My favorite dive ( . . . so far) at Small Hope, Bahamas

With the third largest barrier reef in the world just minutes away from the Small Hope Bay Lodge dock, and being virtually the only dive operation on that reef, there are literally dozens of really, really great dives at my fingertips. I have been enjoying my time underwater at Small Hope for a little over two years now and have gotten to experience some truly amazing dives. I've done mind-blowing wall dives - the drop from the reef into the "Tongue of the Ocean", basically a 6,000 foot drop straight down, with little to no current, making some really awesome wall cruises. I've done coral garden and shark dives - one of my favorite sites, Brad's Mountain combines the two, beautiful coral growth with cracks and crevices, all flourishing with tons of different fish, and pretty much guaranteed sharks every time. I've been diving in the Blue Hole of Andros - both ocean and inland blue holes, I have gotten to experience the full cave dive of the Guardian, as well as the Ocean Blue Hole, an incredibly beautiful cavern dive.

Well, the coolest, most jaw-dropping, kick butt dive so far? 2nd Level of the Blue Hole (into Backside of the Blue Hole). This is one of the custom specialty dives Small Hope offers. We went to the Ocean Blue Hole and timed the dive perfectly with the tides (very important). This is a "live" blue hole, meaning fresh water is sucked through underground caves as the tide goes out. 

2nd Level - This is a deeper circuit around the blue hole dive than the typical blue hole dive we take most of our guests on (usually done at 100'). 2nd Level goes down to about 140' and also passes through a smaller "room", creating a cave-like atmosphere for the first part of the dive. At the beginning of the dive you pass over the rim of the hole and start descending in to the surrounding crevice. Down below, you see a triangular entry. This is the first "restriction" and even though it looks really little divers have no problem getting through. This takes you to the "room" which is quite dark and about 5' high, 8' wide and maybe 6' deep in size. At the back of the room there is a passage down and to the left which takes you through a tunnel that continues to widen until you can see the upper levels of the blue hole. Now it starts to become so incredibly gorgeous. Big skylights letting the turquoise blue stream down through massive boulders strategically placed. Great rock formations, including one we call E.T.'s head (because from the right angle, its shape is just like E.T.'s). And great dark chasms below, where the light will never reach. It is the most awe inspiring dive I've been on.

Backside of the Blue Hole - The Backside dive usually goes to about 70 feet deep and goes over the top of the sinkhole and out the back where all the ancient streams and riverbeds lie. We time the dive so the tides have pushed tons of fresh water through and formed a halocline where the fresh water below is green and significantly cooler, and the salt water above is blue and warm. If you catch the tides just right, the line between fresh and salt water will be so distinct, you could cut it with a knife. In addition to all this, sediment that gets pushed with the fresh water forms what we call "whale snot" and drapes over the coral and looks like Halloween cobweb decor. It also floats around making this dive completely other-worldly as well as a one-of-a-kind experience.

On this particular dive, we timed it just right and at the end of our circuit around the 2nd Level of the Blue Hole we came up in to the Backside of the Blue Hole and finished the dive cruising in and out of green and turquoise waters, playing with the "snot", spotted a reef shark, a giant Nassau grouper, an Atlantic spadefish. All in all, the best of both worlds - unbelievable deep cavern dive, followed by eeire and awesome backside dive. SO GREAT! I love my life! Pin It Now!

More from the Green Team on our Solar Project

My time on Andros have flown by. As I write my last blog entry for Small Hope from the packed Starbucks in Dupont Circle in the heart of Washington, DC it occurred to me that there is no greater juxtaposition to the environment I left behind on Andros. Smart Phones, watches and laptops line every table. Leaving is always bittersweet. Although I am glad to be within walking distance to a hundred restaurants, bars, and stores, I’m already missing the carefree atmosphere.

My last few weeks at Small Hope have been spent overseeing and laying the pipes for the solar hot water system, creating a solar hot water manual and designing a low cost solar hot water system for residential use. The solar hot water manual is meant to document the process that we went through to design and build the system so that other resorts or businesses can follow suit later. The manual includes tediously detailed sourcing information so replacement parts can be easily ordered. The manual also includes detailed schematics, diagrams, and maintenance information.

The rest of the Duke Green team have been busy wrapping up several other projects we have been working on, including an interactive user friendly energy monitoring program that allows users to graphically display information regarding Small Hope’s energy use and cost (total, per capita, etc) and sort according to different factors such as year, season, and end energy use. We also designed a separate solar hot water system for the hot tub. Outside of the project, we have all been proactive with our Andros Bucket List. I finally got to dive Over the Wall at 185 feet, Backside of the Blue Hole, checked out Morgan's Bluff and Mastic Pointe up north, and received my Advanced Diving Certification. 

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Legends of the seas, Mote and Small Hope Bay Lodge

                                                       We recently were honored here at Small Hope Bay Lodge with the arrival of Dr. Eugenie

Genie and Small Hope Asst. Mgr Mike Hornby

Clark, of the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Genie Clark is an amazing person with a history of marine research that rivals just about anyone you can think of. She is often referred to as the "Shark Lady" because of her extensive research on many shark species. 


Genie Clark and the Mote group came to Small Hope to study the local species of garden eels here in the Bahamas. Surprisingly, not much information has been gathered on these garden eels and the MOTE group came over a period of 21 days to discover what they could about behavior, territories and mating. 

While the first group was here, Small Hope Divemasters and MOTE researchers developed a "blind", a circular structure made from canvas and PVC with window holes cut at various heights. Research divers would go into the blind to make observations so the eels would not be distracted or disturbed by the presence of the divers. They also set grids made of

Photo by Jann Rosen-Queralt

chopsticks and cotton string at three different dive sites with big sandy areas, known to be garden eel hot spots. Each member of the research team was assigned their own sector within the grid and would observe the eel activity in that area for the duration of the dive, noting any and all activity.

 Check out the video here!

The second group arrived the day after the first group departed and the research and observations continued. Both groups also enjoyed their share of survey dives too, sans research. There were a couple shark dives, cavern dives, wrecks and walls. I got to accompany four divers from the first group on possibly the best dive I have been on since I arrived at Small Hope 2 years ago - 2nd Level of the Blue Hole!

Photo by Jann Rosen-Queralt

 As a member of the Small Hope staff, one of my favorite parts of the experience was listening to the various guests tell me how they first met and got involved with Genie's research. There was Tom and Patrice, two divers who Genie thought would suit each other very well and consequently set them up on a blind date. They stayed at Small Hope three extra days because they were celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary! Anne Doubilet, who has traveled with Genie to so many countries over so many years that she has lost count. Jann Rosen-Queralt, who, several years ago, was just learning to dive and wanted to see whale sharks, when she heard from a friend that Genie just so happened to be doing a trip to Mexico to check out the whale sharks. Mallori, a 15 year-old girl who, having done a couple of book reports on Genie's books, had developed a friendship with her and was subsequently invited on this trip. Everyone that I talked to was so enthralled with Eugenie Clark, enjoyed her presence and her research trips so much, and had learned so much from her, as much in diving as in life experiences. It was truly an honor to host this amazing woman. And to be a part of this important research trip.

Thank you Mote, and thanks Genie!!!!

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The Solar Project at Small Hope

Four months ago, I expected my summer to be spent somewhere in the hustle and bustle of downtown Washington, DC, researching and writing memos on various environmental issues. It didn’t even occur to me that building a solar domestic hot water system in the Bahamas at a dive resort surrounded by mangroves and clear turquoise water was an option! I am glad I made the choice to trade in my metro card and suit for a bicycle and flip flops.

As August, and the end of my time with Small Hope Bay Lodge, approaches, I start to reflect on my experience here and all that has been accomplished. Working with Small Hope has been an incredible experience and a rare opportunity to be able to see a vision turn into a physical reality. I came down here with nothing but a notepad and with the help of some great teammates, Kevin Kurkul, Jake Vestal, and Esi Waters, and the support of the Small Hope family we can leave with a resort-wide solar hot water system, an energy monitoring program, community outreach material on solar hot water systems, and an environmental management plan for the resort.

Time has really flown by and these next few weeks will continue to fly by as we try to finish construction on the solar hot water system. I am ecstatic to get my hands dirty after weeks of dealing with the logistics of obtaining specialized parts and shipping to a remote Out Island like Andros.  (You will not believe how inaccurate those shipping estimate dates are!)

Finally after a few weeks of calling freight companies, distributors, and coordinating with manufacturers, the majority of the parts have arrived! We have been focusing our efforts on building the water manifolds for the hot water storage tanks and starting to solder the copper components. If you are interested in reading more about the specifics of the system, check out my blog entry on the system design. http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/internshipblogs/pulling-together-a-solar-hot-water-system-for-small-hope/ Once we are done with that, the team will start to run the pex tubing (a flexible tube that will deliver the end use water) around the resort and to each of our cabins. I am excited to see what our final system looks like and to get it online! I think it will be a great help to Small Hope in terms of reducing its energy costs, but also as an example for the community and to inspire others to follow suit! With plentiful sun exposure, Bahamians really could benefit by tapping into this underutilized resource!

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Celebrating Tom's 60th Birthday

Tom on the old dive boat, 1972

We had so much fun here a couple weeks ago. Former Small Hope divemaster, (and big part of the Birch family) Tom Bain, came back to Small Hope to celebrate his 60th birthday. He brought along with him his wife and four children and lots of great friends. They group took up the entire resort and it was a blast! There was one BIG party (and several smaller ones)  which included guests wearing custom-made Androsia Batik fabric specially made for the birthday party, great food and appetizers, Chinese lanterns, and a beautiful and memorable champagne toast to the birthday boy.

Tom also shared with us some wonderful old photos he had of his time as a divemaster with Small Hope (40 years ago!). It was a great time for all! Pin It Now!

Beachside Wedding in the Bahamas . . .

Stephanie and John came to Small Hope Bay Lodge last week to celebrate their wedding. They brought friends and family to join in the celebration and everyone, including the staff and other guests of Small Hope, were so happy to watch this beautiful couple celebrate their love for each other. I can't think of a more beautiful setting for a wedding - a white, sandy beach; a warm breeze; Andros, Bahamas! The bride looked stunning, the champagne was flowing, and the entire place was full of laughs and smiles!

Thank you Stephanie and John for letting us join you on such a special day!

Check out the wedding video too! 

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CRAB FEST 2013!!!

It was Crab Fest again here on Andros, Bahamas! Our staff and guests took full advantage too by heading down to the park on Friday and Saturday for some live music, freshly cooked crab and lots of fun!

Land Crab

Stuffed crab

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