Apart from Shark Diving, Grand Bahamas offers some of the best SCUBA diving. From great wrecks to excellent reef and wall dives and diving from boats. With an assortment of marine life- Grand Bahamas has it all.
Anne was a local school teacher and diving enthusiast. This site was Anne’s favorite. A very pretty site with plenty coral growth - rows of thick coral heads. Always plenty of flamingo tongues and lettuce leaf slugs on this reef. Hogfish and yellow tail snapper are frequently seen.
Shape of this reef forms a rough ‘painters palette’. It is said the coral heads at this site are like masterpieces in an art gallery, you move from one piece to the next seeing what each one has to offer. Colors are fantastic – considered a photographers delight. Lots of small life, Arrow crabs, slugs, juveniles. You will often find a stingray or a stray reef shark.
Two very interesting sites, well worth the visit. Site is comprised of thick spur and groove coral formations, teeming with life. So many cracks, nooks, crannies and hiding places for fish that it is almost impossible to see everything! Both Moorings are set along a sloping drop-off. Starting at 60’ sloping to about 80-90’ at the bottom. In the deepest part of this site it is possible to see a sunken chamber. Groupers, Jacks, Remoras and sharks, from neighboring Shark alley, are frequent sightings. At both sides of this site, there are various swim-throughs to explore.
Sharks and spotted rays are frequently seen here. There is a coral cavern that passes through the reef for about 100 feet. The cavern is inhabited by soldier and squirrel fish.
At the mooring pin you find sections of coral running from east to west. Running parallel to this is a large sand channel – an extension of shark alley. Queen, Grey and French Angel fish are often encountered in the area. Great place to find lobsters, stingrays, spotted drums and even the odd Gray Caribbean reef shark. A nice relaxing second dive.
A group of mercenaries headed to fight in the Haitian revolution to overthrow Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier made it no further than this spot. Their 70-foot boat sunk in a storm in 1968. As recently as ten years ago, ammunition clips could still be found among the scattered coral heads. Two engine blocks and assorted sections of the old shrimper are still visible.
Many varieties of hard coral have formed here. Many plate coral overlap above the surge channels. The blue hole here is quite large and comes right out of the side of a high profile coral. Mahogany and yellow-tail snappers, goat-fish, and French grunts are usually seen. A staff favorite
The high profile corals here form small caves. One would have to be the size of a pygmy to swim through them! Quite often Lobsters or spotted morays are hiding in these small crevices. Here you will also see lapping plates of hard coral. Frequently you will see schools of spade-fish near the surface.
This classic site could be considered our ‘house reef’ as its right in front of the resort. Mooring is set at about 40-45ft in a coral head, directly south of the pin you can see a large sunken horseshoe shape in the sand, this is bens blue hole. The Blue hole is a funnel, or channel for freshwater to come out into the sea, the water mixing creates an interesting place for fish to hang out. Often you will find a large green moray eel or grouper hanging out under the ledge of the blue hole. We also see loggerhead turtles here regularly. This site is very good for photographers on a sunny day who like to coral head hop.
This site features three lines of isolated coral heads running parallel to each other. Look carefully for Christmas tree worms and feather dusters. The tops of the heads are covered with assorted gorgonian and sea fans. Hog fish seem to frequent the area as well as stingrays with their ever – present jack escorts