What did you like most about Turks & Caicos liveaboards?

[Akimbo]

One last thing, the Explorer swings on it's mooring a lot.

True, but liked it. I would burn up most of my remaining gas hanging off the rudder strut and enjoying the ride. She swings is a strange figure-8.

 

[pconsidine]

Yes, I tend to cover my light with my hand whenever we see a light-sensitive creature on a night dive, letting out just a little bit of light between my fingers and from around the edges; that little bit of light, plus the light from other divers' lights, is usually enough to see the creature well, but not enough to scare it away. Does anyone else do this?

good tip but on next trip I will bring a red filter to put over light also

 

[pconsidine]

True, but liked it. I would burn up most of my remaining gas hanging off the rudder strut and enjoying the ride. She swings is a strange figure-8.

agreed- brings you for a nice ride but got to wait for other divers to surface so a bunch not clinging to rope

 

[pconsidine]

I was on the Turk & Caicos Explorer in the fall of 2014. Here are some of my impressions:

The Boat & Crew:
The boat is not a 5 Star resort, but within a few minutes, it will be home.
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Dining area and Main Salon

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The Dive Deck

You will be made to feel welcome and the crew will hit that magical balance of treating you like family while still looking after your every need. The two DMs while I was on board were a pair of sisters from the UK, Pippa and Bunjee Jo. Their dive briefings are among the best I have ever seen. Here is an example from the week that I was on of their briefing for a dive site known as "G Spot" (unfortunately, the sound is not that great).

The Diving:
IMHO, the reefs were healthy but perhaps not spectacular. There was abundant fish life and as noted, it was very "sharky", with Reef Sharks being seen almost every day. The "typical" dive site would be a sandy flat at about 50 feet leading to a sheer wall that drops of to the abyss.
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Coral Head in the shallows

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The edge of the wall

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The face of the wall

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Reef Shark in the shallows

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Over/Under shot

Conclusion:
I guess the best way to sum up any trip is to ask myself "If I had the chance, would I do it again?" I would whole heartedly answer that with "Yes".

great photos and we as divers do not want 5 Star, we want great diving and friendly service. And I like yourself would return in a second to Explorer II

 

[Ironborn]

We also hung off the back one night and watched the reef sharks feed in the bow lights - later that night when we were done diving they moved to the back and I watched them feed there also.

Did the sharks or any other large predators follow you and use your dive lights to hunt on night dives? It is typical for tarpon to follow divers and their lights on night dives and use them in order to hunt on Bonaire. I did six night dives on Bonaire, and we always had at least a few tarpon following us and our lights.

 

[Ironborn]

As far as reef sharks, I've never seen more than at French Cay except at shark feeds and I've dove a Bahamas liveaboard also. I also counted about 2 dozen Stingrays one dive - most sleeping on the sand near the mooring. Many with their compannion fish so that was cool to see. A couple let me get real close b4 raising their tails to warn me off - I'm talking 3-4' away. I was ambushed by a big old turtle at one of the West Caicos sites - swimming out to the reef he was suddenly in my face. The DM said sometimes he bumps people in the chest as he goes by.

We also hung off the back one night and watched the reef sharks feed in the bow lights - later that night when we were done diving they moved to the back and I watched them feed there also.

We didn't see any dolphins but heard them once at a site they were known to visit. As mentioned no wrecks except Thunderdome - a shallow re-bar set of domes used by a defunct tv show. It's one of the first dives you do off NW Point.

One night dive we followed some conch for a while, they make very distinct patterns in teh sand. A huge eagle ray flew over.

The water is crystal clear so you need less light than you think. I amused myself at safety stops lighting up the bottom 60' below and I only have a cheap 200lumen dive light.

I'd go again...

Thank you for your feedback; it validates what I have read elsewhere.

You wrote that you would go again...would you go again in, say, mid-late November 2017, after two hurricanes in a row? The Explorer's update said that they expect things to return to normal by that point. You mentioned that the visibility was excellent there...I wonder how long it would take all of those suspended particles to settle.

Longer-term reef damage is another consideration, but, based on your account, it sounds like I might be too busy counting the abundant sharks and rays to notice the occasional uprooted gorgonian, broken sponge, or pile of sand on the reef. Does that sound right to you?

So here's the bottom line: I want to do a liveaboard trip in mid-late November, and at this point my only options are Turks & Caicos or the Bahamas. It sounds like Turks & Caicos normally offers significantly better diving, but, given the two hurricanes in a row, I wonder if it might not be better to wait and give Turks & Caicos more time to recover and visit it when it is in better shape. The Bahamas might offer a more modest quality of diving in general, but at least it would not have recently suffered so much damage.

Conversely, having done liveaboards in both destinations, would you agree with this statement: "A bad day of diving in the Turks & Caicos is better than a good day of diving in the Bahamas?"

 

[KathyV]

This is what Explorer Ventures has to say about it, of course you would expect them to be optimistic, but it doesn't sound bad:

"Turks & Caicos Explorer II arrived back in Provo yesterday, after cutting our previous charter short and sheltering in a protected bay in Haiti during Maria's passage. Though the island experienced damage from Irma, Maria only had limited effect on Provo, unlike points east such as Grand Turk. The airport in Provo is open, businesses are open, and hotels will be opening again over the next couple of weeks. Capt. JF Chabot reported after Irma that there is obvious sedimentation to the reefs at French Cay as well as the expected damage to sea fans and barrel sponges, with sites at West Caicos and NW Point a bit better. Interestingly, old reef structure in the sand channels is termporarily visible, and we've seen some species uncommon in the area - large schools of ocean trigger fish and horse eye jacks, huge trunk fish, and goliath grouper. Based on past experience, we anticipate the sedimentation to decrease fairly quickly, with the reefs back to normal in 1-2 months. We'll be back on charter on October 7, after a previously-scheduled maintenance week."

 

[Hoag]

Conversely, having done liveaboards in both destinations, would you agree with this statement: "A bad day of diving in the Turks & Caicos is better than a good day of diving in the Bahamas?"

Short answer: Not necessarily. I really enjoy both destinations, and will be on the Aquacat (out of Nassau) in October.

 

[KathyV]

Did the sharks or any other large predators follow you and use your dive lights to hunt on night dives? It is typical for tarpon to follow divers and their lights on night dives and use them in order to hunt on Bonaire. I did six night dives on Bonaire, and we always had at least a few tarpon following us and our lights.

Tarpons definitely like to use the divers' lights to hunt on Bonaire and elsewhere. Once on a T&C liveaboard night dive, at least 7 reef sharks stayed in the lights under the boat and kept circling the divers. I think they were attracted to the light but it was a little nerve-racking. I remember that I was watching one shark in front of me when I saw my husband's eyes widen as another shark came from behind me and right over my shoulder and straight at him before veering off.

 

[scbaNE2179]

I've been on the TCEX2 3 times in a little over a year's time and I would go back as many times if I could.

My review when I was on the TCEX2 on 12/10/2016