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Bahamas Underwater Photo Sites (6)
This was my 4th year diving the Exumas.
| Facts about Madison Avenue in the Exumas, Bahamas It is in Bahamas- Madison Avenue in the Exumas, Bahamas is in the Atlantic (South).
- The typical depth is 0-40 Metres 0-130 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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shollow reef with lots of small fish and nudis
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Fantastic site with large schools of fish and shallow water. Large numbers of stingrays and turtles. Great night dive stite too.
| Facts about Playgrounds- It is in Bahamas
- Playgrounds is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-10 Metres 0-30 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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Great reef with plenty of colors and life.
| Facts about Medio Reef- It is in Bahamas
- Medio Reef is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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Abaco Dive Adventures -- Tim Higgs, NAUI Instructor and Commercial Diver.
I ran into Tim shortly after moving to Marsh Harbour, Abaco, Bahamas in late August 2006. Due to the pressures of getting myself acclimated and "in the groove" with my work, I did not dive for some time. When I began to dive with Tim, I discovered one of the most knowledgeable and friendly Dive operators I have encountered in over 30 years of diving and instruction. I am also a Naui instructor, and while my Bahamaian work permit does not allow me to teach, I can strongly recommend Tim to anyone who wants any level of instruction.
We dove December 22, 2006 on both The Tunnel, a shallow, 15 to 20 foot reef and a bit later that morning on The Edge, a 65 foot reef dive. WOW! The shallow dive was one that was teeming with life. Yellow Tail Snapper, small Grouper, French Grunt, medium sized Parrot fish, Blue Chromis, several varieties of Damsel fish, several variety of Wrasse, Lobster (which the Bahamians usually call Crawfish), and Conch. It was a great, gentle dive with many swim-thrus and a memorial plaque set for a young man killed in a motorcycle crash, whose favorite dive was this site. This is an excellent place to take a first dive and see a great diversity of small and medium sea life, get used to the water after not diving for a while and just relax and get your groove. Slight current present along with some surge, it is shallow and we dove at the beginning of and exiting tide.
The Edge was a much different story. We planned to dive with a half gallon plastic juice jug filled with pieces of a Wahoo carcass that Tim had caught days earlier. The fish was chopped small and then filled with water making a sort of chum. The bighead of the Wahoo was tossed overboard to begin attracting fish as we prepared to dive. I was first in the water and settled down on the sand between coral heads at 20 feet to wait for the others. The Wahoo head was in a difficult place for the Yellow tail and small Nassau grouper (5 to 10 pounds) to reach, so I picked it up, and tossed it out in the open. As it settled toward the bottom a 70 pound plus Black Grouper came from nowhere, scooped it up and swallowed it. By then some other divers were down and quickly a 4 1/2 Gray Reef Shark showed up to cruise around. When we were all assembled, Tim led us over the edge and we settled in a nice sandy area at 60 feet where he unscrewed the bottle lid and began to squirt out some small pieces of fish. Soon, the Grouper were nosing our hands, I was able to handle and stroke the sides of one big guy who was about 40 pounds and that Shark kept crusing around us. He came within 2 feet of me, calmly swimming and watching. We kept the feeding under control and while the Groupers got a bit worked up, the Shark never got too crazy. This 50 minute dive was just delightful.
You also might consider diving the Blue Holes with Tim. These deep, inland holes are fascinating for their geographical and geological formations. I have only dove The Far Side, but it was spectacular. I no longer like extremely deep dives (getting older -- ha!) but we went 140 feet of the 230 feet possible in this hole. Lots of fossils in the walls. Just be skilled enough to do decompression diving and let Tim or someone with the experience lead you.
I recommend Tim and his operation anytime. And if you need a dive buddy while out here, drop me a note. I am always ready.
click here to email
Stephen
| Facts about Abaco -- The Edge & The Tunnel- It is in Bahamas
- Abaco -- The Edge & The Tunnel is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 30+ Metres 100+ Feet.
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All sorts of opportunities for photograhpy. Great shark dive, lots of life, both big and small.
| Facts about South shore of Grand Bahama- It is in Bahamas
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 30+ Metres 100+ Feet.
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This dive has to be one of the most exhilarating drift dives out there. The channel, or Cut, between North Eleuthera and Current Island forces the tide to stream through at 6-10 knots, making for a challenging dive. Your buoyancy skills have to be real sharp to be comfortable on this dive.
I went with Ocean Fox, a small and well-run dive shop on Harbour Island. The checked my diving experience and requested that I take a dive with them prior to being permitted to dive Current Cut to ensure I was 'up to it'. I liked that they were safety conscious, and understood their requirement after one pass through the Cut!
We made a total of three runs through the Cut. The first lasted 12 minutes, in which time we must have travelled nearly 2 miles! Dr Andy, the divemaster, made sure we stayed together as a group (there were 3 other divers on the trip) and that we saw what was down there - 3 sharks and 7 eagle rays on just the first run!
The starting depth is around 35ft, and my computer (which didn't like the dive at all - it kept beeping at me) registered a max depth of 61ft. The bottom is hard rock covered with sea fans, sponges and small corals. As you get into the dive the bottom becomes pock-marked with large holes, and Andy did his best to get us in as many as possible. Once in the holes you are somewhat out of the current, so can catch your breath and look around. Many of the holes are packed with lobster, parrot fish, and big queen angels.
The visibility isn't great, since the rushing water stirs up the bottom. We made the dive on an incoming tide, which Andy said is a cleaner run than the outgoing tide. The fast-moving water also tests your photography skills. I managed to get a couple of shots off of the sharks as we flew past them, but positioning yourself in the water at speed isn't that easy!
This is not a dive for the inexperienced or those who avoid 6 Flags! It is an amazing dive, however, and one I will remember for a long time.
| Facts about Current Cut High-Speed Drift Dive- It is in Bahamas
- Current Cut High-Speed Drift Dive is in the Atlantic.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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The Grouper Hole is one of the most outstanding dive sites in the North Eleuthera/Harbour Island area for sheer density and diversity of marine life. The stie ranges from 65ft to 90ft and boasts huge overhangs and grottos covered in hard and soft corals and sponges all in pristine condition. The site is a few hundred yards from a 2000ft drop-off and provides the only real protection for schools of fish in the area. As a result the site is packed full of fish: big schools of Bermuda Chub, Bar Jacks, Black Jacks, Horse-eye Jacks, Goatfish, Yellowtail Snapper, Grunts...the list goes on. From December through April, around the full moon, large numbers of Grouper visit the site to spawn, and so divers are treated to the rare opportunity to photograph schooling Grouper. The visiting Grouper also attract sharks, so be prepared for close encounters with Carribean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks, and on occasion Bull Sharks.
The site is 7 miles off-shore and is often subject to strong currents, making the site undiveable. Ocean Fox Diving, on Harbour Island, has figured out when the tides are slack at the site, so contact them in advance to see when the site is available to dive. If you are in the area during a grouper spawn, you will not be disappointed!
| Facts about Grouper Hole- It is in Bahamas
- Grouper Hole is in the Atlantic.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 30+ Metres 100+ Feet.
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With advanced booking checking in was breeze, and was on the boat in 10 minutes upon arrival. The boat was great, 46ft lots of room and shade, topside sundeck, bathroom, freshwater showers, camera table, huge water cooler, everything you need.
The first dive was at Razorback reef, about a 15 minutes from the dock. During the dive briefing we were given the choice of following the divemaster or heading out on own. I followed the divemaster and it was very good dive, lots of life, saw a hammerhead, cool.
The 2nd am dive was 2 wrecks laying bow to stern, the first starting at about 35ft,the 2nd ending at around 60ft. Both of these ships are 180ft island tankers, this was a cool dive. This site is only about a minute from Stuart Cove's dock.
After lunch out to Sharkwall and Sharkarena, about 45 minutes or so, defnitively worth the ride. The dive is on a wall and coral gardens that surround Sharkarena the site of the 2nd dive. The sharks know a snack isn't too far away, with 6-10 following us around (and a couple grouper too). After a surface interval back down to the Sharkarena a natural sand spot surrounded by coral, the feeding begins. I was totally blown away by these 2 dives it was great lots of sharks in your face action, 6 days later I'm still processing it. If you want to see sharks and want to go with a great dive op chose Stuart Cove's. I can't think of anything negative about Stuart Cove's the entire staff was fantastic. I hired a private photographer from Stuart Cove's Fin Photo for the Shark encounter dives, Tori did a awesome job during the dives and gave me a disc with 61 great pictures, worth the extra money. I can't wait to go back
| Facts about Shark Dive with Stuart Cove's- It is in Bahamas
- Shark Dive with Stuart Cove's is in the Caribbean Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-20 Metres 0-60 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 3-10 Metres 10-30 Feet.
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This site is a 40 mins. fast boat ride from New Providence Island.
You go in to find the start of the reef wall at 10 metres. There is a large population of female caribean reef sharks that are very big. They used to feed them here (not so much now) and this has made them very used to divers (you can see the hair up their nostrils - if they had any!!) so allowing for easy photographing.
| Facts about Sharp Wall - Tongue of the Ocean - New Providence Island- It is in Bahamas
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.
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