News
Bimini Diving: Reefs and Wrecks
Whilst a huge number of divers are flocking to Bimini to dive with the Great Hammerhead Sharks over the winter months, there is a lot more to the diving in Bimini than just this one experience. Recently, the crew from Neal Watson Bimini Scuba were involved in a collaborative project to sink a series of wrecks off North Bimini to create an artificial reef. The sunken vessels are: 165 ft long J.P. Kipp Barge, 90 ft long Tug Manatee, 70 ft long Landing Craft, dubbed “The Lady in Red” and a 30 ft Cuban Refugee Boat. All at a depth of 25m (85 ft) and within swimming distance, the 4 boats make up what is now called “The Coach Sugar Memorial Dive Site” — named after Bimini’s beloved chief youth mentor, Grathen “Sugar” Robins.
We got the chance to have a look at these new wrecks and to see how they had settled in at the bottom of the sea just a few minutes boat ride from the dive centre. In the clear blue waters of The Bahamas, these wrecks can be easily seen from one to the next, making navigation easy. There is a real variety of wrecks that will soon be home to a huge range of marine life. In fact, even though these wrecks have been underwater for less than a year, already there is plenty to see, with juvenile horse-eyed jacks schooling around the site, a lionfish had also taken up residence in one of the ship’s main lights, and we also had the odd encounter with turtles and barracuda too. In sheltered areas, coral, sponges and anemones are also taking hold. We look forward to seeing these wrecks again next year when we return to Bimini and see how nature has adapted to live in this new artificial reef system.
Bimini is also a great place to chill out on a reef dive or two. We only got to dive a single reef dive on this short trip to the island, but it was a dive that shows just how healthy the reefs are in the area. The coral heads, popping up out of the sand, were covered in life, with huge schools of fish wherever you looked. Again, we saw turtles and barracuda, as well as stingrays and sharks.
In our next piece we will tell you about an amazing day trip to snorkel with wild dolphins in Bimini. Great for your day off diving and suitable for all the family.
For further information on diving in Bimini in The Bahamas, see:
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
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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