Let’s All Go Diving
Where When How Turks & Caicos Islands November/December 2008
Discover Scuba Diving with a Resort Course while vacationing in the Turks & Caicos Islands.
Alright, I’ll admit it. I only really wanted to go diving to say I’d done it. Let’s be honest... girls who dive are just so much cooler than girls who don’t; girls-who-dive rank up there with girls-who-play-drums, and girls-who-ride-motorcycles. Since I failed miserably at learning to drum and motorcycles scare me more than water, well... you see where I’m going with this.
I spend way too much time watching the Discovery Channel to imagine my first experience diving was going to be fun. I’m a huge fan of watching the water; I love being on the beach or even in a nice comfy boat; but I’ve never really been a fan of being in the water. I have a pretty significant and wholly irrational fear of things in the water, compounded by years of exposure to Shark Week. So this whole diving thing was really just about the bragging rights. Or so I thought.
In addition to my fear of sharks and other bitey things I had the following concerns which, I believe, might be universal to people who really want to try scuba but are a touch apprehensive. I’m about to share my innermost thoughts and fears here, selflessly, to help other people get past them and give scuba a chance. Don’t judge me.
- I worried about looking stupid if for some reason I couldn’t learn what I needed to learn or do what I needed to do.
- I was concerned about wearing a wetsuit and perhaps looking like a misshapen sausage in front of strangers and loved ones.
- I was anxious about my bad hip and how I’d make out carrying heavy tanks around on my back and how I’d manage getting in and out of a boat like that without looking like a weakling.
I had to push these fears aside, I’m a grown and independent woman! I’m a woman who does battle with bugs and takes her own car to the service station! I knew I had to push forward and do the course - for myself, for my pride, indeed... for all of womankind. Oh, and because I’d already agreed to write this story.
Diver & Anemone
I called Dive Provo to book my Discover Scuba Diving course (DSD), or “Resort Course” as it is sometimes called. The course is an introduction to diving, giving students a chance to try scuba before committing to the certification course. It’s a chance to get out there and experience diving first hand in a very safe and secure way. The DSD is a PADI approved course, it’s not something a dive operator dreams up and just does, you even get a fancy card at the end saying you’ve completed your DSD!
My dive master’s name was Selma Storm. A name like that confirmed my theory that girls who dive are just way cooler than other girls and helped me to round up the courage I needed. I have a cool name so surely I can dive. Right?
For a typical DSD you spend the first part of the day by the pool learning theory and some technical sciencey stuff about oxygen in balloons at depth. That bit really drives home the importance of paying attention during this portion of the day. You’ll also learn useful signals for things like “My ear hurts.” and “I’ve run out of air.” (which I was assured doesn’t really happen, but is still a good signal to learn). Once you have the signals down pat, you hop in the pool where you will don, for the first time, your ‘gear’.
Wait... I can hear you female readers shouting “what about the wetsuit?!” Right. I opted out of the wetsuit and went for board shorts and what is called a “rash vest” instead. Because I was diving in 81 degree water I didn’t need the wetsuit. I know some of the more experienced divers found the water a touch chilly compared to a normal day here on the TCI but to be honest, I was really busy with other things and don’t remember anything about the water temperature. A decent rash vest is around $50 on island and is a handy SPF 50. I’m not entirely sure why that matters when you’re under water but apparently it does.
Your gear normally consists of a wetsuit, a Buoyancy Control Device (or BCD which is a vest type thing you can inflate and deflate via a couple of buttons, it acts as a floatation device on the surface), a mask, snorkel, fins for your feet (not called flippers, apparently), a weight belt (to help you sink and keep you from floating to the surface against your will), an air gauge and compass, and the all important tanks and regulator! The tanks, of course, hold your air and the regulator is what you breathe through.
Diver & Elephant Ear Sponge
Selma helped me into my gear and we began putting into practice the “skills” we had already discussed in theory.
First you go under water and take some breaths through your regulator to get used to that feeling. Which, I have to say, is just so incredible! Then your instructor will signal for you to watch him or her perform the skill that you must copy. In this case Selma signaled me to watch her, removed her regulator from her mouth, blew some bubbles, put the regulator back in her mouth and cleared it of water.
Then she pointed at me and I did the same. Selma clapped for me! I love pats on the back so I was pretty pleased with myself. I could tell she’d never taught anyone who was such a quick study and was probably amazed at my natural ease underwater.
The next skill I was required to perform was clearing my mask of water. I’d already begun to have a couple of issues with the mask, to be honest. Filling the mask with water on command, even though I’d just watched Selma do it, was not something I wanted to do. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, there would be no clap at the end of this skill. I managed to fill and clear my mask. Then it filled again of its own accord. I cleared it again, sort of. (I’m not proud of this next bit, but I’m going to share anyway, in the interest of journalistic integrity.) I got water up my nose and I freaked out a little. The most impressive thing about my dive master was this, when I was about to really get stressed out, even though we were underwater, she could tell. She touched my arm, made eye contact and blinked a few times really slowly. For some reason, perhaps because she’s some kind of hypnotist, this totally worked for me. We put our heads above water for a moment, had a little chat about what had happened and tried again.
Same thing. But thanks to Selma this time I didn’t really freak out. I motioned that we needed to surface (glad I paid attention to the hand signals) and we did. This time she adjusted my mask for me, apparently I didn’t have it strapped on tight enough, or maybe I have an oddly shaped head and she was just too nice to tell me, either way this time when we went under we stayed under.
The next task was to take the regulator out and throw it away from your body. I watched Selma do this and then I did it. Once the regulator is out and floating away from you the trick is to lean to the side your regulator is on, sweep your arm in a wide circle first touching your hip going back and out, finally coming in toward your chest. You will then magically find your regulator hanging over your arm, you pop it back in your mouth, clear the water, and breathe away.
For the last skill I had to get my dive master’s attention, indicate I was out of air using the hand signal, wait for her to approach me with the alternate air source (an extra regulator that hangs off your gear so you can share air with someone in trouble), remove my own regulator, take her alternate and breathe from that source for several breaths while she held onto me so I couldn’t float away.
Back to feeling like a star pupil I was ready to get out in the real water and see some fishies and things!
Five Eagle Rays
Being on a boat has always held a certain appeal for me. I’m from a place where you’re never far from the ocean and I can spend many an hour just watching water and thinking. The bonus of the DSD including a beautiful boat ride in paradise is that even if your spouse wimps out you can always inquire about bringing him/her along for the afternoon at a reduced rate. Most of the dive shops will accommodate you if they have space on the boat.
Once on board, and after roll call (which they do once at the marina, again when we come out of the water after the dive and again when we get back to the marina), I really planned to chat with the boat captain and the other Dive Provo staff to collect stories; I wanted to interview seasoned divers and learn from them. But... the sea is hypnotic and I got distracted until I realized Selma was waiting for me to sit with her to do a review.
We covered the material again and I felt completely comfortable with everything I’d learned and was ready to go for it! Mostly!
Upon arriving at the dive site and I was again strapped into my gear. A staff diver is always first in the water, followed by the experienced divers. Then, once everyone else was away, Selma hopped in to watch me take one giant step for cool girlkind. It turns out I didn’t have to worry about my bad hip at all, obviously everyone had been briefed by Selma in advance and even though I was in my gear, they virtually carried it for me as I walked to the back of the boat. And there I was, about to go diving.
To get in the water you put one hand on the buckle of your weight belt and one hand on your mask and regulator to hold them in place, then simply step off the back of the boat; couldn’t be easier, really. Not intimidating at all, especially as almost everyone else was already underwater - I figured even if I did something stupid it couldn’t possibly be the dumbest thing a couple of experienced dive instructors had ever seen a student do, surely.
Once in the open water I had a little bit of concern for my mask leaking again. Even though logically I was fully aware that a water filled mask was in no way a danger to me - especially with Selma less than two feet away ready to attach me to her and rescue me from stinging eyes should that actually happen - I had a bit of trouble getting down.
But, not wanting to disappoint someone with a name like Selma Storm I soldiered on. And I am so glad I did.
Octopus
What an amazing experience! It really is like swimming in an aquarium. I felt like that little scuba dude standing by the treasure chest in my goldfish tank from 1982! Curious fish swam up to have a chat with me; I saw coral that looked as though it had been hand painted by a troupe of clowns! Yellows, oranges, reds, blues, purples, greens – every colour under the sun! Or under the water, I suppose.
The one thing I didn’t realize right away is how much of my buoyancy I controlled. Selma used the phrase “breathing at the top of your lungs” which I now understand meant I was holding a lot of oxygen in my lungs already and was just breathing into the last little bit of space. To help you sink lower you let more air out of your lungs and, in effect, breathe into a different lung space. When I found I was too high I let air out of my lungs and sank like a submarine. When I needed to lift up a bit to go over a piece of coral I simply added air to my lungs. It’s amazing how much time you spend thinking about this when you’re underwater. Other than mask clearing, which obviously is my number one challenge, this was the most complicated part of diving. Selma, of course, was like a sea otter. Rolling around looking back at me to make sure I was ok and pointing out things I was too busy to notice... because my brain was fully occupied with my newfound sense of weightlessness. It is rather like flying and definitely a feeling I could learn to love. In fact, I have to say that the fish and the coral and all the other stuff that was mind-blowing underwater comes in way way behind that sensation.
I talked to the other divers about it afterward, and even got a compliment on my ability to manage my buoyancy. They all claimed floating becomes second nature and you don’t have to devote any thought to it at all. I look forward to that day!
On the PADI website there’s a section entitled “What’s to fear?” If you click on it you get to a page which answers some commonly asked questions about everyday fears people have about learning to dive. I noticed they don’t have a question about the fear of looking unattractive in a wetsuit, so I can only assume this section was written by a man. What I did see was a nice graphic on the top of this section displaying a few inspirational quotes; the best of which absolutely encompasses my current view of diving... “Learning to dive gives you the courage to transform anticipation into passion.” And that’s exactly how I feel.
In fact, I’d be on the verge of quitting my job and studying to be a scuba instructor if I thought I possessed the ability to calm someone who is freaking out about getting salt water in their eyes. God bless you Selma. And thank you!
Important things to remember:
- A hat to protect you from sun on the boat.
- Waterproof sunscreen.
- A towel.
- A snack and some water (usually provided by the dive operator, but it’s a good idea to check).
- A handkerchief (seriously, your nose will run).
- A camera with a waterproof housing (most dive shops rent these).
- Sea sickness tabs (usually take one the night before and one in the morning before your dive, good idea even if you don’t know whether you’ll be sea sick or not).
- Drink plenty of water before your dive and plenty after, you’ll want to be hydrated.
- If you have your own snorkel, mask and fins take them along; make sure to tell the dive shop what equipment you will be bringing and what you will need.
- And most importantly... don’t forget to tip your dive staff! Tips generally make up a large part of their income. If you’re unsure how much to tip don’t hesitate to ask what the standard rate is for the area you’re diving, your hotel concierge should be able to give you an idea.
The Turks & Caicos is not just a great place to learn to dive, it’s a great place for seasoned divers. The following is what you can expect to see at some of the more popular dive sites around the islands. For more information you can contact any of the dive operators, tell them what you’d like to see (or not see) and they will help you get the dive you want.
Remember though, that not every site is divable for a DSD since you can only descend to 40 feet. If you have your heart set on a wall dive, no problem, you can complete your full certification in two days and be ready to go! If you know that’s what you’ll want to do, contact a dive operator before you hit the island and get started with your book work online.
Maze Coral
Here is a list of just a few of the popular dive sites around the Turks & Caicos Islands and what you might see there.
- Amphitheatre:
- Black coral, orange rope sponges, elephant ear coral, horse eye jacks, and lobsters.
- Black Coral Forest:
- Plate coral, black coral, parrotfish.
- Chimney:
- Wire coral, soft corals, and crinoids in many of the holes, an occasional shark or ray.
- Coral Stairway:
- No sand patches just a stepped wall, schools of barracuda, horse eye jacks, and hamlets, turtles.
- Eel Garden:
- Garden eels, nurse sharks, soft corals, tube and rope sponges, star corals.
- Hole in the Wall:
- Vertical drop, one diver at a time, plate coral, schooling fish and lobsters.
- The Crack:
- Garden eels, Christmas tree worms and feather dusters, large black coral tree, large pillar coral, yellowtail, schoolmasters and mahogany snappers.
- Thunderdome:
- Originally was part of the set for a French game show. Dome is covered with scallops, clams, Christmas tree worms, Secretary blennies, Red stripe cleaning shrimp, barracuda, gray angelfish and queen angelfish.
- Two Step:
- Nurse sharks, whitespot filefish, blackbar soldierfish and squirrel fish.
- Sandbore Channel:
- Eagle rays, dolphins and sharks.
- Land of the Giants:
- If divable (sometimes poor visibility) the best though for spotting sharks, eagle and manta rays.
- West Caicos:
- Caribbean, black tip reef shark and eagle rays.
- Elephant Ear Canyon:
- Largest known orange elephant ear sponge in the Turks and Caicos, almost 11 feet in diameter.
- Highway to Heaven:
- Garden eels, coral arches and swim-throughs, two rope sponge colonies whose form mimics staghorn coral, scorpion fish, spadefish and stingrays and sharks, large eagle rays.
- Southwest Reef:
- Vertical wall with large barrel sponge, deep water gorgonians and frequent sightings of sharks and rays.
If you’re interested in learning more about diving in general you can check out the PADI website at www.PADI.com. They have lots of useful information, great advice and a listing of dive operators in your area or at your destination.
Photography by Graeme Teague - Master Dive Instructor, Commercial Diver, USCG Captain, Worldwide Marine Stock Agency featuring Islands, Oceans & Underwater. Award winning author, photographer and publisher. Recently published “Tropical & Garden Flower Identification”.
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 2008 Where When How - Turks & Caicos Islands.
Skip over the Website Main Navigation.
