Turquoise Bay?

Has anyone been to Turquoise Bay recently? We have stayed at Reef House a few times and think it is time to try something different. How does the diving compare? Also how about the rooms and food? Thanks.

Going in a few weeks... I'll post a report...

bkpix:

Has anyone been to Turquoise Bay recently? We have stayed at Reef House a few times and think it is time to try something different. How does the diving compare? Also how about the rooms and food? Thanks.

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TBR: A Resort that Does Offer Diving, fairly isolated (but a doable cab ride to West End), good day-dive op & modern boats with fairly limited departures, no shore dive, spotty reports on room cleanliness/repair (which are modernish with tile, etc) and equally iffy reports on food, marginal land staff responsiveness. A large facility that is usually quiet except Easter. A good place for your non-divers, as well.

RHR: A Dive Resort, really isolated (a major expedition to West End), a very well regarded in-house dive op with very basic (rustic) boats, offering multiple dives per day, shore diving, well regarded food presentations, basic rooms with cable TV, excellent staff comments, both land and sea (DMs). Not so good for non-divers, usually booked but very small capacity (14?)

The diving itself, meaning between the two zones, North and South? Light years different (although only 6 miles away), both have their remarkable attractions and very dissimilar attributes in terms of general underwater architecture.

North side (including TBR) is deeper diving (nirtrox recommended for a 3x/day schedule), darker (as it is in the shadow of Sun) and subject to "Northers" (Sep-Mar), storm effect that has shaped the reef structure (more cracks, swim-throughs and crevices than the South) which also dictates the character and types of Corals extant. The diving zone reef begins anywhere from .5 to 1 mile offshore and presents a series of distinct dropping plateaus and short vertical walls. Larger specimens of common Caribbean Apex fish are more common on the North.

South side is shallower (you can do 5x/day on regular air) and always in Sunlight. Reef structure is very near-shore and allows for shore entry from the very few dive opertions located on the South. in the area specifically of RHR, there is a gently sloping Coral head zone and this leads to a vertical Coral wall structure that breaks in 40fsw. (only two sites of near RHR remarkable geography: Calvin's Crack and Hole in the Wall). A great density and a large variety of soft and hard Corals which creates a haven for micro/macro Crustaceans and Juvenile fish, some occasional Apex specimens.