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Dive Review of Turks and Caicos Aggressor II in
Turks and Caicos

Turks and Caicos Aggressor II, Nov, 2004,

by Rickie Sterne/Chrisanda Button, Arkansas, USA . Report 1461.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 3 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments The diving off uninhabitied French Cay and West Caicos is some of the best Caribbean diving we have done. The walls of NW Provo were beautiful, but the shallows were sand-choked with some algal growth. Hard corals, octocorals, and sponges were in good condidtion and profuse along the walls and over the shallows. We saw one or two reef sharks on almost every dive. A single eagle ray soared along the wall at G Spot. Stingrays were common on the sandy areas at the tops of the walls. T&C seem to be unusually well supplied with queen triggerfish, cowfish, and indigo hamlets. There were two remarkable turtle encounters. On a late afternoon dive we watched what we believed to be a courtship dance between two whitespotted filefish. Night dives brought out many crustaceans. We saw a number of speckled morays and an acre or so of garden eels. Night dives were especially enjoyable.
The T&C Aggressor II is a beautifully appointed two-yer-old boat. Piers has captained the Aggressor boats in the Turks and Caicos for a decade, and he runs a very smooth operation. The cabins are small, of course, but they are well organized and comfortable. The fluffy terrycloth robes helped compensate for the usual too-cold air conditioning. The large sundeck, half open and half covered, features a wet bar offering water, juices, sodas, beer, and wine. Most divers dozed away their surface intervals here. The dive deck on this boat is hands down the best we have encountered on any liveaboard. Large gear stations and easy tank fills of air and nitrox start each dive well. Getting back on board is exceptionally easy via the stable ladders with well-placed rungs. Two warm showers and warm towels were great apres-dive. Not to mention the the hot cocoa after night dives. The crew were superb. They acted as if they really enjoyed their jobs and cared that we were enjoying our vacation. When the hairdryer in our cabin malfunctioned, one of the crew members lent me his for the week. Chef Bob kept great meals and snacks pouring out of his tiny galley, and accomodated both picky eaters and people with dietary restrictions (not to mention those of us who get very hungry when diving)
Annette at the Aggressor office on Provo and Joe, the Aggressor's taxi driver, were extremely helpful when our luggage was delayed
On the other hand, the Aggressor home office in Louisiana was unhelpful. Sadly, our usual travel agent, Tony Smith, died after we booked the trip. His files were picked up by Caradonna Caribbean Travel. But the Louisiana folks somehow forgot that they had received all sorts of information about us and money from the new agent. They were sending letters to a defunct agency asking for more money. We discovered the problem inadvertantly when I emailed Aggressor because I hadn't received luggage tags. Cami at Caradonna was great _ and very frustrated that people at the Louisiana office apparently don't communicate with each other.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 251-500 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Bay Islands, Belize, Cozumel, Tortola, Sea of Cortez, Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy Seas choppy
Water Temp 80-81°F / 27-27°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 60-90 Ft/ 18-27 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 110 feet; return to the boat with 500 psi
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 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 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Christopher, the photo pro, was not just a guy who operated the E6 processing machine. He'll be in the nest generation of famous underwater photographers. The boat offered a computer with big screen TV for digital photographers to view their shots as well as the usual processing. With all 11 photographers onboard shooting digital, there ws some competition for the charging station.
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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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