Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in
Turks and Caicos

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Aggressor Fleet: "It Could Have Been Worse", May, 2015, by Peggy Goldberg, FL, US ( Sr. Reviewer 10 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 8697.
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	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We have been Aggressor clients since 1985 and have always enjoyed the trips. It had been over 10 years since our last trip to T&C, and the changes to the reef and island were profound. When we jumped in for the first dive, I started crying- the reef was literally gone- it was all sand, dying corals, no sea fans, and a few lonely fish here and there. We did see lots of sharks, but the viz was a bad, sickly green color all week... It was the overnight trip back to Provo from West Caicos, where, at full speed, the Captain ran the boat aground on the reef. After being thrown out of bed, and grabbing our passports, we opened the cabin door to see water pouring in the hallway. Not a great sign. One does not want to see fire/smoke, water, or hearing the crew above shouting 'F*, F, F, S, S,S*. We had 2 out of the 3. We met on the top deck and awaited instructions from the crew, and I saw we had run up on the reef quite close to the island. We had a bright 3/4 moon. This boat has made this trip for over 20 years, and as far as I know, the island had not moved, and in this day and age of technology, should not have happened. Maydays were put out, but the only reply we seemed to get was from the Caribbean Explorer, a couple hours away. They were able to offer their tenders to get us off the boat to the island at 3 in the morning at the Amanyara resort- who had not responded to our calls. We then had to walk over 20 min on a rocky, deep sand beach to reach a limerock road and walk another 20 minutes to a van to get to a hotel at 4 am. All we had on were shorts, a top, and no shoes- it was a very painful walk for me on the stones..I will never abandon ship without shoes again, but we had to leave everything behind, and I only had one pair of shoes to fly home in. Since we had to jump in the water at the beach, I thought I might not need them.(It was the middle of the night, and we were tired from our night dive, and this ordeal, and not thinking clearly). Our luggage was delivered to us the next day, and we spent the rest of our vacation in a hotel trying to dry our gear for the flights home. Water weighs a lot, and we needed to get them as dry as possible to avoid luggage overcharges. The Aggressor offered a $500 voucher, which they rescinded after our travel insurance processed our claim. We thought that was a terrible public relations policy for such long term clients that have spent quite a lot of money with them over the years. To read a more detailed account of this trip, the island and view photos of what the diving looks like, go to my website at [goldenimages-photo-scuba.com link]. Click on the Articles tab, and select the article on the Turks and Caicos- "It could have been Worse" My advice has always been to be prepared for anything- do listen to all safety briefings, know where O2, first aid kits, fire extinguishers, life vests and boats are. Do think of an escape plan the moment you step on the boat, and have things like passports and wallets at the ready...and shoes you don't care if they get wet. PS- I did grab my cards out of my cameras before abandoning ship- that's the mind of a photographer...
Websites	Aggressor Fleet
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the Caribbean, Bahamas, Florida, Hawaii, Socorro, Cocos Island, , Fiji, Solomons, Indonesia
Closest Airport	Provo	Getting There	Wish we could avoid Miami- had cancelled flight that couldn't get us out til the next day- not good if you are trying to meet a boat on a schedule.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	78-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	110' with Nitrox. Dive on air in the Blue Hole.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	For the first time in over 30+ years, I took very few photos- I eventually ended up taking documentation photography on how the reefs have changed for the worse. The boat had a large camera table, places to charge batteries, and the crew was always there to assist anyone who needed it.

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Dive Review of Aggressor Fleet in Turks and Caicos

Aggressor Fleet: "It Could Have Been Worse", May, 2015,

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 Aggressor Fleet in
Turks and Caicos