News
Bimini – Wild Dolphin Day
Our tour of The Bahamas had us doing quite a bit of island hopping, using small planes to take us from one island to the next. This meant that there were a few non-diving days scheduled into our itinerary and one of these was on Bimini. So, what is there to do? Well we have always wanted to do one of the wild dolphin snorkel trips to see if we could get in the water and photograph Atlantic Spotted Dolphins that are famous residents here.
We jumped on the boat with our cameras and snorkeling gear and headed up to the top deck of the Bimini Scuba Centre boat to hear the briefing from Neal Watson, owner and our guide and skipper for the day. The trip out to the right area was going to take about 20 minutes and then it was time for everyone to start spotting.
There are actually two species of dolphin that spend their time just off the Bimini coastline, the aforementioned spotted kind and also Bottlenose Dolphins. Spotted dolphins are considered to be more “friendly” and so are the ones that can make for the best in-water experience, but when the first shout of dolphin rung out around the boat, it was for a pod of Bottlenose Dolphins. We didn’t care; we grabbed our mask, fins and snorkels, as well as our cameras, and jumped off the back of the boat.
It was incredible! As soon as we put our heads in the water, we could hear the dolphins clicking and pointing their noses at the sandy sea bed below. They were using echo-location to find their prey buried beneath the sand. We watched them hunt beneath us. We thought that, as they were busy finding food, they would not be interested in us, but every time they came up to breathe, they would buzz past us, getting very close and having a good look at us. This lasted for about half an hour and then they were suddenly gone and we jumped back on the boat to begin a new search.
In just a few minutes, we were back in the water, again with more Bottlenose Dolphins and this group was even friendlier. The group had a mother and baby, who were not worried by us at all, and in fact the mother and baby came in very close to each of us in the water, which was a real treat.
We never did find any Atlantic Spotted Dolphins, as our experience in the water with the Bottlenose Dolphins was so magical, we did not want to leave and stayed for over an hour in the water, watching them play and hunt until it was time to head back to dry land. Our time in Bimini was up. Our short time on the island had given us up-close Great Hammerhead Shark encounters, wrecks and reefs, and also this wonderful wild dolphin experience. The tiny island packs a real punch for the underwater photographer!
We now move on to Andros to dive into blue holes, along walls… and to try some coral conservation work first hand.
For more information visit the following websites:
Image & text by Nick and Caroline Robertson-Brown – www.frogfishphotography.com
News
Dive Worldwide Announces Bite-Back as its Charity of the Year
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
Gear News
Scubapro Free Octopus Promotion 2024
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
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