News
Beneath The Bahamas – What a trip!
Our trip to dive The Bahamas saw us visit four islands: Grand Bahama, Bimini, Andros and New Providence. The itinerary was designed to give us a taste of some of the best diving The Bahamas has to offer, as well as experience island culture and have some fun above the water too. Mix that with gorgeous weather, flat-calm, warm, clear blue seas and you have a wonderful trip on your hands.
We dived wrecks and reefs covered in marine life, we dived with six different species of shark, we snorkeled with dolphins and turtles, kayaked in mangroves and dived into blue holes. Our final evening even saw us attend a People to People dinner – a wonderful scheme that pairs you with a like-minded Bahamian ambassador to experience local culture.
We fulfilled a life-long ambition to dive with Tiger Sharks, and we also dived with Nurse, Caribbean Reef, Lemon, Bull and Great Hammerhead Sharks. The Bahamas really is one of the top shark diving destinations in the world, where you can get up close to these majestic creatures. Due to the shark tourism that has been developed by pioneers in this field like Stuart Cove and Neal Watson, The Bahamas is now a shark sanctuary, where sharks are protected from fishing and are now bringing far more revenue to the local economy via tourism than ever they would as food.
You can see our video highlights of this fantastic Bahamian adventure below:
Want to experience The Bahamas for yourselves? You can join us in The Bahamas in March 2019 for a dual island shark photography extravaganza! We are hosting a trip to Bimini and Nassau, to dive with Great Hammerhead Sharks, snorkel with wild dolphins in clear blue water, experience the wrecks and sharks of Nassau, including the amazing night dive with Caribbean Reef Sharks. So why not join us? Our experience of diving with sharks in these islands means that we can help you make the very most of this amazing destination.
For more information on this trip please take a look at the online brochure by clicking here.
To book or for further details please contact The Scuba Place.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 3
Today we are diving one of the outer reefs from an inflatable. As we reach the bottom, a reef octopus eases its way into the cover of a small crack in the coral while displaying it’s incredible ability to change colour. They are arguably one of the most charismatic of reef dwellers and it is always exciting for me to simply hover and watch. I would have spent longer and waited for it to come and investigate me, but as dive time is limited we wanted to move on and find a turtle.
The waters around Somabay are well protected and hold a rich variety of marine life. The reef edges are thriving colonies of coral and shoaling fish, while nearer the sea bed plenty of wildlife is still to be found.
Then we located the turtles. They are very used to divers and so show little concern when slowly approached. In fact occasionally one will come over to see what you are doing. There is always huge excitement when diving with a turtle. The shear thrill of sharing a moment with another species.
What a fantastic way to finish a wonderful few days diving and I would like to thank SOMABAY, ORCA DIVING and THE BREAKERS for making my stay such a good one.
I had a great time, with diving everyday either on the house reef or on one of the offshore reefs by inflatable or larger day boat. Orca diving provided high quality equipment and facilities while the staff were all very friendly and welcoming. The Breakers was right on the coast with nice rooms, good food and once again friendly staff making the whole trip a real pleasure.
Soma Bay covers an entire peninsula and is home to several resorts as well as residential compounds.
As well as scuba diving, Somabay caters for many other sports and activities, and so is perfect for families as well as individuals and/or groups. And of course there is always time to lay peacefully on the beach under the Egyptian sun.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
Blogs
TRAVEL BLOG: Jeff Goodman Dives SOMABAY, Part 2
Day three of my trip to Somabay and we were spending the day on the Lady Christina and diving on the wreck of the Salem Express.
Diving wrecks for me is always one of mixed emotions. The excitement of diving a wreck is more than often tempered by the thought of loss of life when she sank. The Salem Express was a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off ferry travelling from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to Safaga, Egypt. Most passengers were of poor class travelling home from their holidays while around 150 people were returning home from their pilgrimage to Mecca.
The ship struck a reef and sank within 20 minutes. Passengers were trapped below deck and the ship was filled with fear and panic.
The wreck area is strewn with personal belongings from the crew and passengers such as a transistor radio and a flat iron for clothes. A diver at sometime has put them in a prominent place to be seen.
Tragically only one life boat was launched while the others went down with the ship. More than 600 men, women and children lost their lives here.
It’s a stark reminder that the sea can be unforgiving and so when we dive on such wrecks we should do so with humble regard.
Returning to the surface, shoals of fish are gathered under our boat and seem to be welcoming us back into the light.
Back at the Breakers I sat in the dining area with a beer and a very good meal while my thoughts still remained with the day’s dive on the Salem Express.
Check in for part 3 tomorrow for Jeff’s last day of diving with Somabay on the off-shore reefs looking for turtles.
Book your next Red Sea dive adventure with SOMABAY! For more information, visit www.somabay.com.
Stay at the Breakers Diving & Surfing Lodge when you visit! For more information, visit www.thebreakers-somabay.com.
Find out more about ORCA Dive Clubs at SOMABAY at www.orca-diveclubs.com/en/soma-bay-en.
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