Cathedral Liveaboard Diving

Liveaboard Diving in Cathedral

The Cathedral dive site is located within the Dog Rocks Reef which is part of the Abaco islands; a 190 kilometre (120 miles) long island chain located within the Exuma Cays. It is off the coast of Scotland Cay. This is a very popular area for sailors due to calm seas and charming scenery, but for the same reasons it's just as popular for divers. The reason for the name is because they are cathedral shaped swim throughs. The reef starts at 11 metres (36 feet) and it slopes down to 15 metres (50 feet) before it slopes down deeply into the Exuma Sound. The dive site has average to good visibility and next to no currents. Divers of all levels can dive here.

What You Can See

The Cathedral dives have almost a majestic and religious feel to them, with swim throughs that have cathedral style ceilings with 'sky lights' letting in rays of sunlight. The walls are covered in silversides (a common bait fish) which gleam in the sun, looking like jewels and gems sparkling all around you. The walls also contain a diverse population of corals and other substrates of many shapes and sizes, with a few examples being black coral, orange ear and tube sponges. This is a popular feeding passage way for many fish; groupers and trevallies which come to feed on the silversides and many more including multiple smaller pelagic fish species. A special sight to see is when large schools of glass minnows fill the caverns as they are then followed by large groups of predatory fish, ready for a feast. There are also a few larger marine species roaming around here, including a few different species of sharks and on a lucky day, the very graceful eagle rays come by for a visit.

How To get There

Nassau is the capital city of the Bahamas, located in the north with 70% of the population of the Bahamas inhabiting this island and the only one with an intentional airport. This airport is the Lynden Pindling International Airport and you can catch flights to here from places such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and other Caribbean islands. It has one main port called the Prince George wharf, and most liveaboards which travel around the Bahamas will depart from this port.