DIVE, DIVE, DIVE
Dive, Dive, Dive is another Bahamas dive operation with whom I've shared considerable history. In the early 1980s owners Ray and Lynn Post hosted me for my very first visit to the underwater wonders of New Providence Island. Now I was back, more than a decade-and-a-half later, but somehow this small bed-and-breakfast dive resort tucked away in the residential enclave of Coral Harbour had managed to retain much of its initial allure, while at the same time embracing the high-tech dive technologies of the New Millennium.
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Dive, Dive, Dive was developed as a resort for dedicated divers back in 1982. There are just 5 small villas, each with a capacity for four guests. Each villa has a kitchenette, living room, and separate bedroom. The units are essentially self-catered, although the package includes a pick-up from the airport and access to a driver for regularly scheduled trips to the grocery store or other tourism spots on the island such as Cable Beach and Paradise Island. The villas have air-conditioning, satellite television, and all enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast of fresh breads and brewed coffee and teas. By the way, the breakfast breads and lunches prepared locally by Mama Lorraine are legendary.
Dive, Dive, Dive enjoys massive repeat visitation—as much as 50 percent of their clients are repeat guests. While some are general travelers who come simply to enjoy the quiet and relaxation, most are scuba divers that appreciate the convenience of a dedicated dive resort that caters to their special needs.
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To that
end, there is a pair of dive boats - the 38-foot V-hull Bruno-Stillman
Sea Dancer and the 45-foot Sea Wind. Both are fiberglass
V-hulls, complete with necessary dive accouterments like swim platform
with extended ladders and tank racks. There is guest gear storage areas
near the dock, freshwater showers, and a very impressive compressor
system, complete Nitrox pumping station. Dive, Dive, Dive has become
a well-respected tech diving center, and many of their groups are highly
trained enthusiasts exploring the options of mixed gases and even rebreathers.
As the very first Nitrox center in the Bahamas, Dive, Dive, Dive has
continued to develop this unique specialty niche and sees it as the
prime direction of their future evolution.
Shortly
after visiting Dive, Dive, Dive this time, I met David Hoist, an affable
Canadian who serves as the director of dive operations. David asked
what dives I'd most like to experience, although I'm sure he knew without
asking that I was here for the sharks.
Sharks are to New Providence as chocolate chips are to Famous Amos cookies,
and they do shark diving very well. There are two very prime shark dive
destinations off the southwest end of the island. Runway has traditionally
been one of my favorite shark dive spots because it is fairly shallow,
only about a mile offshore, and features a bottom comprised of fairly
coarse sand that easily settles to the bottom after being stirred into
suspension. This, combined with its proximity to the Tongue of the Ocean,
helps assure clear water for shark portraits. Unfortunately, it was
mating season for the sharks, and posing for my wide-angle lens was
no longer their priority. Fortunately, farther offshore out at Shark
Wall and the nearby Shark Arena, the Caribbean reef sharks showed no
such reticence.
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On the way out to the site, David gave a very complete briefing on what to expect from this two-tank dive excursion, quite an accurate representation in retrospect. On the first dive, we explored the vertical drop-off of the Tongue of the Ocean where we saw not only the tube sponges and gorgonians that decorate the wall, but we also observed the sharks normally in residence here. Obviously, the number of sharks and activity level was accelerated by the anticipation of a feed, but still, this first dive felt like we were observers in a far more natural marine environment. The sharks moved calmly and kept their distance from the divers, and there was plenty of other marine life as well, including a large school of horseeye jacks, several bold black groupers, and a small group of Atlantic spadefish. After we'd finished our wall swimabout, we finished off with an exploration of a small shipwreck sitting perfectly upright in just 55 feet of water. The Edwin Williams was a 97-foot Coast Guard cutter, one of three sister ships intentionally sunk as dive attractions in the Bahamas. The wheelhouse is small, but the lines of the ship are pretty and she does hold a fair bit of marine life.
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After a beautifully idyllic first dive, David and the Dive, Dive, Dive gang pushed the adrenaline level more than a few notches higher with an extraordinary shark dive. David donned a chain-mail protective suit and led the group to a sand amphitheater in about 50 feet of water. Several dozen sharks began streaming to the site along with us, obviously classically conditioned. Once the group was settled in a semi-circle around the bait box, purposely slightly overweighted and kneeling in the sand, David brought the bait out. Controlled pandemonium ensued. I was too busy snapping photos to count critters, but one of the guests confirmed 24 different sharks joined the frenzy this morning. David used his pole spear and bait to artfully lead the sharks to up-close-and-personal encounters with the guests.
It seemed like just 5 minutes went by before the feed was through, but I checked my dive computer and found 40 minutes had elapsed. Once the bait was gone, the sharks gently and gradually went away, leaving us divers a moment to ponder the rush and to scour the sand bottom for the sharks' teeth that inevitably fall out during a feed of this nature.
Of course,
New Providence diving offers more than just shark diving, and Dive,
Dive, Dive and Stuart Cove's Dive South Ocean provide an extensive inventory
of diverse sites, including a dynamic shipwreck portfolio. In addition
to the Edwin Williams, several ships have been intentionally
sunk as dive attractions here, including the Tears of Allah,
a 100-foot freighter sunk to facilitate filming the James Bond classic
"Never Say Never Again," the 150-foot Willaurie, and the 95-foot
Sea Viking.
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Dive,
Dive, Dive
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| Phone | 800-368-3483 |
| Fax | 242-362-1994 |
| info@divedivedive.com | |
| Web site | http://www.divedivedive.com |
I visited the island in July, but incredibly there are two new wrecks on the bottom since then! The Carib Breeze is a 195-foot oil tanker now resting upright in 50 feet of water. The Abeland is a 200-foot freighter that now sits perfectly upright in 90 feet of water off the north end of the island, in proximity to the popular drop-offs such as Tunnel Wall.
There is more exceptional wall diving along the Tongue of the Ocean at sites like Razorback and Tunnel Wall. For snorkelers, there is an accessible and enticing shallow reef here at Southwest Reef and Goulding Cay, and medium-depth sites like Pumpkin Patch are especially popular among fish ID enthusiasts. All of which makes New Providence an extraordinary first stop on the Stephen Frink's Bahamas Odyssey. Stay tuned for my adventures on the next stop—Great Abaco.