Turks & Caicos Diving - November/December 2007
Experience the Thrill of the Underwater World “I only want to dive the best sites” - This common question/statement is asked quite often of divers visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands. These Islands have gained a reputation as one of the top Caribbean dive destinations over the last few years.
There is an increasing number of flights to these little-known Islands that are mostly undeveloped and have many unexplored reefs. Just a short flight from Miami, the unique history and heritage of these Islands is bringing divers, snorkellers, sport fishermen and sailors, from all over the world.
With low rainfall and consistent oceanic currents, our dive sites feature some of the clearest blue water in the world. Our reefs and walls are among the best in the region and the abundance and variety of marine life is legendary.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are surrounded by an extensive coral reef system that is more than 200 miles long and over 65 miles wide. A deep water trench 22 miles (35 km) wide separates the Caicos and the Turks Islands. This 7000 foot (133 meters) channel, known as the Columbus Passage, attracts such sea life as eagle rays, mantas, turtles, pods of dolphins, sharks and migrating humpback whales in the winter time.
The capital of the country is Cockburn Town on the southern island of Grand Turk, with 10 outer cays (pronounced keys) making up the Turks Islands. The Caicos Islands lie to the north with six main islands and over 30 cays. This group of islands lie atop plateaus or banks that rise almost 10,000 feet (3000 meters) from the ocean floor.
Formation of these Islands started over 200 million years ago when a crust broke off as North American and Africa separated. These subsurface plateaus have alternately formed and eroded on the errant chunks of crust as the sea level rose and fell over time. The low, non-mountainous islands that have penetrated the oceans surface are remnants of the vast coral reef that has grown on top of the plateaus. The coral base is inhabited by soft corals, sponges, algae and a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates forming the amazing shapes and formations that we see today. The Islands’ slogan “Beautiful By Nature” describes the underwater world which anyone can see by diving, snorkelling, snuba, seascooter or going on a glass-bottom cruise with a viewing deck or sub-surface area.
Divers have been coming here for years to see the dramatic sheer and sloping walls with excellent visibility from 100 to 200 feet (30 -60 meters), water temperatures ranging from 74 degrees F (23 C) in winter to 85 degrees F (30 C) in the summer, abundant tropical flora and fauna, easy dive conditions and large pelagics such as sharks, whales, turtles, rays and even pods of dolphins.
For those that are not certified scuba divers, it is now easier than ever to get wet and try out scuba diving. Most dive shops offer a basic introductory course called Discover Scuba Diving for ages 10 and older. This short course lets you experience the thrill of the underwater world under the supervision of a dive instructor. During this adventure, you’ll master a few basic scuba skills which can lead to more certifications and more time and experience underwater.
Scuba diving is relatively easy, safe and fun as long as you follow the basic safety recommendations, use the appropriate equipment and go with a reputable dive operation. Participants should be in basically good health and feel comfortable swimming before enrolling in a course. This is a great way for the whole family to explore the underwater world and experience an awesome vacation!
For those divers that are already certified there are PADI courses available to broaden your horizons. Because the water conditions are usually calm and there is typically little or no current you can take the PADI Underwater Photography Course. It’s a way to capture all those critters and beautiful reef and wall formations that you will see. A PADI Fish Identification Adventure Dive is also another option for divers wishing to learn more about the species of fish and aquatic behavior of the critters you will see. A Peak Performance Buoyancy Adventure Dive with a little paper work and a short review, will improve your skills enabling you to preserve the reef or enhance your skills.
You often hear or maybe will ask yourself, the biggest question that dive operators hear all the time - “which dive site is the best?” Unfortunately, some of our most pristine dive sites are weather dependent because of their geographic location. For example, if there is a strong northern wind and large waves out in front of Grace Bay, then the captains will probably take their dive boats to the south side of the island and dive French Cay, West Caicos or Northwest Point. An incoming or outgoing tide will also determine which dive sites are more suitable than others. If there is an outgoing tide, sandy water is often swept out to the deeper water affecting the visibility. The captains and dive operators are the experts and will take you to the best sites based on their experience and the conditions.
Most dive sites in the Turks and Caicos are suitable for all levels of divers with the top of the wall starting around 35-55 feet. From the top of the wall, going towards the shore, you see the beautiful turquoise water that these Islands are so famous for. Going out further just off the wall, the water will turn a deep dark blue. Experienced divers will typically go down the wall where they can look up for a full dramatic affect - don’t be surprised if you actually see the dive boat on clear days!
The most populated island of Providenciales also known as “Provo” is the center of tourism and more than likely where you will be diving. Grace Bay, a 12 mile stretch of pristine white sandy beach, is home to the majority of the resorts. The Princess Alexandra National Park starts just to the west of Grace Bay and extends to the east all the way to Little Water Cay. There are around 18 dive sites, most with permanent moorings, just outside the barrier reef of Grace Bay. A short 15 minute boat ride will take you to the dive sites from Turtle Cove Marina. There are mini walls, spur and groove formations as well as shallow canyons that make these sites ideal for beginner divers and those looking for a shorter day. Divers and photographers can shine a flashlight into the many nooks and crannies for lobster, crabs and blennies. Turtles, nurse sharks and schooling fish may be found around the soft coral. Keep a look-out for nudibranchs, flamingo tongues and the rare fingerprint cyphoma.
On top of the predominant spur and groove formations there are many high ridges of coral with pillar coral, sponges and soft coral that lead to mini walls that vary from gentle slopes to sheer drop offs. There is usually a hard pan or sand plateau around 100 feet and then another drop-off to the deep blue abyss.
Typical northern winds, tides and plankton blooms can affect the visibility and currents along Grace Bay making these dive sites less suitable in the winter months. Grace Bay, often under-rated, offers some of the best diving and under sea critter viewing around Providenciales. Some of the popular dives sites are Grouper Hole, Piranha Cove, Cathedral and Aquarium. Table Top is a shallow dive site at 25 feet and is also a popular snorkelling site.
To the east of Grace Bay is Pine Cay, a small 800 acre, privately owned island that was the first recreational development in the Turks and Caicos some 50 years ago. There are no cars only golf carts and bicycles, the area has remained pristine. The dive sites off the cay are submerged sea mounts that rise within 50 feet of the surface in the Fort George Land and Sea Park. This area is also very popular for snorkelling. There are several swim-through and grotto like areas fantastic for viewing sea life and coral formations for non-divers.
Sharp-eyed snorkellers can look for cannons from a 1790s British fort now submerged near shore in only four to five feet of water. The most popular dive sites are Eagle Ray Pass, Football Field and 50 Yard Line. These sites are best known for schooling eagle rays, sharks passing through the cut and large specimens of boulder, star and brain corals. The boat ride is approximately 35 minutes from Turtle Cove Marina on the north side of Provo.
Northwest Point’s vertical walls are some of the best that the northern hemisphere has to offer. Located on the northwest end of Providenciales from the northern tip of the island to just past Malcolm Beach in the Northwest Point Marine National Park you will find an exceptional three mile strip of very worthy dive sites. Equally accessible from either the northern side of the island or the southern side, the vertical walls that start around 35 feet offer something for all levels of divers. For experienced divers with a quality computer, you can make some wonderful multi-level dives, beginning at 100 feet and working your way up the sheer wall to end your dive in only 45 feet of water in beautiful coral heads teeming with varieties of fish. There are many sponges, including the colourful tubes of yellow and purple, the giant elephant ears and the ever popular barrel sponges. Plate coral that resembles giant mushrooms as well as black coral are found at relatively shallow depths. There is no harvesting of black coral for jewellery here in the Turks and Caicos which is why you will see it at depths as shallow as 45 feet!
Some of the dive sites include Amphitheater, The Crack, Eel Garden and Shark Hotel. Amphitheater looks just like its name suggests, a giant 15 to 18 foot undercut area of the wall that starts at the top of the wall in 35 feet of water and goes down to about 85 feet where a coral buttress lies. There are usually schools of fish, black coral, plate coral and sponges that make this a “must see” dive as well as a great photo opportunity. These sites are approximately a 45 minute boat ride from Turtle Cove Marina.
A fringing reef system that continues from Malcolm Beach over to the island of West Caicos boasts some of the best diving. This area is called Sandbore Channel and is home to very large southern stingrays that can be found buried in the sand, eagle rays flying in formation, the occasional hammer head shark, turtles, tons of schooling fish and giant barrel sponges The rising ridge of coral that edges giant patches of sand provides many hiding places for giant channel clinging crabs, lobsters and eels. Popular sites here are Tons of Sponge, Razor’s Edge and Land of the Giants. The boat ride is around 45 minutes from the southern side of Providenciales.
Just 10 miles southwest of Provo is the now developing island of West Caicos and the West Caicos Marine National Park. The island is only 6 miles long but boasts a history full of intrigue. From pirates, salt rakers, Loyalist plantations and drug runners to German U-boats, this small island is home to some of the best diving in the world. One of the most popular dive sites in all the Turks and Caicos is Spanish Anchor also known as Whiteface. Just a short swim from the boat to the wall is a narrow sand shoot that starts at the top of the wall around 50 feet and exits down the wall around 80 feet. Be sure to look to your right just before exiting the shoot and you will find an embedded 5 foot anchor encrusted with coral. It is believed to be over 300 years old from a ship in the 1700s. Once you have found the anchor keep a close eye out for Stanley, the resident 5 foot reef shark who occasionally comes in for a close look at divers.
There are many wonderful dive sites at West Caicos such as Gulley, Driveway, Boat Cove and Magic Mushroom. The Gulley gets its name from the cut in the reef that forms two distinct sections before dropping off vertically. The sheer precipice here has many undercuts covered in sponges, black corals and long tentacle anemones.
Under the mooring in about 40 feet of water lies a sand area with scattered coral heads leading into a sand chute that extends down through the reef from 50 feet to a ledge at around 80-100 feet where the wall drops vertically to the depths. Aptly named Driveway the marine life includes sharks, groupers and black dungons. The ledge area features some excellent growth of plate and star corals. As with many of the sites at West Caicos, all along the wall divers will find black coral and purple tube sponges.
Boat Cove and Magic Mushroom both offer shallow sand patches under the boat with small coral heads. Patient divers can hang out and get a manicure from the many banded cleaner and Pederson cleaner shrimp at the fish cleaning stations. Small sand chutes covered with rope sponge and black coral lead down off the top of the wall into the deep blue abyss. Keep your eyes open for soaring manta or eagle rays and sharks cruising by.
On the southwestern side of West Caicos are more dive sites in a region called Southwest Reef. This area is not a common dive but does offer a nice change of pace. The walls here start a little deeper around 50 to 70 feet, are more slopping and not as impressive as the northern side of the island. Due to strong currents, variable conditions and lack of dive moorings, most dive operators only visit this area when other dive sites are unfavourable.
Located between French Cay and West Caicos, just southeast of Southwest Reef, is Molasses Reef the site of the oldest known European shipwreck discovered in the Americas. Believed to have sunk in 1515, the wreck was excavated in the 1980’s. Retrieved artifacts are on display at the Turks & Caicos National Museum on Grand Turk. There is little left of the wreck. Most diving is done on the deep side of the wall where turtles, eagle rays and sharks are common.
About 18 miles south of Providenciales, on the southern edge of the Caicos Bank, is the uninhabited island of French Cay. Part of the Bush and Seal Cays National Sanctuary, this small island is home to nesting birds such as terns and ospreys and rock iguanas. Fat pregnant nurse sharks invade the shallows late in the summer, to give birth to their pups.
With only a few moorings at French Cay there is a rush of dive operators to make the hour long boat ride early in the morning. The upper ridge of coral at the top of the wall starts around 40 to 45 feet. There are very distinct spur and groove formations that open out on the dramatic, sheer walls to the blue abyss. Deep water gorgonians, black coral and a variety of sponges create a wonderful back drop to schooling fish, spotted eagle rays, sharks and turtles. Giant mantas and hammerhead sharks have been spotted here, as well as humpback whales in the winter time on their migratory path to the Silver Banks off the Dominican Republic. Bigger than normal schools of horse-eyed jacks and grunts as well as numerous spotted morays and barracudas are often seen on the upper reefs.
These numerous sightings make French Cay a favourite and much requested dive site. Unfortunately weather is a determining factor to dive in this area. Strong winds and changing tides carry silt and plankton from the banks out over the reef. This can quickly change the dive conditions to less favourable, much more so than sites at Northwest Point or West Caicos.
Just across the deep water Columbus Passage lies the island of Grand Turk. Most dive sites are on the west side in the Columbus Landfall National Park where the reef starts in just 30 feet of water. The reef gently slopes until it reaches about 40 feet then dramatically drops to the abyss. There are about 25 dive sites with just a short, ever-popular boat ride to spectacular walls with exotic sea life such as seahorses and frog fish. Most of the sites are protected from the prevailing trade winds which makes diving conditions suitable for all levels of divers.
Just east of Grand Turk lies Gibbs Cay, a popular snorkel spot with friendly southern stingrays. Salt Cay is around 7 miles south of Grand Turk and offers some of the best Humpback whale encounters in January through March each winter. A small island just 2.5 miles long with a population of 60 people, this island is known for a history in salt raking which ended in 1970. Most dive sites are a short 10 minute boat ride from shore and offer shallow diving in huge forests of staghorn and pillar corals suitable for snorkelling and diving. A gentle slope takes divers out to the wall where a number of swim-throughs, caverns and overhangs provide hiding places for fish and lobsters.
Just sixteen miles south of Grand Turk or 7 miles south of Great Sand Cay, lies the HMS Endymion, a British Warship wrecked in August 1790. The main part of the wreck lies in a coral groove, that contains at least 18 large cannon, 4 anchors and many pieces of iron and bronze from the ship’s rigging. Though visited by salvors and souvenir hunters in the past, it is still an impressive wreck site. Neighbouring coral grooves also contain historic but unidentified wrecks. The best time of the year to see this wreck is between May and November when the conditions are the calmest. There are many fish, healthy corals and shallow dives where parts of the reef come within 15 feet of the surface. Check with a local dive operator about diving this memorable wreck.
Up north from Grand Turk, back across the deep water Columbus Passage lies another excellent dive destination. One of the lesser known places for some excellent diving is the historic salt island of South Caicos. Boasting some of the best diving in the Turks & Caicos, Cockburn Harbour is a vibrant hub for fishing, sailing, diving and import/exports. The East Harbour is the only naturally protected harbour in all the Turks & Caicos. Diving along the wall of the Columbus Passage, one is sure to see all the big pelagics such as sharks, eagle rays and turtles. Whales can be seen during the winter months. Check with a local dive operator for about diving these spectacular sites!
Diving in the Turks and Caicos is exciting and fun! Conditions are normally good for all levels of divers from the beginner just starting to the experienced diver who has travelled the world. Good buoyancy skills and paying attention to your depths are important factors for safe diving and reduce the risk of decompression sickness. The deeper depths of many of the dive sites offer little opportunity to off-gas accumulated nitrogen at the end of a dive. A dive computer is highly recommended and required by most dive operators for added safety. Providenciales has a decompression chamber on island and a doctor is always on call. Be sure to have your DAN www.diversalertnetwork.org insurance current prior to diving.
One of the strangest things you might see underwater in the Turks & Caicos is a lion fish. Yep that’s right, a lion fish! Lionfish are native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, but can be found sporadically throughout the Turks & Caicos. There are various rumors as to how and why they are here, but the sad truth is you may see them. Sad, because they should not be in our waters. They have no natural predator and are an invasive species often killing other fish in their quest to conquer the reef. Currently, NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is working with the coastal resources managers to develop a global monitoring network monitor and study the lionfish. How lionfish will affect native fish populations has yet to be determined or assessed, including the potential impacts to the commercial fishing industry. However, non-indigenous species can have serious negative economic effects and cause major disruption of native ecosystems. For more information on lionfish, please visit the NOAA lionfish website.
Hopefully you will be able to visit some of our wonderful dive and snorkel sites during your stay. To find out more about diving or snorkelling, contact a local dive or excursion operator early during your vacation for availability of trips. Check out local listings in this publication.
Story by Melinda Volkert - Provo Turtle Divers, is a PADI IDC Staff Instructor. She has lived on Providenciales for five years and has been diving the Turks and Caicos Islands for seven years.
Photography by Graeme Teague - Master Dive Instructor, Hard Hat Diver, USCC Captain, recently published "Tropical & Garden Flower Identification" book available at the Unicorn Bookstore.
Care was taken to ensure correctness of information at press time. Information is subject to change without notice. Ad Vantage Ltd. accepts no responsibility for such alterations or for typographical errors or omissions. Entire contents of this page may not be reproduced in any manner without written permission of Ad Vantage Ltd. © November/December 2007
