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Dive Review of Peter Hughes Wind Dancer in
Grenada

Peter Hughes Wind Dancer, Nov, 2008,

by Donna , Fl, US ( 1 report). Report 4534.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 3 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 5 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Wind Dancer Trip Report/Grenada and the Grenadines Nov.1 thru the 8th


GETTING THERE

Not an easy thing, at least with Air Jamaica. Going down took 9 hours, from Ft Lauderdale then to Kingston Jamaica, sit for 5 hours, then to Barbados then to Grenada. Changes were made in the itinerary at the last minute by Air Jamaica. Now however, American Airlines goes from Miami to Grenada in 3.5 hours.

We overnighted in Grenada at True Blue Resort. Nice place, mediocre food. The next day we were not on the boat till 5PM so decided to go into town for lunch. What a trip that was!! We took the local bus, hold onto your seat!! Had lunch at Nutmeg (yummy shrimp Roti) and then back to True Blue to await pick up.
The crew from the Wind Dancer picked us up at 5PM sharp.

THE BOAT

Wind Dancer was in dry dock in August so we were expecting an almost brand new ship. Not so much…..the carpets were new, bedding new, outdoor furniture new. I guess they put the majority of money into the more important things, like engines, drive train, etc.
This was our first time in a cabin w/out a porthole. We did not like the cabin, it was like a cave and smelled bad too. Lucky for us, we did not spend much time in it as we were too busy diving.

There were 4 guests on the boat, yes 4! Tom n I and a couple from Montana. We also had a “working guest”, the executive chef Walter. It was fun to learn that all the guests including Walter had been out diving with the Miss Conduct and Capt Conrad here in Pompano Beach. It really is a small world after all.

THE DIVING

Easy to write about the diving, one word…WOW! I loved it. Diving is advertised as drift diving. We found especially in our AM dives the waters calm, the currents easy or none at all. The reefs were lush, full of fish life. We did dives in Grenada, Isle De Rhonde, Isle a Quatre off Bequia (my favorite) and Tabago Cays . One favorite dive in Bequia was a little fishing boat that had sunk after hitting a sand bar in the 60’s, the HMS Purini. I have never seen lobster bigger then those living there. It was a very fun dive. On another day we were scheduled to do 2 AM dives and said to the DM, how about we dive this one till we all run out of air. Fine by me he said. We were in the water for 1 hour 50 minutes! That was a great dive.
Offered were 2 night dives, none of us wanted to do them. We all did the 4 daytime dives and were pretty tuckered out by dinner. 21 dives in all.

We all dove Nitrox, 32% at all times and tanks were filled to 3600 +/-. $150.00 for the week. All diving was done on tenders, very comfortable, easy off (back roll) and on stable ladder. All gear remained on the tenders, tanks filled from whips.

Back on the boat, there were always tasty snacks, hot dive deck showers and warm fluffy towels. And a back rub too!

THE FOOD

Another easy one to write about. WOW!! Chef Ryan is an almost 30 young man from Grenada. You either have the gift of cooking or you do not. Chef Ryan has more talent then people twice his age. Food could be called Casual Gourmet. Ever meal started fresh warm bread , then a yummy hot soup, followed by salad, hot entrée and a great dessert. Wonderful wines were served with dinner or the drink of your choice. With out question, this was the best food I have had on a liveaboard or resort anywhere. We learned that they are taking a new interest in vegetarian foods.

THE CREW

The crew consisted of Capt Simon, Hostess Andrina (both from England) DM CNN (Simon said of CNN he is my right hand man and sometimes my left as well) Instructor Larry, new on the boat from an 8 year stint with Bill Tewes of Dive St.Vincent.
Stewardess Aasha, a true card shark. Frankie was the night watch man and as usual with the night watch men, you see him only once in a while. There was also Mark the engineer and as with the night watchman, we saw him only occasionally too. The crew went above and beyond to make our trip great.
I had an equipment failure (my Zeagle octo) and CNN had me fixed with a lender set up before the next dive.

LAST NIGHT ON THE BOAT

As usual with the last night on a liveaboard you go ashore for dinner. We are not sure this is such a great idea after all. Normally they go to True Blue Resort, but as we all had been there and knew what to expect we decided to go into town. Very expensive trip. Taxis, normally charge for the ride, in Grenada they charge by the person. So 1 or 10, it is $20.00 EC per head. What a rip…..

I do not take pictures but will say this is the first time I wished I did, there were so many things to see. One dive we saw a huge octopus eating a crab out of the shell. Then there was the sea horse I found, what a beauty. Goldentail morays, chain morays, yellow headed jawfish, lettuce sea slugs and all the usual suspects. One reef, Purple Rain I nicknamed Coral Carpet as the coral’s were carpeting the reef, so beautiful. Then there were the soft corals, almost all had a fair share of Flamingo Tongue.

Before the crew took us ashore so Wind Dancer Island employee Danny could take us to the airport, we were all handed survival bags of bottled water, 2 cookies and slices of Chef Ryan’s banana bread!!

I would not hesitate to recommend this trip to anyone. Hopefully I can get back there again.
We both think that this trip was beyond our expectations.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving PNG, Australia, Galapagos, Bahamas, South Florida, Roatan, Utila
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas calm
Water Temp 81-84°F / 27-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions There was always a guide in the water, time was the biggeset enforcement.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks None Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish 5 stars
Small Critters 5 stars Large Fish 2 stars
Large Pelagics N/A

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

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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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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