Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Local lore attributes deadly mermaids, mermen and sea monsters to many of the holes.
Even without mythological beasties, the blue holes can be extremely dangerous - outgoing
tides can create a 'suck' that's hard to swim away from.
Best Blue Holes
» Uncle Charlie's Blue Hole, Andros
» Stargate, Andros
» Ben's Blue Hole, Grand Bahama
» Dean's Blue Hole, Long Island
Tongue of the Ocean
If you look at a satellite image of the Bahamas, you'll see what honestly looks like a long
blue tongue unfurling itself between Andros and New Providence. This is the Tongue of
the Ocean (TOTO), a 6000ft-deep ocean trench that drops suddenly off the eastern shore of
Andros.
The US government uses the TOTO abyss as a deep-water testing facility. The Atlantic
Underwater Testing and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) is a top-secret Andros facility used
to try out undersea weapons, acoustic instruments and submarines.
TOTO's proximity to Andros makes it an easy location for wall dives. Brave divers can
take the plunge from the shallow sandy bottom into the dizzying drop-off.
Hurricanes
One of the worst storms to hit the Bahamas was 1965's Hurricane Betsy,
which smashed through the Abacos then hunkered down over Nassau for
a full three hours, before heading to the US. The damage was so expens-
ive the storm was nicknamed 'Billion-Dollar Betsy.'
The Bahamas location, though felicitous in many ways, is a disadvantage in one major
respect: it's smack in the middle of the Atlantic hurricane pathway. Hurricanes shape
everything from the pattern of sands on the beaches to the growth rates of forests, not to
mention their impact on human life. Hurricane season, which lasts from June to November
but is usually busiest in August and September, is taken seriously here: islanders always
have one ear cocked for the weather report.
Hurricanes that hit the Bahamas form off the coast of Africa and whip in a westerly dir-
ection across the Atlantic. The first stage of a hurricane's approach is called a tropical dis-
turbance. The next stage is a tropical depression. When winds exceed 40mph, the system
is upgraded to a tropical storm and is usually accompanied by heavy rains. The system is
