New Providence
and Eleuthera
T E X T A N D P H O T O S B Y E R I C C H E N G
NEW PROVIDENCE
I have been visiting the Bahamas since 2002 and have
made 14 separate dive excursions to explore her waters.
For this Alert Diver assignment, I spent time in both
New Providence (staying in Nassau) and Eleuthera, a
long wisp of an island to the east.
Five James Bond movies have included underwater
scenes shot in New Providence, where the capital
and largest city, Nassau, is located. In addition to the
obvious beauty of its beaches and resorts, the water in
the Bahamas is clear and impossibly blue, so vibrant it
almost defies reproduction on film. In the film Into the
Blue, starring Jessica Alba and Paul Walker, the color
and clarity of the water would have won an Oscar if
there had been a “water quality” category. There are
easily accessible shipwrecks, shallow reefs and the
vertical wall of the Tongue of the Ocean. The most
enticing of all for adrenaline junkies are the sharks. The
Bahamas are one of the best places on the planet to
view and interact with multiple species of large sharks.
Shipwrecks dominate the diving off the southwest
end of New Providence. In four days we dived the
Ray
of Hope
,
Big Crab
,
Sea Viking, Port Nelson
, the
Bond
wrecks (Tears of Allah
and
Vulcan Bomber
) and
Willaurie
. The wrecks were purposely sunk as dive
attractions, and most are upright. They are perfect for
wide-angle shots that feature the entire wreck; if you
are lucky, you might get a shark or two in the frame.
The Willaurie stands out for its fully coral-encrusted
scaffolding, which is full of reef life and friendly fish. If
you are into macro photography and fish portraits, a
visit to the Willaurie is not to be missed.
New Providence is best known for the sheer masses
of Caribbean reef sharks and interactive encounters.
My dives were hosted by Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas,
the largest dive operator in New Providence. Dozens
of Caribbean reef sharks investigating the bait crate on
the sandy bottom at times completely obscured views of
my dive guide and shark wrangler, Charlotte Faulkner.
She was able to demonstrate a strange shark reflex
called “tonic immobility,” during which sharks become
temporarily paralyzed when the area around their
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|
FALL 2014
Clockwise from left: Caribbean reef sharks
(Carcharhinus perezi) join a diver at the Ray of
Hope shipwreck near Nassau, Bahamas. Shark
wrangler Charlotte Faulkner is surrounded by
Caribbean reef sharks near Nassau. A large
black grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci) hangs out
in the Ray of Hope shipwreck.
