Turks & Caicos · Turks & Caicos Islands · Wall · Cave & cavern
The Crack
A crevice cutting down the wall from 15 m to 30 m
Area photo: SNORKELINGDIVES.COM · CC BY 2.0
The name comes from a deep crevice that cuts down the Northwest Point wall from 15 m to about 30 m. Large grouper and snapper hang inside it among black coral and deep-water gorgonian, and there is always a good chance of sharks and spotted eagle rays out in the water alongside the face.
Where it is and how deep
21.8550° N, 72.3252° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Northwest Point's walls are vertical and start at around 11 m, and this one is split. A deep crevice cuts down the face from 15 m to about 30 m, and the dive is built around it: drop onto the top of the wall, find the crack, and follow it down rather than swimming the open face. The formations the point is known for, gold and purple tube sponges among them, are on the rock either side of it.
Inside the crevice, black coral and deep-water gorgonian grow out of the shaded rock, and large grouper and snapper tend to hold in there out of the light. The bottom of the crack is at about 30 m, so it is a short deep leg with the rest of the dive spent climbing back out of it. On the way up, keep looking out into the blue as well as at the walls of the crack: there is always a good chance of sharks and spotted eagle rays at this site.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef sharks
- Eagle rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good |
Season follows Turks & Caicos: January–April brings calm seas and the humpback whale migration through the Turks Island Passage; September–October is peak hurricane season.
Know before you go
- The crevice bottoms out at about 30 m, which leaves little no-decompression time for the rest of the dive — take the deep section first and treat everything after it as ascent.
Sources
- Dive Sites — Dive Provo — Dive Provo
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