Considering Bahamas Liveaboards in November

[KathyV]

@Ironborn if you are hoping to hear whales in the TCI, your best bet would be to go there in the spring (March). The whales are not "local" to the TCI, but in March the whales migrate through the area.

The Aggressor and Explorer liveboards don't operate in the T&Cs in March, they divert to the Silver Bank to offer whale watching and snorkeling cruises from about mid-Feb to early or mid April.

 

[Ironborn]

@Ironborn if you are hoping to hear whales in the TCI, your best bet would be to go there in the spring (March). The whales are not "local" to the TCI, but in March the whales migrate through the area.

Whales would be great but not important or even expected. My point was that larger animals in general - sharks, rays, turtles, dolphins, groupers, etc. - seemed to be one of the most redeeming qualities of the actual underwater environment on these trips, based on what I have read. Would you or anyone else agree with that?

 

[Hoag]

Whales would be great but not important or even expected. My point was that larger animals in general - sharks, rays, turtles, dolphins, groupers, etc. - seemed to be one of the most redeeming qualities of the actual underwater environment on these trips, based on what I have read. Would you or anyone else agree with that?

I would tend to agree, but I also think that a healthy population of the apex predators is an indication of an overall healthy food chain. If you get sharks, dolphins & groupers, there has to be a lot of food around to support them.

 

[KathyV]

...It has also now occurred to me, looking back at the reviews and trip reports, that the reef health may not be the primary selling point of the Turks & Caicos anyway. Most reviews and trip reports emphasized the abundance of larger species - sharks, rays, turtles, and perhaps the occasional manta or dolphin, or even a whale song in the distance. I did not see as many glowing reports about the reef health as one might expect from say, Bonaire, and a lot of people observed the impact of hurricane damage even long after hurricanes, so perhaps that is a fact of life there at any time anyway. Based on your experience, does that sound right to you?

Whales would be great but not important or even expected. My point was that larger animals in general - sharks, rays, turtles, dolphins, groupers, etc. - seemed to be one of the most redeeming qualities of the actual underwater environment on these trips, based on what I have read. Would you or anyone else agree with that?

No! I have been on 2 liveaboard trips to the T&Cs, the last one about 4 years ago, and the walls were gorgeous. I love Bonaire for the diving culture and healthy fish populations, but the T&C walls are much more impressive and dramatic than the short double reef system around Bonaire IMO - although the reefs are very pretty.

I place French Cay and West Caicos in the T&Cs among the top dive locations I have visited in the Caribbean for the beautiful walls and reefs, abundant fish life, and the frequent sightings of large animals; but I don't know the impact of the recent hurricanes or how long it will take for the reefs to recover. As I've mentioned before, the walls start a little bit deeper in the T&Cs so the reefs may have been more protected than shallower reefs, but that's just a guess.

 

[drrich2]

It has also now occurred to me, looking back at the reviews and trip reports, that the reef health may not be the primary selling point of the Turks & Caicos anyway. Most reviews and trip reports emphasized the abundance of larger species - sharks, rays, turtles, and perhaps the occasional manta or dolphin, or even a whale song in the distance. I did not see as many glowing reports about the reef health as one might expect from say, Bonaire, and a lot of people observed the impact of hurricane damage even long after hurricanes, so perhaps that is a fact of life there at any time anyway. Based on your experience, does that sound right to you?

Is seeing 'big stuff' a key destination discriminator for you? I ask not so much for your hoped for November trip, but for future trip planning. While seeing reef sharks and sea turtles is good, you may find state-side diving offers you pretty serious 'big stuff.' Out of Jupiter, FL you've got the goliath grouper aggregation and lemon shark aggregation (different times of year). Out of Morehead City or Wilmington, North Carolina, you've got pretty reliable sand tiger shark encounters around wrecks. All of that can be experienced without delving into shark feed diving (which I don't want to send your thread off into a tangent about). And it's at least seasonally warm; if you develop a taste for cold water diving, the California sea lions and harbor seals off coastal California may appeal.

Richard.

 

[KathyV]

Is seeing 'big stuff' a key destination discriminator for you? I ask not so much for your hoped for November trip, but for future trip planning. While seeing reef sharks and sea turtles is good, you may find state-side diving offers you pretty serious 'big stuff.' Out of Jupiter, FL you've got the goliath grouper aggregation and lemon shark aggregation (different times of year). Out of Morehead City or Wilmington, North Carolina, you've got pretty reliable sand tiger shark encounters around wrecks. All of that can be experienced without delving into shark feed diving (which I don't want to send your thread off into a tangent about). And it's at least seasonally warm; if you develop a taste for cold water diving, the California sea lions and harbor seals off coastal California may appeal. Richard.

The T&C liveaboards don't chum or do shark feedings but I think some of the Bahamas liveaboards do - but not any of the ones that we've used, including Blackbeards.

I haven't dived in California but I enjoyed the sea lions we dived with in Baja!

 

[Ironborn]

I would tend to agree, but I also think that a healthy population of the apex predators is an indication of an overall healthy food chain. If you get sharks, dolphins & groupers, there has to be a lot of food around to support them.

Good point, I did not think of that.

 

[Ironborn]

Is seeing 'big stuff' a key destination discriminator for you? I ask not so much for your hoped for November trip, but for future trip planning. While seeing reef sharks and sea turtles is good, you may find state-side diving offers you pretty serious 'big stuff.' Out of Jupiter, FL you've got the goliath grouper aggregation and lemon shark aggregation (different times of year). Out of Morehead City or Wilmington, North Carolina, you've got pretty reliable sand tiger shark encounters around wrecks. All of that can be experienced without delving into shark feed diving (which I don't want to send your thread off into a tangent about). And it's at least seasonally warm; if you develop a taste for cold water diving, the California sea lions and harbor seals off coastal California may appeal.

Richard.

Usually not. I was asking in this case because I wanted to judge how much any reef damage from the two hurricanes might detract from the overall experience in the Turks & Caicos. It sounded to me like many/most (but not all) of the divers that did TCI liveaboards were raving about the abundance of larger animals and not so much about the health of the reefs, so perhaps even if there is still significant hurricane damage and sedimentation, it would not detract that much from the value of the experience, if the primary value of the experience lies in the abundance of larger animals and not in the stationary corals, sponges, and gorgonians. Hence my question.

With that said, I do prioritize mobile marine life of any size over reef health. I got a good dose of smaller, macro critters on my last trip (which was on the west coast of Bonaire), so perhaps a destination with an abundance of larger animals would be a good change of pace and introduce some variety into my diving diet.

 

[Brodydog]

the big thing that struck me (in 2013) was that the proliferation of Lionfish throughout the region had caused other fish populations to diminish significantly. Reefs that were once full of life were now full of Lionfish and little else. I have no idea what next month's trip will hold, but I hope to do a "Trip Repo

Have you made your Aquacat trip yet? How did you find the the lionfish population and the population of the other fish compared to your last trip there? On most of the Caribbean trips I've been on in the last few years I've seen a decrease in the number of lionfish but I think that's because the divers in the areas I've visited have been hunting them. I'm thinking the Aquacat would be traveling more remote areas with fewer human hunters.

Also did you see any hurricane damage on the reefs?

We've never been on the Aquacat but have been in that areas several times back when Explorer Ventures used to have a boat there.

 

[jndiver]

Just back from a T&K live a board trip. The viability is fair at best. 20 to 50 feet on a good dive and that was a drift 3 hours away from the usual moorings. While there were sharks on most dives lion fish are back and eating everything. New regulations make it difficult for taking them. Seems like a shark took one off some tourists spear and the regulatory authority doesn't want divers eaten. Yea right. Flight down and had 25 on a big Jet Blue plane . There are not many tourist around. Yes the island had damage but they are trying to get back in business. 180 winds were clocked according to our driver. Takes time to recover from that above and below the water.

The reefs were hit hard and are sand covered on most dives. I'll go back not for sometime however.