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Diving in Grand Bahama
WHAT-TO-DO - FREEPORT/LUCAYA & GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND - JULY 2003
Diving in Grand Bahama
Entry level to pro
Grand Bahama is blessed with some of the finest diving sites and opportunities in the entire Caribbean area. If you've never tried scuba diving this is the perfect place to take the plunge, so to speak.
Whether you're looking for reefs or wrecks, drop-offs or blue holes, interactive dives with sharks or dolphins, night dives or photographic opportunities, Grand Bahama has it.
The opportunities for unique dives are complemented by a cadre of highly professional guides and instructors using the latest facilities and equipment.
Instant gratification
Experiencing diving for the first time is the essence of simplicity. UNEXSO's Dive Today! programme has been designed specifically for people who want to go scuba diving while on vacation, by putting the fun, excitement and adventure back into the underwater experience. Unlike traditional learn-to-dive programmes that are training-oriented, UNEXSO's programme is "experience oriented," showing you how to safely enjoy the undersea world in an environmentally friendly manner.
Dive Today! consists of a pool side discussion, pool practice dive and a guided reef dive. During the poolside discussion, you'll talk with your instructor about what to expect during your underwater adventure. During the pool dive, you'll learn how to breathe underwater and, most importantly, how to handle yourself underwater without negatively impacting the underwater environment. After the pool practice dive, you are ready to dive in the open ocean, under the supervision of highly trained dive instructors. Your first ocean dive is an experience you'll never forget.
Along with the Dive Today! programme, UNEXSO also offers dolphin interactions, scuba diving and snorkelling activities, shopping and photo services. The newly rebuilt facility is located adjacent to the Port Lucaya Marketplace and includes an expanded retail shop and a large recreational pool and courtyard area with poolside bar.
UNEXSO's signature activity is the open ocean Dolphin Dive, where divers can get into the water with the dolphins and dive with them along a coral reef in the open ocean. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interact with the mammals in their natural environment.
Beginner to specialist
Xanadu Undersea Adventures can fill almost any diving desire with a wide range of dives and state-of-the-art facilities. Highly qualified instructors teach everything from a three-hour resort course to fully recognized PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) and SSI (Scuba Schools International) specialized dive training courses.
Daily dive trips include reef and tunnel dives, drop-off and wreck dives, underwater photography, cave and cavern diving and shark feeding. Manager Chris Gjersvik says Theo's Wreck, a 230-ft cement freighter in 100 ft of water is the most popular wreck dive. Lying on her port side since the early 1980s, Theo's Wreck has become a living reef and home to a vast array of marine life.
Night and nitrox dives
Xanadu also offers night dives and is the only facility for nitrox certification and nitrox dives in Grand Bahama. Nitrox is a gas mixture with a higher concentration of oxygen than regular compressed air. It allows divers longer bottom time and minimizes the risk of decompression sickness.
Nitrox is a special mixture of oxygen and nitrogen. The air we breathe is made up of 21 per cent oxygen and 79 per cent nitrogen. The name "Nitrox" usually refers to oxygen-nitrogen mixtures containing more than 21 per cent oxygen.
Nitrox diving, although it's been around for nearly three decades, is catching on as a sports diving tool. In the US the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been using nitrox since the early 1970s, and today it is popular among recreational divers looking for a more intense diving experience.
If scuba diving and deep technical training seem a little beyond your aspirations, you might consider snorkelling. Dive companies such as UNEXSO and Xanadu, as well as tour companies and some resorts offer reasonably priced snorkelling over shallow reefs and wrecks. It's the simplest introduction to the wonderful underwater world of The Bahamas.
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