Narrative by Clare Jardine

Dive Provo – No longer a teenager. How on earth did we get this far?

2010 marks the 20th anniversary of Dive Provo in the Turks and Caicos Islands and just like wedding anniversaries these milestones have us thinking back and enjoying the memories. Also strange how some events get buried so deep as to warrant non-memorable status.

Not having been around for the first six years we contacted John Englander one of the company’s founders to see what he could recall of those early days. As best his memory serves him here is a brief summary of how things got started in the words of Dive Provo founder John, followed by the history as remembered by my husband and partner, Alan.

The Early Years by John Englander.

In 1989, the Ramada Turquoise Reef Resort and Casino was under construction on what is now the site of the Seven Stars condominium just across Grace Bay Rd. from Dive Provo’s present location. At the time, it was the most significant resort in the Turks and Caicos Islands. There were four partners: Antonio Reale, Al LaRocca, Charlie Wilson (?), and Tom Manuel. They knew that they wanted a quality scuba diving operation to be a feature.

They contacted Ron Kipp, the flamboyant owner of Bob Soto’s Diving in Grand Cayman--then one of the best-known dive operations in the world-- to discuss establishing a scuba and water sports operation. Ron brought me in and financial man Barry Taylor of UNEXSO, the Underwater Explorers Society, based in Freeport, Grand Bahama, due to prior business relationships and their highly successful operation.

Over several months a deal was worked out for the concession of the diving and water sports. The name Dive Provo was chosen; a logo was created; a boat, a Bristol Blue Water flat top type design ideal for pulling up to the beach was acquired, start up staff and equipment were assembled. The hotel opened in May 1990. The first general manager of Dive Provo was David McLaren, from Canada. He was succeeded by Ted and Jane Dixon who lived with their dog Fathom aboard their sailboat down by Gilley’s in Leeward.

Within the first two years, there was good initial success and acceptance, including several feature articles in Skin Diver Magazine, the major publication in the industry at that time. Mike Rosati operated a Wind Surfing operation in conjunction with Dive Provo as well, and he remembers with fondness when takings of $75.00 constituted a good day.

Englander, Kipp, and Taylor regularly visited Provo to help get the operation established, to provide management oversight, and implement systems.

Due to issues of weather exposure on the North Shore, and enabled by the construction of a dock at the Ramada, Dive Provo was able to trade the flattop dive boat for the more substantial Provo Star which boarded divers at the dock and could handle seas better. The company also established and maintained a dock on the south side at Sapodilla Bay with another boat to access the premiere diving at West Caicos.

Approximately a year and a half after Dive Provo opened, the second major hotel opened on the North Shore along the beach a couple of miles from the Ramada. Originally planned as a Sheraton branded property the plans changed during construction and this hotel was finally named the Royal Bay. Dive Provo acquired the rights to operate the scuba and water sports at that resort under the name “Provo Aquatic Adventures.” This was short lived as within two years, that hotel was purchased by the Sandals/Beaches group from Jamaica.
Shortly thereafter, they negotiated a buyout of the Dive Provo interest.

In 1995, John Englander and UNEXSO bought out the interests of Ron and Kathie Kipp and became the sole owner, of Dive Provo. John Englander contacted Alan and Clare Jardine around June 1996 with the idea that they would purchase and operate Dive Provo. The Jardines had started their careers as dive instructors at UNEXSO in 1984, and had gone on to become respected dive operators in Bonaire and Tortola, BVI.

A deal was consummated in a few months and the Jardines took over as the new owner / operators.

The history...as remembered by Alan Jardine

1990 – A developer building a hotel on Grace Bay Beach on Providenciales sought out two of the dive industry’s best known names with a proposal for them to provide diving and watersports at his resort. These two were the flamboyant Ron Kipp who operated Bob Soto’s in Grand Cayman and the business minded John Englander from the Underwater Explorer’s Society (UNEXSO) in Freeport, Bahamas. Starting from nothing they created what was to grow into today’s Dive Provo. The first boat was a “flattop” with outboard engines able to pull up onto the sand in front of the hotel; there was no dock. Air to fill tanks was sourced from a WWII compressor built by Ingersoll Rand and delivered to the US Navy in 1943. That same compressor was not retired by Dive Provo until 1998.

With Kipp and Englander as absentee owners Dive Provo was run by a series of on-site managers and in 1994-1995 John Englander became the sole owner buying Ron Kipp’s interest. Managers at that time were the popular Ted and Jane Dixon who lived on their sailboat in Leeward Going Through with dive shop dog Fathom. Life was good for all those working at Dive Provo as the island of Provo became known as a diving destination. The magazine Skin Diver provided ample coverage and visits from top photographers such as Steven Frink were commonplace. Dive Provo was growing indeed and a second location with its own boat carrying divers to West Caicos and French Cay was established at Sapodilla Bay on the S.W. end of Provo. Sapodilla Bay consisted of a small dock, a compressor and a storage facility on the ground floor of a house rapidly being devoured by termites. There was even a bar and restaurant catering to the needs of cruising yachtsmen and women. Preston Dickenson would swim out to the mooring each morning and bring the boat to the dock while his crew member would be gathering divers at what had become the Ramada Turquoise Reef Resort for the fifteen minute bus ride to Sapodilla. A two tank dive at West Caicos was definitely a full day out aboard the Broadbill and not much quicker on the Provo Quest that replaced it.

1996 – John Englander was approached by the Cousteau Society and offered the opportunity to run that famous organization. This was time to “cut the cord” with Dive Provo and give up the absentee owner role. John met with Alan and Clare Jardine (that’s us) in Houston of all places and the seeds were sown for The Jardines to move to Provo from the British Virgin Islands as the new owners of Dive Provo. People who can remember that far back will recall Simon Winch, David Ritchie, Tom Atkins and Paul Roach working alongside “Mr. Sapodilla” Preston with Jaliyllah and David in the beachfront shop at Turquoise Reef. There was even a lobby shop next to the hotel’s casino run by Betty Mills.

For Alan and Clare Jardine Dive Provo started in 1996. We moved to Provo with 2 young children, a mother in a wheelchair and a Bonairean cat. At that time the island was very much a frontier town and everyone knew everyone’s business. Luckily we hooked up with a wonderful lady called Shirley Morgan from Salt Cay, who looked after mum and the children after school and an adopted dog until 1999 when mum returned to a nursing home in England.

The flat top boat had been traded for a deep V monohull from Grand Turk that became the Provo Star. This elegant old lady cruised back and forward to north side dive sites from the newly constructed dock at Turquoise Reef; what a luxury! 1995 had seen high tech, high speed arrive at Dive Provo in the form of the Provo Explorer. The Explorer was built for speed with twin 300hp engines and jet drives that allowed it to explore distant reefs and walls. Dive Provo had a whole new product and diving sites previously the sole domain of the liveaboard boats were now definitely a day boat option. Unfortunately the Provo Explorer did not live up to its promise. An innovative design it presented multiple problems breaking down unexpectedly and repeatedly. The boat, one of the sexiest looking designs became known island wide as the Provo Exploder. Staff were told not to call in to base at unusual times or we would assume there was a problem.

1997-1998 – The island really started to grow and Dive Provo was the choice for divers staying at any of the resorts on the island. A second shop was opened over the street at the Ports of Call Shopping Village home to well known night spots Lone Star with Dan Sly and Latitudes run by Jeff Rollins. Comfort Suites was built by developer Jules Fleischer who had built Ports of Call.

The Turquoise Reef Resort was sold to the Allegro Resorts group and after re-modelling re-opened after eighteen months as an all-inclusive resort with Dive Provo as their in-house dive shop. Dive Provo was now the operator of choice for divers regardless of their hotel.

1999 – The women’s lingerie and Italian shoe shop next door to Dive Provo’s shop at Ports of Call closed and the decision was made to knock through and expand into that location. Allegro ticked over but never realized its full potential in terms of occupancy but it was still “home” for Dive Provo’s boats and operations.

About this time disaster struck when one morning when we turned up at Sapodilla Bay to find the Provo Quest missing from its mooring. The day was glassy calm and the mooring intact. The boat had been stolen during the night! Six weeks later our insurance company called and left a message the boat had been found. Joy and elation filled the Dive Provo office though it was short lived because a phone call revealed it was ashore in Cat Island, Bahamas having been washed there by Hurricane Floyd. Turns out the Provo Quest had caught the eye of someone who thought it deserved a new home somewhere in The Bahamas from where the hurricane drove it ashore to its final resting place high and dry on a deserted beach. With one side of the hull missing we bade farewell to the Quest and set about finding a replacement. A deal was struck with a dive operator on Cat Island whereby they would purchase the brand new engine and transmission in the Provo Quest. Unfortunately before they could get it, the engine was salvaged by a Bahamian from San Salvador who had heavy equipment working on a marina development just down the coast from the wrecked boat.

2000 - John Englander had started the upgrading and modernization of the Dive Provo fleet when he purchased the Provo Explorer. 2000 welcomed the Newton boat christened Provo Conquest, named after the lost Provo Quest, built in Slidell, Louisiana. Delivery was Labour Day weekend and that US holiday saw Alan and Joe Jardine with Bill Sewell depart Slidell for a seven day trip to Turks and Caicos. Joe, only 14 at the time, grew up watching his father and Bill working on boats and enjoyed the lifestyle. This trip encouraged him to obtain his captains license at age 18 and he worked in the boating industry for the next 5 years. Having made that trip we now know that Apalachicola is “Florida’s Forgotten Coast”, hotel rooms cost four times more in Naples than Tarpon Springs, and the water is definitely bluer in The Bahamas than it is in the Gulf of Mexico.

Life was looking up at Dive Provo as visitor numbers grew. The Provo Star, Provo Explorer and Provo Conquest were a fleet to be proud of. The Provo Conquest was both reliable and fast and this allowed Dive Provo divers to explore further afield. We were running “Scuba Safaris” to explore uncharted and possibly never before explored sites along the wall between West Caicos, SW Reef, Molasses Reef and the French Cay area.

2002 – The Provo Explorer had become a major problem. The hi tech jet drive control system of potentiometers, hydraulically operated solenoids and delicate circuit boards required frequent care and attention. Even the drive shaft assemblies and the jet housings themselves were a regular source of frustration and expense. The decision was made to build a sister for the Provo Conquest and Thanksgiving 2002 saw Dive Provo become the proud owner of another Newton named the Provo Crusader. Former Peter Hughes captain Tom Dunzelman, along with Dive Provo’s Lucy Bullard, delivered the Provo Crusader to the island.

The Provo Explorer, by this time an island legend in its own time, was hauled and the deck removed. The two engines and jet drives were removed, various holes in the hull fibreglassed over and new holes cut to accommodate a propeller and rudder shafts. The work was completed by Bill Sewell, our operations manager and Mr. fix it, and Alan Jardine. The Provo Explorer became the Provo Challenger. Look closely at the bridge of the boat and you will see it was built by Jardine/Sewell Boat Works. The Challenger name fitted in with the other “C” names of the Conquest and Crusader. Of course it was not long before we were reminded that the Challenger was the ill fated space shuttle. Having lost count of the number of “explosions” we had endured with the Provo “Exploder” we came to terms with the name and left it unchanged. Those of you who have enjoyed days out on the Provo Challenger will agree that the conversion to single engine with propeller instead of jet drives was a good move.

With the newly refitted Provo Challenger Dive Provo now had 4 boats. Diver numbers did not warrant this many boats so in 2005 the Provo Star was re-fitted and delivered to Dive Tortola in the British Virgin Islands and sold soon after by Dive Provo to a construction company, at which it was rechristened by the developers captains as the Porno Star.

The resort dive industry is by nature a nomadic one with many staff using the opportunity to travel spending time in a variety of resort locations. While we know staff come and go it is always difficult to say goodbye to good staff. The island of Provo and Dive Provo in particular has attracted many people from different walks of life at a particular time in their lives. Some have stayed on the island, others stayed at Dive Provo a long time and others not long enough, but repeat divers and people who enjoyed their dive vacation will remember some of the people who made their mark here.