South Eleuthera SCUBA Conditions & Forecast: January 2015

A hawksbill turtle cruises along a South Eleuthera reef. Photo courtesy of Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving and Deep Sea Fishing.
A hawksbill turtle cruises along a South Eleuthera reef. Photo courtesy of Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving and Deep Sea Fishing.

[dropcap]H[/dropcap]appy New Year, one and all. Time to implement that resolution to do more diving in 2015! January in South Eleuthera is outstanding, water temperature is in the  mid 70s, so don’t forget your hood to complement your long sleeve shorty or full wet suit, 3 or 4 mm is fine. January is typically a dry month, which helps with the visibility stay well above 100 feet; there are no algae blooms (well they should be gone but the coral was still blooming in early December), just great coral formations and marine life. Winter brings in the pelagic fish and the spotted eagle rays along the wall. The cooler deeper water tends to bring the large grouper up onto the reefs, with Nassau Grouper season being closed for conservation reasons from December 1 through February 28th, they are more friendly than ever, great photo opportunities.

Safety tip for January:  A safety stop is a decompression stop that is not required by either the dive tables or your computer because you are still within model limits. Studies have show, that a stop of as little as 2 minutes reduces detectable bubbles in the body by a factor of 5.

Fun tip for January:  Rview the fish or coral tabs under the Gallery  tab on the website and see who find the most during your dive. 

Diver tip for January:  Too long a surface interval is not good for your health, dive early and dive often.