Double Duty
Grenada/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines • Peter Hughes Diving: Wind Dancer
For most North American scuba divers — and particularly for those living in or near an East Coast city — the Caribbean is a sort of candy store. It's very accessible, costs little to get to and is convenient enough to get to more than once a year. The only conundrum comes in the sheer variety; with so many island nations, each offering its own distinctive topside and underwater flavors, how do you choose just one?
Peter Hughes Diving's Wind Dancer makes choosing about 50 percent easier. The yacht is the only live-aboard dive boat in the Caribbean that visits two nations as part of its standard, weeklong 130-nautical-mile itinerary.
Charters originate and end at True Blue Bay Resort in Grenada, but cross deep into St. Vincent and the Grenadines waters. Even though this is a true two-nation cruise, divers don't have to wait in line twice for customs and immigration; hand your passport to the captain, tell him whether you'd like an entry stamp or not, and he'll take it ashore on Bequia and handle the formalities while you're having fun. The entry process is transparent, as far as those onboard are concerned.
Wind Dancer features all of the standard amenities of the world-famous Peter Hughes Diving Dancer Fleet. There's in-room morning coffee service and a nightly turndown service. Fresh, warm towels are available after dives. Dining service is sit-down, like at a fine restaurant. All linens are changed midweek, and the crew stands a 24-hour safety watch.
Northern Grenadian waters and SVG are well known to Caribbean regulars as a time machine: a glimpse into what Caribbean diving was like long before development came along. The dives (up to five a day) include volcanic seamounts, deserted cays and the " Titanic of the Caribbean" — the Bianca C, the Caribbean's largest actual (nonplaced) shipwreck, all graced with the full complement of Caribbean reef fish and pelagics. And because Wind Dancer features a large sundeck with both shaded and open lounging, and the cruise travels classic, Southern Caribbean sailing grounds, this is a live-aboard that will be as relaxing and refreshing for nondivers as it is for the hard-core aficionado.
Quick Guide
Wind Dancer is a 120-foot monohull yacht with a 28-foot beam, carrying up to 18 passengers in nine staterooms, served by a crew of 10. Nitrox is available, as are digital camera rentals, and diving is done from two 25-foot tenders with outboard motors.
For more information: sportdiver.com/peterhughes
POST A COMMENT