Bahamas Aggressor II

The Bahamas Dive Overview

• Sharks, Eagle Rays, Stingrays, Groupers, Walls and Reefs with abundant marine life and multiple macro critters
• Water temperature: 78-84F, 25-28C (summer months) 7580F, 24-27C (winter months, with possible 72F, 22C drop in January)
• All dives from mothership
• 3-5 mm wetsuit recommended

Tiger Beach (7 & 10 Nights)

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• Visit the remote areas around the West End of Grand Bahama. These weeks are dedicated liveaboard weeks offering up to 5 dives per day. The West End area is rarely visited by guests and is home to many creatures both large (sharks and dolphins) and small (grouper, snapper, assorted other reef fish). At least one afternoon during the trip will be dedicated to a dive at the area known as "Tiger Beach" where we will try to attract sharks using a "scent triangle" filled with bait. Both Caribbean Reef sharks, Lemon Sharks and Tiger sharks are known to frequent the area.

The Bahamas Dive Overview

• Sharks, Eagle Rays, Stingrays, Groupers, Walls and Reefs with abundant marine life and multiple macro critters
• Water temperature: 78-84F, 25-28C (summer months) 7580F, 24-27C (winter months, with possible 72F, 22C drop in January)
• All dives from mothership
• 3-5 mm wetsuit recommended

Itinerary Overview

There are 3 itineraries offered: Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park, Best of the Bahamas & Tiger Beach (6-10 Nights).

Exuma Cays Land & Sea Park (7 & 10 Nights)

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• Throughout the week aboard the BAHAMAS AGGRESSOR, guests will depart Nassau to explore the dramatic walls, lush coral reefs and exciting animal encounters of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park. This protected area is one of the world's most successful marine parks with an area of 176 square miles consisting of an array of more than 350 small islands and cays. The crystal-clear tropical Atlantic pours over the deep cuts between the cays and constantly shifting sand bars. Waters are thick with coral reefs that are alive with every imaginable ocean critter from the living jewels angelfish and butterfly fish to the charismatic food-chain toppers like grouper and barracuda right down to the tiniest living invertebrates. Night diving allows guests to experience an entirely different group of critters and bevy of behaviors not visible during the day.

British Virgin Islands Dive Overview

The waters around the Virgin Islands are home to an abundance of corals, fishes, sharks, dolphins, turtles, crustaceans, and a multitude of other marine life. Some megafauna that are popular with divers are turtles, sharks (particularly nurse sharks), barracuda, moray eels, eagle rays, southern stingrays, grouper (including Goliath grouper), spiny lobster, and tarpon.

Itinerary Overview

The Bahamas Aggressor II guests will embark and disembark from Tortola. Throughout the week you may dive into several areas of the British Virgin Islands, mainly on the outer islands consisting of Norman, Peter, Salt, Cooper, and Virgin Gorda. The itinerary is completely dependent on the winds and weather.

• Diving begins Sunday morning and ends Friday around noon when the Aggressor returns to port.
• Average of up to 27 dives on 7 night charters (multiple day dives and a night dive each evening)
• All dives are from two large custom built dive tenders.
• 1 - 3 mm wetsuit recommended
• Water temperature range from 76 - 84F, 25 - 28C.

The Bahamas Aggressor II has (2) 25 ft long Highfield Patrol 760 custom dive tenders each outfitted with a 300 hp Suzuki motor, custom tank racks, and custom-built ladders for easy exit.

The British Virgin Islands

• Norman Island is at the southern tip of the British Virgin Islands archipelago. It is one of many islands reputed to be the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate novel Treasure Island.
• The Indians, Norman Island
• Four rocky pinnacles create The Indians, a shallow dive a great snorkeling reef. A 15-foot tunnel and an underwater cavern add o the beautiful underwater terrain. Scores of colorful fish, barracuda, and turtles make this one of the BVIs most famous sites.
• Angelfish Reef, Norman Island
• Angelfish Reef is best known for its maze of canyons and ridges. Snake eels and Moray eels, turtles, eagle rays, southern stingrays, lobsters, and nurse sharks zig and zag through a rainbow of colorful gorgonians. Spotted drums, triple fin blennies, angel fish, sea horses, shrimps, yellowhead jawfish, crustaceans, and anemones make Angelfish Reef a photographers dream site.
• Spyglass Wall, Norman Island
• Spyglass Wall is covered in sea fans, golden tube sponges, purple tube sponges, which create an amazing scene for both snorkelers and scuba divers. A host of marine life includes fairy basslets, damselfish, blue tangs, tobaccofish, anthias, tarpons, Atlantic spadefish, eagle rays, southern stingrays, turtles, and squid. It is one of the most captivating mini walls in the British Virgin Islands.
• Peter Island: The island's largest beach is Deadman's Bay, a mile-long crescent beach shaded by palm trees with a beach, bar, and restaurants. Legend says Deadman's Bay is named for pirates who were marooned on neighboring Dead Chest Island and subsequently drowned swimming to Peter Island.
• Carrot Shoal, Peter Island
• Carrot Shoal has two open-water pinnacles. Angelfish, butterflyfish, fairy basslets, spotted lobsters, Spanish lobsters, sea turtles, nurse sharks and moray eels populate this, shallow, 60- foot, dive site.
• Willy T Wreck and Fearless Wreck, Peter Island
• The Fearless is believed to be the sister ship of Cousteaus Calypso. Willy T was a popular floating bar and restaurant that was scuttled as an artificial reef. Both wrecks are made of wood. Countless black coral trees are home to French grunts, creole wrassses and bar soldier fish.
• Painted Walls, Peter Island
• Painted Walls is awash with a palette of yellow, red, orange, and purple corals. The sites southern ridge has a huge coral reef that is bustling with macro critters. Hawksbill turtles, lobsters, nurse sharks, barracuda, silversides, tarpons, green moray eels cruise through canyons, a narrow cave and four gullies. This gorgeous site can entertain divers for hours.
• Salt Island: It is named after its salt ponds, which were once an important natural resource for islanders.
• RMS Rhone shipwreck, Salt Island
• In October 1867, a hurricane slammed the 310-feet long, iron-hulled steamship against Black Rock. She broke into two sections. The stern section rests at a depth of 35 feet and the bow section lies at 80 feet. The two sections are about 100 feet apart. The Rhone is considered one of the worlds greatest wrecks and was even part of the 1977 Hollywood thriller, The Deep.
• The wrecks hardware includes its massive bronze propeller, driveshaft, and 100-pound wrenches. Numerous artifacts are still intact including black-and-white tiles, a silver teaspoon, glass, and metalworks. Nearly every surface of the Rhone is covered in a kaleidoscope of corals.
• Coral gardens, cleaning stations, and nurseries fill the ships remains. Schools of yellowtail snapper, jacks, grunts, and tarpon accompany divers throughout the dives. Macro life includes arrow carbs, shrimp, and damsel fish. Turtles, green moray eels, octopus, and barracuda are also commonly seen in this marine park.
• An entire day can be spent examinig this incredible wreck. Conditions permitting, the Rhone makes a fantastic night dive.
• Wreck Alley, Cooper Island
• The Marie L, The Island Seal, The Pat, and The Beata comprise Wreck Alley. The four wrecks are on the southwestern side of Cooper Island, and they lie close to a rich reef wall. Garden eels, stingrays, conchs, and octopii hide in the sandy bottom near the Marie L.
• Thumb Rock, Cooper Island
• A huge pinnacle that resembles a large thumb gave this wonderful site its name. Clear waters and awesome marine life make this a favorite site, so grab your camera. Spotted drums, seahorses, creole wrasses, lobsters can be seen on this shallow dive. Tarpon, French angelfish, queen angelfish, filefish, and barracuda make this one of the central BVIs best stops.
• Chromis Reef, Cooper Island
• Named for the blue chromis fish and quillfin blennies that populate the gorgonians and coral heads, this reef has good visibility and sandy patches that make it a great site for new divers. Anemones and shrimp hide in the coral heads.
• Dry Rocks East
• Dry Rocks East is an open water area with beautiful pillar corals, black coral and sea fans that dot the sandy bottom. Since it is an open water site, it offers a chance to spot pelagics like cobia, nurse sharks, barracuda, hawksbill turtles, schools of jacks, and African pompano. French angelfish, black triggerfish, chromis, creole wrasses, coneys, trunkfish, and slipper lobsters crowd the huge boulders at the base of the ridge.
• Ginger Island is one of the last undeveloped privately held islands in the territory. It is the location of two of the more popular dive sites in the British Virgin Islands: "Alice in Wonderland" and "Ginger Steps".
• Steps, Ginger Island
• Steps, or Ginger Steps, is a plunging three-step wall that descends 90 feet. Good visibility and bright white sand between the rocky drop-offs make this a great site for underwater photography. Pompano, octopi, lobster, anthias, barracuda, dolphins, eagle rays, and turtles add to the beauty of this amazing site.
• Alice in Wonderland, Ginger Island
• Intricate underwater topography, which consists of narrow channels, sandy canyons, and rocky ridges, makes this reef truly a Wonderland! This site boasts healthy hard and soft corals, great visibility, and a cornucopia of marine life. African pompano, angelfish, parrotfish, moray eels, shrimp, gobies, filefish, scuttling crabs, cleaner shrimp, wrasses dance among colorful gorgonians and elkhorn corals. Turtles and sharks are often seen on this gorgeous reef.
• Virgin Gorda: Christopher Columbus is said to have named the island "the Fat Virgin", because the island's profile on the horizon looks like a fat woman lying on her side. Historically renowned, the anchorage off Bitter End was the site of Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins' 1595 fleet rendezvous, two Elizabethan British admirals who led Britain's ascendance into naval supremacy.
• The Baths, Virgin Gorda
• The Baths is a collection of massive granite boulders as large as 40 feet in diameter, with white sand beaches and secret rock pools. This awe-inspiring geological wonder creates one of the most iconic images in the Caribbean, a tunnel with towering, angled boulders above shallow, turquoise waters. Snorkeling is available on the beach and surrounding rocks.
• Mountain Point, Virgin Gorda
• Grunts, parrot fish, angelfish, squirrelfish, butterflyfish, lizardfish, tarpons, jacks, barracuda, permits, garden eels, lobsters and stingrays populate this site that is rarely visited by day boat operators. Resting nurse sharks can be photographed in the smaller caves.
• Kraken / Kodiak Queen Wreck, Virgin Gorda
• The Kodiak Queen is a US Navy World War II fuel barge. It is believed to be one of the few ships that survived the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was set to be scuttled as an artificial reef in 2017, but photographer Owen Buggy and Sir Richard Branson decided to add a unique sculpture to the old barge. An 80-foot Kraken sea monster crafted of metal appears to be attacking the old ship. The Krakens tentacles twist and turn around the Kodiak Queens stern and wheelhouse.
• Seal Dog Rock, Virgin Gorda
• Also called, Seal Dogs and Rock, this site has fantastic rock formations with tiny caves, ledges, and canyons. Nurse sharks, mackerel, eagle rays, schooling jacks are just a few of the pelagics that cruise these nutrient rich waters.
• Shark Point, Scrub Island
• Located off the East end of Scrub, Shark Point is an exciting dive with lots of fish including feeding tarpon. Swift currents attract sharks and rays.
• The Chimney, Dog Island
• Two large rock formations create a gap that resembles a chimney. Bring a flashlight to examine the ledges and overhangs. The Chimney has a large, beautiful archway encrusted with cup corals and brightly colored sponges. The Chimney is a terrific night dive with brittle stars, lobster, flame scallops, and scorpionfish.
• The Invisibles, Necker Island
• The Invisible lie east of Necker Island. (The island is entirely owned by Sir Richard Branson._ The dive site is named for the pinnacles which are invisible from the surface. Swift currents attract an abundance of marine life. Schools of permit gather near the pinnacles point. Prolific gold, orange and violet sponges and soft corals give the reef tremendous color.
• Jost Van Dyke Island often referred to as JVD or Jost, lies about 8 km (5 mi) to the northwest of Tortola. 17th-century Dutch privateer, Joost van Dyk, an early Dutch settler and former pirate who used Jost van Dyke's harbors as a hideout, may be the name sake of the island. The country music video for Kenny Chesney's 2002 recording "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems" was filmed on and around Jost Van Dyke.
• Twin Towers / Little Jost Van Dyke
• The "Twin Towers" are two large monolithic rock formations rising from 90 feet (27 m). Small canyons and mini caves are filled with fish and schooling squid. Healthy corals are surrounded by French angelfish, grey angelfish, grouper, and eagle rays.
• Sample itineraries and maps are for illustrative purposes only. The exact route and sites visited are subject to change based on local regulations, guest experience, weather and logistics, and is at the Captains discretion.

• [See: British Virgin Islands Dive Travel Guide]