us out in the blue. We left the safety of the wall to get a bit closer, but the ray was shy, and with a graceful flip of its wings glided back to the safety of the depths.The site also had a number of

resident nurse sharks, one of which was a tame specimen named Abigail.She followed us all the way through

the dive, swimming close to the reef in search of prey. We finished our dive in the shallows,

and lay on the sands. The friendly sharkglided towards my buddy John, andswam beneath him as if taking refuge.That evening, we revisited G-Spot on

a night dive. As we explored its nooksand crevices, I noticed some small whitedots scouting the perimeter of ourcluster of dive-lights. A flash of a torchrevealed the culprit. Grey reef sharkswere out looking for stray fish helplesslycaught in our torch-beams.A number of nurse sharks,

72

FOR MANY YEARS, the Turks &Caicos Islands’ own slogan was“Where on Earth is the Turks &

Caicos?” But in a relatively short timethey have gained a reputation as one of the top dive destinations in theCaribbean, known for offering some of the world’s best wall-diving.Despite being mostly rocky, semi-

barren and covered in cacti and thornyacacia trees, the islands are lined withmore than 200 miles of powder-sugarsand beaches, terraces and shallowturquoise/emerald waters.The Turks are separated from the

Caicos by a 22-mile wide, 1.3-mile-deepchannel, which brings large pelagicsand underwater travellers into theshallower water.My last visit to the islands was back

in 2002, when I covered Tanya Streeter’s160m No Limits freedive, a women’s

world record that still stands. I didn’tdive around some of the other islands,but the few wall dives I managed to getin were breath-taking, with almostunlimited visibility and many sharkencounters.Tanya put the islands on the map,

and she was treated like royalty by thelocals, with her face even appearing onthe local stamps alongside that of HMthe Queen.My visit this year took me first to the

western end of the archipelago and theidyllic island of Providenciales. There I boarded the Turks & Caicos ExplorerII, a purpose-designed 20-berth 40mliveaboard.We were promised an action-packed

week with up to five dives a day, and forsuch a schedule to work, the day had to

be timetabled to the minute. Allowingfor one-hour dives with 90-minutesurface intervals gave us just enoughtime for meals, snacks and the odd nap.Our first destination was just two

hours’ south, a beautiful uninhabitedsandy cay named French Quay. The island is a wildlife refuge, used

by terns during the nesting season andenjoying frequent visits from sea eagles. In summer the sandy shallow areas

around the cay draw in nurse sharks,which use the area for breeding.Just a mile south of the island, the

reef drops off to more than 1800m. Thisis one of the favourite locations for theonly two liveaboards that operate on the island groups – the reefs are rarely

the divers, swam in close to us, givingme the perfect opportunity for someclassic reef shark photographs. That afternoon we moved over to the

G-Spot, a site reportedly named because“it’s hard to find, but well worth it whenyou do”! We did three dives there,exploring the various sections of thewall. The top of the reef had a similarlayout to Double D, but we requiredguidance to find the elusive G-Spot.

AS WE SWAM DOWN the wall, it wasclear that we had indeed located it. Thearea was covered with an abundance ofspectacular barrel and tubular purplesponges protruding from the wall. We made our way along the wall with

schooling jacks scouting the reef’s tip,and darting into schools of small fry.Our group drifted along in the slight

current, and a large eagle ray swam past

73

CARIBBEAN DIVING

visited, and remain quiet and pristine.There are three main sites to visit,

all situated on top of this wall. Our firststop was Double D, presumably namedfor the two large peaked reefs that lie side by side. The boat was moored on top of the

drop-off in 15m. Beneath it lies a typicalCaribbean reef with an array of hardcorals and tube sponges, and seafansswaying in the light currents. Just nearby, large sandy areas are

home to foraging sting rays, and acarpet of garden eels.Our guide Lynn led us down the

gradual slope to 27m, where there was a sheer vertical drop-off into the abyss. A number of grey reef sharks

appeared from the blue and, unfazed by

Liveaboard-diving is hard to come by in theTurks & Caicos Islands, so DAN BURTONseizes the chance to visit some intriguinglynamed but under-explored dive-sites

�

DOUBLE D & THE G-SPOT

Top: Grey reef shark.

– TO THUNDERDOME!25 MILES

CAICOSISLANDS

TURKS ISLANDSWest Caicos

North Caicos

Middle Caicos

East Caicos

Grand Turk

Providenciales

French Cay

ATLANTIC OCEAN

including Abigail, followed us as weexplored the ledges, nosing into the reefs as they searched the crevices tosniff out sleeping prey. I had brought my macro lens down to

get some sleeping fish images. As I wassnapping, a frantic commotion of jackhit the reef right in front me. The blur of fish wriggled frantically

under the reef and cornered a solitarysquirrelfish. Within seconds it had beentorn into small pieces. All that was leftwere a few floating scales. The culprits followed the dive team’s

torches, looking for more innocentvictims who dared to wander out intothe open. As a torch-holder, myexcitement at seeing the kill was replacedby an uncomfortable feeling of guilt.

MOST OF OUR EVENINGSwere takenup with night dives, so after a long day’s diving many people retired early. A group of us took advantage of the

75

CARIBBEAN DIVING

Clockwise from top left:Divers jump in off the Turks& Caicos Explorer 2; gettingclose to a nurse shark on G-Spot reef; a friendlyNassau grouper; tubesponges on a wall dive.

Below: A grouper fails to hide in the coral heads.

www.divErNEt.com

extensive video collection, andparticularly enjoyed the black and whiteworld of the cult 1960s TV underwateradventure series Sea Hunt, starringLloyd Bridges as diver Mike Nelson.The boat cabins were comfortable,

fitted with en suite bathrooms andproviding ample water for those whoenjoy a good soak.The dive-decks were well designed,

with plenty of space for moving about,and kitting up. Photographers andvideographers were especially welllooked after, with a purpose-designedcamera prep table with a compressedairline, a dunk-tank big enough to take a bath in, and a pile of fresh “fluff-free”towels for drying cameras. In fact the friendly crew supplied fresh

towels after each dive, and hot towelsafter a night dive, accompanied by hotchocolate. Food was what I call “goodSouthern home cookin’” – large steaks,ribs, chicken, salads, grits and so on –and the very accommodating chef alwayshad special dishes on offer.

Explorer has a membrane system, withbanked nitrox of 32%, but can pump upto 50% if required. Tanks were usuallyfilled within two minutes of surfacing.

We headed further north to WestCaicos Island, a rocky limestone naturereserve, and made our way to RGI (RockGarden Interlude), a white-sand seabedleading down to a lush, colourful gardenreef of hard coral and sponges. As wedropped down the sloping gully, Lucythe Nassau grouper greeted us. The 30kg fish came right up to us,

and allowed us to stroke her. I took fulladvantage, working with Lynn to getmore images. Lucy hung around for 40 minutes and

made sure she was in all the photos. Notwanting to miss any action, she perchedon my shoulder and enjoyed closecontact with the dive group. As we leftthe safety of the reef and headed up,Lucy disappeared back into the depths.

WE MADE A FEW DIVES on the mainProvidenciales Island on our final day.Day-boats were around with divers and snorkellers, but we saw no morethan four.For an interesting shallow dive, we

were taken to the Thunderdome. At only 10m, this is ideal for trainingstudents and for photography. The metal dome structure was put �

WHAT ALLDIVERS

WANT FORCHRISTMAS!

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 the world as the “Beautiful by Nature” Turks & Caicos Islands.

www.TurksandCaicosTourism.com BEAUTIFUL BY NATURE

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

down on the reef in the 1980s for aFrench TV show. Contestants would freedive through

an opening in the top of the dome toretrieve pearls from mermaids, whowould give them air as they collectedtheir tokens. Unfortunately, contestantsweren’t briefed about exhaling whensurfacing, so a number were reportedlybent, with some even embolising. The show wasn’t a big hit anyway, and

was cancelled shortly afterwards!Despite its unfortunate history, the

Thunderdome is a beautiful site to dive.A hurricane in the 1990s damaged thedome and it now sits broken apart. The surrounding area is barren sand,

but as you swim through the remainingpieces of the structure it’s clear that theyoffer refuge to schools of yellowtails and other fish. Sunbeams shine down through the

holes in the dome quarters, and dance on the rippling white seabed below. I did two dives on the Thunderdome,

and thoroughly enjoyed the experienceand the photo opportunities it offered.

These included some species new tome, including the pipehorse, a relative of the seahorse, and the small pea(juvenile trunkfish). I didn’t get a pictureof this tiny fish, but next time I’ll bearmed with a 200mm macro lens!Turks & Caicos is a great place to visit,

with few boats and postcard beaches. It’s not a place for wreck-divers, itshould be pointed out, and most of thediving is between 12-33m, with no deepstuff allowed. However, Explorer is considering

catering for rebreather diving in thefuture, which would open up someincredible deep-wall dives.

CARIBBEAN DIVING

Above: Diver inside the Thunderdome.

Below: A sting ray hunting for fish in the sand.

FACTFILEGETTING THERE8British Airwaysflies into Providenciales. No visaneeded for less than 90 days’ stay.

DIVING & ACCOMMODATION8Turks & Caicos Explorer II,www.explorerventures.com.

WHEN TO GO8Year-round.

MONEY8US dollar.

PRICES8The Scuba Place organises a one-week trip for £2259. This includes seven nights’ full-boardaccommodation (including alcohol), flights from London Heathrow via Miami and air-diving (nitrox extra).Not included is the $150 local tax and online ESTA TravelAuthorisation, www.thescubaplace.co.uk

FURTHER INFORMATION8www.turksandcaicostourism.com

www.divErNEt.com76

CONTESTANTS WOULDFREEDIVE TO RETRIEVEPEARLS FROM MERMAIDS

Tel: 020 7644 8252

www.TheScubaPlace.co.uk

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