Turks & Caicos July 5 - 13 2008

[scubby-doo]

The week I was there, Fifi drove the boat everyday. Maybe cause some of his guys were on break, so he had to. He even drove the bus to pick up the people on 2 days, since his guy Richard was out. I liked the large size of the Cats, it made the trip really nice and smooth, no seasickness at all, since the boat was so stable ! When we went, there were no more than 20 divers, split up into 3-4 groups of 4-5 each, no too bad. I also found it distressing that the boat went to the same spot area, West Caicos. I heard there were so many good dive sites in the Caicos, I want ed to go all over the place. But once I was in the water, I realized that it is all the same stuff anyways, it's "the wall" with different fish. There are all kinds of creatures living there, and every time I went down, I saw something new and interesting. I saw large angel fish feeding, I saw the largest lobsters I have ever seen ( the size of a small child), and saw sharks, and rays and eels. The wall on West Caicos is so alive with marine life, that even diving the same place each day, it is a new experience if you take your time to look around.

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Very well said.

 

[bmaber]

Hi All!
Thank you so much for your comments.
David and I went to the island with every intention of diving with Caicos Adventures, but when we got there it was late Saturday night, all dive shops closed. Come Sunday morning we found that Caicos Adventures was closed Sunday. We dropped into a bigger dive shop near them called Dive Provo. They are open all week. Dive Provo is run by a nice group of Brits, and I was surprised in talking to them how much experience they had, all Instructors (no DM) and most with thousands of dives. They clearly had good boats, 3 good size ships in great repair and all with powerful motors and back decks for giant stride exit. Dive Provo treated us very well, they put all your gear on/off the boat, fresh rinse each night -- all you nead to do is blow bubbles. We dove 12 times including a night dive and every time at a new site. Water was amazing 200ft Viz one day. We saw sharks, turtles, rays, eles, dolphins (top side and below). We were particularly impressed with the dive called Amphitheater. Over all an amazing dive trip, and I have done some amazing trips before but this was one of the best.

The Staff at Dive Provo is very nice, especially Steph, who was always there to great us with a smile. The only one exception is Debbie who calls herself "Debs", she is a bit uptight and she is not much of a boat captain. Jim has some cool stories about tech diving, and we went on some great dives with Nigel and Chris (who has 10,000 + dive logged).

We did visit the store at Caicos Adventures and the one lady on the counter was very interested in selling $25 T-shirts but seemed to be totally unsure of when the dive boats were going out or the cost. One night we went to a local bar and met a few dives who know Caicos Adventures and they said things have changed lately, with a big turn over problem and many crew changes. Hard to say if second hand stories are true, but it sure is true in the store.

When we were at the marina we dropped in on Turtle dives, and they seem very nice, I would be happy to dive with them too.

But for right now, mid 2008 -- I think Dive Provo was our best bet.

Again thanks to all on Scuba board for your input!

 

[dgangi]

Great write-up. Thanks for your observations about Dive Provo and Caicos Adventures.

My wife and I are headed to Provo in 3 weeks for a dive trip and both of these shops were on my list. CA was at the top, but now after your comments I'm not so sure.

Has anybody else gone out with CA lately (as in the past 30-60 days)? And if so, what did you think?

Thx...Doug

 

[chucksaul]

Thanks for the great write up. We leave on Aug 29 for a week with Dive Provo and I feel much better seeing your words... Couple of quick questions... How many dives a day did you do and did you try shore diving or is that just Out...

Dgangi... Sorry we will be missing you...

Anyone reading this going to be there from August 30-Spet 6???

 

[Rescue Diver68]

The week I was there, Fifi drove the boat everyday. Maybe cause some of his guys were on break, so he had to. He even drove the bus to pick up the people on 2 days, since his guy Richard was out. I liked the large size of the Cats, it made the trip really nice and smooth, no seasickness at all, since the boat was so stable ! When we went, there were no more than 20 divers, split up into 3-4 groups of 4-5 each, no too bad. I also found it distressing that the boat went to the same spot area, West Caicos. I heard there were so many good dive sites in the Caicos, I want ed to go all over the place. But once I was in the water, I realized that it is all the same stuff anyways, it's "the wall" with different fish. There are all kinds of creatures living there, and every time I went down, I saw something new and interesting. I saw large angel fish feeding, I saw the largest lobsters I have ever seen ( the size of a small child), and saw sharks, and rays and eels. The wall on West Caicos is so alive with marine life, that even diving the same place each day, it is a new experience if you take your time to look around.

Are Andy and Claire still working on the boats with Caicos Adventures?

 

[SusanWH20]

Just want to second the recommendation for Flamingo Divers.

Dove with them 2 years ago at the recommendation of a dive master friend of ours. Since then, we have hit a few other places on our diving wish list (Aruba for wrecks, Maui for lava tubes and such, etc.) and just booked a trip back to Provo for November (thus breaking our rule about going to the same place twice within a few years LOL).

Anyhow, we are booked to dive with Mickey and Jayne the entire trip. The group size is guaranteed small and I honestly felt that I came home a better diver (there's always room for improvement). I can be an anxious diver at times (wasn't sure I wanted to go through the swim through at the Gully at first for fear of knocking the coral) and both were great about that. They also were wonderful about letting us stay down as long as possible (within safety limits of course). Although I wish they offered afternoon dives but then again, it's nice we'll have time to check out the rest of the island. Last time we brought home one of the "potcake" puppies so we'll see what trouble we can get into this go around! Here's hoping the weather cooperates and we get to dive French Cay.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Did you have a good trip? We are going in November and am curious to here how you liked it. We are doing a liveaboard!

 

[andy3401]

My wife, son, and I visited T&C July 1-9. Stayed at the Ocean Club and dove exclusively with Caicos Adventures. We found them very safe and competent, and very knowledgable of the West Caicos dive sites. Their boats are large and very stable with ample room for donning and removing gear. Following a relatively comprehensive pre-trip safety briefing is a comfortable 30-45 minute boat ride to the dive sites. After a briefing on your particular site, expect some realy great wall diving.

I must say that the CA dive crew were some of the most safety conscious and attentive we've experienced. Make sure that you let your DM know what your level of experience is.

A good place to spot sharks is near the live-aboards that seem to "accidentally" drop food overboard. The're's a really friendly, good size, grouper near "The Gully" that will let you scratch his chin and rub his sides.

If you're going to the CA store for information, do it after 3:30 - 4:00 when the crews from the boats are most likely to be in the shop. The "local" sales girls in the store are pretty clueless about the dive sites or the operation. The dive crews will hook you up with the straight scoop and put you with a dive group of comparable experience levels.

Eat at the Shark Bite, the Tiki Hut, and the Conch Shack. (you'll need a car)

I highly recommend Caicos Adventures for a safe, fun dive experience. Are WE going back?? Heck Yeah!

Please tell FiFi that the Santa Barbara Fireman says hi.

Hope this helps, Good Diving,

Andy

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Nice post. Welcome to Scubaboard!