best out of most operators here. Martinique is well known for the Cousteau's marine reserve located at Diamond rock. This craggy multi-faceted protrusion not only looks like a diamond but was once the jewel in the crown of the British fleet of war ships attempting to dominate the Caribbean islands. The British and the French fought over so many islands in the early 19th century that ships were sometimes in short supply. Only one ship, the 74-gun Centaur was assigned to blockade the ports of Martinique. By capturing a French ship they were able to double their defences but even this was poor cover because Martinique had two harbours, St. Pierre in the north and the bay which is now called Fort de France in the south. Short of ships but not imagination, Commodore Sir Samuel Hood declared Diamond Rock a man-of-war and proceeded to equip her as one. Guns were hauled to the top of the rock and the passage between Martinique and Diamond Rock was secured. They even built a hospital in one of the caves on the rock. This was no temporary gesture; the rock remained in service for 2 years. Thankfully, scuba equipment had not been invented or no doubt someone would have decided that the easiest way of unseating the British would be to send a crack team of navy divers to plant explosives under the rock. Though, the underwater terrain suggests that someone might have tried. On the sand and the rocks a healthy crop of sargassum is growing but it soon clears and the scenery changes to a rainbow of sponges and coral. Lively shining crinoids wave their long arms medusa-like. Towering clumps of encrusted rocks sprout anemones and a variety of hydroids. There are numerous trumpetfish well disguised by the sargassum. There are a number of different sites around Diamond Rock. One known as La Piscine is relatively shallow (15-25 feet) and suitable for novice divers. At one site there is an old French warship anchor at 35 feet. On the west side an English warship anchor has been found but, unfortunately, it is at 200 feet. Although the rock is on the south side of the island, hence exposed to the open sea, the dive stores are usually able to find a sheltered area for divers to kit up and the area can be dived almost everyday.

Fort de France Vacations site

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