Cave Diving in the Bahamas
The Abaconian - 15 Jun 02 332

Cave diver and instructor Brian Kakuk gave a fascinating talk accompanied with large screen-projected photos of Bahamian underwater caves. The pictures were taken while he lived on Andros while working for AUTEC . He is now working for the marine laboratories on Stocking Island off George Town, Exuma.

He showed a map of the Guardian Blue Hole cave system on Andros which has been mapped for 2207 feet in length with no end in sight. The deepest sections in the mapped area was 436 feet deep. His longest dive was in a 6,000 foot cave, also on Andros, with depths of 600 feet.

Blind fish, shrimp and other small marine creatures live in these underwater caverns with most being unique to the Bahamas. Underwater stalactites give evidence to an era when sea levels were several hundred feet lower than present as these formations do not develop underwater.

Although the presentation was on the caves of Andros where he worked, Mr. Kakuk was aware of many of the caves on Abaco. He hopes to return and dive in many of our sinkholes, blue holes and caves. He believes the Abaco caves will equal those he is familiar with on Andros and other areas in the southern Bahamas. Cave diving is a specialized field requiring additional equipment, training and stamina . He described an extensive cave system that required three days of dives in preparation for one day of exploring 4000 feet entirely underwater using air tanks stashed the previous three days. An additional day was spent removing the equipment.

A key piece of equipment is a reel of line marking their route. Each diver carries three or four lights but the line is the route marker for those following and for returning to the starting point.

The presentation was accompanied by geological descriptions of the various formations inherent to the different cave systems. The photographs and presentation were an unexpected surprise for those attending a dive safety seminar sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and fisheries.