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.
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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.