Nassau – How the Pieces Work Together
Nassau turned out to be a fantastic dive destination! I didn’t know that originally. Tourism, diver impact on the reef, coral bleaching among other diving maladies, always kept me away. Supposedly, the reefs are trashed. Preferring Bimini, Freeport and the Exumas, I was always happy with those locales. Not knowing I was missing out on some of the best diving in our hemisphere. Unfortunately, I didn’t really understand how misinformed I was. Twenty years of diving without trying Nassau was very poor judgement on my part. On my first adventure there, I saw the light. Fantastic walls that drop the the depths! Incredible wrecks on every dive! Beautiful reef systems that draw all the amazing animal and fish life from the Gulf Stream. All of this, just a few short hours from home! Over the past 10 years, Toucan Dive has been trying to make up for all that lost time!
Our Recent Excursion To Nassau
This past November, as usual, I expected that our new group of divers would become enlighted with their new experiences in the Bahamas. Circumstances, unforeseen, awaited us. Ten days prior to our departure, a hurricane hit the island head on. Specifically, it struck our dive operation, Stuart Cove, our resort, Orange Hill, and the beautiful reefs we love so much. The island worked very hard to bring life back to normal. Stuart Cove bounced back strong. Orange Hill was trashed. Major structural damage had taken place. It would be months before they would be operational.
A mad scramble by our dive travel partners paid off. They found a very nice place for us at Sandy Port Marina. The Toucan group were very pleased with the accommodations. Stuart Cove’s boats were back up. No phones or internet at the shop, but they were making due. With all the stress out of the way, our trip to Nassau was going to turn out fine!
More Surprises
For most divers, the airport is our gateway to the fantastic, exotic destinations we desire. Unfortunate, our magic carpet ride on Delta Airlines came to a screeching halt before we could get on the plane at O’Hare Airport. Engine trouble kept our group grounded the entire morning and most of that afternoon. Upon the completion of the repairs, finally, we were Atlanta bound to catch our connection to Nassau. Once again, upon our arrival, we found ourselves stranded, missing the final flight to Nassau. Delta Airlines and their staff really stepped up to the plate for the dejected divers, landlocked inland. Trying to make the most out of our dismal circumstances, we smiled lamely as we were whisked to our hotel rooms for the evening. After refreshing ourselves in our rooms, Delta agents met us with a Hummer limousine for 18. We were taken to a steak house to be wined and dined. Everyone had a spectacular evening. Free breakfast in the morning, along with rearranging our flights, Delta made sure we were in Nassau by mid to late morning. Happy divers were ready to make the most of the next three days of diving!
The Good And The Bad
Great diving opportunities displayed themselves upon our arrival at the dive shop. Multiple shark feeds and encounters were planned and executed. Our normal site for these feedings were shut down due to increased amount of silt from the hurricane. These feedings took place on the wreck of the “Ray Of Hope”. This change was actually a welcomed opportunity to do the shark feeds on something new. The “Ray Of Hope” was a perfect place!
The bad aspect of the diving was the silt. In particular the shallower coral reefs were covered in a three inch blanket of silt. This silt was choking off the feeding polyps buried beneath. We can only hope another storm system will come about and move this silt away. This reef is beautiful with lovely coral heads and finger corals. It would be terrible to have to wait another 10 years to bring this dying reef.
All in all, even with all our trials and tribulations, Toucan Dive had a wonderful time with all these incredible divers. These folks are troopers. Even in the face of diversity, due to their great attitudes, our divers made our trip to Nassau memorable and fun! Check out the photos below:
