Captain Bills Rope Swing

After taking a few moments to strategize and discus proper rope swing cliff jumping techniques, Richards looks back, gives his wife, Deb, a smile and then took the plunge. Deb joined him shortly after, where they spent the morning snorkeling the circumference of Captain Bills Blue Hole. Pin It Now!

Stalactite Blue Hole

Mother Nature is still blowing, keeping us Divers out of the ocean. So it is time we follow the Fishermen and head inland. Dive masters, Moose, Nick and Brittany guided a group of divers to one of our inland Blue Holes suitable for cavern diving. Stalactite Blue Hole is a 2 hour drive north of Small Hope Bay through the Andros Pine Forest. The journey is dotted with a few unusual landmarks.

The Stalactite Blue Hole is a wide open “bell” shaped blue hole, with a 100 foot deep freshwater lens. At the base of the lens the diameter of the blue hole reaches about 300 ft across. Along the sides of the “Bell” are stalactites that hang down. Some have grown at an angle pointing inwards towards the middle of the blue hole, while the others grew straight down piercing through the fresh water lens into the brackish, dark coffee colored water below.
It was a beautiful dive, a fun ride out there and highly satisfying to get our fins wet, despite that pesky wind Pin It Now!

Fishermen turned Crab-hunters

Fishermen group “New Tom”, Billy, Scott, Tom, Skeeter, and Lawrence have been returning to Small Hope for quite sometime now. (The ladies, Rachael and Brittany, “featured” in the picture above were innocent bystanders persuaded by the Fishermen :-) Originally the group was smaller but the word is out and the clan has grown. “New Tom” is the Rookie, this trip being his first and boy do these guys know how to have a good time, even when the weather is bad. The first part of their stay Mother Nature allowed for fishing in the sandflats, but towards the end the wind started to blow. Let me tell you, a little wind wasn’t about to stop a group of Fishermen.

They headed first to the bar and then to the Andros Pine Forests where they partook in some nocturnal land crab hunting explorations. They returned from their adventure victorious, with ONE unhappy land crab chasing them around in the back of the pick-up truck. Good Job guys, it was great having you and we hope to see you soon.

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Cans For Kids

Terrance is taking another truck load of cans to a recycling depot for the “Cans for Kids” organization. Cans for Kids is a non-profit organization that uses recycling to finance youth programs.

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North Beach Walk

Exposed Oolitic Limestone found in the root structure of a uprooted Casuarina tree along North Beach near Davis Creek

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North Beach Walk

Small gas filled bladders from the Sargassum seaweed drift a shore with the waves and outline the tides edge along Small Hope Bay.

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The New Scuba Instructor Couple

We welcome Brittany Bruce and Nicholas Goddard to the Dive Masters/Instructor team here at Small Hope Bay.
Britt arrived January 15th from Seattle Washington. She recently completed her Bachelors degree in Geography at Huxley College of Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington. Nick joined the team April 1st all the way from Birmingham England. He arrived shortly after finishing ten years in the Merchant Navy, where he most recently has been sailing as Chief Engineer for Holland America Line.

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The Reef and Dive Sites

A bird's eye view of the cay’s and reef that runs parallel along the tongue of the ocean that we dive from.

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Birds Eye View

In case you missed it during your flight in, here is an aerial shot of Fresh Creek, Andros Town and Small Hope Bay.

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Kite-Boarding

John Carswell came back to visit Small Hope Bay Lodge after 40 years! Last time he brought with him a house boat that Peter Douglas (see previous Blog entry) now owns and lives on. This time he brought with him his wife Dorothy (the family photographer), and their 2 sons Mat and Ben.
During their time between diving with their father and posing for pictures for their mother, Ben and Mat showed off their Kite-boarding skill’s around the bay. It was great to watch, Thanks guys! Pin It Now!

Rex “The Amazing Dog”

He can run, jump, swim, fish, hunt for crabs and balance on the thinnest of edges. He is Rex the amazing dog! And he is here to stay, so for all of you who were wondering Rex is doing just fine. He is as friendly and cute as ever and with a full tummy he has the energy to do all the things he loves to do.

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Sun Set

Another beautiful sun set silhouetting the dive centre and dock.
Anyone up of a Night Dive?!

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Margo, Peter and Jeff

The co-owners and children of SHBL’s founder (Dick Birch) enjoying a quite afternoon together on Small Hope Bay.

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Dessert Anyone?

Our annual Easter dessert extravaganza. Thank you to all the kitchen staff for all your hard work and deliciously sinful desserts!

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