 |
 |
| Hole starts at depth 6 (18´) meters. 18 (60´) meters wide at start, but about 75 (250´) meters wide further down, * Depth to bottom 200 (663') meters. Walls dropping vertically all-around. There are tunnels and caves. Not much life inside apart from occasional stray shark. 1992, Jim King, President of Deep Breathing Systems, performed a Mixed Gas Dive to the bottom of Dean's Blue Hole. All known Blue Holes are the results of rainwater having soaked through fractures of limestone bedrock during ice age some 15,000 years ago. |
 |
| The Blue Hole is about 1km from Clarencetown, on the north (Atlantic) side of Long Island. Flights from Nassau are $85 one way ($170 return) to Deadman's Cay. There are local houses to be rented (probably about $100 - 150/ week). Food is reasonably expensive, but fish is easy to catch! Flights to Nassau usually leaves from Miami.
This is the place where Will Trubridge traisn for his World record CNF attempts with Mike Lott. From here they will in the future give courses. |
 |
Clues picked up from deeperblue: "There is very little tourist development except on the north end, and that is low key. Most of the population are farmers or commercial fishermen diving for lobster and fish. You will need a vehicle. Car rentals are available, but a little rough by first world standards. Boat rental businesses don't exist.One unfortunate thing, the Bahamas are expensive in US dollars, everything you consume will cost double stateside prices. The best way to do Long Island is get friendly with the natives. There are lots of very good divers there, especially around Salt Pond, and they will be interested in what you're doing. The locals are fantastic people, but the culture takes some understanding. Bahamians don't like to tell you no. Often, yes really means no. You can't push'em. This, the slow pace of life, and limited local resources can make you crazy. The ocean diving is outstanding, but access is tricky. Get someone to take you to Millers, the best structure is just south of the tiny harbor. You can dive the reefs from shore, but that involves a pretty good swim in Very sharky water. I don't reccommend it. For some reason, the reef sharks there can be aggressive as heck. Unless you are in Clarencetown, which has a big harbor, a small skiff in the back of a pickup launched off the beach is by far the best way to handle it. Some of the reefs off Stella Maris (northern end) have suffered much in recent years, I'm not sure about Millers or Clarencetown. Diving out of and just north of Clarencetown used to be fabulous, , 30 meter plus vis(40 m at times), big ledges, sharks sleeping in caves. Acres of huge staghorn in 50-60 ft of water, unbelievable. Clarencetown has some houses for rent, probably not much in Salt Pond. From the description on the above website, it must be closer to Clarencetown, near the end of a section of coast that is sheltered from the southeast trade winds. That should be real good for ocean diving conditions. Spearfishing is fine, and should be fairly productive in deeper water. The reefs, when I saw them, were spectacular. The sharks can be aggressive, (much more than in most of the Bahamas) but if you are diving buddies and a boat(with driver) is close, they shouldn't be a serious problem. Its the long swim with no boat that would make me nervous. You might want to rethink diving offshore, there should be some kind of wall diving, a huge vertical drop that starts about 150 ft and goes to a thousand or more. Very spectacular, especially if you have the depth capacity to get below the lip. One thing for non-local spearos. Big preditors can poison you every now and then. I don't eat big anything, cuda over 5 pounds, black and yellowfin grouper over 15, hogfish over 12, muttons over 6 or 8. No jacks period. Nassau grouper of any size are ok. Ciguatera is not all that common, but is a very nasty, long term, nerve poison."
Will Trubridge invites you to the Deans Blue Hole.
No-hassle freediving sessions followed by conch salad and BBQ ribs at Max’s… weekly poker nights and regular cook-outs… full day spearfishing expeditions or quick pre-lunch lobster raids… turtle riding, tarpon chasing, shark teasing… it’s all in the menu on Long Island! Dean’s Blue Hole in Long Island, Bahamas, is without a doubt /the perfect freediving location/. To say that I step off a beach into 203m deep calm water is no exaggeration. There are no currents, no waves and no boats, and the descent line hangs straight with a single kilo of lead. The water is warm enough to train no-suit, and we leave descent lines permanently in place. From January 2007 we will be turning this place into a freediving training centre, where people can come and go, always with someone to buddy up with and a line to dive on. We are renting out a spacious villa, and if this fills up there is another house nearby. I am currently organising the construction of a variable weight/counterweight platform to keep in the Blue Hole. Also depending on shipment from the states the villa will be equipped with satellite internet connection and wi-fi so everyone can keep in touch with work/family while they train. “THE FREEDIVING VILLA” www.blueholevilla.com[1] - No more than 5 minutes walk from the Blue Hole, miles of white sand beach, lagoon and coral reef. - 15 minutes drive from the airport and 10 minutes from supermarkets and restaurants - 2 bedrooms, each with 2 double beds - Large kitchen, dining room and lounge with table for 6 - Huge gas BBQ - Air con in bedrooms and dining room, and ceiling fans in every room. Huge outside screened veranda with couches - Outside shower (as well as the indoor bathroom) - Garage for equipment and washing machine
Weekly rate: single: US$190 €155
double: US$330 €270
Monthly rate: single: US$625 €510
double US$1200 €990
(includes gas, water and electricity)
 |
 |
