Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Beach Hotel in
Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk

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Oasis Divers/Osprey Beach Hotel, Jun, 2004, by James D. Heckelman, Ohio, US . Report 1286.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Our group consisted of 6 divers and 4 non-divers. We arranged our diving with Oasis Divers – Grand Turk, owned by Dale Barker. Dale also arranged our stay at the newly renovated Osprey Beach Hotel (our choice), and arranged for a car rental. Captain Everette Freites was our dive leader. Dale and Everette were extremely accommodating. Even though sometimes there were only two other divers, one boat was used for our group, and a second boat was used for the other divers. Everette helps Dale run the business, and does not routinely lead dives. Since they were short a couple of divemasters, Everette was the divemaster for our group. He is excellent! We soon learned to follow him, at least for the first half of the dive, because he knew where all the critters were. Everette is very knowledgeable and safety conscious. From what we observed, all of the divemasters are well qualified and provide the same quality of service that Everette provided. What a joy to dive with Oasis Divers! The boat dives were great, and compare favorably to Little Cayman diving. The wall starts in 25 to 40 feet of water. Every dive was a wall dive, with plenty of time to burn off nitrogen after ascending on top of the wall. The coral is very healthy. Turtles and fish are abundant. Several large groupers allowed us to pet them. Several green moray eels were seen as well as a number of stingrays. Three to six dolphins joined us briefly on four dives. There was very little current, and the seas were usually 1/2 to 1 ft. Visibility was usually 75 to 100 ft. The water temperature was 81 to 82 degrees F. We did two morning dives and one afternoon dive each day, except we only did two morning dives the day before we left. We did one night dive that was fantastic. Although we had planned to do mostly afternoon beach dives, we learned that there are only three or four places where the wall comes close enough to shore for beach diving, and these are not located close to the hotel. We did use our rented auto to go to two of these locations, but after one dive of nothing but sand bottom, 50 ft. visibility, occasional small coral and shallow water (and never getting to the wall after 25 minutes), we decided that afternoon boat dives were well worth the additional cost. Don't miss the trip for everyone (divers and non-divers) to Gibbs Cay, an uninhabited island about 20 minutes from the dive shop, for a picnic and snorkeling. Our group took this trip the afternoon of the day before we left (after the two morning dives). On the way to Gibbs Cay, we free dove for Conch. Then, after arriving on the island, the Oasis Divers crew (of two) removed the conch from its shell, cut the conch into small pieces, and made a fresh conch salad while the hamburgers and hot dogs were being grilled. The highlight of the trip to Gibbs Cay is feeding and petting the large stingrays that come right to the waters edge and take the food (small fish provided by Oasis Divers) out of your hand. These exquisite animals hung around entraining us the entire time (approximately 4 hours) that we were on Gibbs Cay. The shallow water and white sandy beach make for a wonderful experience for all and a perfect end to a great trip. The Osprey Beach Hotel also was very accommodating, clean, pleasant and Oasis Divers is just a short walk from the hotel. Every room has either a balcony or a courtyard that faces the white sandy beach just a few yards away. The water was calm. Palm trees provide shade for those who enjoy the beach but wish to stay out of the sun.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Quarries, Lake Erie, Tobermorey, Bonne Terre Mine, Florida Springs, Caves and Keys, Bahamas, Haiti, St. Thomas, Honduras, Belize, Cozumel, Roatan, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Hawaii, Red Sea, Australia Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, noCurrents
Water Temp	81-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	50-100 Ft/ 15-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	120 feet max. depth
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Beach Hotel in Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk

Oasis Divers/Osprey Beach Hotel, Jun, 2004,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Oasis Divers/Osprey Beach Hotel in
Turks and Caicos/Grand Turk