St Ann Diving
St Ann Parish lies on the northern coast of Jamaica and is a gateway to some stunning dive sites which lie within the warm, clear, tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea. Dive sites include ship and plane wrecks, exciting deep canyons, steep reef walls and vibrantly coloured coral reefs.
Runaway Bay
Runaway Bay located on the northern coast of Jamaica hold an interesting mix of dive sites to excite a wide range of divers. With a warm climate and clear waters, the diving conditions here are ideal for the divers exploring the wrecks, steep reef walls, canyons while admiring the many marine species.
Diving in St Ann
St Ann Parish is the largest Parish on the island of Jamaica. It lies in Middlesex County in the centre of the north coast, the coast which borders the Caribbean Sea. The two main regions within St. Ann Parish which visitors go to, tot dive from, are Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay. These to popular beach towns are the gateway to some stunning dive sites which will cater to divers of all levels and interests.
Jamaica lies in the tropical Caribbean meaning it is possible to dive here all year round, but June to September the conditions are at their best. October to May there is more chance of rain but it will very rarely impact diving. Due to the air temperatures being warm throughout the year, the water temperatures are between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius. The visibility is great overall with an average of 25 metres with reaching over 35 metres in the peak diving season. The highlight dive sites here include a minesweeper wreck named SS Kathryn, two plane wrecks, vibrantly coloured reefs, deep canyons and an assortment of other rocky formations at varying depths. The dive sites are reached easily from shot boat trips and in general, the water conditions are calm, clear and warm.
Best places to dive
SS Katheryn Wreck is the most popular dive site of this region and it’s a Canadian minesweeper which was sunk in 1980 to create an artificial reef. In the forty years it has been submerged it has become a truly impressive artificial reef; covered in colourful corals and inhabited by a multitude of marine species.
Planes is a dive site made up of two plane wrecks which lie next to a steep drop off at 23 metres and the story is that these planes allegedly were used to transport marijuana. Divers are able to explore the cockpits and spot Sea Turtles here.
The Mountains is a dive site which is made up of two large seamounts which lie between 36 metres and 18 metres and are covered in a high abundance of colourful corals and Sea Sponges, surrounded by schools of colourful schools of fish.
Devil's Reef is a reef slope which slopes down more than 20 metres, starting around 19 metres all the way down to 40 metres. There are many cracks and crevices in these reefs which house many marine species for divers to spot.
