Island Times Blog

What a fantastic day of diving! Several students even said that these were the best dives they had ever done (continued…)

And for me, I’d have to put them in my top 10 as well – not only because they were awesome dives but because the students enjoyed them so much. What a joy it is to share these experiences with them. Our first morning dive was in the Exumas at a site called Danger Reef. Don’t worry about the name, parents….it was an easy, relatively shallow dive and everyone returned safely to the boat. The combination of the high profile reefs and the tidal fluctuations make this site an ideal spot for larger predatory fish like jacks, grouper and reef sharks…and that’s exactly what we saw. It was awesome, and I can’t wait to upload some photos of the students diving with these fascinating predators. And the coral and diversity of other wildlife was also noteworthy. After a snack and some time on the boat, we hiked a trail at the Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, which in 1984 was designated as the first marine reserve in the Caribbean. Along the trail we experienced some interesting wildlife that was part of the mangrove, salt pond and scrub habitats that comprise many Bahamian islands and coasts. Then it was time to cool off and do our next dive at Jeep Reef. Students taking the NAUI Scientific Diving Specialty Course conducted coral monitoring surveys at the site. Before dinner we did a second dive near Jeep Reef. This time we made use of the tidal shift and did a half mile drift dive. For many of our students this was once again a new experience, and they absolutely loved it. It felt like we were aquanauts floating through the “outer space” of the ocean….so cool! During the drift we saw two turtles, grouper, stingrays, lobster, and many other creatures, including a sunken jeep, after which the sight is named. After such an exciting day, we decided to finish the evening with a movie about Bob Ballard and his work as an ocean explorer and oceanographer.