Turks & Caicos December Diving Conditions

[BigJimDiver]

Can anyone can give me a general idea of typical ocean conditions in T&C mid December? I'm considering the T&C Aggressor trip with my daughter who will be doing her OW checkout dives, and the warmer and calmer the better. Any feedback or suggestions on alternatives would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Stoo]

If you want warm and calm, go in June or July.... We have done the Explorer a couple of times then... 86° and perfectly calm. I wore a 3mm vest and board shorts, except on night dives.

December is more likely to be windy and cooler... but still pretty nice.

 

[BigJimDiver]

If you want warm and calm, go in June or July.... We have done the Explorer a couple of times then... 86° and perfectly calm. I wore a 3mm vest and board shorts, except on night dives.

December is more likely to be windy and cooler... but still pretty nice.

Thanks for the response, but mid-December is our window and I'd like to do a Caribbean Liveaboard with her and think we'd be best at either T&C or maybe Belize. Just trying to decide which would be best for her as a new diver, better viz and less current to battle. I did T&C land based 20 years ago in Feb. and had a great time, would love to do a liveaboard there, but had a friend who went in December a few years ago and had a number of days of no diving and the others were very rough water. Not sure if that's the norm or was just his luck.

 

[Stoo]

The liveaboard diving in T+C is spectacular... We have had the odd blustery day there, and currents weren't a problem. And even when the vis isn't the best, it's still pretty spectacular diving. On one trip, we arrived three days after Hurricane Irene had beaten the place to a pulp. Vis was horrible for the first few days, but cleared up after that, although there was a lot of sand on corals and stuff. It's pretty unlikely that you would run into a hurricane then anyway. We still had a great trip!

I guess there's never any guarantees with weather, but to paraphrase somebody, I suspect that the worst December day on a liveaboard in Turks and Caicos is still better than the best day in December in New Jersey!

 

[Mia Toose]

Hello,

I used to work on the Turks & Caicos Explorer II and still continue to live and scuba dive in Turks & Caicos (and work for Explorer Ventures, but in a land-based role). You should totally do a liveaboard in December and your daughter will be fine for her check-out dives! If she is older than 15 years old, there won't be any depth restrictions as the diving in TCI are quite deep often starting at 50-60ft on the liveaboards.

The water temperature is cooler in December, but not as cold as it will be in February. We always dive on the leeward side of the islands with the exception of French Cay which is out in the open. Since FC is not so protected, if the weather isn't right we don't head that way. The check-out dives would not be done out there.

I highly recommend diving on Nitrox the entire time you are here due to the deeper dives and the number of dives you will be doing on the liveaboard.

Feel free to ask any more specifics about TCI or our vessel - I'd be happy to help/advise!

Mia

 

[BigJimDiver]

Hello,

I used to work on the Turks & Caicos Explorer II and still continue to live and scuba dive in Turks & Caicos (and work for Explorer Ventures, but in a land-based role). You should totally do a liveaboard in December and your daughter will be fine for her check-out dives! If she is older than 15 years old, there won't be any depth restrictions as the diving in TCI are quite deep often starting at 50-60ft on the liveaboards.

The water temperature is cooler in December, but not as cold as it will be in February. We always dive on the leeward side of the islands with the exception of French Cay which is out in the open. Since FC is not so protected, if the weather isn't right we don't head that way. The check-out dives would not be done out there.

I highly recommend diving on Nitrox the entire time you are here due to the deeper dives and the number of dives you will be doing on the liveaboard.

Feel free to ask any more specifics about TCI or our vessel - I'd be happy to help/advise!

Mia

HI Mia. Thanks for your response and the information! I'm familiar with EV, did the CEXII two years ago and wanted to do T&C Explorer but you were sold out for the week we were coming (12/10) so we will be going wit the "other guys". But I'll probably be back with my son within the next year or 2. My daughter's 22 so no issue with the depth; and I think we'll go down a few days beforehand so she can finish her OW check out dives with a land based op before getting on the boat; Good advice re Nitrox,, I've been fortunate to have been on 5 liveaboards (so far -) ) so did my Nitrox cert. on my first and planned for her to do it while onboard, it's definitely a wise move with 27 dives over 6 days!