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| Rainbow Blue Hole |
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| Diving the Ocean Blue Hole |
So many ways to see these incredible geological creations . . . What's your favorite blue hole?
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Showing posts with label cave diving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cave diving. Show all posts
Friday, February 12, 2016
The Incredible Blue Holes of Andros Island . . .
So many ways to see these incredible geological creations . . . What's your favorite blue hole?
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Thursday, September 19, 2013
Glamping and Blue Hole Dives, Andros, Bahamas
Just back from one of the most fun weekends I can remember! This past weekend Small Hope Bay Lodge owner, Jeff Birch, took some staff to South Andros for the weekend to do some blue hole dives. It was a great opportunity for some of us to get a chance to see some of the amazing natural beauty of the area as well as dive some of the most amazing caves and caverns in the world.
We called our friends down at Tiamo, a resort on South Andros, who are closed for the season. They happily invited us to use their resort as our camp site while we were down there. Not your typical campsite - we had use of the pool, showers and more, not to mention our amazing welcome night with great wine and champagne.
Our first morning we took the boat to the small dock and headed south by car to Stargate, an incredibly beautiful and ornately decorated cave dive. This is, hands down, one of the coolest dive any of us have ever done - amazing stalactites and wall formations. We even saw a blind cave fish!
Next up was El Dorado, an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, cave dive. El Dorado starts as you head into the mouth of the cave, visible from above water as well, through a tunnel filled with great wall formations and stalactites (quite a few blind cave fish too!). But then, you start to see light at the far end of this tunnel and you end up beneath a different lake, looking up through the green light.
We turned around and returned to our entry point. As this dive was only at a depth of 90' we had plenty of time to play around outside the mouth of the cave, checking out the debris, wall formations, and sediment. There was a vere eerie mist too!
After a very full (and cool) day of diving we all headed back to our campsite (and the infinity pool) at Tiamo. We rounded out a great day with some tasty tacos and, all exhausted and looking forward to our final dive the next day, went to bed very early.
On Sunday, after camp fire coffee and breakfast, we hopped in the boat once more and headed to the road and the last dive of the trip, Mohrdohr. This place is a bit further into the bush and we had to trek all the gear in. It is a beautiful walk though - views of 3 blue holes, tons of different butterflies, and at least 2 Great Lizard Cuckoos that stopped to check us out. The surface of this blue hole is almost as impressive as beneath the water . There is a land bridge that connects this blue hole with another so you can swim between the two. This dive, Mohrdohr, is technically a cavern dive as outside light is visible at all times. We had a depth of 110' here, but the most impressive part of this dive is coming out. It is a giant room, like a big cathedral, and when you turn around there is a huge column of light coming from the entrance, illuminating the sides and floor of the entire entrance. Breathtaking!
After this, we hiked back out to the cars, then took the boat back to the camp site to pack all our stuff. We said goodbye to our friends at Tiamo and some of the boys headed back to Small Hope with most of the dive and camping gear on the boat, and the rest of us flew with Jeff, doing a couple fly-bys of the boat on the way.
All in all, an amazing weekend! Can't wait till the next time. Thanks boss! Pin It Now!
We called our friends down at Tiamo, a resort on South Andros, who are closed for the season. They happily invited us to use their resort as our camp site while we were down there. Not your typical campsite - we had use of the pool, showers and more, not to mention our amazing welcome night with great wine and champagne.
Our first morning we took the boat to the small dock and headed south by car to Stargate, an incredibly beautiful and ornately decorated cave dive. This is, hands down, one of the coolest dive any of us have ever done - amazing stalactites and wall formations. We even saw a blind cave fish!
Next up was El Dorado, an awe-inspiring, jaw-dropping, cave dive. El Dorado starts as you head into the mouth of the cave, visible from above water as well, through a tunnel filled with great wall formations and stalactites (quite a few blind cave fish too!). But then, you start to see light at the far end of this tunnel and you end up beneath a different lake, looking up through the green light.
We turned around and returned to our entry point. As this dive was only at a depth of 90' we had plenty of time to play around outside the mouth of the cave, checking out the debris, wall formations, and sediment. There was a vere eerie mist too!
After a very full (and cool) day of diving we all headed back to our campsite (and the infinity pool) at Tiamo. We rounded out a great day with some tasty tacos and, all exhausted and looking forward to our final dive the next day, went to bed very early.
On Sunday, after camp fire coffee and breakfast, we hopped in the boat once more and headed to the road and the last dive of the trip, Mohrdohr. This place is a bit further into the bush and we had to trek all the gear in. It is a beautiful walk though - views of 3 blue holes, tons of different butterflies, and at least 2 Great Lizard Cuckoos that stopped to check us out. The surface of this blue hole is almost as impressive as beneath the water . There is a land bridge that connects this blue hole with another so you can swim between the two. This dive, Mohrdohr, is technically a cavern dive as outside light is visible at all times. We had a depth of 110' here, but the most impressive part of this dive is coming out. It is a giant room, like a big cathedral, and when you turn around there is a huge column of light coming from the entrance, illuminating the sides and floor of the entire entrance. Breathtaking!
After this, we hiked back out to the cars, then took the boat back to the camp site to pack all our stuff. We said goodbye to our friends at Tiamo and some of the boys headed back to Small Hope with most of the dive and camping gear on the boat, and the rest of us flew with Jeff, doing a couple fly-bys of the boat on the way.
All in all, an amazing weekend! Can't wait till the next time. Thanks boss! Pin It Now!
Monday, May 6, 2013
Feild trip to Abaco
Last week our fearless leader, Jeff Birch, and Divemaster Fede went to see an old Small Hope friend Brian Kakuk. Brian lives on Abaco and is a world-renowned cave diver and explorer. Brian was coming to Small Hope for a week to do some diving in some of Andros' blue holes and also to have a romantic getaway with his lovely wife Michelle.
So Fede and Jeff decided to fly Jeff's plane to Abaco and pick Brian up. But while they were there . . . the Abacos of the Bahamas are known for having some of the most beautiful and extensive blue hole cave dives in the world. And neither Jeff or Fede would ever pass up the opportunity for a REALLY cool dive! So the three guys got their equipment and headed to Dan's Cave.
Here is Fede's video of the day . . .
Also check out Brian Kakuk's website for more information about cave diving in the Bahamas! Pin It Now!
So Fede and Jeff decided to fly Jeff's plane to Abaco and pick Brian up. But while they were there . . . the Abacos of the Bahamas are known for having some of the most beautiful and extensive blue hole cave dives in the world. And neither Jeff or Fede would ever pass up the opportunity for a REALLY cool dive! So the three guys got their equipment and headed to Dan's Cave.
Here is Fede's video of the day . . .
Also check out Brian Kakuk's website for more information about cave diving in the Bahamas! Pin It Now!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Jonathan Bird's Blue World Comes to SHBL
Jonathan Bird's Blue World is an Emmy Award winning underwater adventure series. Hosted by the charismatic underwater cinematographer Jonathan Bird, this show explores all areas of our world's oceans. Jonathan and his crew travel the globe filming marine animals small and large, from the tropical waters of the Caribbean to the frozen waters of Antarctica. Episodes focus not only on the marine life that live in these incredible places but also on marine research and the scientists involved, underwater exploration of ship wrecks and caves and shedding some light on the recent discoveries within the oceans. Jonathan Bird's Blue World is both educational and exciting and perfect for viewers of any age. The Oceanic Research Group is the principle partner in the production of the show along with Jonathan Bird Productions and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation funds inspired scientific research and
innovative educational programs to encourage conservation and practices for sustainable marine environments.
Back in 2010 Jonathan brought his team down to Small Hope Bay Lodge on Andros Island in the Bahamas to explore the underwater caves systems that exist within the many Blue Holes on the island. Jonathan, along with cameraman Tim and Mike Hornby of SHBL packed up their gear and headed for the Guardian, an inland Blue Hole with an extensive cave system. Jonathan and Tim both had an incredible time filming in the cave and got some great footage for the first episode of their third season. 
It has been nearly two years since the film crew has been here at the lodge but early in December they were back again and eager to start filming for their fourth season. This time Jonathan, Cameraman Tim and tech diver Todd came to Andros hoping to dive the incredible Stargate Blue Hole located on South Andros. This blue hole took the team through sulfur layers and past large stalactite and flow stone formations. It is a beautiful dive and no doubt gave the crew some amazing footage. We are all eager to watch Small Hope Bay Lodge on the episode which should air summer 2013.
All of us here on Andros Island would like to send out a big thanks to Jonathan and his team. It was great to have the Blue World crew back and we look forward to their next trip. Perhaps they will explore the Ocean Blue Hole next.
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Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The Discovery of a New Dive Site
Al's Cooler
A New Dive Site for Small Hope Bay
A new dive site has been officially added to the Small Hope Bay Lodge site roster. A multilevel dive, this site takes divers South along a beautiful section of the wall then comes up to a large sand patch and some lovely plate coral. Both sharks and turtles have been spotted out over the wall but the real attraction at this site is the old 'fish pot' that is now and will forever be known as Al's Cooler. Here is a little history about the discovery and naming of our new site....
Al and Alison Scheflow have been coming to Small Hope Bay Lodge for many years. Ever since their first visit in the summer of 2003 they were hooked. Avid divers, they have been diving everywhere from the Florida Keys to Bonaire, but when they were looking for some more diversity and the opportunity to experience some different dives they decided to try the Bahamas. Andros Island, home to the third longest barrier reef and just minutes from the tongue of the ocean was the perfect choice. So they packed their bags and took the short flight over to the beautiful and secluded Small Hope Bay Lodge.
The diving at SHBL is unlike the diving found in other places. Whether it is a cavern, a wreck, a wall or a blue hole you are never disappointed and as Al and Alison discovered there is always something new to see. This was particularly true on their latest visit to the lodge as they were given the opportunity to explore some never before seen areas of the reef with a few of the Small Hope divemasters.
It was on one of these exploratory dives that they happened upon the new site. The plan was to anchor and travel along the wall until they found an interesting spot. It was clear however that where they anchored was just perfect. They cruised along marveling at the beauty of the wall and at the magnificence that is the tongue of the ocean. Few things are as spectacular as a 6000 foot drop to the bottom of the deep blue. As the divers came up over the top Al and Alison made the discovery of an old fish pot that had long since been forgotten. Everyone knew that they had found a wonderful site.
But what to call it? Many different names were tossed about, however after some consideration the name that seemed most fitting was Al's Cooler.
It was on one of these exploratory dives that they happened upon the new site. The plan was to anchor and travel along the wall until they found an interesting spot. It was clear however that where they anchored was just perfect. They cruised along marveling at the beauty of the wall and at the magnificence that is the tongue of the ocean. Few things are as spectacular as a 6000 foot drop to the bottom of the deep blue. As the divers came up over the top Al and Alison made the discovery of an old fish pot that had long since been forgotten. Everyone knew that they had found a wonderful site.
But what to call it? Many different names were tossed about, however after some consideration the name that seemed most fitting was Al's Cooler.
To
understand how the site got its name "Al's Cooler" it is important to
know a little more about the Scheflow's and their time at SHBL. As members of the Small Hope family Al and Alison have implemented their own Small Hope traditions whenever they come. Al, a serious advocate for drinking only seriously cold beer not only created the Small Hope Beer Koozie but also the
tradition of serving beer out of a cooler of ice at the bar."Straight from the cooler to the koozie and the beer stays colder longer".
So when Al discovered the old fish pot on the mystery dive he said it was like finding himself an underwater cooler. Divemaster Dennis joked that he could have cold beer...even on a dive! Believe it or not that is just what he did. To christen the new sight Al and Alison brought down a few beer bottles to put in the "cooler" and even cracked one open and took a sip before tossing it in. Everyone had a great time finding, naming and making the new site official.
Small Hope would like to send out a BIG thank you to divemasters Dennis, Sam and Laura and especially Al and Alison Scheflow for all the their help with the new site. Last week the first official group tried out the site and all the divers agree it is a beautiful place!
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Check out The Christening of Al's Cooler here and watch how Al and Alison pay tribute to the new site!
Friday, December 24, 2010
Learning how to Cave Dive...........
In October Small Hope dive masters Joe and Antonio were lucky enough to go to Abaco and learn how to dive in caves. Here is an account of how the training went from dive master Joe
Cave Training Day 1
01/10/2010
OK Antonio and I arrived on Abaco Island Friday afternoon and spent the evening in the classroom looking through the manual and watching the slide show. We are doing 4 courses Cavern Diver, Intro to Cave, Apprentice Cave Diver and Full Cave Diver. Our instructor Brian Kakuk who runs Bahamas Underground has been exploring and surveying the caves of the Bahamas for 20 years.
We started today by getting all our equipment together and running through some of the drills for laying lines, low visibility and gas management issues in the yard where questions were easy to ask...
Trying on all the gear
We then went down to Mermaid reef a shallow 10’ dive to practice what we had learnt in the yard and get used to the new equipment setup. We spent over an hour doing line drills, practising buoyancy and doing out of air situations.
After lunch we did our first cavern dive at Dan’s Cave which was spectacular...
Cave Training Day 2
02/10/2010
Today has been a busy day we have done 3 dives in 3 different caves all staying inside the cavern zone. The first was at Magic Blue Hole which is an enormous cone with the top cut off the pool is about 30’ across but just below the surface it opens out to about 100’ and it is DEEP.
For the next dive we went back to Dan’s Cave Which is a MASSIVE Cavern but it is silty so you have to be careful with buoyancy and fining.
Then we did Reel Breaker which is one of the ocean blue holes as our last cavern dive. This one was flowing so hard you had to drag yourself along the bottom to get in but the ride on the way out was fun and the amount of lobsters in the cavern was staggering.
Once we got back to the shop we tidied up and then took the test.
Cave Training Day 3
03/10/2010
WOW started Intro to cave today and did 2 mind blowing dives in Dan’s cave. We are allowed to go past the STOP sign now and into the dark. WOW Check out this video I found of Dan’s Cave they go much further than us... We got to about their 03:40 mark http://vimeo.com/897430
Cave Training Day 4
04/10/2010
OK so today we have finished off intro to cave with two amazing dives the first was at Dan’s cave and the second at Ralph’s cave.We PASSED the exam so we are starting Apprentice Cave tomorrow. Yeah!!
http://vimeo.com/10402471
Cave Training Day 5
05/10/2010
Now its all starting to come together we did 2 dives at Dan,s Cave today the first was 120’ for 75mins and the second was 74’ for 104mins. We are allowed to go deeper and stay longer now and do some more complex navigation which opens up much more of the cave. Today we went to the Good Lands and the Bad Lands.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg_FIWUsd94&feature=player_embedded
Cave Training Day 6
06/10/2010
Two more dives out of the way today and we are done with apprentice cave. Tomorrow we are starting Full Cave which means that we will have to do more of the planning and navigation ourselves. Today we dived a new cave called Lost Reel it was darker and spookier than the others. There are the remains of crocodile skeletons and giant tortoise shells preserved in the oxygen free water it was a strange place. The second dive was back at Dan’s cave, here we did the second half of a circuit that we had set up the day before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFBKxvcHq4&feature=player_embedded
Cave Training Day 7
07/10/2010
Full Cave started today and we were back at Dan’s Cave for 2 dives. Now we are doing more complex navigation with multiple jumps and we are going deeper in to the cave system.
Cave Training Day 8 LAST DIVES
08/10/2010
We have done our last two dives for the course today and all has gone well. We dived at Dan’s cave this morning and Ralph’s Cave after lunch, both dives were spectacular and I am going to miss not diving in caves every day.
We have still got to take the final exam but we are going to do it tomorrow which gives us time to study up It is also good to have a night off book work.
Tomorrow Brian is going to take us on a special dive which we are excited about it will be much longer and more challenging than the dives we did for the course but there will be no skills to do which will be nice...
Fangorn Forest
09/10/2010
Today we have gone deep into Dan’s cave to an area called Fangorn Forest. It is about 2000’ into the cave and you have to drop down to 150’ for a bit so it is a long dive with some long deco stops on the way out. The dive was 120mins long and there was a lot of swimming to get there and back but it was amazing
http://vimeo.com/3528068
Small Hope has two more cave certified dive masters. So a big congratulations to Joe and Antonio. Pin It Now!
Cave Training Day 1
01/10/2010
OK Antonio and I arrived on Abaco Island Friday afternoon and spent the evening in the classroom looking through the manual and watching the slide show. We are doing 4 courses Cavern Diver, Intro to Cave, Apprentice Cave Diver and Full Cave Diver. Our instructor Brian Kakuk who runs Bahamas Underground has been exploring and surveying the caves of the Bahamas for 20 years.
We started today by getting all our equipment together and running through some of the drills for laying lines, low visibility and gas management issues in the yard where questions were easy to ask...
Trying on all the gear
 |
| Antonio |
 |
| Joe |
We then went down to Mermaid reef a shallow 10’ dive to practice what we had learnt in the yard and get used to the new equipment setup. We spent over an hour doing line drills, practising buoyancy and doing out of air situations.
After lunch we did our first cavern dive at Dan’s Cave which was spectacular...
Cave Training Day 2
02/10/2010
Today has been a busy day we have done 3 dives in 3 different caves all staying inside the cavern zone. The first was at Magic Blue Hole which is an enormous cone with the top cut off the pool is about 30’ across but just below the surface it opens out to about 100’ and it is DEEP.
 |
| Magic Blue Hole |
For the next dive we went back to Dan’s Cave Which is a MASSIVE Cavern but it is silty so you have to be careful with buoyancy and fining.
 |
| Brian showing us Dan's Cave |
Then we did Reel Breaker which is one of the ocean blue holes as our last cavern dive. This one was flowing so hard you had to drag yourself along the bottom to get in but the ride on the way out was fun and the amount of lobsters in the cavern was staggering.
Once we got back to the shop we tidied up and then took the test.
Cave Training Day 3
03/10/2010
WOW started Intro to cave today and did 2 mind blowing dives in Dan’s cave. We are allowed to go past the STOP sign now and into the dark. WOW Check out this video I found of Dan’s Cave they go much further than us... We got to about their 03:40 mark http://vimeo.com/897430
Cave Training Day 4
04/10/2010
OK so today we have finished off intro to cave with two amazing dives the first was at Dan’s cave and the second at Ralph’s cave.We PASSED the exam so we are starting Apprentice Cave tomorrow. Yeah!!
http://vimeo.com/10402471
Cave Training Day 5
05/10/2010
Now its all starting to come together we did 2 dives at Dan,s Cave today the first was 120’ for 75mins and the second was 74’ for 104mins. We are allowed to go deeper and stay longer now and do some more complex navigation which opens up much more of the cave. Today we went to the Good Lands and the Bad Lands.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wg_FIWUsd94&feature=player_embedded
Cave Training Day 6
06/10/2010
Two more dives out of the way today and we are done with apprentice cave. Tomorrow we are starting Full Cave which means that we will have to do more of the planning and navigation ourselves. Today we dived a new cave called Lost Reel it was darker and spookier than the others. There are the remains of crocodile skeletons and giant tortoise shells preserved in the oxygen free water it was a strange place. The second dive was back at Dan’s cave, here we did the second half of a circuit that we had set up the day before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iFBKxvcHq4&feature=player_embedded
Cave Training Day 7
07/10/2010
Full Cave started today and we were back at Dan’s Cave for 2 dives. Now we are doing more complex navigation with multiple jumps and we are going deeper in to the cave system.
Cave Training Day 8 LAST DIVES
08/10/2010
We have done our last two dives for the course today and all has gone well. We dived at Dan’s cave this morning and Ralph’s Cave after lunch, both dives were spectacular and I am going to miss not diving in caves every day.
We have still got to take the final exam but we are going to do it tomorrow which gives us time to study up It is also good to have a night off book work.
Tomorrow Brian is going to take us on a special dive which we are excited about it will be much longer and more challenging than the dives we did for the course but there will be no skills to do which will be nice...
Fangorn Forest
09/10/2010
Today we have gone deep into Dan’s cave to an area called Fangorn Forest. It is about 2000’ into the cave and you have to drop down to 150’ for a bit so it is a long dive with some long deco stops on the way out. The dive was 120mins long and there was a lot of swimming to get there and back but it was amazing
http://vimeo.com/3528068
Small Hope has two more cave certified dive masters. So a big congratulations to Joe and Antonio. Pin It Now!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Kalsi Family Reunion
The Kalsi family has been coming to Small Hope since 1984. Now that the kids are all grown-up with their own families every year they all get together to see eachother and reunite with the Small Hope Bay. Reunite with each other and the Small Hope Bay Family. It is a right of passage to turn the age 10 within this special family, because at 10 you can learn how to dive. Which the majority of the family have earned their open water certifications here at Small Hope. With a grandmother like Ise, who is extremely experienced in cave diving, it’s not hard to understand that the whole family inherited the “love for diving” gene. To see a testimonial from Ise about specialty diving and her experiences at Small Hope click here. We welcome back the Kalsi’s every year and always look forward to them returning to Small Hope Family. Follow this link for a video from Indra, John, Andrew, Fletcher and Carmen on why they love Small Hope Bay Lodge.
Before leaving, Kalsi, the grandfather wrote us a testimonial about their past and present experiences at Small Hope Bay Lodge:
“We have been coming to Small Hope Bay Lodge every year since 1984, because we have found this place to be the ideal place for family vacation – wonderful diving, snorkeling, hermit crab catching, lying in the hammock, kayaking, watching satellites… and so much,much more! It always feels like coming back to a family home!” Ise and M.S. Kalsi, &family. Pin It Now!
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