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Dive Review of Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II in
Turks and Caicos/West Caicos & French Cay

Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II: "My one week on the Tiurks and Caicos Explorer II was totally enjoyable", Nov, 2016,

by Diana E Banks, NS, Canada ( 1 report). Report 9305.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 4 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 4 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Very well maintained ship. Rooms were big enough for two, with very comfortable beds and very good lighting. The three rooms downstairs had bunks, and I, personally, would not have liked to have had to sleep on an upper bunk, but was lucky and had one of those rooms to myself.
The crew was outstanding. Two were "dedicated" dive masters and always one of them intro'd then accompanied the dive, to point things out. And they were top notch at that. As long as you had a buddy and were back at the boat within an hour, you could go on your own. The captain and purser were dm's also, and actually Captain a DI, and was giving a Nitrox and a photography course.
One feature quite special to this boat (I think) was the drying system for the wetsuits: the warm air from the compressor blew up on the hanging racks, so not only did the suits dry faster than usual, they were warm to put on!
The wall diving on the west side of West Caye was especially good, and the shark and cubera snapper activity on the French Cay night dives was really interesting. The dm's made certain to point our new things on each dive.
The food was excellent and plentiful, with snacks between morning and afternoon dives.
I wore a lined lycra and a neoprene vest. A 1.5 wetsuit with a vest was worn by at least one or two others, and it seemed 3mm wetsuits were most popular, as well as 3mm to 5mm (I think) shorties
First two days were a bit windy, last three days were pretty calm. There was enough current at one site that we did a drift dive, the Explorer moving down to the next mooring for our exit.
Websites Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Belize; Roatan; Utila; Little Cayman; Exuma and Andros, Bahamas;
Closest Airport Provodenciales Getting There Direct WestJet flight from Toronto to Provodencialis, the main airport on the Turks and Caicos islands, was great. Lots of other airlines fly there, also.

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, dry Seas
Water Temp 80-82°F / 27-28°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 70-100 Ft/ 21-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Always do a safety stop. Around 55 minutes into your dive start the safety stop. Dive with a buddy.
We were all using Nitrox and of course before each dive had to test our tank's oxygen percentage and PSI, writing down the results and initialing it.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 2 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 5 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Dedicated rinse tank, and very good table top space, as well as recharging stations at table.
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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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