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

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Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II, Sep, 2010, by Tammy Hauk, MO, US ( 2 reports). Report 5709.
No photos available at this time
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	The EVII arranged for pick-up at Providenciales airport, and from the moment we arrived at the dock, the crew of the EVII were welcoming, friendly, helpful, efficient & professional. Our gear bags were placed on the dive deck so we could set up our equipment, and any other bags were taken to our berth. Each berth had its own bathroom, with shower, head & sink. When unpacked, all bags were taken by the crew to a storage area in the nose of the boat. The boat has a shaded deck up top with a beer fridge & seating. Down one level was the bridge, 2 VIP suites & the sun deck. Down one level was the dive deck, dry salon & eating area, and main berths. Lower level had the rest of the berths, storage, & crew berths. We had dinner & a boat briefing the first night, then headed to French Caye. We set up our gear once, and the tank fills were done right at your station. Our entire group was diving Nitrox, and they handled most of us doing 5 dives each day without a hitch. If your tank was low, they would top you off before you got in the water. Nitrox ranged from 29-31% all week. The gear deck had two gear rinse tanks, two mask rinse 'trash cans', and the camera rinse tank. Wetsuits & skins hung behind the tanks & over the compressor, so they would dry most of the way out between dives. We had 3 DM's available during our week, and they took turns giving excellent dive briefings with white board detailed drawings of the site and leading the dives. We were allowed to dive our own computer profiles, with the DM or not. French Caye had the only surface chop and mildly strong current we encountered all week, which brought the pelagics: many black-tip reef sharks, spotted eagle rays, turtles, and large grouper were spotted on every dive. All week, we would have breakfast, then do 2 morning dives on a site, then the boat would move during lunch & the 2 afternoon dives and night dive would be on a new site. The boat swings a wide arc when moored, so most did our safety stop waiting for the boat to swing back to us rather than chase it around. They do have two weighted hang lines off the stern, and you could go for a heck of a ride if you caught one (but watch your depth if you haven't cleared your safety stop!) West Caicos & Provo were dead calm with negligible current, and though we lost most of the sharks, we still saw a few off the walls. Photographers were thrilled with the variety of critters, and some of the macro shots were amazing. When exiting the water, the crew was right there to help (or no,t if that was your preference), and they greeted you back on the boat by name & noted your dive details in their log, and offered freshly baked snacks. After the night dives, crew would offer to pour warm water in your wetsuit while you were taking care of your gear. The chef was wonderful. Meals were never repeated, and were delicious. We had several vegetarians and a vegan in our group, and no one went hungry. The Captain and 3 DM's were more than happy to spend time with us between dives and in the evenings, and were always happy to answer our questions, or help us look critters up on their library. There was a variety of movies - complete with popcorn - in the evenings. When I decided after the first night that my mattress was too hard for my personal preference, the crew was more than happy to let me sleep on the salon sofa. I will definitely dive from this boat, with this crew, again!
Websites	Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Bonaire, Red Sea, Roatan, Florida Keys, St. Croix, Cozumel, Belize
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	85-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	60-100 Ft/ 18-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	One hour time limit, as long as you did not go into deco or exceed oxygen uptake limits
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
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The boat has a very large camera-only rinse tank right beside a very large carpet-covered table area, and towels to shield the cameras from the sun. Crew were happy to hand your camera to you after you got in the water, and take it from you before you climbed back up the ladder.

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

Explorer Ventures -- T&C Explorer II, Sep, 2010,

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/French Caye, West Caicos, Prov