CARIBBEAN DIVING

ATLANTIC OCEAN DOUBLE D & North Caicos Middle Caicos

East Caicos THE G-SPOT Providenciales CAICOS TURKS West Caicos ISLANDS ISLANDS – TO THUNDERDOME! Grand Turk French Cay

Liveaboard-diving is hard to come by in the Turks & Caicos Islands, so DAN BURTON 25 MILES seizes the chance to visit some intriguingly named but under-explored dive-sites

us out in the blue. We left the safety of the wall to get a bit closer, but the OR MANY YEARS , the Turks & the divers, swam in close to us, giving ray was shy, and with a graceful flip Caicos Islands’ own slogan was me the perfect opportunity for some of its wings glided back to the safety F“Where on Earth is the Turks & world record that still stands. I didn’t classic shark photographs. of the depths. Caicos? ” But in a relatively short time dive around some of the other islands, visited, and remain quiet and pristine. That afternoon we moved over to the The site also had a number of they have gained a reputation as one but the few wall dives I managed to get be timetabled to the minute. Allowing There are three main sites to visit, G-Spot, a site reportedly named because resident nurse sharks, one of which of the top dive destinations in the in were breath-taking, with almost for one-hour dives with 90-minute all situated on top of this wall. Our first “it’s hard to find, but well worth it when was a tame specimen named Abigail. Caribbean, known for offering some unlimited visibility and many shark surface intervals gave us just enough stop was Double D, presumably named you do”! We did three dives there, She followed us all the way through of the world’s best wall-diving. encounters. time for meals, snacks and the odd nap. for the two large peaked reefs that lie exploring the various sections of the the dive, swimming close to the reef Despite being mostly rocky, semi- Tanya put the islands on the map, Our first destination was just two side by side. wall. The top of the reef had a similar in search of prey. barren and covered in cacti and thorny and she was treated like royalty by the hours’ south, a beautiful uninhabited The boat was moored on top of the layout to Double D, but we required We finished our dive in the shallows, acacia trees, the islands are lined with locals, with her face even appearing on sandy cay named French Quay. drop-off in 15m. Beneath it lies a typical guidance to find the elusive G-Spot. and lay on the sands. The friendly shark more than 200 miles of powder-sugar the local stamps alongside that of HM The island is a wildlife refuge, used Caribbean reef with an array of hard glided towards my buddy John, and sand beaches, terraces and shallow the Queen. by terns during the nesting season and corals and tube sponges, and seafans AS WE SWAM DOWN the wall, it was swam beneath him as if taking refuge. turquoise/emerald waters. My visit this year took me first to the enjoying frequent visits from sea eagles. swaying in the light currents. clear that we had indeed located it. The That evening, we revisited G-Spot on The Turks are separated from the western end of the archipelago and the In summer the sandy shallow areas Just nearby, large sandy areas are area was covered with an abundance of a night dive. As we explored its nooks Caicos by a 22-mile wide, 1.3-mile-deep idyllic island of Providenciales. There around the cay draw in nurse sharks, home to foraging sting rays, and a spectacular barrel and tubular purple and crevices, I noticed some small white channel, which brings large pelagics I boarded the Turks & Caicos Explorer which use the area for breeding. carpet of garden eels. sponges protruding from the wall. dots scouting the perimeter of our and underwater travellers into the II , a purpose-designed 20-berth 40m Just a mile south of the island, the Our guide Lynn led us down the We made our way along the wall with cluster of dive-lights. A flash of a torch shallower water. . reef drops off to more than 1800m. This gradual slope to 27m, where there was schooling jacks scouting the reef’s tip, revealed the culprit. Grey reef sharks My last visit to the islands was back We were promised an action-packed is one of the favourite locations for the a sheer vertical drop-off into the abyss. and darting into schools of small fry. were out looking for stray fish helplessly in 2002, when I covered Tanya Streeter’s week with up to five dives a day, and for only two that operate on A number of grey reef sharks Our group drifted along in the slight caught in our torch-beams. 160m No Limits freedive, a women’s such a schedule to work, the day had to the island groups – the reefs are rarely Top: Grey reef shark. appeared from the blue and, unfazed by , and a large eagle ray swam past A number of nurse sharks,

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Even with a full tank, it’ll take your breath away.

Each day spent in the waters of Turks & Caicos is a day stunningly well spent. Our water sports activities are superior to those of any other destination in the world. In fact, once you have visited our beautiful shores, you will understand why we are known throughout including Abigail, followed us as we the world as the “Beautiful by Nature” Turks & Caicos Islands. explored the ledges, nosing into the www.TurksandCaicosTourism.com BEAUTIFUL BY NATURE reefs as they searched the crevices to sniff out sleeping prey. I had brought my macro lens down to get some sleeping fish images. As I was snapping, a frantic commotion of jack hit the reef right in front me. The blur of fish wriggled frantically under the reef and cornered a solitary squirrelfish. Within seconds it had been torn into small pieces. All that was left were a few floating scales. Clockwise from top left: extensive video collection, and We headed further north to West WHAT ALL Divers jump in off the Turks DIVERS The culprits followed the dive team’s particularly enjoyed the black and white Caicos Island, a rocky limestone nature torches, looking for more innocent & Caicos Explorer 2 ; getting world of the cult 1960s TV underwater reserve, and made our way to RGI (Rock WANT FOR close to a nurse shark on CHRISTMAS! victims who dared to wander out into G-Spot reef; a friendly adventure series Sea Hunt , starring Garden Interlude), a white-sand seabed the open. As a torch-holder, my Nassau grouper; tube Lloyd Bridges as diver Mike Nelson. leading down to a lush, colourful garden excitement at seeing the kill was replaced sponges on a wall dive. The boat cabins were comfortable, reef of hard coral and sponges. As we by an uncomfortable feeling of guilt. fitted with en suite bathrooms and dropped down the sloping gully, Lucy Below: A grouper providing ample water for those who the Nassau grouper greeted us. fails to hide in the MOST OF OUR EVENINGS were taken coral heads. enjoy a good soak. The 30kg fish came right up to us, up with night dives, so after a long The dive-decks were well designed, and allowed us to stroke her. I took full day’s diving many people retired early. with plenty of space for moving about, advantage, working with Lynn to get A group of us took advantage of the and kitting up. Photographers and more images. videographers were especially well Lucy hung around for 40 minutes and looked after, with a purpose-designed made sure she was in all the photos. Not camera prep table with a compressed wanting to miss any action, she perched airline, a dunk-tank big enough to take on my shoulder and enjoyed close a bath in, and a pile of fresh “fluff-free” contact with the dive group. As we left towels for drying cameras. the safety of the reef and headed up, In fact the friendly crew supplied fresh Lucy disappeared back into the depths. towels after each dive, and hot towels after a night dive, accompanied by hot WE MADE A FEW DIVES on the main chocolate. Food was what I call “good Providenciales Island on our final day. Southern home cookin’” – large steaks, Day-boats were around with divers ribs, chicken, salads, grits and so on – and snorkellers, but we saw no more and the very accommodating chef always than four. had special dishes on offer. For an interesting shallow dive, we Explorer has a membrane system, with were taken to the Thunderdome. At banked of 32%, but can pump up only 10m, this is ideal for training to 50% if required. Tanks were usually students and for photography. filled within two minutes of surfacing. The metal dome structure was put

www. di vErNEt.com 75 CARIBBEAN DIVING www.TheScubaPlace.co.uk Come and see us at THE NEC Dive Show and explore our live-aboard and shore diving destinations!

RED SEA Dahab El Gouna El Quseir Hurghada Marsa Alam Sharm El Sheikh INDIAN OCEAN Mauritius Seychelles The Maldives CARIBBEAN SEA Bahamas Barbados down on the reef in the 1980s for a but as you swim through the remaining Above: Diver inside These included some species new to Bermuda French TV show. pieces of the structure it’s clear that they the Thunderdome. me, including the pipehorse, a relative Bonaire Contestants would freedive through offer refuge to schools of yellowtails and of the seahorse, and the small pea Below: A sting ray Costa Rica (and Pacific coast) an opening in the top of the dome to other fish. hunting for fish in (juvenile trunkfish). I didn’t get a picture Cuba retrieve pearls from mermaids, who Sunbeams shine down through the the sand. of this tiny fish, but next time I’ll be Dominican Republic would give them air as they collected holes in the dome quarters, and dance armed with a 200mm macro lens! their tokens. Unfortunately, contestants on the rippling white seabed below. Turks & Caicos is a great place to visit, Saba, St Maarten and St Kitts weren’t briefed about exhaling when I did two dives on the Thunderdome, with few boats and postcard beaches. St Lucia surfacing, so a number were reportedly and thoroughly enjoyed the experience It’s not a place for wreck-divers, it Turks and Caicos bent, with some even embolising. and the photo opportunities it offered. should be pointed out, and most of the The show wasn’t a big hit anyway, and diving is between 12-33m, with no deep GULF OF MEXICO was cancelled shortly afterwards! stuff allowed. Cancun Despite its unfortunate history, the CONTESTANTS WOULD However, Explorer is considering Thunderdome is a beautiful site to dive. catering for diving in the A hurricane in the 1990s damaged the FREEDIVE TO RETRIEVE future, which would open up some dome and it now sits broken apart. incredible deep-wall dives. MEXICO PACIFIC The surrounding area is barren sand, PEARLS FROM MERMAIDS Galapagos Islands Guadalupe Sea of Cortez FACTFILE Socorro Islands GETTING THERE 8British Airways flies into Providenciales. No visa And many more … needed for less than 90 days’ stay. DIVING & ACCOMMODATION 8 Personal service, dive and destination expertise come Turks & Caicos Explorer II , as standard! Bespoke and tailor made diving holidays www.explorerventures.com. for groups, clubs and individuals are our speciality. WHEN TO GO 8Year-round. MONEY 8US dollar. PRICES 8The Scuba Place organises a one-week trip Tel: 020 7644 8252 for £2259. This includes seven nights’ full-board accommodation (including alcohol), flights from London Heathrow via Miami and air-diving (nitrox extra). Not included is the $150 local tax and online ESTA Travel Authorisation, www.thescubaplace.co.uk 3101 FURTHER INFORMATION 8 www.turksandcaicostourism.com

Winners of the Virgin Atlantic Presidents’ 76 www. di vErNEt.com Award in 2013