Most of us have dived the Bahamas at one time or another, and when we learned that the powerful Hurricane Dorian made landfall in Elbow Cay, just east of Great Abaco, our hearts dropped. Tragically, it destroyed virtually everything in its path including structures on Grand Bahama. UNEXSO on Grand Bahama and Brendal's Dive Center on Green Turtle Cay have been put out of action. Brendal is thought to be safely in Florida.
UNEXSO reports, "... all animals are safe and continue to be lovingly cared for by our Dolphin Experience staff. All vessels are floating, almost all of our buildings sustained minimal damage. While we have the ability to be fully functional at this point, the island is not quite ready to receive guests."
Subscriber Bill Domb (Riviera Beach, FL) says Premier Realty Group has partnered with Operation 300, both based out of Martin County, Florida, to help with the deployment of supplies and volunteers for Bahamas Relief from Hurricane Dorian. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth of the Bahamas, requested the items on this list. https://tinyurl.com/y6mxl3po
Besides simply donating money directly to the disaster fund http://www.bahamas.com/relief, or http://www.gbdisasterrelief.org, you can help the Bahamas economy by continuing to vacation in the unaffected islands.
While Dorian hovered over the area for several days, the rest of the Bahamas archipelago, although suffering rain, wind and waves, suffered little damage. As for dive operations, the popular spots like Stuart Cove's on New Providence (home of Nassau), Neal Watson's on Bimini and Small Hope Bay on Andros, are still in business, and welcome visitors.
www.stuartcove.com
www.biminiscubacenter.com
www.smallhope.com
www.ridingrock.com
www.stellamarisresort.com