Grand Bahamas is truely GRAND

[curtschu]

Check out the little video I put together

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4LV8cFQC6g

That did it. Andrew, let's start setting up a trip for this summer right away!

[RHolmesJr]

Awesome footage Curt. I cant wait until I go back next year. What did you think about all the stalact's glued back together?

[curtschu]

Ok here is what I said to Christina about this.
I think the idea has merit but my personal opinion is that foramtions that are broken may have happened by divers or they may not, unless you did it we don't know for sure. But we know without a doubt that those formations that are fixed have been touched by man.

[curtschu]

I just got off the phone this company

http://www.onedaycruise.com/discover...se-pricing.htm

They have a pretty good deal there

I looked at a May 2007 trip 4 days 3 night All inclusive at the Viva Resort

$474.99 per person.

[DeWayne]

Awesome footage Curt, thanks for sharing it. Does the quote you provided include the trip over and back, or was it just for lodging on the Island? Are there any restrictions such which days you would have to travel on, weight of items carried (can you carry your own gear)? This definitely sounds like an interesting proposition.

[Jay]

Nice!!!

What would the details be on a trip like that? IE, departure, return, time you can actually dive?

I just got off the phone this company

http://www.onedaycruise.com/discover...se-pricing.htm

They have a pretty good deal there

I looked at a May 2007 trip 4 days 3 night All inclusive at the Viva Resort

$474.99 per person.

[curtschu]

That quote was for the first week of May time frame
It included the cruise ship ride round trip from Ft. Lauderdale and the Hotel All-inclusive Food, booze etc. 4 days 3 nights You need to add a rental car/truck and diving fees. guided dives two sets of doubles was $200 per day. The ship departs Ft. Lauderdale daily at about 7:00AM and departs GBI about 4:00PM daily so you can travel any days you want.
I was told two carry on bags per person (I got all my gear in one) no weight limit was given. I asked about Tanks but the lady I talked to said she thinks they are OK but would have to confirm.

You can get cheaper Hotel but I would have to bring the Mrs. so I was looking at a little better. You can also do a little more expensive Limited all-inclusive if you are not a big Booze drinker at the Sheridan Our Lucaya which is right across the street from Unexso for $702.99 PP.

If you really want to set something up Please Give Christina a call at Unexso. Also Call Kristina at the Cruise at 561-470-9915 She gave me these quote numbers.

[tomhauburn]

Curt,
I not sure if you know him but Cliff Sutton figured out a way to get tanks shipped over full of gas including trimix and o2 at reasonable rates. Both I think are pretty high over there. I think Kristina knows how he did it. That's if you're going to be diving a blue hole or something deep where it would pay off. Note I've not done this; I just got email from Cliff about it. I also got big thumbs up for Kristina by Cliff and another friend Manny.
Tom

That quote was for the first week of May time frame
It included the cruise ship ride round trip from Ft. Lauderdale and the Hotel All-inclusive Food, booze etc. 4 days 3 nights You need to add a rental car/truck and diving fees. guided dives two sets of doubles was $200 per day. The ship departs Ft. Lauderdale daily at about 7:00AM and departs GBI about 4:00PM daily so you can travel any days you want.
I was told two carry on bags per person (I got all my gear in one) no weight limit was given. I asked about Tanks but the lady I talked to said she thinks they are OK but would have to confirm.

You can get cheaper Hotel but I would have to bring the Mrs. so I was looking at a little better. You can also do a little more expensive Limited all-inclusive if you are not a big Booze drinker at the Sheridan Our Lucaya which is right across the street from Unexso for $702.99 PP.

If you really want to set something up Please Give Christina a call at Unexso. Also Call Kristina at the Cruise at 561-470-9915 She gave me these quote numbers.

[bahamaben]

Hiya Gang, It's great to see a little buzz about Grand Bahama cave diving. Just felt I'd like to reply to a couple of the comments.
First off, we are told that the entrance collapses are most likely to happen when the caves are dry(10,000 years ago during last ice age), this would be the only event I can imagine that would knock over the stalamites. The sediments in the caves seem to have been deposited since the caves were filled with water(indicated by their horizontal uniformity). The broken stalagmites are lying on top of the sediments. This convinced me that what we are seeing is the result of diver impact as opposed to natural processes(unless diver impact can be considered a natural process!). I have been promised a copy of a video made by the original explorers which should clear this up. The rights and wrongs of glueing broken stalagmites were discussed more thoroughly in a thread I started on the conservation board of CDF entitled 'beyond conservation...reconstruction'. Personally, I quite like the fact that it is still obvious which stalagmites have been damaged by diver action, as I hope this will encourage divers to be more careful. Also, anyone who has assisted me in the reconstruction effort will realise how long it takes to rebuild a formation(poorly) which can be destroyed in an instant.
Next point. When on the island, please make sure that your guides are qualified for the level of diving you are doing. International guidelines suggest that a cavern guide should be cave certified. Cavern tours should be restricted to the cavern zone. Cristina is of course excellently qualified.
I'll be on the island next month, when I mean to replace the ladder in Owl's hole. I removed the old one last August after rungs started to bend and break. We have an excellent replacement which should last even longer than the ten years of service supplied by the old one.
I always take 2 sets of doubles when diving Old Freetown, one for the morning, one for the afternoon. A 30 minute ride each way back into town is a shame when you could be enjoying a picnic in a still unpopulated, unspoilt paradise. I love it.