Scuba Diving at Small Hope Bay Lodge Andros Island, Bahamas May 2005 All photos were intentionally reduced in quality for internet publishing 
Harry and Jackey in the Bahamas. Photo by Jeff and Gail Lang. Small Hope Bay Lodge Small Hope Bay Lodge is an all-inclusive dive resort on Andros Island, Bahamas. Small Hope Bay consists of a main lodge, about 20 beach-front cabins, a beach patio and Tikki bar, dive center, hot tub, boutique, and nature trails. 
The main lodge and the outdoor dining area. 
Beach-front cabins. 
Meals are served either inside the main lodge or outside on the beach patio. The dining experience is intimate. 
Jackey enjoying her Bug & Beef dinner outside on the beach patio. 
Drinks are on the house 24-hours a day, but a bartender will assist in mixing your “Bahama Mama” during happy hour. Watch out, divers attack the conch fritters like sharks on a chum ball. 
Happy hour at the Tikki Bar. GEOGRAPHY For those who are not familiar with the Bahamas and Andros Island, a little geography would be helpful. Andros Island is the largest island in the Bahamas, but it is also one of the most sparsely populated. It is located at the same latitude as the Florida Keys. In Andros, there are no high-rise resorts like Atlantis. You won’t see crowded beaches like Nassau’s Cable Beach, either. In fact, other than diving, fishing, relaxing and enjoying nature, there is very little tourist activity on Andros. This is the draw of the island. 
THe Bahamas and Andros Island. The Diving Andros is home to some spectacular diving. A ten-minute boat ride from the dive center takes you to the third largest barrier reef in the world. The reef is 120 miles long and runs along the eastern edge of the island. The edge of the Andros barrier reef drops 6,000 feet into the “Tongue of the Ocean” and makes for some wonderful deep wall diving. Andros Island also contains the largest concentration of “blue holes” in the world. These blue holes were sinkholes that formed above sea level during the Ice Age when the sea level was much lower. The sinkholes are all connected by underground river passages. Of course, the sinkholes flooded when the sea level rose. Now the “blue holes” are accessible only by scuba. 
Another 10-minute boat ride to a deep wall dive. Small Hope Bay Lodge has a 40-year history of diving on Andros. The original founder of the lodge, Dick Birch, holds the depth record for diving on compressed air (462 feet) and participated in the explorations of the Andros blue holes. The lodge’s extensive local diving history is reflected in their signature dive: “Over the Wall,” an air dive over a wall to a ledge at 185 feet. There are three dives per day. The morning boat leaves at 9:30 a.m. for a two-tank dive. The first of these dives is deep (90 to 140 feet). The second of these dives is obviously shallow (25 to 40 feet). The boat returns to the lodge for lunch at about noon. The afternoon boat leaves at 2:00 p.m. for a one-tank dive. The afternoon dive is to moderate depths (50 to 70 feet). 
The dive center. 
Jackey on the dive boat. We had an interesting experience during this trip. I had to signal “out of air” for real for the first time. While at 80 feet, my secondary regulator went into free flow. I banged it, purged it, breathed off of it, flipped the mouthpiece up and down, but nothing stopped the flow. I signaled by buddy to start moving to the safety stop at 15 feet. Then I discovered that the regulator fitting had loosened at the hose fitting. I tightened it by hand which slowed the regulator free flow, but did not stop it. I just couldn’t get it tight enough by hand. At 100-200 PSI the free flow stopped, but shortly thereafter I took my last breath. The tank was empty. I signaled “out of air,” switched to my buddy’s secondary, and we ascended normally to the safety stop. Wickwire Wall – 140 feet – 8 minutes – 72 degrees This is one of my favorite dives on Andros. The dive is named after the coral found along the wall. The profile takes you to140 feet for 8 minutes and 90 feet for 12 minutes. After some gas planning, I switched to aluminum 100 for this one. I’ve never gotten nitrogen narcosis, not even on this dive. The wall is nearly vertical and drops 6,000 feet into the “Tongue of the Ocean.” It is a pretty awesome sight, looking down into the deep blue abyss. Giant Staircase – 120 feet – 10 minutes – 73 degrees – 100+ visibility This is another multi-level wall dive that takes you over the edge of the 6,000 wall into the “Tongue of the Ocean.” The profile takes you to 120 feet for 10 minutes and 80 feet for 10 minutes. I never get over the sight of hovering along a vertical wall above a 6,000 foot abyss. The Ocean Blue Hole – 105 feet – 20 minutes – 73 degrees – 75 foot visibility This is one of my favorite dives on Andros and is technically a cavern dive. The rim of the sinkhole is at a depth of about 70 feet deep. The opening to the sinkhole is 300 feet across. This multi-level dive takes you down to 105 feet under the overhanging rim of the sinkhole. Often you are swimming in a narrow vertical fissure that drops to 200 or 300 feet. One wall of the fissure is the wall of the sinkhole itself. The other wall is house-sized breakdown boulders that fell from what was once the roof. The visibility can be poor because the sinkhole communicates with the inland water table. Tidal flows flush material into the Blue Hole. 
The Blue Hole from 105 feet. 
Diving in a giant fissure in The Blue Hole at 100 feet. Goat Cay Wall – 105 feet – 20 minutes – 73 degrees – 100+ foot visibility This is another multi-level wall dive that takes you over the edge of the 6,000 wall into the “Tongue of the Ocean.” The Shark Emporium – 60 feet – 40 minutes – 72 degrees – 75 foot visibility The Shark Emporium is a dive with Caribbean Reef sharks. Small Hope Bay dive center uses a frozen “chumsickle” to feed the sharks. Like most other shark dives, the boat itself now attracts sharks to the site. As we dropped anchor, about fifteen reef sharks splashed in the water around the boat. I must admit, timing my giant stride to avoid landing on a six-foot reef shark was a new experience for me. 
The Blue Hole from 105 feet. Photo by Jeff and Gail Lang. Goat Cay Wall – 105 feet – 20 minutes – 73 degrees – 100+ foot visibility This is one of my favorite dives on Andros. It is a coral ridge along the edge of the wall. The coral formations rise 10 to 12 feet in towering surreal formations, linked together by arches and roofs. This forms a maze of sinuous passageways, grottos and rooms under the coral. The floor is sandy. You can penetrate into these caverns and swim though winding canyons or honey-combed caves. Watch for the nurse sharks as you turn the next corner! Cara’s Caverns – 95 feet – 20 minutes – 73 degrees – 100+ foot visibility This is another multi-level wall dive that takes you over the edge of the 6,000 wall into the “Tongue of the Ocean.” Diana’s Dungeons – 95 feet – 20 minutes – 73 degrees – 100+ foot visibility This is one of my favorite dives on Andros. It is a coral ridge along the edge of the wall. The coral formations rise 10 to 12 feet in towering surreal formations, linked together by arches and roofs. This forms a maze of sinuous passageways, grottos and rooms under the coral. The floor is sandy. You can penetrate into these caverns and swim though winding canyons or honey-combed caves. Watch for the nurse sharks as you turn the next corner! Wreck of the Marion – 70 feet – 35 minutes – 75 degrees – 100+ foot visibility The Marion is flat barge, 300 feet long and 40 feet wide, that flipped and sunk in bad weather. It landed upside down. Most of the hull plates collapsed in impact. The bow remains intact and there you can penetrate 30 feet into the wreck. There is also a fun swim-crawl under the barge, 40 feet beam-to-beam. Watch your first stage on the steel beams overhead. The barge threw a tractor and a crane when it flipped; they rest only a few feet from the wreck. We dove the Marion twice. 
The tractor near the Marion. Photo by Jeff and Gail Lang. The Catacombs – 70 feet – 35 minutes – 75 degrees – 75 foot visibility The Catacombs is a honey-combed coral garden. There is also the wreck of a World War II landing craft at the site. Margo’s Place – 40 feet – 25 minutes – 75 degrees – 100+ foot visibility A shallow dive on a coral garden after a deep dive. 
Margo's Place. Photo by Jeff and Gail Lang. 11. Jeff’s Ladder – 40 feet – 50 minutes – 75 degrees – 100+ foot visibility A coral garden, named 25 years ago after a dive master who forgot to put down the boat’s ladder before everyone (including himself) had jumped from the boat. 12. The Aquarium – 35 feet – 45 minutes – 75 degrees – 100+ visibility A shallow dive on a coral garden after a deep dive. 13. Jeff’s Surprise – 30 feet – 50 minutes – 75 degrees – 100+ foot visibility A shallow dive on a coral garden after a deep dive. 14. The Ledges – 25 feet – 50 minutes – 75 degrees – 75 foot visibility A shallow dive on a coral garden after a deep dive. The rocks are overhanging and contain lots of nooks and crannies. Gail and Jeff Lang  SUMMARY Small Hope Bay Lodge is wonderful all-inclusive dive center with the motto “rest, relaxation and rediscovery.” The lodge is rustic and peaceful. The dining is very nice, maybe a little too nice (I had hoped to lose some weight on vacation). The lodge staff and the dive staff are very friendly. The intimate setting lets you get to know everyone. Best of all, the diving is fantastic. The experience at Small Hope Bay Lodge engenders a loyalty that entices divers to return year after year. You can add Jackey and I to that growing list of repeat customers. www.smallhope.com Flying over Andros in a charter, enroute to Fort Lauderdale  |