Dive Review of
Peter Hughes Wind Dancer in
Trinidad and Tobago/Tobago

Belize, Cozumel, Bahama's, PNG, Palau, Fiji, Roatan, Florida Keys

Dive Conditions

Depth Limits and Time.  

There was ample space on board the Wind Dancer. Compressed air, towels,
seperate charging station, rinse tank.

On the Tender there was a safe, secure place to store the equipment, but no
fresh water on the Tender for rinsing photo gear.  

Overall Rating

Going into the trip, we knew the diving wouldn't be the best due to weather
conditions, but we had an overall great experience.  This is not a dive
destination for beginners – there is surge, current, and changing
conditions that require a diver with experience.  You must be comfortable
controlling buoyancy, and entry on and off a tender in rough surface
water.
 
The Island of Trinidad in the areas we saw was quite dirty, and
overcrowded.  I wish we had time to explore the nicer parts of the Island
here, but really only stayed overnight on both ends of the trip for
transfers.  It looks like little America with KFC's and Pizza hut's
everywhere.
 
Now onto the good stuff - Tobago is a hidden gem.  From the time we
arrived, until the time we departed, this little island took on the look
and feel of a place to escape time.  We were picked up at the airport by
Ray of Peter Hughes, and spent the day at the Hilton on Tobago as day
guests.  This is a very nice hotel.  For the individuals in our group that
stayed overnight, they were pleased with the rooms.
 
The Hilton Tobago is located on the Atlantic side of the coast, and gets a
fair amount of wind, and waves along it's private, and a secondary
semi-private beach.  The hotel food was reasonably priced, and very good. 
The fruity drinks were given a thumbs up by Tisha, and I found the local
Beer Carib to be very tasty also.  Just a note, there is a second beer
called STAG that is the "Man's beer", but only had more alcohol
content.  The pool and services were great at the Hilton.  The only
downside I saw were some of the international guests.  They were very
unreceptive to locals, and Americans.  Oh well, another story there.
 
On the Wind Dancer boat, the crew was professional and a blast.  I actually
ran into an employee that was on the Sundancer I when it was in Palau (now
the Star Dancer in PNG).  The Instructor Suzanne, and all the DM's: Tian,
Tyson, Mr. Miller, and Motley (aka Mr. Handsome to the ladies) were
professional and fun.  The meals were typical 5 stars throughout, and there
was always plenty of entertainment from the crew and the guests on the
boat.  Motley was just on temporary assignment, but should be pursued to be
a full time DM on this boat.
 
The diving was up and down.  They have had much rain and mudslides on
Tobago, so the dives close to shore were poor, but the dives away from the
main shores were incredible.  
 
The Atlantic Side provided the most reef, and fish life I have ever seen in
the Caribbean!!!!!  The reefs are lush, vibrant, and covered in diverse
marine life.  I have never seen so many large fish, and in so much
quantity.  It was like diving in Belize and Cozumel on steroids.   Similar
to Belize for the reef, and Cozumel for the large size of fish.
 
The Caribbean side was more rocky, and deeper dives, but provided an
incredible glimpse of game fish, and sharks.  The dive through London
Bridge was an incredible experience.  Listening to the waves crashing
overhead, and having the surge push you through this arched tunnel was
AWESOME.
 
We saw tons of Spotted Drums, Golden Eels, Angels, Trunkfish, Scorpion
fish, and thousands of Creole Wrasse's.  It was not uncommon on the
Caribbean side to see Jack's and Barracuda's chasing after them.  Also on
the trip, a Manta was seen from the surface, Dolphins off the bow of the
boat, Sea Horses, and Hammerheads (unfortunately not my group).
 
Captain Brian did the best he could to provide great diving for the group,
and has and incredibly diverse background in Medical Training, Diving, and
now working on his 500 Ton License.  He is worth to sit down and chat with.
 He went out of his way to make us feel like we were at home!!!!!!  Great
job Brian!!!!!
 
When we docked back on Friday in Scarborough, Tom, Mary, Tisha, Craig,
Marc, and I ventured into town.  Craig and Marc found Pizza and an Internet
Cafe.  The rest of us found local shops and pubs to pass the time.  I made
many new friends at one of the mini-markets with a large quantity of
Carib's passed out.  The prices were extremely affordable for everything –
with an exchange rate of $1US = $6TT, a $5.50TT beer (includes VAT and TIP)
was a bargain.
 
The only complaint was the condition of the tenders. There is some long
overdue maintenance that is needed for them.  The overall condition of the
boat was good, but none of their boats that I have been on are as nice as
the Sundancer II in Belize.  We also spent two full nights in port, which
was disappointing.  The rationale was to keep it calm for dinner, but I
would have rather steamed ahead to our destination earlier.

The Wind Dancer is a different type of boat, and could benefit from some
stabilizers – this is not a boat for people who are looking for smooth calm
water the whole trip.  The benefit of this was good easy drift dives, and
lush marine life.
 
The best way to view the pictures is by picking the folder, and utilizing
the slideshow option.  
 
I always look forward to comments and feedback on the pics.  I used a Sea
and Sea 3.1M total underwater Digital Camera with two Sea and Sea Auto
Strobes for this trip. 
 
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/timothywaynesmith/my_photos
 

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