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Thirty Statian blue beads were used by the Dutch to purchase New York's Manhattan Island from the Indians

Just close your eyes and imagine the Caribbean about 25 or 30 years ago. Clean, unhurried and unspoiled. Pristine living, practically no crime, reefs teeming with fish. Gentle trade winds. People as warm and genuinely friendly as ever. Now open your eyes and discover the beautiful little island of St. Eustatius, affectionately known as Statia.

Statia has diving life like no other destination in the Caribbean. The warm water and the underwater volcanic fissures and canyons have given this area a diversified diving selection. One can dive coral and sponge covered walls and pinnacles with dramatic backdrops of visual delights. These walls a frequented by black rip sharks, eagle rays and larger fish varieties. The shallower reefs 40 feet / 12 metres to 75 feet / 23 metres have been carved from volcanic fingers that are covered with a variety of soft and hard corals. Barrel sponges and pillar coral seem to be the norm for the visual backdrops.

The fish life is abundant with a few rarer species like the flying gurnards, high hats and jack-knife fish making daily showings. Hundreds of critters make their home in numerous cracks and ledges. This is truly a photographers delight. One of the many dive sites in Statia consists of tangled shipwrecks located in 60 feet to 70 feet / 18 to 21 metres of water. Many of these wrecks are surrounded by hundreds of schooling snappers, goat fish and other curious fishes. Large barracudas guard the upper waters while spotted morays and southern stingrays patrol below.

It is said that Sint Eustatius suffered an earthquake and that a part of this very prosperous colony collapsed into the sea. And it is true that the many underwater vestiges turn every dive in Statia into a treasure hunt adventure. The wall that supported the quay for the merchant ships did in fact collapse from a lack of maintenance when the colony was almost forgotten at the end of the 18th century. There are quite a few wrecks that lie on the bottom of the sea and occasionally a diver will make a discovery that makes his heart beat faster; a perfectly intact bottle, the vision of an anchor lying on the sand or even a blue bead that were once given to the slaves as salary - their only wealth.

St. Eustatius has three beaches; all are very different in character. Oranje Beach lies on the Caribbean Sea and has small beige and black sand beaches. There is no strong current or undertow and therefore it is safe to swim. By the Atlantic Ocean there are two beaches: Zeelandia Beach and Lynch Beach. Zeelandia beach has a two miles / 3,2 km long deserted black and tan sand. At this beach, swimming is not recommended because of the rough water and dangerous undertow. Lynch Beach is a small beach with light brown sand. The water is shallow in spots and has an undertow and therefore it is recommended to stay near the shore. All three beaches are special and beautiful. Certainly a reason to visit during your stay on St. Eustatius.