Page 13 - Damianos Sotheby's International Realty Magazine Vol. 3

Watching a baby whale being born by the beach at Majack Cay is one of the memories that stands out for diving legend Brendal Stevens. The long-time owner of Brendal’s Dive Center at Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, has been leading tours and dives for over 30 years. He’s a diving celebrity featured on TV, in documentaries and on CNN Travel, Discovery Channel and more.
Majack, says Stevens, is a special place that’s just a quick boat ride from Green Turtle Cay. The privately owned and undeveloped island with its unspoiled beach is one of Stevens’ special tour des- tinations. The Cay is home to stingrays you can feed, and Stevens says the rays he’s been hand-feeding have names—Georgette, Har- vey, George and Stumpy.
“There’s nowhere on Earth I’d rather be than right here in Green Turtle Cay,” says Stevens. “The water is a perfect shade of turquoise and as crystal clear as gin.”
Green Turtle Cay is the most northern cay in the Abacos, a chain of islands and cays that stretches nearly 130 miles/209 kilometres in length in The Bahamas. Sheltered by what experts say is the fourth-largest barrier reef in the world, the area is an enchanting playground for divers and snorkelers.
“The diving here is unlike anywhere else,” says Stevens, who is vice-president of The Bahamas Diving Association and has been a media spokesperson and leader of dive tours for several decades. “You never know what you will come across in a dive or what is going to come your way—big fish, small fish, definitely lots of tropi- cals. There are rays, turtles and sharks. Dolphins will often come and visit the boat on the way to the dive sites, too.”
Stevens started his popular dive centre over 30 years ago and runs it with his wife, Mary. Green Turtle Cay, named after the resi- dent green turtles, is just three miles/five kilometres long and one half mile/one kilometre wide. He has seen dolphins mating and spotted eagle rays flirting with each other. One of his favourite ac- tivities is to take guests along the shoreline to the place where the turtles dig their nests.
THESE ARE STEVENS’ FAVOURITE DIVE LOCATIONS:
CORAL CAVERNS
Rainbow-tinted tall coral caverns at 50 feet/15 metres a ract schools of silver- sides, angelfish, barracuda and other tropical fish.
CATACOMBS
A relatively shallow site at 40 feet/12 metres, divers can swim with tropical fish and turtles throughout the Cata- combs structure.
SAN JACINTO
Divers can explore the wreck of a large U.S. steamship, the San Jacinto, at 40 feet/12 metres. It was built in 1847 and sank in 1865.
SAND CHANNELS
Near Horse Shoe Reef, sparkling sand channels at 40 feet/12 metres lead to coral heads of every size.
COLISEUM
For those wanting a deeper dive, the coliseum is at 50 to 60 feet/15 to 18 metres with big coral heads that extend all the way to the surface.
AGENDA CULTURE
11