Dive Review of
Blue Water Divers/Osprey Beach in
Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk

Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, Little Cayman, Key Largo, Grand Bahama, Curacao,
Bonaire, Saba, St. Vincent, Jost Van Dyke, Provo, Salt Cay

Dive Conditions

Stay with group  

Bucket in Carolina Skiff  

Overall Rating

     I've read many excellent reports on Grand Turk so we finally went
during Easter Break 2007. Blue Water Divers always gets great reviews so I
dove my 4 days on Grand Turk with them, then we went to Provo for 4 days.
Like the reports say, it's a 5 minute boat ride in the Carolina Skiffs to
the dive sites and the walls begin at 40-50 ft. The corals were, however,
sandy and bleached like I've seen off Provo & Salt Cay in recent years.
Unlike many past "Undercurrent" reports, we didn't see a single
shark or anything out of the ordinary until the last half of my last
dive...then suddenly it became the dive of my life - 6 dolphins joined us
at 40 feet! They dove, surfaced, and played, over and over again, for a
solid 20 minutes, passing with a few feet of us each times they cruised by.
Some swam upside down, some were play-fighting as dogs sometimes do. One
even backed itself down to the sandy bottom a few feet away from me on its
tail, then leaned back towards me at a 45 degree angle and held that
position for about 30 seconds. Imitating me, maybe? We actually had to swim
away from them as we were getting low on air! 5 of the divers in our group
missed a final encounter as two of the dolphins approached and one of them
rolled on his back on the bottom and lay still for about 30 seconds...I
could have almost scratched its belly! I was out of film at this point and
the other diver didn't have a camera but many other pictures of this
encounter are on a website, email me for it if interested. 
     The cruise ships are there, but the glitzy port with restaurants,
bars, and shops is on the southern tip of the island, away from everything.
It's literally quarantined by a giant gate, preserving the rest of the
island's quaintness. Cockburn Town is charming and the old buildings are
beautiful. If you go, try to meet Oswald E. Francis, a 91 year old Belonger
who still works - he helps manage a warehouse in Cockburn Town. He'll tell
you all about his life on Grand Turk and his time spent at sea. A
fascinating man!
     The Osprey is the only hotel on the beach, what a view! Great BBQ on
Wednesdays when Mitch, the owner of Blue Water Divers, & his band play.
Son James met another 10 year old at the hotel. The lighthouse is worth a
visit if you drive around the island. Also check out Gibbs Cay, the
uninhabited small scale Stingray City.   
 

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