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Dive into another world
WHAT-TO-DO - FREEPORT/LUCAYA & GRAND BAHAMA ISLAND - JULY 2007
Dive into another world
Undersea beauty on display
Almost anyone can enjoy Grand Bahama?s spectacular underwater world. Learn-to-dive packages can take novices from a resort swimming pool to the open ocean in a single day.
Certified divers can choose to brave a shark-feeding excursion or experience the thrill of swimming with free-ranging dolphins. These are among the most popular dives says Niall Christoffersen, operations manager for UNEXSO, Grand Bahama's oldest dive company.
"It's like exploring a new realm, a new world," says Christoffersen. "It's a fun activity that's open to everybody."
Grand Bahama also has an abundance of shallow reefs that are ideal for snorkelling, adds Ray Lightbourne, manager of Xanadu Undersea Adventures.
Xanadu, in business for more than 15 years, also offers a full range of diving and snorkelling packages off the shores of Grand Bahama.
One of the principal lures of snorkelling and diving in The Bahamas, says Lightbourne, is the crystal clarity of the water.
Even at depths of 100 feet or more, divers can clearly see the features of sunken ships.
One of these?Theo?s Wreck, a 238-foot-long Norwegian cement hauler that was sunk by UNEXSO in 1982 ?is popular with intermediate and advanced divers. This wreck rests on the bottom near the drop-off to Northwest Providence Channel.
Blair House, a coral reef down 80 feet, is another favourite, along with Plate?s Reef,
showcasing corals that look like sea anemones.
An excursion to Shark Alley, about one-half mile off the southeast coast of Grand Bahama, will leave divers with an indelible memory. This outing gives visitors a front-row seat as shark feeders hand out bait fish to circling Caribbean reef sharks up to eight feet long.
Experienced divers are also drawn to Ben?s Cavern. This is an inland blue hole located within Lucayan National Park. This dive ?opens up into a large underwater cavern with stalagmites and stalactites,? says Christoffersen.
But the underwater world around Grand Bahama has something for everyone, not just experts, adds Lightbourne. ?Tourists love [seeing] fish in the reef areas?it?s the euphoria people get from scuba-diving here, especially first timers.?
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