Blue Water Divers: The True Origin Of Scuba Diving In The BVI

The year is 1977 and the S/V Flying Cloud has just dropped anchor off of one of the many pristine islands in the British Virgin Islands. At this time, Michael ‘ Muffy’ Royle and his brother Keith are newly qualified dive instructors working aboard one of the Wind Jammer’s flag ships. With a keen group of divers in tow, exploring the British Virgin Islands (BVI) vast underwater world in those days was a much different endeavour than it is today. Like many of the other original dive operators in the territory, for Muffy and Keith there were no dive maps outlining the various sites to visit and no books listing the depth and topography of each reef. Equipped with curious minds, the drive for adventure, and a small dive boat, the brothers’ protocol would be to pull up to what looked like a good anchorage with a decent reef and hope for the best.

In this is the origin of SCUBA Diving in the BVI: A collection of daring spirits, exploring and naming the underwater playground we have here. It’s an industry built through the urge to seek adventure, the collaboration of those who shared this vision, and the urge to share that vision with the worldwide diving community. When we think of the BVI, we think of a premier sailing destination with its crystal-clear waters, Tradewinds and abundance of islands laid out within line of sight of one another. While this is certainly true, it is a lesser-known fact that these islands offer an unusual array of dive sites, many of which are perfect for beginner divers while offering plenty of wonder to keep experienced divers excited to return again and again.

While Muffy and Keith began their diving careers in the BVI back in the 1970s, it was in 1980 that they came ashore to Nanny Cay Marina on the island of Tortola to open up their dive shop, Blue Water Divers. In those days, it was just Blue Water Divers and Freeman’s Laundry in the marina – two businesses that still sit side by side under the same original owners to this day. At Blue Water Divers, we take great pride in the privilege of sharing these waters with our many guests over these 45 years.

A family run business with two generations under its belt, it is our goal to capture that energy of adventure and relaxation that first captivated Muffy and Keith in the 70s and 80s. Offering only one tour a day allows us to provide a laid-back feel, while keeping our groups small provides an undivided experience without the pressure of large groups and steep time constraints. Our motto is ‘Professional Fun’ whereby we strive to offer an exciting environment while ensuring that safety remains our number one priority.

In addition to recreational diving tours and teaching, Blue Water Divers also offers a variety of commercial diving services. In fact, Muffy first began his diving career training as a Commercial Diver in Florida in 1973. Over 50 years working in the industry, he has amassed a wealth of knowledge, experience and notable jobs from repairs on the harbour wall in Freeport, Bahamas, to patching repairs on super tankers, and inspecting an oil refinery well at a depth of 190 feet!

In the BVI, he was the first to work with underwater explosives for prop removals, checked for bombs under cruise ships, and completed many jobs including underwater welding, cutting, and search and recovery. In addition to the above, in collaboration with Husky Tow and Salvage, a local salvage company also located at Nanny Cay Marina, the two companies came together to donate their time, labour and materials to sink a number of the vessels that now make up Wreck Alley as well as the Wreck of the Fearless.

Currently, Blue Water Divers offers commercial services such as hull cleans, hull inspections and prop changes. We’ve been known to jump in the water to search for the odd phone or jewellery item too!

For recreational tours, Blue Water Divers offers diving between Norman Island and Ginger Island. We are open Monday-Sunday, 8am-5pm with our regular tours running between 8:50am – 2pm. Private charter are available on request as are SCUBA Equipment rentals, tank fills and visual inspections. Our dive shop sells a variety of SCUBA and snorkel gear, clothing and souvenirs.

Whether you are brand new to diving or very experienced, we would love to share the adventure of this spectacular underwater world with you! After all, SCUBA Diving is life, everything else is surface interval!