Blue Hole Diving

Nine Different Blue Hole Dives Offered At Small Hope Bay Lodge

   Small Hope Bay Lodge added two new Blue Holes to its dive options this year-bringing it's total number to nine Blue Holes now offered in its custom-tailored Specialty Dive Programs. The island has fifty-nine (59) known blue holes.

   "When people ask, "what's new", they expect you to say you've renovated your rooms or something. Well, we've put our efforts elsewhere. We've gone diving!," says Jeff Birch, Manager of Small Hope Bay Lodge.

   "We are offering to scuba divers what helio-skiing offers to skiers," says Jeff. "We are going to the places no one else goes -- or in some cases even knows about. We can boast that more men have walked on the moon than have been on some of our dive sites."

   "Of course, on an uninhabited island like Andros, it's not very hard to do," he adds. "And we've put together two great new dives."

   The first is an ocean blue hole called "Conch Sound Blue Hole," located in north Andros. It was in this blue hole that British cave diver Martin Farr set a world's record for distance in ocean caves in 1982 (3,700-feet), a record broken by American cave diver Brian Kakuk in 1994.

   The dive starts in ten feet of water, near an old fishing boat that apparently was sucked down into the hole by its strong tidal current. Schools of grunts and snapper veil the entrance to the hole. The cave walls are loaded with invertebrates such as lobster, crab and sponges. The long horizontal tunnel formation of the cave is truly unique, making it enticing to go farther and farther in.

Maximum depth on this dive is 90 feet.

   The second new option is the Stargate Blue Hole located in South Andros. Stargate is known as the primary site for the 1987 International Blue Holes project, directed by British cave diver Rob Palmer. Stargate is a spectacular Blue Hole both above and below the surface. The entrance is hidden inside a grotto; surrounded by tropical scrub trees. The entrance to the water is a 12-foot drop, once inside, stalactites are found hanging from the ceiling.

   Once in the Blue Hole, divers descend down to 80 feet, through sulfur layers where the line splits to run north and south. This tour swims north, passing large stalactite and flow stone formations.

Maximum depth is 120 feet.

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Here is a partial list of Blue Holes and other custom-tailored speciality dives:

Blue Hole-Level II:
One or two people only, maximum depth 140-feet; water time 20-35 minutes, mulit-level dive profile.

Blue Hole-Level III:
One or two people only, maximum depth 190-feet; water time 20-35 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Back Side of the Blue Hole:
One or two people only, maximum depth 90-feet; water time 30-40 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Bob's Blue Hole:
one person only, maximum depth 140-feet; water time 30-40 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Bach's Blue Hole:
One person only, maximum depth 140-feet, water time 30-40 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Guardian Blue Hole:
One person only, maximum depth 140-feet, water time 30-40 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

The Little Frenchman:
One person only, maximum depth 170-feet, water time 25-35 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

The Hole In The Wall:
One or two people, maximum depth 200-feet, water time 25-40 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Over The Wall At Night:
One or two people, maximum depth 185-feet, water time 20-30 minutes, multi-level dive profile.

Alec's Caverns:
One or two people, maximum depth 90-feet, water time 30-40 minutes,, multi-level dive profile.

And Many More...

Cost for these dives are: $140 for one diver, $100 each for two or more divers.
Not available as part of the dive package. Rates subject to change.

Click Here For More About Our Custom Tailored Speciality Dives

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Blue Hole Level II:

Blue Hole-Level II starts at 45 feet. We swim over the edge of a collapsed cave, drop down between the collapse and the ocean floor to 100-feet, then through a hole in the breakdown where we come into a huge tunnel, where the bottom is 320-feet down.

We traverse along the ceiling at 140-feet. After a short swim the ceiling breaks away and incredible shafts of light pour through. A little further on we come to the largest cavern in the Bahamas. It resembles a lunar landscape.

Looking up and out you can see the silhouettes of a large variety of fish. We swim up through the cavern to the uppermost lip and then circumnavigate the entire Blue Hole, seeing ancient river beds and water falls that were created during the last ice age. The depth around the rim ranges from 60-70 feet. We circle back around to the anchor line, where we pull anchor and drift.
An awesome dive!

Click here to see an illustration of Blue Hole-Level II

   These dives are offered strictly on a one-on-one basis. Small Hope Bay Lodge's Specialty Dive Program also includes wall dives, open ocean dives and cavern dives. Small Hope Bay Lodge, now in its 47th year, offers just 20 cottages on the beach, all-inclusive rates and the 140-mile long Andros Barrier Reef one mile offshore.