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Dive Review of Peter Hughes Wind Dancer in
Grenada

Peter Hughes Wind Dancer, Sep, 2006,

by Juli Tracy and Dick Gamble, CA, USA . Report 3002.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 3 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 2 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Perhaps because this is a new itineray for the boat, and perhaps because many of the crew were fairly new and the captain was a relief captain, the boat was, surprisingly for a dive boat, very disorganized. Starting from the first night aboard, there was no safety briefing (which we finally had on Monday, two days later), then the next morning, although we had arrived at the dive site in the wee hours, our first dive was not until after 10AM. Needless to say, we divers were a little anxious to get in the water! (Although, once we did, the water was green and murky -- Grenada was not very good diving while we were there!)

The tenders were fairly easy to dive off of, but not very easy to get back onto. Back rolls were the entry, and seating, even with a BC on, was easy on the way to the sites, usually not very far. But the ladders back on tilt under the boat, so unless the dive crew helped by pulling up the airtank as you climbed up, (and even then), it was very difficult to climb back up the ladder.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines provided better diving, but we seemed to lose a few dives there, too, as things were always running late. The last day we had two morning dives, then were motoring during the time of the first afternoon dive, supposedly passing by the scheduled dive because current was too strong, so didn't have two afternoon dives. (Thursday, not Friday, the usual "only two dives" day, and, by the way, the one dive we did do had current so strong that we were tumbled around like leaves and most of us did a less than 30 minute dive.) Friday was supposed to be a wreck dive, but we were told that the current was too strong -- later we talked to other divers from the island who dove it just fine.

Food was very good at dinner, so-so at lunch, lacking condiments, for example, such as cheese, onions or pickles, for the burgers, or for the sandwiches. Ran out of some dishes on a few days at lunch and ran out of eggs for breakfast on Friday.

But mostly, the communication on board was terrible. We had a captain's briefing only when we specifically asked him to tell us what was going on, and then it was often wrong. It is always nice to know what the plan is for the following day -- motoring times, dives planned, etc. We did not get this, nor did the crew know what was happening much of the time. There also were no slide shows, nor pictures or videos of the trip, which we don't care about, but some people enjoy those in the evening. (Rooms were comfortable, except for the two nights when the A/C quit, but the crew got that fixed admirably quickly.)

When the crew and boat get organized, it will definitely be a trip worth taking for Caribbean divers, but as it was, it was worth what we paid for it -- half price!!

Note: We have been on many Peter Hughes boat before, in Palau, Belize, Turks & Caicos, Indonesia & Southern Bahamas and this was the first one that has been so sloppily run.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Pacific - Fiji, Palau, Yap, Indonesia
Caribbean - BVI, Bahamas, St. Lucia, Bonaire, Curacao, Caymans, Belize
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-83°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 30-80 Ft/ 9-24 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile no
Enforced diving restrictions Depth 130, except for Nitrox, which was 110 feet.
Time limits were 45-50 minutes, which was usually quite enough, but sometimes we wanted to stay longer, which we couldn't do, due to dinghy diving and inconveniencing other divers.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Nice camera table on back deck and two rinse buckets (after we asked for a second one due to the number of large cameras on board. Divemasters were careful with camera gear.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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