Category Archives: Diving

Snuba

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Snuba with Jodi as she takes our guests for a closer look at the reef and this wonderful turtle.

Snuba with Jodi as she takes our guests for a closer look at the reef and this wonderful turtle.

Not quite ready to scuba dive………..well try some Snuba with Jodi who will guide you along the White House Reef at Coral Gardens on Grace Bay.  Snuba divers breathe under water through a 20 foot air line which is connected to a scuba tank mounted on a raft. The raft floats above on the surface and follows the snuba divers where ever they go. What a great way to experience being under water and to see our coral reefs right up close.

Grace Bay beach

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Grace Bay beach at Coral Gardens is great for snorkeling with the turtles.

Grace Bay beach at Coral Gardens is great for snorkeling with the turtles.

Here’s my favourite photo of Grace Bay beach taken at the White House Reef by Coral Gardens. The reef comes up very close to the shore and is protected by a circle of buoys. Snorkelers are asked to stay outside the circle of markers to protect parts of the reef that come up close to the surface at low tide. Recent sightings have included turtles, eagle rays and all kinds of colourful fish.

Flat calm and the clearest water you will ever see greets the snorkeler at the White House Reef on Grace Bay beach

Flat calm and the clearest water you will ever see greets the snorkeler at the White House Reef on Grace Bay beach

Snorkeler Mike heads out to check out the reef. You can see the circle clearly in the photo so remember to stay outside and there’s lots to see as you make your way around the buoys.

Wow.....what amazing colours the parrotfish have.

Wow.....what amazing colours the parrotfish have as they swim through the coral reef.

The Turks and Caicos Islands have some of the best snorkeling and diving in the world with incredible visibility. Visit the White House Reef at Coral Gardens on Grace Bay beach when you head to our beautiful islands for your next vacation. The water’s great!!!!

See you soon,

Marta

http://www.diving.tc

Conch

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The beautiful pink shell of a Queen conch is often crafted into decorative pieces

The beautiful pink shell of a Queen conch is often crafted into decorative pieces

The Queen conch live on sandy bottoms and feed on numerous species of algae and seagrasses.
Did you know that Providenciales , the Turks and Caicos Islands has the only viable commercial conch farm in the world?
The queen conch or Strombus gigas, has been a staple of these islands for at least a thousand years and it’s meat provides a major source of protein. Conch is found throughout the waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A young Turks Island miss holds a baby conch
A young Turks Island miss holds a baby conch
The pretty pink conch shell is used for decorative items such as bowls, jewellery, lamps and  vases. Our guests often find shells to take home with them as well as for gift giving. You too can find your own conch shell to take home when you vacation here on our beautiful islands.
Marta
http://www.harbourclubvillas.com

Dive with sharks

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Cruising too close???? Not for Mickey at Flamingo Divers who took this classic shot.

Cruising too close???? Not for Mickey at Flamingo Divers who took this classic shot.

Our guest and diver Daniel had an amazing underwater scuba adventure when he saw sharks up close for the first time. Can’t imagine what it would be like to be that close ! I’m hoping Daniel will have a chance to send me a few words on his diving. We have some of the clearest water ever here in the Turks and Caicos. Come and experience it for yourself. See you then!

Up close and personal with a shark

Up close and personal with a shark

Diving is the best in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

See you soon

Marta

http://www.diving.tc

Cave and Osprey Rock

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Jane and Jennifer climbed up through the hole in the rock to see the view from the top and the inscriptions.

Jane and Jennifer climbed up through the hole in the rock to see the view from the top and the inscriptions.

The pirate’s cave at South West Bluff can be accessed through the water.  Jane and Jennifer climbed up the rope ladder into the little cave, through its roof opening, and onto the top of the cliffs where shipwrecked sailors came ashore in the early 1800s. In the rocks ontop of the cliffs there are carvings with the names of the sailors.  The wide cove from Osprey Rock to Bonefish Point is a great place for seeing cruising rays, turtles,  juvenile sharks, barracudas, crabs and other marine life. This is one of my favourite places to go to by boat or road. It’s a little piece of heaven that often is yours alone to enjoy. As our islands get busier and more known, it will become more difficult to find these treasures!

Inscriptions carved in the rock by shipwrecked sailors

Inscriptions carved in the rock by shipwrecked sailors

This inscription is found up on the bluff along with others. A newspaper in Nova Scotia indicates that the St.Louis burned on August 30th, 1842, and was lost. She sailed from Boston to New Orleans with some 24 people on board who were rescued by a brig called Impulse. Apparently she also was wrecked on the Caicos Reef on September 3rd, and was still carrying the crew of the St. Louis. There was no loss of life in either incident.  

All this history and it all can be seen if you climb up the rope ladder to the top and look down in the rocks.

Happy searching the next time you’re at South West Bluff.

Marta

http://www.diving.tc

Starfish

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Jane checks out the bright orange colours on a Bahama sea star or starfish

Jane checks out the bright orange colours on a Bahama sea star or starfish

Hi everyone,

I can’t tell you what an exceptional day we had! Not only were there dolphins, but we watched two pelicans dive bombing for fish. How do they do that???? The starfish were icing on the cake and we saw many of them in different sizes mainly off the sandbar at Bonefish Point. A blue crab was in the water too but he was too fast and scurried away.

Marta

http://www.diving.tc

Dolphin pod

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Incredible...we played hide and seek with a pod of five dolphins

Incredible...we played hide and seek with a pod of five dolphins

How lucky could we get…………..five dolphins played with us for 45 minutes off Five Cays close to South Dock on Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. We took family friend, Jane and Jennifer out for a day of boating. We stopped first at a little cay where the girls saw iguanas and just before the docks we sighted these magnifiscent dolphins. Wow, we couldn’t believe seeing so many of them at one time as they swam and frolicked under the boat and cut through the water with such phenomenal speed. It was really tough trying to get photos. You too may be lucky and see dolphins when you visit us here in the Turks and Caicos.

Marta

http://www.diving.tc