TravelWorld International Magazine, Spring 2022 - Spring into Travel

Diving remote French Cay
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French Cay is usually the highlight
reel of an Aggressor trip to the Turks
and Caicos. The Cay itself is a small
uninhabited sandy atoll, only a few
hundred feet long, located on the
southwest side of the Caicos Bank,
about 18 miles from West Caicos and
Northwest Point. The dive sites in this
area, which are simply amazing, are
remote and exposed, diveable only
in good weather. If divers want close
encounters with lots of big marine life,
offering lots of opportunities for wide
angle photography and video, these
sites provide non-stop action.
At Double-D divers will find a lush,
sloping reef that offers an abundance of
large marine life. During a typical dive,
it is common to encounter Atlantic
Spadefish, horse-eye jacks, barracuda,
turtles, eagle rays and several large
A nurse shark, nicknamed
“Fin”, can be found on
night dives at G-Spot at
French Cay.
reef sharks. There are also large
elephant ear sponges on top of
the reef. Green moray eels will
frequently leave the protection of
their dens and swim around the
reef.
G-Spot has a large population
of nurse sharks that divers will see
snoozing or cruising about the
shallow reef top. Caribbean reef
sharks are always patrolling the
wall and the shallows, and are not
shy about coming within arm’s
reach. This site always produces
an amazing night dive. There
is a resident nurse shark with a
damaged dorsel fin, nicknamed
“Fin,” who is always eager to
introduce his family members.
Reef sharks continually appear out
of the darkness and occasionally
bump into divers. The beams of
the dive lights illuminate sleeping
turtles, moray eels and octopus.
At Half Mile Reef the Caribbean
Reef Sharks are very friendly,
frequently joining buddy teams of
divers. Stingrays, octopuses, large
reef fish and an assortment of jacks
and turtles are always present. There
is a large elephant ear sponge near
the mooring, that is great for wideangle
portraits.
If anyone is looking for a dive
adventure in the Caribbean,
the Turks and Caicos Islands is
one of the top destinations for
magnificent walls, friendly marine
life and exciting interactions. As
the brochure states, it is simply
“Beautiful by Nature.”
A fearless Caribbean
Reef Shark swims
within an arm’s reach
to say hello.
N
A diver swims up to a
large nurse shark for a
close look at Double D.
Schools of Atlantic
Spadefish are
found throughout
the dive sites at
French Cay.
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