Happy World Oceans Day!

We are so fortunate to be on such lovely waters . . .

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Dolphins playing with the boat . . .

It's been a great month for divers at Small Hope!

First they got a rare glimpse of a whale while diving one of our caver sites. Then, just a few days ago, a pod of dolphins played with the dive boat on it's way out for the first dive of the day. Great video of the pod. The dolphins look like they're having a blast . . .

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Whale Spotted on Dive!

It was definitely a special dive at Diana's Dungeons the other day! Our divers had the very rare pleasure of spotting a whale on their dive. The gentle giant passed right over them!!! Check out the video . . .

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Diving the Backside of the Blue Hole!

Check out this incredible, and one-of-a-kind dive . . .

See more about diving Blue Holes here

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The Kids are Doing Great and Learning to Dive!!!!!

Just a progress report on the local Andros kids who are working together with the community and Small Hope to become certified scuba divers:

The group has now grown to 23 kids! There are moving right along and are about halfway through their book work, and have also completed some of the confined water skills and their first Open Water dive!!!!

We are so proud!

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Love is in the air . . . Or the Water!

On one of our recent dives, our guests and staff happened upon two mating loggerheads. Birds do it , bees do it. Even Loggerhead turtles do it. Let's do it. Let's fall in love . . . .

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Working with the Community, and Teaching Kids to Dive!!!!

Small Hope has a long and proud history of working to help the lives and livelihoods of the Andros people. Starting way back when Dick Birch started the resort in 1960 and continuing to this day.

So when the local law enforcement came to Jeff Birch and asked if Small Hope would help in teaching a group of local kids to scuba dive, he said YES! This group of kids got to learn how to fish last year and this year it's swimming, snorkeling, and diving!

The group contains 21 kids, ages 15-18. The goal is to get all of the as PADI certified Open Water divers. Jeff feels this is an important task so that the kids will start to understand the delicate ecosystem they live in, as well as gain a true appreciation and value for this beautiful island they call home.

The group started off very auspiciously! On the first day they got in the water a group of dolphins came by the dock to see what was happening! They are learning the water skills now, as well as watching our slide shows about the reef and aquatic life of Andros.

We wish them all luck and look forward to watching them progress in to great scuba divers!

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The Most Geological Diversity in Diving . . . and all within a 20 minute boat ride!

People always ask me where my favorite diving locations are. That's a tough question because there are so many factors involved - water visibility, water temperature, fish and sea life, the quality of the dive operation and dive staff, and the location itself (the local people, landscape, and food).

But to me Small Hope Bay Lodge has it all. There are 3 main reasons why I think this is my favorite diving location in the world:

1.  The most Geological Diversity within a 20 minute boat ride. This means we have the opportunity to dive sheer walls that start at about 70 ft and drop down 6000 ft in to the Tongue of the Ocean. We have wrecks, two of which (a barge, and a small airplane) were sunk specifically for Small Hope as dive sites. We have many coral gardens, at shallow, mid-level, and deeper sites. We have great caverns with little pocket rooms and swim throughs. And we have blue holes (both ocean and inland) for some of the coolest dives you will ever do in your life! And all of these sites (totaling somewhere between 60 and 100!!!) are within 20 minutes from our dock.
2. We are the only people diving this reef! This is the third largest barrier reef in the world. And there is no one else around. It is a rare day indeed when you spot another boat on the water and even more unusual to see other divers. This means we have the reef and dive sites all to ourselves. I have been on many dives in other locations when in the middle of a beautiful dive a swarm of 20+ divers descends on the reef, starts kicking up sand, etc. I have been on night dives in other countries where we had to wear a certain color glow stick on our tank to differentiate our group from the many others that were there too. Not here! Just our divers and no one else!
3. The best dive staff EVER. They are safe. They are professional. They are FUN! There is no minimum number of divers for us to go diving. If we only have one person who wants to dive - we're going diving. We also have the highest ratio of staff to guests in the water that I have ever seen. As a dive professional myself, this is key. 

 In addition to the above reasons, Small Hope also has gorgeous weather year-round. 21 cabins right on the beach. The kitchen staff prepares incredible food. The staff and Andros locals are some of the friendliest in the world. The water temperature and visibility are awesome! All these things make it a no brainer. I wanna dive at Small Hope Bay Lodge!

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Get to Know the Staff: Meet Dennis!

Introducing . . . . 

the amazing, Dennis!

Dennis has been around Small Hope for many years. He is known by all as a wonderful, kind, and fun-lovingly man. Most people know him as one of our fabulous Divemasters, but few know that when he started at Small Hope he started in the maintenance department and didn't even know how to swim! Well, those days are long gone. He is now practically a fish - first person in the water on a dive, and last person out of the water. He is also now a PADI Open Water Instructor and has taught probably hundreds of men, women and children how to dive.

He is also our senior Nature Tour Guide and Audubon certified birding guide. He truly does it all here. So if you don't see him on the dive boat, maybe he will be mixing up your favorite cocktail, or pointing out  the elusive Bahama Oriole, or jumping with you in to Captain Bill's Blue Hole.


Fun Facts about Dennis:

# of Years at Small Hope: He celebrated 9 years at Small Hope in September of 2015

# of Kids: Four  (3 girls, and 1 boy)

Kids names: Denise, Denicia, Kendranique, and Xavier

Favorite Thing to do Outside of Work: Explore the nature trails of Andros.

Best Part about Working at Small Hope for him: Variety. You never know what the day will bring. Meeting new people, going on new adventures.

Favorite Food: Crab n' Dough

Favorite Color: Emerald Green




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The Incredible Blue Holes of Andros Island . . .

Rainbow Blue Hole

Andros Island, Bahamas is know for many things - great scuba diving, world-class bonefishing, tons of bird species, etc. One of the things we are also known for are the many blue holes we have here! We have both inland and ocean blue holes, and we have hundreds of them. Some are good for diving, including cave diving, some are great for swimming, and many are so tough to get to we'll probably never know very much about them.

Diving the Ocean Blue Hole

At Small Hope we offer many opportunities to see and experience the blue holes of Andros. We have our very popular dive at the Ocean Blue Hole, a.k.a. King Kong's Blue Hole. We offer several specialty dives to inland blue holes to do some cave diving, such as Stargate, or the Guardian. And we also offer our more terrestrial guests tours and trips to inland blue holes like Rainbow, Cousteau's and Captain Bill's Blue Hole.

So many ways to see these incredible geological creations . . . What's your favorite blue hole?
 

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Our Specialty Dive - 2nd Level of the Blue Hole!

An amazing adventure. An unforgettable experience. 

At Small Hope we offer some truly unique diving experiences. From jaw-dropping walls, to inland blue holes. Check out our video of our dive at 2nd Level of the Blue Hole (a.k.a. King Kong's Blue Hole) for an amazing cavern experience with some beautiful rock formations. See our website for more details . . . 

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Amazing Photos from Our Guest, Alex!

A few months ago we had a group come stay and dive with us. Some of the group have actually been coming to Small Hope for over 30 years!!! Other members of the group were brand new to Small Hope and came specifically to do some underwater photos of their dives.

Check out these amazing photos . . .

You can see more beautiful photos by Alex at 

                                    www.shureunderwater.com
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Small Hope has launched our very first Photo Contest!

For a little bit of fun this February, we have decided to run our first, but by no means last, photo competition. All you guys have to do is sort through some of your favourite underwater photos and send them to the address above. We'll then put them all in an album together on our Facebook page and get fans to vote for the best ones. There will be prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place so get sorting!!

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