In the above section, you’ve read how I utilize diving in a very practical way to put conch, lobster and fish on our table.  This diving is limited to that which you can do with snorkel gear and is quite a bit of work.  There is an entirely different brand of diving, equally rewarding in a another way. For the purposes of this chapter, I’ll call it sport diving. In this term I’ll include both snorkel and SCUBA diving, limited to sight-seeing, photography, exploring, and generally just enjoying the underwater environment, without any premeditated purpose.

If your time in Abaco is limited to a week or less, this is the approach I’m going to recommend to you!  Don’t worry about catching, cleaning, and cooking conch, let the locals do it for you.  You will have supported the local economy and have spent your limited time more effectively!  Spend your dive time at some of the more attractive dive sites either with or without a guide and with or without a pole spear.  After all if a lobster crosses your path you might as well bring it home, but don’t by any stretch of the imagination, consider the day anything less that perfect if you come home empty handed!  Putting dinner on the table is a lot of work and takes a lot of time.  That’s great if you have it, otherwise just enjoy!  

SCUBA TRIPS

If you intend to SCUBA, I strongly recommend that you take advantage of one of the many trips offered by these dive operators.  Typical, a one tank dive averages about $35 and a two tank dive averages about $60, including weights, tank, and air.  This is not a bad value when you consider that air fills in your own tank tends to cost about $7 and gasoline averages about $2.25 per gallon.

The real advantage of taking a guided dive trip with these dive operators, is that they will take you to their own “special” spots which they’ve “developed”. By this I mean they have made repeat trips back to the same site, frequently feeding the fish by hand to the point that these fish are very accustomed to people.  Naturally, no spear fishing is allowed on most of these trips.

SALVAGE RIGHTS

Divers should be aware that the Bahamian government has given exclusive salvage rights to a number of salvage operators in Abaco. Most of these operators, for security reasons, are reluctant to disclose the exact location of their operation. This leaves the casual diver in a bit of a “Catch 22” situation if he discovers some artifact. Your course of action in such a situation should be to record the location accurately, and report the finding to The Ministry of Transport and Local Government. If the find has already been leased to another salvor, it is actually illegal to remove it. If it has not been previously reported, you might actually be eligible for your own salvage lease!

Of the several such salvage leases scattered around, the most interesting one is about 30 miles north of West End, between Sandy Cay and Memory Rock. A Florida group recently found a shipwreck in about 20 feet depth. Although exploration and salvage is still incomplete, experts at the University of Florida believe that it is a Spanish caravelle, about 65 feet in length. The most exciting part of this find is that the kinds of personal armour, guns, and breech-loading cannon indicate that this ship sailed during the Age of Discovery (1492-1510) and fits the description of the Pinta and the Nina, both of which were lost. There were other ships fitting this description lost during the same period. We may never know the exact identity of this particular ship, but the discovery is still significant.

The salvors plan to help establish a display at West End, which will help explain their findings. They have also agreed to leave (or return) some of their find: to the ocean floor, so that other divers may enjoy this wreck in the future.

DIVE SITES

Table 6-5 below directs your attention to some of the more outstanding, well known dive sites and some of my personal favorites.  Beyond this, realize that there is good diving all along the outer reef, and where there is an inner reef that’s good too and generally somewhat protected.  As with all aspects of this guide, if you find areas which I’ve overlooked, which you think other readers would enjoy, mark up a copy of your chart and write to me about your discovery.  We will be happy to include your information in our next edition.  Good Diving!