We will update as often as we receive report from the vessel. The Southbound Exploratory Trip, Oct. 10-17 still has space. Call for details.
Friday:
Our first dive was on Theo’s Wreck, and it was very popular. The wreck lies on it’s side and is easy to penetrate. Lots of schooling fish surround the wreck, making for an excellent first dive.
Our final dive was at the Caves, and what a way to end the trip. Two sharks were patrolling around the boat before the divers even entered the water! Eels, a turtle, and a pair of dolphin all made an appearance on this site!
Finally, we headed into Port Lucaya for an evening of revelry or relaxation, depending on the mood. All-in-all we had a fantastic trip with some great diving (wrecks, reefs, walls, blue holes) and phenomenal weather.
Thursday:
We started our dives off of Nichols Town on Andros Island. Andros is the largest island in the Bahamas and boasts one of the world’s largest barrier reefs. Our first dive was on Andros Wall, and here the topography changed from previous days of diving. The wall was more of a rocky structure, with less coral and growth than at other sites. Though a good dive, it did not compare to the previous couple of days diving.
We headed north in search of a better dive site and stopped at a site called Kiss and Tell. Again, the diving was only fair; ahh the nature of exploratory diving!
In search of a better site, we crossed Northwest Channel and anchored on the wall to the south of Rum Cay in the Berry Island chain. The diving was better here, but still not up to the previous day’s diving.
Our final dive was a couple of miles to the north, and our persistence paid off. Far and away the best dive of the day! The highlight on this dive was a Silky Shark spotted at about 80-feet!
We then departed for the long, 7 ½ hour crossing to the vicinity of Freeport. The weather was perfect and we had a full moon that brightly illuminated the calm waters.
Wednesday
We got an early start to the morning, as several guests had requested that we do a dawn dive. At six a.m. five guests and the Captain hit the water at Wooden Wreck Wall in nearly pitch darkness. Low profile coral at 40-feet gradually sloped down to 50-feet, where the wall plunged into the abyss. We did not find the wooden wreck on this dive, but we did find lobster, Parrotfish sleeping in their mucus sleeping bags, a large crab, and plenty of basket stars. As dawn began to break, the reef started coming to life and we headed back into the shallows. We were moored to the wreck of a large freighter and spent some time exploring it in the shallow sand flats at the edge of the reef. By this time, the reef was fully alive. Schools of Chromis and Creole Wrasse were enjoying their breakfast. A couple Cero swam by, and plenty of Jacks and Snappers cruised around. At the hangline on the boat, two TINY baby Trunk Fish had taken up station. These little guys are about the size of a pea, and about a third of their body is all eyes! Their little fins are moving like a hummingbird as they struggled to remain in the safety of the hangline weights.
Our second dive was also at Wooden Wreck Wall off the west side of New Providence Island (Nassau). This time, in the light, the guests were able to discover the remains of the small wooden boat on a ledge at 70-feet. They were also rewarded with sightings of Chromis, Wrasse, Jacks, Snapper, and Lobster. As the divers exited the water a pod of dolphins appeared well off the bow. Portends of our upcoming Dolphin Encounter trips!
The dolphins were not the only visitors to the site. We were quickly overwhelmed by six cattle boats from local shoreside operators and the diving area quickly became crowded. This area includes the remains of sets from the movie Thunderball, old pens that once housed 60’s TV star Flipper, two airplanes, and several wrecks. However, with the local operators crowding in, the Captain decided to take the boat down to SW Reef. The weather was perfect, with barely a ripple on the water and the visibility was great.
Our third dive was at Razorback, a sharp profile ridge that dropped steeply on a wall. Shark, Grouper, lots of Lionfish, and plenty of reef creatures kept the divers entertained.
We moved a little farther to the south for our fourth dive at Shark Wall. The site lived up to its name, with several sharks joining the divers for a cruise along the wall and at the top of the reef.
We moved back to the SW side of New Providence for our fifth dive and also our night dive. Both were done on the wreck of the Carib Breeze, a large freighter sunk as an artificial reef. A second oil tanker lies just off the bow of the Carib Breeze, making this a double wreck site. The Carib Breeze was prepared meticulously as a dive site, and offered easy penetration throughout, an absolutely spectacular introduction to wreck diving. Lots of Lobsters were hiding under the hull, Lionfish patrolled in search of a meal, a curious Caribbean Reef Shark cruised by, a school of Atlantic Spade Fish stood guard near the mast, Hogfish rooted in the sand, and plenty of Sea Slugs zipped across the bottom (okay, they didn’t zip…I guess they slugged across the bottom). The most unusual sighting of the day was a juvenile African Pompano.
After the night dive, we enjoyed a beautiful crossing to Andros Island, where we will make a wall dive on one of the largest barrier reefs in the world!
TUESDAY
We awoke to another beautiful day in the Exumas with a light wind, light chop, and lots of puffy cumulus clouds, a few of which threatened rain, but none delivered on their threat. We pulled off our mooring and motored up to Crab Mountain Wall, a site off of Pimlico Cay in the far northern Exumas. The visibility was not as good as previous days, but was still 80-feet! Crab Mountain Wall has some spectacular coral formations, wonderful swim throughs, and a great wall. It was the favorite site (so far!) of several of the guests.
Our second dive was chosen by the Captain because he liked the name; Up Jumped The Devil. Again, no one was disappointed with the spectacular wall, great formations and very cool swim throughs. One pot hole took you down to 94-feet, where a small arched “door” dropped you out onto the wall. Fantastic. There were many intersecting canyons with connecting swim throughs and you could get enjoyably lost exploring them. Critter sightings included lots of Spanish lobster, Atlantic Spade fish, big Grouper, Horse Eyed Jacks, and a school of Mackerel.
We departed the Exumas by way of the Yellow Bank, a VERY shallow area of water between Nassau and the Exumas. The guests enjoyed Jane’s lunch as we made a very smooth two-and-three-quarter hour run across the bank to the Lost Blue Hole.
The Lost Blue Hole was another favorite. About 60-feet wide, the hole opens at about 30-feet and drops down to over 185-feet! Needless to say, our divers did not explore the bottom, staying within recreational limits. But those limits did not limit the number of animals sighted. Sharp Nosed Sharks, Mutton Snapper, a school of Bonito, Southern Stingrays, Nurse Shark, and a Loggerhead turtle were all part of the highlights.
We made a quick stop in Nassau to drop off some tanks for Hydrostatic testing; important to keep our gear up to snuff! Then headed to the north of Paradise island for a stop at the Helena Sea, a collection of three wrecks. Visibility was poor, maybe 40-feet, but the wrecks were spectacular. Atlantic Spade Fish, schools of Snapper, plenty of Grouper, and a pride of lion fish were all hanging about the wrecks. The highlight of the dive was a huge bait ball that swirled in the cargo area of one of the wrecks.
Our group decided to forgo a night dive in exchange for a dawn dive the next morning. So, we pulled up anchor and scooted around to the west side of New Providence Island. Tomorrow: More wrecks, James Bond, Flipper, and Airplanes!
MONDAY
We started the day at Saddleback Wall and were treated to some very nice formations. Two guests were lucky enough to see a Shovel-Nosed Shark on this dive, which featured a clay plain at 65-feet, turning to sand at 70-feet, and then a coral ridge and the wall. The weather remains nice with a light SE wind, light chop, great visibility, and 84-degree water.
Our second dive was at Blacktip Wall off of Highburn Cay and it was an amazing sight. Starting at 50 feet amongst the coral, there are many swim throughs and twisting channels to choose from as you head out toward the wall. There was a school of Atlantic Spade Fish, a large Nurse Shark, a turtle, large grouper, Culebra Snapper, Bermuda Chub, and lots of Black Coral. The whip coral here was also prolific and absolutely beautiful.
Whaleshark Wall, just south of Blacktip, also had nice coral formations and quite a few critters.
Dive #4 at Pillar Reef was perhaps the highlight of the day. Stunning coral formations at 50-feet, sand channels and low profile coral at shallower depths, and a stunning wall just a short swim from the boat were all fantastic. Spotted on this dive, and spotted is the operative word, were two Spotted Eagle Rays, two Spotted Moray Eels, a Orange Spotted File Fish and a Spotted Drum! We also saw lobster, lots of Grouper, Horse Eyed Jacks, a Caribbean Reef Shark, French and Queen Angels, and Yellow Tailed Damsels. The cleaning stations were doing a brisk business throughout the dive keeping the fish neat and tidy; our guests helped with the cleaning as well by bringing up several pieces of monofilament line with hooks attached.
Another great day of weather, with just enough breeze to keep things cool. Slight chop on the water and great visibility.
The night dive was also held at Pillar Reef and was enjoyed by those who made it. Lobster, Octopus, a juvenile drum, lots of snapper, and plenty of hermit crabs kept us all entertained. A nearly full moon high overhead illuminated the water nicely and made for a very pleasant dive. We’ll remain on the mooring overnight. Tomorrow: Crab Mountain, Up Jumped The Devil, The Lost Blue Hole, Nassau, and an evening wreck dive!
SUNDAY
Sunday morning we departed on the high tide at Georgetown at 2:30 in the morning to catch the tide. After a six hour journey we tried several dives off Staniel Cay. The first 2 exploratory dives on Sunday were great for everybody to get back in the water and get familiar with their equipment. Lots of reports of Lionfish and while they were not spectacular sites, they were a good start.
In the afternoon we stopped to see the swimming pigs at Big Major Cay; they were fantastic. Such a bizarre sight to see pigs on a white sandy beach with a backdrop of palm trees, swimming in the crystal clear blue waters of the Caribbean. They enjoyed a feast of apples and Jane may have given them the odd slice of ham ... we had a total of 4 adult pigs and 2 piglets. Even the Pigs dig the Bahamas!
Everybody loved Thunderball Grotto and commented on it. Featured in the Bond movie by the same name (as well as Splash with Daryl Hannah) it is an amazing hidden treasure. What appears to be a simply rocky islet is actually a shell for a fascinating underwater grotto. A short swim through an under water passage and you pop up INSIDE the rock! Lit by natural skylights, Thunderball Grotto is unique! It is a great little cavern – lots of schooling reef fish, and the surrounding reef and mini wall is very healthy. The structure inside the cavern was quite remarkable – stalactites, and openings in the roof where beams of sunlight came streaming through – making for some very nice lighting effects, as well areas where divers and snorkelers could explore with flashlights, and lots or crevices and cracks to squeeze through! About half the group chose to snorkel it and about half chose to dive it. The fish at Thunderball are used to being fed by visiting boaters so they show no fear! We had clouds of Burmuda Chub, Sergeant Majors, Angel Fish, and Hog Fish swarming us throughout the dive. Awe inspiring! The dive was best at slack tide since currents can get quite strong as the tide changes.
We departed Thunderball Grotto for a four hour run up north to Norman’s Cay and dropped anchor for the night. A beautiful day of weather with 10 kts of wind out of the SE, partly cloudy skies, a light chop, no current, great visibility, and 84-degree water.
