South Eleuthera SCUBA Conditions and Forecast for January 2014

Stephane Lavallee and his girlfriend Anne from Montreal, Canada. Stephane had just completed his second of four open water dives for PADI certification. First time to the Bahamas and they came to dive with us. PHOTO CREDIT: Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving.
Stephane Lavallee and his girlfriend Anne from Montreal, Canada. Stephane had just completed his second of four open water dives for PADI certification. First time to the Bahamas and they came to dive with us. PHOTO CREDIT: Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving.
A basket star hiding in a sea rod on the top of The Wall dive site at Rich’s Canyon. PHOTO CREDIT: Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving.
A basket star hiding in a sea rod on the top of The Wall dive site at Rich’s Canyon. PHOTO CREDIT: Ocean Fox Cotton Bay Scuba Diving.

Happy New Year, one and all. Time to implement that resolution to do more diving in 2014! January in South Eleuthera is outstanding. Water temperature is in the low to mid 70s, so don’t forget your hood to complement you long sleeve shorty or full wet suit, 3 or 4 mm is fine. January is typically a dry month, which helps the visibility stay well above 100 feet; there are no algae blooms, 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, and 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 shown, that a stop of as little as two minutes reduces detectable bubbles in the body by a factor of five.

Fun tip for January: Review the “other creatures” tab under the library tab on the website and see who find any of those on your dive. Diver tip for January: Too long a surface interval is not good for your health, dive early and dive often.