Dive Review of Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II in
Turks and Caicos

Other dive reports on Explorer Ventures

Other Turks and Caicos reports
Subscriber Content Preview
Active subscribers go here

Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II: "Group Dive Trip Dec 7-14th", Dec, 2024, by John Miller, TX, US ( Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 7 Helpful votes). Report 13276 has 2 Helpful votes.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was my 4th trip over 12 years on the Explorer II. I have 6100 logged dives, am a SSI Instructor Trainer and SDI Solo Diver Instructor and own Texas Dive Center Inc in Lubbock, TX. So not a novice to diving. I was accustomed to getting a safety briefing but what we got on this cruise was terribly lacking considering all of the liveaboard accidents experienced this year. We were told life vests were upstairs in some cabinet but never shown them or hold to use them. No fire drill. I asked where the charging station was on the dive deck and was told they moved it inside the lounge to avoid salt sprey - that seemed logicial but the two locations were fire hazard areas in my opinion as they were often over loaded with diver use. Right off the bat, they weren't prepared for my DIN regulator(s) and had to put me in a AL100 that had a removable plug but the inside of the threads of the tank valve were rusty. The 19cc pony bottle they provided for my solo diving could not accommodate the DIN regulator set I brought and I was expecting a 40cc so could not utilize the harness rig I had brought with me for it. I was also shocked at how badly corroided the tank valves on half of the cyclinders were. Now while I am a DOT cylinder re-certifier (RIN I477) I must admit I am not familar with the regulations on T&C for stamping tanks for new hydros but had to question a stamp that simply was "1020" with no RIN ID between the month and year. I thought all of their tanks were out of hydro but was told they weren't - but I still question not being able to ID who recertified the tanks and none displayed VIP stickers - although again not sure if T&C requires them. Yet, still the conditions of the valves and the issue with the hydros did not instill in me the sense that they cared much about this piece of life support. I took several photos to post on my social media. Have you ever been on a liveaboard for a week and never had your cabin towels or linens replaced? How many times do we need to come up from a dive and there is no one on the dive deck to assist? I've been on many Aggressor liveaboards and was accustomed to the crew getting info uniform periodically, not on the Explorer. Even served frenchfries on a liveaboard that were so undercooked that they appeared boiled and cold? Well our meals were not what I had come to expect from liveaboards. After a BBQ dinner one evening with rain and moderately rough seas I was out on the lounge deck and discovered the BBQ grill rolling loose on the deck and almost ready to descend the ladder down to the dive deck - it was not secured after it's use for dinner. I had to notifiy the Pursuer in the bridge of this unsafe issue. I hold a US Coast Guard Captain's license. I noticed outside lights with no covers exposing the electricals to the weather. Either on a previous trip to sea or on ours, one of the props was damaged. One of my customers was asked to take soome pictures/video of the prop so the Captain could have a new prop waiting for the boat when it docked at the end of the trip. We went back early to get the new one installed before the new passengers would board of Saturday. Having dived these reefs over 10 years I have witnessed the decline in the quality of life on the reefs and this trip was no exception. One great dive at Double "D" was the exception as while out Solo diving I observed a dolphin desperate chasing his morning meal - that fish was always just a foot in front of that hungary dolphin's mouth and in the hazey visibility of 60 ft never saw if it got away. As a SDI Solo Instructor and two of my guests being SDI Solo Divers we were able to log Solo Dives as long as we had the required equipment. I logged a total of 6 solo and 8 with a buddy during the trip. My other two Instructor divers achieved "Iron Diver" status with 26 dives each during the trip. Of the 16 divers on this trip, all but one were experienced divers. One lady that came alone was 75 but my wife and I are 76. I was never concerned with the ability of any of the divers on the trip as most had 500, 1000 dives. The design of the Explorer II results in major swing when anchored. With two down lines and divers grabing on the bottoms at 20 ft for safety stops, during the swing they found their depth to now be 8-9 ft. With the poor to moderate visibilty one would wait in 40 ft of water for the humm of the motors to start an ascent and hope to be in position when the boat became visibile om the distance to judge your 15ft safety stop in the current. Needless to say, do to not attempting to teach in my comments, the conditions were not conducive to "newbie" divers. Even for my fellow Instructors on the trip this was a new learning experience for them as well as for many of the other divers. One of my Instructors had just recently become an instructor and prior to leaving on the trip wanted to know if we'd see any sharks. I assured him we would and that held true. Black tip reef sharks were abundant and one special night dive attracted a frenzy of feeding nurse sharks. But that was it for the big stuff besides a couple of turtles and some eels. Again, for some the limited stuff they saw was exciting, but for others maily disappointing as we'd seen it all before. I love the exvitement displayed by a diver sighting a trumpid fish and showing me their photo and in my normal self, having been there at one time, show my joint excitement with them. More importantly was during a night dive with wone of my new Instructors and reaching the bottom I quickly got his attention shinning my lights and pointing my camera to the white basket starfish on some coral. Back on the boat he asked what it was and my response was I could tell him but I wanted him to grab the reef book and try to identify it so he would put all of his ecology courses to use. Most divers simply think it's another piece of coral not realizing it is a creature. In closing, everyone had individaul land group complaints about the trip as well as the great moments. They all gained experience. The Explorer corporation needs to give the boat some attention.
Websites	Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Wakaobi, Figi, Roatan, Tobago, Cozumel, Cayman, Philappines, Belize, Truk, Turk & Caicos, Tabago, St Croix
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy
Water Temp	80-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	2
Water Visibility	40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	most dives were to be 45 min and MOD 110
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Dedicated camera table and rinse tub with air lines. No camera towels but I had brought my own as usual.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here

Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 403 dive reviews of Turks and Caicos and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

Other dive reports on Explorer Ventures

All Turks and Caicos Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Turks and Caicos
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations

Want to assemble your own collection of Turks and Caicos reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home

Page computed and displayed in 0.13 seconds

Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email. And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent
Get a free monthly email and a sample issue!

Dive Review of Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II in Turks and Caicos

Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II: "Group Dive Trip Dec 7-14th", Dec, 2024,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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 Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II in
Turks and Caicos