Former FLL Now MSP Diver
Contributor
I was fortunate enough to have a few free days on Grand Bahama Island when I was over there on business. I took my gear with me and I was able to squeeze in a few dives.
I had called in advance to book my trips - one tank afternoon dives on Sunday and Monday, a two-tank trip Monday morning, and a shark feeding dive on Wednesday. Prices were $35 for each of the single tank dives, $70 for the two-tank trip, and $89 for the shark-feeding dive. Included in each trip is a $5 coupon good at their on site bar and grill.
I arrived Sunday around noon, and after getting settled in my room at the Our Lucaya resort, I headed right across the street to UNEXSO for the first of my series dives. The complex is new, with a large spacious shop, a 17 pool and has its own docking facilities and fleet of boats. In addition to regular scuba trips, UNEXSO also offers snorkeling, shark and dolphin dives, and mini-B scuba in both the pool and on a reef. They also have a bar and grill that offers some pretty good food I ended up eating breakfast there a couple of time. At $4.65 it a great deal and tasted great. Also check out their conch fritters.
After checking in I boarded the Sea Explorer and got set up. Dive masters Chris and Scott were on hand to help whoever needed it. We went to a site called Photo Fantasy, which as the week wore on I discovered was the starting point for almost all of their dives the name changed depending on which direction you took. The reef was broken up, with large coral heads dotting the sand. I was surprised that the reef was silted up, much like the close in reefs in Ft. Lauderdale. Close to the mooring site was the concrete pad where the shark feeding dives tool place, and beside that was UNEXSOs old hyperbaric chamber that sunk.
I was surprised to find less life in general on the reef than Im used to seeing here in Florida, but what made the dive were the different types of huge groupers and more spectacular, the sharks that were swimming around. I guess because of the shark feeding, they were quite fearless and would come right up to divers. I got some great shots on that first dive. I also saw a black grouper being escorted by a squadron of small silver fish that I think were blue runners.
Monday morning I got up a bit late and ended up using on of my $5 coupons at UNEXSOs Dive In Grill. I glad I did three eggs, six pieces of bacon, thick whole wheat toast, orange slices and coffee for $4.65 was exactly what I needed to make things right after a longish evening the night before. The next day we left at 9:00am and headed out to Theos Wreck, a large 230-foot freighter that had been sunk in 100 feet of water right beside the continental shelf. As we descended to the wreck we saw it was laying on its side moved from its original position due to a hurricane that moved it a few years ago. We saw a few schools of grunts, a couple of barracuda around the stack, but not much else fish wise again I think Ive been spoiled by south Florida wrecks. There was nice growth coming in on parts of the wreck, and the hold is wide open for a nice swim through. There are a few other parts of the ship that are accessible, the engine room in particular, but at 100 feet time is limited for exploring and we had to turn the dive due to other folks low on air. There were a number of Bearded Fireworms on the topside of the hull.
The second dive of the morning was back to Photo Fantasy. Again there were plenty of sharks hovering around, and I saw a Giant Hermit Crab in a conch shell. He was pretty shy, and kept turning to the left every time I tried to maneuver in front of him to take his picture. I was told I looked pretty strange swimming in circles on the bottom. We also came across a smaller 40-50ft wreck sitting upside down on the bottom called the Pretender, with its engine lying in the sand about 20 feet away. On ascent, a school of small jellies drifted by. We were also shadowed by a large remora that I was just waiting to see if it would attach to someone, but it kept its distance.
The two and half-hour surface interval was taken up with a wonderfully simple lunch of conch chowder and grilled chicken with rice and beans. We had a bit of time and wandered through the straw market that surrounds the Port Lucaya shopping complex. Monday afternoons dive was to a small wreck called the Papa Doc and the surrounding reef area. On the way divemaster Mike performed a quick tune-up of my reg that had started ever so slightly free flowing in the morning. I had mentioned to him what it was doing, and he whipped out a tool kit and IP gauge and with a quick adjustment the IP was back to where it was supposed to be and all was right. Viz had worsened considerably for some reason, and it down to 30 feet. The Papa Doc is a 70-foot shrimper that was sunk in 45 feet of water during a storm with a load of arms on its way to Haiti. They say you can still find cartridges in the sand, but we didnt come across any during our short search. The wreck was full of small baitfish, giving me my best interior of a bait ball experience to date. Garden eels, Pederson and Banded Coral shrimp were all captured by the camera lens. I also had a great up close encounter with a large Southern Stingray. Again on ascent were visited by remoras, but none made a move towards any of the divers.
I had to actually work the next couple of days, so when Wednesday afternoon rolled around I was pretty excited when I started gearing up for the shark feeding dive. As headed out to Shark Alley under overcast skies, we were given our safety briefing. We were all to kneel in the sand, shoulder to shoulder to keep the sharks from getting between us. Hands were to be kept close to our bodies, or on the camera so that they would not look like fish flitting about in the water. Once we were all situated, the feeder would come out and start feeding in front of us. The feeder, safety diver and the videographer all wore chain mail suits and hoods that weighed about 22 pounds for protection, and their hoses were wrapped in flexible metal conduit to keep them from being punctured.
As we pulled up to the site I saw that the Nekton Pilot had moored not far from us, and was discharging divers into the water. It looked pretty neat with its uniquely designed hull, and the set up with the elevating platform off the back looked intriguing. Little did I know that the ship that held my interest would be responsible for ruining my dive.
The eight of us on the dive all hustled into the water and quickly submerged. Once down, we got into our line. I was glad I added a few extra pounds this dive because a few folks were having difficulty staying on the bottom. Finally the feeder and the videographer appeared and settled into the sand in front of us. Groupers and a few jacks quickly moved in looking for a hand out, the groupers quite aggressively. I couldnt wait until the sharks came in.
Then the trouble started. There were divers from the Nekton all over the place swimming in and out of the feeding area. The feeder, safety diver and videographer tried moving them back, but as soon as one group was moved out, more would come back. One even settled himself down beside the feeder and motioned for the feeder to give him some food. At that point the staff thumbed the dive and brought everyone back up to the surface. Back on board, they explained they couldnt proceed with all the other divers in the area. They apologized and directed us to either rebook the next dive or get refunds when we returned to the dock. They handled it as best they could. I was pretty disappointed that I didnt experience the shark feeding. And I was annoyed at the Nekton boat.
Overall it was a good trip. Despite missing out on the feeding dive, I did see tons of sharks, as well as other fish I hadnt seen before. The wrecks, especially Theos Wreck were pretty good, and I got lots of great pictures. I hadnt really thought about going to Grand Bahama Island before to dive, but its only a 28 minute flight from Ft. Lauderdale, so Im definitely making plans to go back. Not only do I need to do the shark-feeding dive, but also I learned they also have blue hole cavern dives available that have peaked my interest.
Marc
I had called in advance to book my trips - one tank afternoon dives on Sunday and Monday, a two-tank trip Monday morning, and a shark feeding dive on Wednesday. Prices were $35 for each of the single tank dives, $70 for the two-tank trip, and $89 for the shark-feeding dive. Included in each trip is a $5 coupon good at their on site bar and grill.
I arrived Sunday around noon, and after getting settled in my room at the Our Lucaya resort, I headed right across the street to UNEXSO for the first of my series dives. The complex is new, with a large spacious shop, a 17 pool and has its own docking facilities and fleet of boats. In addition to regular scuba trips, UNEXSO also offers snorkeling, shark and dolphin dives, and mini-B scuba in both the pool and on a reef. They also have a bar and grill that offers some pretty good food I ended up eating breakfast there a couple of time. At $4.65 it a great deal and tasted great. Also check out their conch fritters.
After checking in I boarded the Sea Explorer and got set up. Dive masters Chris and Scott were on hand to help whoever needed it. We went to a site called Photo Fantasy, which as the week wore on I discovered was the starting point for almost all of their dives the name changed depending on which direction you took. The reef was broken up, with large coral heads dotting the sand. I was surprised that the reef was silted up, much like the close in reefs in Ft. Lauderdale. Close to the mooring site was the concrete pad where the shark feeding dives tool place, and beside that was UNEXSOs old hyperbaric chamber that sunk.
I was surprised to find less life in general on the reef than Im used to seeing here in Florida, but what made the dive were the different types of huge groupers and more spectacular, the sharks that were swimming around. I guess because of the shark feeding, they were quite fearless and would come right up to divers. I got some great shots on that first dive. I also saw a black grouper being escorted by a squadron of small silver fish that I think were blue runners.
Monday morning I got up a bit late and ended up using on of my $5 coupons at UNEXSOs Dive In Grill. I glad I did three eggs, six pieces of bacon, thick whole wheat toast, orange slices and coffee for $4.65 was exactly what I needed to make things right after a longish evening the night before. The next day we left at 9:00am and headed out to Theos Wreck, a large 230-foot freighter that had been sunk in 100 feet of water right beside the continental shelf. As we descended to the wreck we saw it was laying on its side moved from its original position due to a hurricane that moved it a few years ago. We saw a few schools of grunts, a couple of barracuda around the stack, but not much else fish wise again I think Ive been spoiled by south Florida wrecks. There was nice growth coming in on parts of the wreck, and the hold is wide open for a nice swim through. There are a few other parts of the ship that are accessible, the engine room in particular, but at 100 feet time is limited for exploring and we had to turn the dive due to other folks low on air. There were a number of Bearded Fireworms on the topside of the hull.
The second dive of the morning was back to Photo Fantasy. Again there were plenty of sharks hovering around, and I saw a Giant Hermit Crab in a conch shell. He was pretty shy, and kept turning to the left every time I tried to maneuver in front of him to take his picture. I was told I looked pretty strange swimming in circles on the bottom. We also came across a smaller 40-50ft wreck sitting upside down on the bottom called the Pretender, with its engine lying in the sand about 20 feet away. On ascent, a school of small jellies drifted by. We were also shadowed by a large remora that I was just waiting to see if it would attach to someone, but it kept its distance.
The two and half-hour surface interval was taken up with a wonderfully simple lunch of conch chowder and grilled chicken with rice and beans. We had a bit of time and wandered through the straw market that surrounds the Port Lucaya shopping complex. Monday afternoons dive was to a small wreck called the Papa Doc and the surrounding reef area. On the way divemaster Mike performed a quick tune-up of my reg that had started ever so slightly free flowing in the morning. I had mentioned to him what it was doing, and he whipped out a tool kit and IP gauge and with a quick adjustment the IP was back to where it was supposed to be and all was right. Viz had worsened considerably for some reason, and it down to 30 feet. The Papa Doc is a 70-foot shrimper that was sunk in 45 feet of water during a storm with a load of arms on its way to Haiti. They say you can still find cartridges in the sand, but we didnt come across any during our short search. The wreck was full of small baitfish, giving me my best interior of a bait ball experience to date. Garden eels, Pederson and Banded Coral shrimp were all captured by the camera lens. I also had a great up close encounter with a large Southern Stingray. Again on ascent were visited by remoras, but none made a move towards any of the divers.
I had to actually work the next couple of days, so when Wednesday afternoon rolled around I was pretty excited when I started gearing up for the shark feeding dive. As headed out to Shark Alley under overcast skies, we were given our safety briefing. We were all to kneel in the sand, shoulder to shoulder to keep the sharks from getting between us. Hands were to be kept close to our bodies, or on the camera so that they would not look like fish flitting about in the water. Once we were all situated, the feeder would come out and start feeding in front of us. The feeder, safety diver and the videographer all wore chain mail suits and hoods that weighed about 22 pounds for protection, and their hoses were wrapped in flexible metal conduit to keep them from being punctured.
As we pulled up to the site I saw that the Nekton Pilot had moored not far from us, and was discharging divers into the water. It looked pretty neat with its uniquely designed hull, and the set up with the elevating platform off the back looked intriguing. Little did I know that the ship that held my interest would be responsible for ruining my dive.
The eight of us on the dive all hustled into the water and quickly submerged. Once down, we got into our line. I was glad I added a few extra pounds this dive because a few folks were having difficulty staying on the bottom. Finally the feeder and the videographer appeared and settled into the sand in front of us. Groupers and a few jacks quickly moved in looking for a hand out, the groupers quite aggressively. I couldnt wait until the sharks came in.
Then the trouble started. There were divers from the Nekton all over the place swimming in and out of the feeding area. The feeder, safety diver and videographer tried moving them back, but as soon as one group was moved out, more would come back. One even settled himself down beside the feeder and motioned for the feeder to give him some food. At that point the staff thumbed the dive and brought everyone back up to the surface. Back on board, they explained they couldnt proceed with all the other divers in the area. They apologized and directed us to either rebook the next dive or get refunds when we returned to the dock. They handled it as best they could. I was pretty disappointed that I didnt experience the shark feeding. And I was annoyed at the Nekton boat.
Overall it was a good trip. Despite missing out on the feeding dive, I did see tons of sharks, as well as other fish I hadnt seen before. The wrecks, especially Theos Wreck were pretty good, and I got lots of great pictures. I hadnt really thought about going to Grand Bahama Island before to dive, but its only a 28 minute flight from Ft. Lauderdale, so Im definitely making plans to go back. Not only do I need to do the shark-feeding dive, but also I learned they also have blue hole cavern dives available that have peaked my interest.
Marc
