A History of Small Hope and Andros Island

Divers getting ready to take the plunge with double-hose regulators at Small Hope Bay Lodge in the early 1960's!

Opened in 1960, Small Hope Bay Lodge is the oldest water-oriented resort in the Bahamas. It was built by former Canadian Dick Birch and continues to be operated and managed by the Birch Family, which now spans four generations.

Small Hope Bay Lodge was the first resort in the Caribbean to offer Resort Course SCUBA Diving Instruction, Wall Diving and Blue Hole Diving to recreational divers.

Jacques Cousteau, Canadian diver/photographer Dr. George Benjamin, world renowned National Geographic photographer David Doubilet, Canadian diver Dr. Joe McGinnis and record holding deep diver Betty Singer, all visited and dived Andros Island many times. All stayed at Small Hope Bay Lodge many times with the exception of Jacques Cousteau who stayed on board the Calypso.

Dick Birch first "discovered" the wall of the Andros Barrier Reef with Dr. Joe McGinnis.

Dick Birch held the world record for deep diving on compressed air at 462 feet. He made the dive with Canadian physicist Roger Hutchins.

Small Hope Bay Lodge, with its low-impact tourist facilities, offers complete snorkeling and diving programs, as well as fishing, nature walks, eco-tours, bush trails, biking, wind surfing, sailing, and internet in the lounge.

All of Small Hope Bay Lodge's twenty (20) cottages are hand-built from local materials of coral rock and Andros pine. They are decorated with the locally produced batik fabrics created by Androsia.

Androsia is a cottage industry on Andros Island that makes batik fabric, clothing, accessories, and home goods. It was started by Rosi Birch in 1973 and is currently owned and operated by Jeff Birch. Visitors to the island are welcome to tour the operation and visit the outlet store. Batik demos where you can make your own batik to take home can be arranged through the Small Hope office ($25.00 fee per person, minimum of 4 people).

Andros Island is said to be the largest unexplored track of land in the western hemisphere. It boasts an enormous bird and plant population, including forty-eight (48) species of wild orchids.

Andros Island, with its limestone and coral base, is riddled with Blue Holes. For divers who like to explore these underwater cave formations, Small Hope Bay Lodge offers one-on-one Blue Hole dives.

The Andros Barrier Reef is reputed to be the third largest reef system in the world. It's wall begins around seventy (70) feet and boasts a sheer drop to over six-thousand (6,000) feet into an underwater canyon known as the Tongue of the Ocean.