Dive Review of Dive Provo/The Sands at Grace Bay in
Turks and Caicos/Providenciales

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Dive Provo/The Sands at Grace Bay, Aug, 2004, by Ernie Feleppa, NY, USA . Report 1932.
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	I have been taking dive groups to the Caribbean since the mid 1980s, and this year I took 33 people (27 divers) to Provo in July. The folks at Dive Provo, particularly Alan (owner), Bill (dive-operations manager), Lucy (divemaster and captain), and several of their staff are absolutely super. The boats are reliable and well set up. Diving Northwest Point is as good as diving at the more sought-after more-distant regions such as West Caicos, French Cay, etc. Runs to Grace Bay sites take less than a half hour (one way); to NW Point they take 45 minutes to an hour; and beyond that, 2 hours or more. Based on past experience, we chose to stick with NW Point and Grace Bay, but conditions were noticably better at NW Point this year in terms of visibility and reef health. (My guess is that the unbelievably rapid and extensive recent development along Grace Bay may be affecting the adjacent envirionment -- much as I believe extensive development has affected the reefs along the western shore of Grand Cayman.) Most people saw Caribbean reef sharks on more than one dive; one diver saw at least one shark on EVERY dive. We saw several turtles, a few nurse sharks (including a 6-footer), the usual reef fish, and quite a bit of healthy pillar coral. Flamingo tongues abounded and I saw a few fingerprint cyphomas. However, the highlight of this year's trip may have been our "playing" with a pod of at least 50 spotted dolphins that we encountered en route to a NW-point dive site. Our 2 boats circled the pod for about 10 minutes while the dolphins constantly rode and body surfed our bow waves and wakes. The best dives were the Crack and Ampitheater off NW Point. The Sands where we stayed and the Royal West Indies resorts seem to be the best values for quality accomodations on Provo, and the restaurant at RWI is among the best on the Island. Unfortunately, virtually all the bedding at RWI is king or queen, which is not well-suited for a large group such as ours. Caicos Cafe, Magnolia, Coco Bistro, and several other restaurants offer very good food at not-unreasonable prices for the Caribbean.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Grand Cayman, Bonaire, Northeast US (salt and fresh water)
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	choppy, noCurrents
Water Temp	84-85°F / 29-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	General guidelines were given for each dive, e.g., 80' out and 60' or less back for some specified time. One of the crew entered the water to guide each dive, but following was optional.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	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
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Dive Provo/The Sands at Grace Bay in Turks and Caicos/Providenciales

Dive Provo/The Sands at Grace Bay, Aug, 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 Dive Provo/The Sands at Grace Bay in
Turks and Caicos/Providenciales