sites that further opened my mind to the diversity of
the Bahamas.
The northern Exumas feature plunging walls and
narrow canyons, crags often teaming with bait fish and
hunting jacks. We kept our eyes to the blue and were
treated to a few close passes by eagle rays and a gigantic
school of spadefish so immense I could only fit a third
of the school into one frame. My favorite dives were
spent exploring shipwrecks like the
Austin Smith
and
even a few downed airplanes. While each wreck had
an interesting history, it was the abundance of marine
life that I found most inspiring. These scuttled wrecks
are not just visually compelling but also have created a
harbor for fish, eels and Caribbean reef sharks.
Like many divers, I grew up thumbing through dive
magazines and catalogs featuring underwater images
from the Bahamas. Ultimately, it was the emergence of
the Bahamas as a world-class shark-diving destination
that has kept me coming back for the past 15 years. On
this assignment I was privileged to meet generations of
locals who want to preserve these legendary reefs, and
I was able to witness first hand reefs that mirror the
stories I’ve heard and even reflect the classic images
I’ve seen. Low-impact diving tourism is one of the
micro business models that we can help grow with our
tourism dollars, and it provides locals with a cash-in-
hand reason to keep fish on the reef. I will be bringing
my friends to the Bahamas with me next year!
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The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was
established in 1958, one of 25 national
parks and protected areas managed by
the Bahamas National Trust. Marine life
has flourished in this no-take zone, and
creatures such as this gray angelfish
are easy to approach and photograph.
