Here it is, BenjieBrown, Grand Turk:
For a condensed & sanitizied version, see Jan/Feb 2000 issue of "Rodale's Scuba Diving" magazine, "Ask RSD" column.
Here is the long version [NOTE: Updates in ALL CAPS]:
I. Getting Oriented, Organized & Started.
What & Where:
The Turks & Caicos are a small cluster of British protectorates to the east of the last islands in the Bahamian chain. Grand Turk, about 575 miles southeast of Miami, is the capital of the group, but not the largest or most developed -- that distinction belongs to Providenciales, or "Provo" for short. GT gets its name from the turk's head cactus which grows there & has a fez-like red top when in bloom. The island about 7 miles long & 1 1/2 miles wide, and has a population of about 3,900. Along with Salt Cay, it forms the "Turks." The remainder form the "Caicos," which I believe is a Lucayan Indian word meaning "small, sand islands" or thereabouts.
The T&C's are ruled by an appointed British governor & elected Chief Minister, the current ones apparently being rather well-liked. In the past there has been some head butting between the governor and powerful island presences, most notably those believed to be involved with drug trafficking, and some elected officials have been convicted of drug-related offenses. However, all of this has essentially zero effect on the tourist. These islands are very stable & safe, reportedly having one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean.
The primary dive/vacation destinations are Provo, GT & Salt Cay, in that order. South Caicos has for some time had an on-again-off-again dive resort which is on as of this writing. I was there about 4 years ago & it was a real disaster due to horrendous mismanagement, although the diving was excellent. Middle Caicos has 3 places to stay & North Caicos has 4, both islands having but limited diving infrastructure.
There are 3 live-aboard ops which serve the region, with Sea Dancer doing the Provo area, and Wind Dancer doing South Caicos & GT. The latter boat has just recently arrived, having previously served the Honduras. I briefly chatted with Peter Hughes, who had dinner at my hotel on his way back to his headquarters in Coral Gables. He was there due to filming on his boat related to the upcoming TV series "American Sport Diver." Peter, who looks just like his picture in the ads and was quite nice, suggested that transportation problems, which I can only read to mean the dreaded TACA, and political hassles, about which I have no idea, resulted in his pulling out. I got the impression the craft's itinerary was not entirely fixed yet. Apparently the boat has been well received, however, and is largely booked until the fall. The Turks & Caicos Aggressor also plies the islands.
Money:
The US dollar is the official & preferred currency. Major credit cards are accepted by all hotels & dive ops, although not by most of the smaller shops & restaurants around the island.
Those who remember the old bank on GT with its quirky hours will be pleased to hear that the Barclay's Bank on the water front has an ATM which takes Visa/MC/Plus. It, along with the nearby Scotia Bank, keep great hours.
Time:
Eastern Standard Time year 'round.
Electricity:
110 volts/60 cycles. Your hair dryer & battery charger will work just fine.
Weather:
Summer temps can range from a low of 70F at night to highs in the low 90's during the day. Humidity is high. Winter nights can get to 55F, with days to 80F. Of course, these are extremes and you should look for slightly more moderate temps all around. Almost always a breeze about.
Pretty darn dry all year 'round, so don't expect rain no matter when you go. How dry is it? Well, I spoke with an old timer at the Provo airport who mentioned that it rained there for 3 hours the day before, which was the biggest rain he could recall since October of 1997. Apparently none of it hit GT. It did rain briefly once late at night during my stay on GT, but the big winds were the news from that storm -- overturned the Fish & Park Patrol boat, and blew a sail boat onto shore near the Arawak Inn.
In the hurricane belt, with season being June through October.
Water Temps:
Can get to 75F in winter and 85F in summer, but mostly look for 80F plus/minus 2 degrees. There were notable thermoclines at some sites when I was there.
Nearest Hyperbaric Chamber:
Provo.
Learning About GT:
For an overview of GT ala "Undercurrent," see the June 1998 (Vol. 13, no. 6) edition.
For "Rodale's Scuba Diving" archives, just hit the "Search RSD" function at the top or bottom of the current board page & enter your topic.
For an overview of touring GT, see "Where, When, How - Awards Page.
For some slick Department of Tourism stuff, contact them.
Getting There:
For air from general USA to Provo: American Airlines. Flight from Miami to Provo is about 80 minutes.
For air from Ft. Lauderdale direct to GT: Lynx Air flies on advanced charter only. This is a 3 hour+ trip on a small & somewhat noisy plane.
For air from Miami direct to GT: Bahamasair discontinued their flights in Jan '00.
For an island hopper from Provo to GT (about a 30 minute flight unless you stop at South Caicos or Salt Cay on the way, in which case you can add about 10-15 minutes): Interisland Air, Turks & Caicos Airways & SkyKing all fly regularly. My pick is SkyKing as they have the best looking planes & are well-regarded.
If you need to/want to stay on Provo before going to GT, check out the new Comfort Suites which are not far from the airport & a good value.
Dive Ops:
I dove with all 3 ops on GT. Nice thing is, all are excellent. All have similar boats (24' Carolina Skiffs; Blue Water Divers also has about a 27' Privateer); also have similar tempos & Nitrox; all dive the same sites & will charge you $25 per dive. Detailed descriptions will appear in the next installment. For now:
Cecil Ingham's "Sea Eye" [NOTE: C.I.=Sea Eye - get it?)
Oasis Divers
Blue Water Divers
Accommodations:
Unlike the dive ops, there are wide variations in quality in this sphere. I inspected all hotels on the island and will provide much more detail in the next installment. For now:
Turks Head Inn
Arawak Inn
Island House
Guanahani Beach Resort
Sitting Pretty, now Osprey Beach
Salt Raker Inn
Former owner of Turks Head Inn has a few small apartments for rent
near the Diplomat Cafe - work this through your dive op.
II. Details on Accommodations.
1. Turks Head Inn, on Duke Street across from the beach. This is where we stayed. Built around 1840, I believe it is the oldest continuously operating hotel in the T & C's, and has accommodated all sorts of national and international poobahs & potentates. Just finished a refurbishing of both rooms & kitchen. Its 7 units are all decorated in true antiques & each is somewhat different. All have A/C, large TV, phone & minibar, the latter being remarkably reasonable given the usual rip off prices for the goodies inside. Has dive kayaks (a decided plus given that the good shore diving starts at the wall about 200 yards out), various personally propelled water gizmos & bikes to get around on. There is a charge for use of these. They have rinse tanks & a dry storage area for scuba gear. It has one of the better restaurants around, including quite good pizza and a long & delectable dessert menu. Subdued music by an island local on Fridays. Like all resorts on the island, the food prices can give you minor sticker shock.
I would recommend the rooms on the second floor front, which have large porches with a table & chairs & overlook the patio/garden area. The room on the second floor over the kitchen reportedly gets some odors, although I did not enter it during cooking times. Room #5, which pretty much opens onto the dining room & shares a wall with the kitchen, seemed unappealingly situated to me, although I spoke with the couple who were in it & they said no problems. All areas of the property which I saw were kept quite neat & clean during our stay. The bar is a popular spot, and the facility was a veritable beehive by GT standards during the Friday night barbecue, which offers grouper, chicken, ribs & steak on the grill with several choices of salad & rice accompaniments.
Our room, done largely in very dark woods, had a covered four poster bed and plenty of windows and dresser & closet space. The paint trim & cover on the bed created a pleasant atmosphere with the orange blooming Flaming Cordelia trees outside the windows. My only serious complaint was the bathroom, which was quite small & had a toilet which largely obstructed access to the shower stall. The placement of the commode made use by those of us who are
6' tall & better rather challenging. Management works hard but unobtrusively, being available to meet guests needs & keeping track of your satisfaction level without being intrusive. Staff attitudes were good as well.
Overall, I give the place high marks & would return.
2. Island House, over on the southwest corner of North Creek. Just head on up the "ridge," which could only be called this on an island which is flat as a pancake, passing Porky's Garage on the left (has a lift, a major thing on this island) and by far GT's most modernistic building, a new Texaco complex, on the right. Biked on over & was greeted by owner Colin & his striking daughter Donna. She enthusiastically showed us about the splendid facility, which has 5 one bedroom & 3 studio suites, a fresh water pool, lush & neatly tended courtyard gardens, outdoor barbecue for guest use, guest laundry, & a small pier. Rooms have A/C, TV, phones & full kitchens which are equipped with all necessary cooking & eating gear. The latter is of more than passing appeal as the hotel has no bar or restaurant (intentionally omitted to preserve a serene atmosphere) & is outside of town, although gas powered golf carts, bikes & even a pick up truck when needed are available to guests at no extra charge.
The rooms I saw were very nice, with contemporary island furniture in light wood & colorful cloth. A big hit with me was lots of windows with screens, both missing at a number of resorts on GT, an island which can breed a healthy mosquito population.
If you don't mind being somewhat inconveniently located, without an on site bar or restaurant, & not on a beach, this place is an absolute winner. I will give this hotel a try my next time around.
3. Arawak Inn, down south just past South Dock. A cinder block establishment painted in yellow, I found it in need of a paint job. The grounds were quite untidy, with litter & unburied wires & pipes laying all about the lawns. There is a fresh water pool. Resort is on a nice beach & has tanks available for shore diving, and has the advantage of being much closer to better shore diving sites than the hotels up the coast to the north where the wall runs farther away from the island.
A very agreeable woman showed me several rooms. There are 16 condo style units on two levels, with choices of a single queen or two double beds. All have kitchens equipped with all necessary gear for cooking & eating. Upstairs rooms have carpeting & downstairs have tile floors. Those I toured were roomy & generally in satisfactory repair, although one had carpeting with big stains on it & a crack in the bedroom wall. Has a bar & restaurant. I dove with a group who was staying there & got conflicting opinions on the food, although all seemed to like it there.
I understand it has undergone some renovations since I last saw it, but would nonetheless have reservations about its spiff index.
4. [CLOSED INDEFINITELY] Guanahani Hotel, up north & on the beach. Under new ownership but still lacking. A bit inconveniently located, it has 8 rooms on 2 floors, all with small balconies. Has A/C. Spoke with a group who was staying there & they noted things like faulty A/C, broken door knobs & mediocre food. Has a bar, restaurant & pool. Grounds looked much like those at Arawak with wires & pipes exposed. Do not provide conveyance for guests, although dive ops will get you at the beach or by truck. As usual, all staff I met were quite nice. Overall, this place, although serviceable, would fall low on my list.
5. [RENOVATIONS ARE ONGOING] Osprey Beach (formerly Sitting Pretty), at south end of Duke Street & right on the beach. Under ownership/management of the same folks who operatge the venerable Salt Raker Inn. This is a sister property to the Guanahani. Has a pool with small bar & beach furniture. All rooms with ocean view. Of note is the small snack bar across the street in their old property, which has a newly installed soft ice cream machine, a rarity on GT, which churns out a very tasty product. Also does hot dogs, chicken, other ice cream concoctions, etc. Personnel at snack bar exceptionally nice.
6. Salt Raker Inn, a venerable spot with roots back before 1850, on Duke Street between Sitting Pretty & Turks Head. Rooms are decent sized & breezy. Nice guest library selection. Their Secret Garden Restaurant & adjacent bar are popular, and the food is quite good. Don't miss their Key Lime Pie. Mitch Rolling, the owner of Blue Water Divers, plays guitar & sings on Sunday & Wednesdays from about 7:30PM to 11:00PM, depending on level of action. Audience participation is encouraged.
Overall, chances are you'd be happy here.
III. Diving in General.
The west, or leeward side of GT has been a protected Marine Park since 1991. There is a patrol boat, but the only time I saw it was under tow after a storm flipped it. It is unclear how much funding there is for enforcement, however, I understand that the local dive industry has its own ways of "discouraging" violations. I can assure you I wouldn't Smitty, a massive DM for Sea Eye who can carry 6 tanks at a time, leaning on me for filching a grouper. A DM for Blue Water, Carl, is only slightly less physically intimidating.
The Grand Turk Wall runs for about 7 miles about 200 yards off the western shore & is the center of dive activity. It can start as shallow as about 30 feet & drop off to 7,000+ feet, making for some pretty sensational abyssal vistas. On the rare occasions when it is too rough to dive the west, the east can be done. It reportedly has very healthy reef with some swim through possibilities, but is shallower diving with no dramatic wall action.
There are about 14 moored sites. The major sites from north to south are: Aquarium, Rolling Hill, Gorgonian Wall, McDonalds, Amphitheater, The Annex, Finbars Reef, Black Forest, The Anchor, The Library, Cables, Coral Garden, Canyons, Tunnels, English Point, The Chair, Chief Ministers, Tiki Hut, Wind Mills & The Amazing Abyss. These sites are all very short rides, like 5-12 minutes, and the boats return to shore for fresh tanks & a break for surface interval. As such, they do not have heads, GPS, oxygen, radios or the like.
Speaking of the boats, they are almost exclusively 24' Carolina Skiffs (wide, flat bottom craft) with partial covers. Entry is by easy backroll & exit by a small rear ladder. Gear is typically doffed & handed up upon exit, but you need not do so. You can hardly imagine more relaxed diving than this. Usually carrying about 6 divers & a DM who also captains, there is absolutely no rush to do anything. You can buddy, follow the DM or go it on your own within reason. Depth limits are suggested but only recreational limits are given any vigor & even then not much. Often it was a good 10 minutes between the first and last divers both into & out of the water. The DM often surfaces after about 45 minutes or so, but you are free to explore below the boat until your air says "It's time."
The reefs are remarkably healthy, with a wide range of tropicals, sponges & corals. You could easily exhaust large sections of Paul Humann's ID books in a week's worth of diving here. There are regular sightings of nurse sharks, green & spotted morays, & hawksbill turtles. Lemon & hammerhead sharks are very occasionally seen, but don't count on it. There is the very rare reported sighting of a whale shark, but, then, where have you been that there isn't?
Of course, the area is famous for the humpback whale migration as they follow the Columbus Passage down to the Silver Bank off the Dominican Republic. This passage usually reaches its peak in Feb & Mar, but whales can occasionally be seen in Jan & Apr as well. Viewing is done by snorkeling for those who are up to it, and by boat for those who are not. Mantas are also about, with the best chances of a sighting around midsummer.
As for shore diving, it is mostly sand & turtle grass bottom until you hit the edge of the wall, which is about a 200+ yard surface swim from the dive shop beaches. Take a dive kayak. The land & wall do seem to draw closer in the south, so if you're committed to heavy shore diving via surface swim, check out the Arawak Inn.
IV. Dive Ops & My Dives.
Only three ops on island & these are briefly described, and websites given, in Chapter 1. All are lined up on Duke Street just across the road from the beach. Only about a 2 minute walk between them. The shops seem to work cooperatively, and, unlike other places I have been, I did not hear any make a disparaging remark about another. I was able to locate a 100CF tank at Sea Eye, which has several, and the 3 ops had no problem passing it around as I rotated among them.
All ops: (1) come to your hotel to do the paper work & haul your gear prior to the diving; (2) keep their boats out front on the beach; (3) set up your gear if you like; (4) have rinse tanks, drying rooms & secured gear storage facilities; (5) do the same sites; (6) leave at about 9:00AM for the first dive & dive at about the same times; (7) make no nudges about gratuities, either overt or otherwise; and (8) show a deep respect for the reef & are knowledgeable about the marine life. It was pretty amazing to see the Sea Eye crew get excited about the stingray feed (more about this later), or a flock of hunting frigate birds, or a passing school of baitfish breaking the water, when you know this must be the quadrillionth time they have observed such.
1. Sea Eye. I dove first with Sea Eye - can catch the owner, Cecil, underwater in some of their ads. DM was Smitty, a burly but gentle ex-police officer in the T&C's who left the force about 8 years ago because he wanted to interact with people "under more pleasant circumstances." Already the father of 6, including FIVE daughters, I suspect he also figured it was time to start hanging close to home so as to keep an eye on his interests. He is an instantly likable fellow & a good conversationalist once you get him going. They have a nicely cleaned up ex-drug running boat for trips out top see the humpbacks.
Blacksmith Rock, 65', 56". Spotted a gray pigmy filefish in a matching gray branching sea rod. Very impressed by the varied & dense tropicals, corals & sponges.
Library (AM), 57', 62". Lots of crevices in which to find things, such as small spotted morays & squirrelfish.
Library (PM), 61", 65". Several colorful lobsters, a small octopus & a beautiful, delicate orange ball corallimorph. Lit up a blue tang for a Nassau grouper to take, which it did, but is was too big to swallow, so he just swam around with the tail protruding from his mouth.
2. Blue Water. Owner, Mitch Rolling, left his home state of Iowa at age 18 to find his fortune. As GT looked a far better match for his budget than his first choice, the South Seas, he came & stayed for about 20 years & many thousands of dives now. One gets the feeling he would rather be a musician, however, and he performs Sunday & Wednesday nights at the Salt Raker. He has a CD for sale & apparently has self-produced 3 albums. With a good sense of humor, he can be quite the ham over a drink or meal. [NOTE: For those of you who may remember Dave, Mitch's dive & muscial partner, he left about a year ago & now runs a catering business on Nantucket with his significant other]. DM Carl is built somewhat like Smitty except in Sumo form. He is laid back even by GT standards, and on several occasions the delay between my asking & him answering a question was so lengthy that I wondered if he heard me. A very fine chap.
Amphitheater, 99', 50". Follow a sand plain as it narrows, enter a "V" in the reef at about 45' & follow the steep slope down as deep as you want. By the time I checked my gauge, I was at nearly 100'. The wall sports some very healthy wire coral & gorgonians. Back on the sand, a small colony of garden eels let me approach closer than anywhere I have been - I could actually see their faces.
Sand Canyons, 57', 60". Spotted a brown pigmy filefish in a brown sea whip.
3. Oasis. Owner Dale, an easy going woman who left the ad biz in Atlanta about 2 1/2 years ago, was the most accommodating of the DMs I experienced in terms of pointing out neat stuff, such as a fingerprint cyphoma. DM Austin is the antithesis of Smitty & Carl, being tall and slender. With his black baseball cap & small, oval shades, I suspect he may be somewhat of a ladies man. He provided very thorough dive briefings, which he concluded with a short & nonintrusive prayer. He worked hard to find things, like the resident seahorse at Rolling Hills. [NOTE: Those of you who have been to GT very recently & had the pleasure of meeting Titan, Dale's black & white Great Dane, will be saddened to hear that he died of pneumonia while we were there]. [HAVE A LARGER BOAT FOR TRIPS TO THE WHALES & SOUTH CAICOS, BUT SEEM TO KEEP IT A SECRET].
Black Forest, 81', 58". The healthiest stands of black coral I have seen, bar none. Amazing how nice things can be when people aren't raping them to make cheezy jewelry. These outstanding corals, however, were eclipsed by the fabulous fan-like deep water gorgonians which spread as far as the eye could see. Saw about a 4 1/2 foot nurse shark swim by at the reef top. While a great shark lover, nurses don't generally do much for me, but I must admit they are considerably more interesting when swimming vigorously at close range.
Rolling Hills, 61', 66". Home to GT's only known seahorse, a large mature male who is usually around but eluded us despite Austin's best efforts to locate him.
Tunnels, 92', 56". Enter a short swim through, just big enough for one, at about 55' & exit at about 85'. Again, great corals & sponges. At top of reef there were schools of creolefish, juvenile princess parrotfish & bluehead wrasse fry at every turn.
English Point, 77', 56". Nice schools of mahogany snapper, as well as creole wrasse mixed with their frequent traveling partners, the boga. There is a large anchor around which reef has formed which you probably will not see unless the DM points it out. Found a juvenile hawksbill turtle in a crevice, which came out & swam along slowly for quite some distance, seemingly curious about me.
So as not sound like "Skin Diver" magazine, there were some things about GT diving I would change if I could. For me (and I heard others voice a similar sentiment), the diving does not have enough variety, as even the lovely wall & reef can get a bit tedious after a while. The place would be far more interesting if it had some wrecks, pinnacles, muck dives, more consistent big critter action, drifts along the wall on high voltage currents, or something else to switch up with once in a while. But, of course, except for the wrecks, this just can't be created. Sea Eye & Oasis need to spend the money on gas & offre frequent day trips to the wall off South Caicos, the wreck of the Endymion off Salt Cay, etc., and a nice change of pace.
Another thing I would change is the viz. Not that the viz was especially poor - it wasn't. Perhaps I am just spoiled by the likes of Coz quality water, or perhaps there was some lingering effect of the recent coral spawn, but I really wished for some 125'++ days to appreciate the tremendous wall. I understand such viz can occur in late summer/early fall - I hope so.
V. Things to do.
1. Play golf on the rattiest pitch & putt type course you've ever seen, I guarantee. On Waterloo, out by South Dock, it costs $25 for all day, including clubs, balls & tees. You can't tell fairway from rough, and in either you'll have a very challenging time. Nothing like the lovely course in Provo, but, then, you can't even look at that for $25.
2. [MAY HAVE FOLDED] Rent a good looking scooter from Val's for about $35/day & tour the island. Go the far NE of the island and view a cool old light house. Val's is located behind the Triangle Gas Station over by the Diplomat Cafe. Drive left & wear a helmet.
3. Go horseback riding with Gail. Your hotel can easily arrange this.
4. Visit the museum over on Front Street. Well worth the $5.00. Go before 2PM & get a guided tour - you'll learn far more that way.
5. Do the afternoon trip over to small, uninhabited Gibb's Cay where there is a barbecue. Then go free-diving for conch, which is prepared fresh in a salad for all to share. I learned lots about conch, including how to determine maturity, remove the critter from the shell, and even how to sex type. There are fish & conch leftovers to feed a group of southern stingrays, including some good sized ones, a somewhat skittish eagle ray & a couple of juvenile lemon sharks. This is done just standing in the water or snorkeling. Beats GC's Stingray City all to hell. Rum punch is served before returning to GT.
6. Get a beachside table at the Water's Edge & sip a Jimmy Buffet "boat drink" while watching the sunset.
7. Have lunch or dinner at the Diplomat Cafe, where the food is reasonable, atmosphere friendly & you can play a $.25 one-armed bandit or video poker machine.
8. Have dinner at the Regal Beagle. Easy to find with its red door.
Good food & reasonable prices for GT.
9. Go fishing. Your hotel can easily arrange this.
10. Visit one of the island's prides, the new prison. They are especially pleased with the new egg project."
Hope this gets you started.
DocVikingo
