STUART
COVE'S DIVE SOUTH OCEAN
I have dived with Stuart and
Michelle Cove for many years, even well before
they went into business at their present location
at the Clarion South Ocean Golf, Beach and
Dive Resort. They have become something of
a secret weapon for any pro shooter who needs
to make the underwater shot happen, whether
for stills or cinema. Over the years they have
made countless shots happen for me, for projects
including dive equipment catalogs and magazine
articles. Sometimes I'll go without a specific
project, just because I'm certain the resulting
stock photos will be productive, but just as
significantly, I know I'll have fun.
Stuart broke into the film production business
years ago as a shark wrangler and diving coordinator
on a number of major Hollywood films, a specialty
niche that continues to grow. With production
credits on movies including Splash, Cocoon,
Flipper, and James Bond epics like Thunderball and Never
Say Never Again, Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas
now has such a loyal following in the film production
community that they average a couple of shoots
every month. But, even knowing that, I was surprised
at all the projects that were happening simultaneously
when I arrived in July.
It all began with a phone call to Stuart as soon as I cleared customs
in Nassau. "Hey mon ... you reach?" he asked. (This is Bahamas-speak
for "Hi ... good to hear from you. Glad to hear you've arrived"). Pleasantries
out of the way, Stuart was efficient and to-the-point as always. "I need
you at the dock as soon as possible because you're going out to rendezvous
with Pete Romano on a Power Rangers shoot".
Now this may be a normal day-in-the-life for Stuart and the gang, but it
was a big deal for me. Pete Romano is the most productive of the Hollywood
film shooters, and while this is a far different path in the field of underwater
imaging than the one I've taken, I was fascinated to meet the guy at the
top. Pete had two back-to-back projects to knock out while diving with
Stuart. The first he'd already completed and was in conjunction with the
upcoming Charlie's Angels movie. This one was for the Power Rangers television
series.
The script called for a dream sequence where one of the Power
Rangers falls in love with a mermaid, and Pete was there with
his 35mm movie camera to make this dream happen, at least on
film. Although it was a little surreal being underwater in the
Bahamas with a mock-mermaid just four hours after leaving the
Miami airport, it was a fun afternoon behind-the-scenes on a
big film shoot while Pete and I traded war stories.
Back at the dock I met another old friend and veteran shooter,
Bob Talbot. Bob was on location to begin work on "Ocean Man",
a new Imax film featuring world champion free divers Pippin and
Humberto. His crew had come to Southwest New Providence because
of the vertical depths along the Tongue of the Ocean (at 6,000
feet it is deep enough to challenge any free diver) and also
because of the sharks, shipwrecks, clear water, and of course
the production infrastructure provided by Stuart Cove's.
As if these two projects in-house weren't enough, there was also a
BBC crew was also on location to shoot a natural history production about
sharks. Normally this would be a full plate for any dive operation, but
Stuart and Michelle have developed sufficient depth of infrastructure
in terms of boats and to allow the production work to happen without
disrupting daily dive operations.
Daily dive operations here include a fleet of boats of course,
but also a fleet of vans to escort guests from a variety of hotels
and guesthouses around the island. Stuart Cove's offers guests
a number of packages, including accommodations at their home base the
Clarion South Ocean Golf, Beach, and Dive Resort as well
as a variety of hotels and condominiums centrally located in town.
Complimentary transfers are provided from all hotels in Nassau
and Paradise Island.
The dive center is themed as an old Bahamian fishing village,
a reminder of the time it served as a set for the Flipper movie.
The Cove's have since enlarged and expanded the facility to include
ample dockage, a sportswear and scuba boutique, classrooms, guest
gear storage, and of course the compressors and other paraphernalia
(including enriched air Nitrox) necessary to make it all run
seamlessly. Whenever I'm on location at Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas
I find their Fin Photo Center to be of special help. Run by resident
photo pro Pam Christman, Fin Photo offers camera rentals, E-6
film processing, Cibachrome printing, sophisticated video editing,
and a new digital still photography department.
I essentially had two projects in mind when I visited New Providence
this time. Sharks of course, for this one of the best places in the world
to get consistently close shots of a high-voltage Caribbean reef shark
feed, but also snorkeling along the shallow coral reefs of Goulding Cay
and Southwest Reef.
I knew I'd be doing a few shark dives the next day with Dive, Dive,
Dive, so I asked Stuart if we could try something a little different,
maybe combine my desire to get some new snorkel shots with a shark feed.
Yeah ... how 'bout a shark feed on snorkel? Stuart had told me how the
sharks at a site called Shark Wall came to the surface when the dive
boats drop anchor, so I wondered what would happen if we fed them at
the surface. Stuart didn't know for sure, but he's always game to give
it a try.
Once we anchored, sure enough the distinctive dorsal fins of a dozen
Caribbean reef sharks split the slick calm surface. I thought this was
a perfect opportunity to get some topside shots, so with polarizer and
wide angle lens attached I asked Stuart to entice the sharks ever nearer
the back of the boat. A few productive rolls on this set-up and it was
time to jump in the water.
Actually, the sharks were pretty indifferent to us at the beginning,
even on snorkel. Clearly they were here for the bait, and once
more the popular myth of shark as evil man-eating predator was
dispelled. I was able to get some nice shots of the snorkelers
in the distance with the sharks close to my dome port. Given the
perspective enhancement of the wide-angle lens, these sharks loomed
large and impressive. Snorkeling with sharks was something new
and way fun, but the Stuart Cove conundrum is that there are too
many competing photo-ops and we had to power through to the next
one. However, clearly this is something I'd like to try again next
time I visit.
Our next underwater adventure was to document a new attraction
at Stuart Cove's Dive Bahamas; an unusual device called a S.U.B.
(for Scenic Underwater Bubble). There are 12 of these units presently
at Stuart Cove's. Essentially they are underwater scooters, propelled
by batteries, complete with a domed helmet with a constant flow
of compressed air to displace the salt water. Riders need not
be certified divers; in fact they don't even have to know how
to swim. All they have to do is be able to get their face wet
for a moment in order to get inside the helmet, and have enough
of a sense of adventure to want to gain an intimate glimpse of
the underwater world.
A dedicated boat, complete with small crane, lifts these S.U.B.s in
and out of the water and a small coral amphitheater at Goulding Cay has
been chosen for the tour site. The large Plexiglas dome is designed to
give S.U.B. riders an unobstructed view of the coral reef, but it also
allowed me to see the expressions of pure wonderment and pleasure on
the face of these novice undersea explorers. For the most part, these
were people who would never in life try a resort course, much less become
a certified scuba diver. The technology of safely sharing the underwater
world with them was quite fascinating to watch.
While at Goulding Cay we had the opportunity to add one more shot to
the New Providence portfolio, snorkeling above an elkhorn reef. Stuart
and Michelle graciously agreed to model, bringing along a friend's young
child to share the experience. We found the perfect stand of elkhorn,
near enough the surface so even the little boy could easily enjoy the
view. Once again I was reminded New Providence is a terrific place for
families as well as dedicated divers, with diverse attractions above
and below.
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