Although considered part of the Caribbean, the archipelago that makes up the Islands of The Bahamas lies well out into the Atlantic, stretching more than 650 miles from the eastern coast of Florida to the southeastern tip of Cuba. The Bahamas is made up of 700 low lying islands and more than 2,500 caysand there is diving near almost every one of these small spots of land.
Clear blue seas, leading edge equipment, user friendly boats, well trained dive guides, good flight connections and a strong tourism industry are some of the reasons that scuba enthusiasts have been coming to The Bahamas for almost 50 years. And while the principal islands of Great Abacos, the Exumas and Paradise Island (Nassau) attract the vast majority of divers, there are some exciting and very diverse dive sites waiting to be discovered among The Bahamas Out Islands.
The Out Islands are just that, a line of low lying isles that demarks the most easterly region of the Bahamas. Long Island, Conception Island, Cat Island, Eleuthera and Harbour Islands, share one thing in common, they all have some great scuba sitesincluding a few big thrill underwater experiences that many divers may have never tried before.
What is different in the Out Islands? Blue holes. High voltage drift dives. Close encounters of the toothy kind. Diver Maga
zine recently visited the Out Islands and found a real variety of underwater experiencesenough to keep even the heartiest diver
busy for a month or two!
Thirty-five foot double deck boat used to take divers to Conception Island.
Blue Hole on Cat Island.
Valentine's Dive Shop, Harbour Island.
Dinner time! One of the invited guests on a Long Island shark dive.
Out Islands The Top Four!
The Blue Holes of Cat IslandOnly on a flounder flat nation like The Bahamas would a 200 foot tall hill (the country's highest) be called a mountain. But, if you want to spend your surface intervals scaling mighty Mount Alvernia, head to Cat Island. Just 130 miles southeast of Nassau, this 48 square mile hatchet shaped island is home to some incredible sea based and inland diving!
Chris Illing is the host and dive master at the Greenwood Beach Resort. Owned by his father (a former Cousteau crew member), this modest motel style resort caters to both European and North American divers. Snorkel and shallow shore dives abound right off their groomed sand beach, however, their large open dive boat, powered by twin 250 hp outboard engines, is anchored a five minute drive away.
Most of the club's dives are made along Cat Island's majestic southern wall. The cut starts at 50 feet and tumbles vertically to 6,000 feet. Black coral bursts along the steep coral canyon walls, sharks prowl at the edge of the many sand chutes that puncture the wall. Even in high season the Cat Island Wall is visited by only a handful of divers each week. The coral is pristine, the visibility windowpane clear and best yet, the oversized wildlife haven't yet learned to fear man.
Recently Illing has begun looking inland for new dive sites. Although it is difficult walking through the countrysidejagged limestone rocks rip right through shoe solesthe young German diver has located two landlocked Blue Holes. One is hidden in a shepherd's field near his hotel, another is at the north end of the island.
The hole near his hotel is a small deep, water filled cavern that, until late last year, had not been dived for decades. Local island divers, claiming that the tunnels have been used to dispose of sheep carcasses, refuse to go in this Blue Hole, so until Diver Magazine arrived, Illing had no one to help him explore this rare inland phenomenon. The Bahamas are known for their blue holes, extraordinarily deep inland sea pools fed by the ocean along natural underground passages. These breathtaking pools, caves, and tunnels offer endless discoveries and challenges for even the most experienced diver.
There are no roads to this dive site. Getting to the Blue Hole meant trekking with our tanks on our backs from the shore of a brackish lake, up a craggy limestone rise to a scrub brush covered field. Near the rocky trail is a swimming pool sized opening in the rock that is filled with hot salt water.
A small stone cliff all but surrounds this O-shaped cavern. The water is very blue and for the most part is wading pool shallow. There are stains along the cliff that indicate the water level in the hole rises and falls with the tide. Near the rim there are two small openings on the pond floor that slant back down under the hill we had just climbed.
Safety gear is at a premium on Cat Island; we had two flashlights, a fishing line and a number of nervous spotters. Our dive plan was simple, proceed downwards never straying from the 10 lb test line or the sight of the surface.
The first opening was so small that it was impossible to descend without stirring up dirt from the walls of the cave. Within
seconds of entering the hole the water was filled with sediment and floating crud; the sun overhead was reduced to a soft yellow
glow. Holding onto the line we were able to feel our way back to the top.
The second opening proved to be wider and easier to swim in. Dropping feet first both Chris and I kept our hands on the rocky wall and looked upward, we wanted to make sure that we could always see daylight above.
After a drop of 40 feet the narrow tunnel opened into a huge underground room. The water was clearer in the hall, the light of our torches lit the bottom another 100 feet below us.
Slowly spinning around our lights played upon long fat stalactites hanging from the ceiling. At a depth of 85 feet the water was noticeably colder, clearer and heavier than at the top of the hole.
We never did touch down on the sand bottom of the hole. Our lights tantalisingly played on the openings of another tunnel leading even further down and away from the chimney that we were in. The two of us looked at each other and then at the thin fishing line that was our sole link to fresh air. It was an easy decision to makewe headed back up leaving the full exploration of the bottom tunnels for future, better equipped expeditions.
Feeding Mr. Jaws off Long IslandThe Stella Maris Resort Club on Long Island pampers its well heeled touristswhen they are on land. The hotel consists of dozens of individual buildings, scattered through a large garden estate. The luxury resort features stunning private villas with cliff side swimming pools that overlook the sometimes wild Atlantic Ocean. In the four star restaurant, the two-man calypso band has learned how to keep diners happy by singing the odd country and western song in both English and German.
The island itself is 80 miles long and one to three miles wide. The Stella Maris is the principal employer and the main focus of all sport activities on Long Island.
Out on the water, well, there is no moddling and coddling of tourists here. Oh, the friendly crew will give you a great safety briefing, help you put on your tanks and get into the water, but, when it comes time to take part in their world famous shark diveyou are on your own brother! Twenty-five years ago the Stella Maris dive shop began offering shark dives. They claim they were the Caribbean's first shop to feed sharks and to date no one has questioned that boast.
Since the start of this close-encounter-of-the-toothy-kind, Stella Maris hasn't deviated from their dive plan. Once a week the big cabin cruiser motors out to a protected shallow reef (50+feet) within sight of land. Even before the engines have been turned off a squad of reef sharks begin to swim tight circles under the boat. Divers must jump through this swirling mass of waiting sharks to sit on the sand bottom and await the arrival of their dinner (the sharks' dinner that is)a large block of half frozen fish.
No iron gloves, bang sticks or walls to cower behind on the Stella Maria shark divethe paying customers are right in the thick of things when the food arrives. Bahamian and black tip reef sharks, some over six feet in length, dart in among the divers as they head to dinner. Within seconds the once clear water is filled with fish bits and madly thrashing sharks.
The shark dive lasts a high voltage 20 minutes. The dozens of other dives the Stella Maris's dive shop offers last much longer. Computers are encouraged to allow maximum bottom time on reefs and walls that rival anything else that can be found in that part of the world.
What a concept. Diving the lonely Conception Island. Stella Maris has a fully equipped dive shop which includes three large sized boats. When there are enough divers on hand the shop will bring out the big boatthe 65ft double decked Solmar 3to make the three hour trip from Long Island to the nearby Conception Island National Park!
Conception is a long, thin, uninhabited island. Thought to be one of the first islands spotted by Christopher Columbus, the island is now an important sanctuary for migrating birds, it's also a rookery for a variety of sea birds and is an egg-laying site for the endangered green turtle.
Underwater, its reefs and drop-off are a sanctuary for every conceivable underwater plant, animal and fish. The wall running alongside the uninhabited island is a vertical drop-off lined with black corals, deepwater sea fans and broad forests of plate coral. Since Conception is a desert island there is nothing in the water to mar the visibility.
Aside from a rare visit by liveaboard dive boats, the Stella Maris is the only operation diving this pristine reef on a regular basis. An island excursion involves two three hour boat rides and a long surface interval on the empty islandall for an hour or two underwater. Bum numbing, boring sometimes, but, well worth it. This is the best wall diving in The Bahamas, and it is not to be missed!
The Current Cut. Shooting the Current Cut was a big thrill back in the 70s. Divers from around the world came to stay at the Current Club Hotel on Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas to experience flying underwater.
A decade ago a powerful hurricane pushed the Current Club Hotel into the ocean and blew the scuba destination off most people's wish list! However, Valentine's Dive Center is now taking experienced divers on the ride of their life back at the Current Cut.
Eleuthera Island is a skinny but long island. Just north of the tip of Eleuthera is a small uninhabited island known as Current. It comes by its name naturally, when the tide comes in or goes out, the forces of nature push millions and millions of gallons through this narrow channel in jig time!
Keeping track of the tides is easy work for experienced sailors. Valentine's waits until the tide is really ripping and it drops divers into the water in such a way that the current will push them through the Cut at speeds approaching ten knots. Dive teams go into the water two at a time, each buddy team takes along a float so that the boat can follow their progress underwater.
What is it like taking a giant flush past two islands? There may be better drift dives elsewhere in the world but this is one Bahamian that is guaranteed to thrill. At a depth of 50 to 60 feet divers will whiz over a pock marked bottom, filled with trees and bits of the long gone Current Cut Hotel. Large fish, oblivious to the strength of the current feed on smaller prey forced into the holes by the rushing tide.
On a good dive a buddy team can make three passes through the Cut. Best to go when the tide is going in rather than out, because there is less sediment being flooded through the passage way. Don't bother bringing a still camera, the current is so strong that it is impossible to hold anything steady against your mask.
Divers planning a Current Cut expedition should ask to be dropped along Shark Alley. On our dive through the cut we coasted by a blacktip shark feeding on a school of fish.
Valentines shop, located on the nearby idyllic Harbour Island, tries to discourage inexperienced divers from riding the Current Cut. Visitors who prove they have the ability to make this mildly challenging dive will find, like the other Out Island
dives, to be truly memorable.