Expedition leaders: Annie Guttride, Emily Spurgeon and Sorantaa Bain

Crew: Andrea, Ashley, Alex, Dani, Darrel, Lelia and Lori

Introduction

Our first ever hybrid trip to Andros was a HUGE success! We mixed shark diving and adventure with research which created some moments and experiences like never before! Full details below…..

Day 1

After meeting at a semi-private airport it was time to board our private 9-seater plane, and before we knew it, we were off to Andros Island, The Bahamas for our week of adventure and research!

Our flight took around 80 minutes, however with stunning views from all seats the time flew past and we landed in no time. We cleared customs and hopped in local taxi’s where we headed south. After 30 minutes we had arrived at our lodge for the week. Annie and Emily then gave an island/lodge safety briefing followed by shark research/handling and finally first aid procedures and a kit talk through. After this it was go time!

Our first activity for this hybrid was snorkeling a beautiful coral reef. Andros has the third largest fringing reef in the world and it’s home to some incredible sea life, both small and large. Within minutes of hopping in the water the team spotted an abundance of fishes, a turtle, southern stingrays and two spectacular eagle rays that swam right under the team multiple times! What a way to start the week!

After our exciting swim the team climbed back on board the boat as our next activity involved moving to a new location. This location, affectionately known as Bonnies Spot, always delivers sharks! Within 15 minutes we had Caribbean Reef and nurse sharks by the boat, shortly after a lemon and what we believe was a blacknose (we only saw it briefly) also showed up! The team soaked up the Bahamian sun whilst enjoying watching the sharks.

After our jam-packed afternoon of action it was time to head back to the lodge. One home we showered, ate a delicious dinner and settled down for a lecture on shark behavior by Emily. Soon after the team dispersed back to their rooms for some much needed rest.

Day 2

Day two and the shark adventures continued! Many of the team were returning volunteers and we often ‘vote’ on what activity we should do (outside of research) and today the team picked a fan favorite, Isla’s Spot!

On Arrival Annie warned everyone our allocated hour here would likely lead to no-one wanting to leave… and she was right, we stayed for two hours!

Everyone enjoyed watching the lemon sharks swim around their knees, and as they got more confident (the sharks not the people!) the team slowly made their way back to a nearby sandbank which allowed us all to watch the sharks comfortably. The team opened their lunchboxes and enjoyed what many say is the ultimate way to eat lunch! After our beach lunch Annie found a perfect spot to draw a memorial for two close friends of Saving the Blue that had passed on, Bonnie and David. Each time she visits Andros, Annie does this to honor them and, as always, they are held closely in our hearts and thoughts.

After our lemon fun it was on to our next spot, this time to look for Hammerheads! We set up and waited…. We waited and waited and then all of a sudden we had acton! In total we had two nurse sharks swimming in and out, and at least four blacknose sharks swimming by regularly. We know that patience is often rewarded with hammerheads so we tried to stay out as long as we could, however with winds picking up, multiple people feeling unwell and a Caribbean Reef shark that was extremely confident, we collectively decided to stop the dive to head in.

Once back at the lodge the team cleaned up ready for dinner, and a early night was on the cards for everyone as tomorrow was our first research day and everyone wanted to be as fresh as possible!

Day 3

Today was an early start and with the sun shinning, team spirits high and a boat full of research equipment we all knew it was going to be a good day!

Our first task of the day was to safely deploy our rigs with the second task being to watch them like hawks! If a shark takes the baited hook our buoy will bob which indicates a shark is on the line, however we regularly (every 30-45 minutes) check the buoys regardless of movement to ensure we don’t miss anything. Our first shark of the day was a nurse shark, followed by another and then a Caribbean reef shark shark!

Our Caribbean reef sharks are fitted with an internal acoustic tag (learn more about our tags HERE). After many back to back captures the action switched off so we took the opportunity for a mini rest and drove around in search of sawfish, a large shark or something else. Within 10 minutes we hit the jackpot! We found an incredibly rare Whiptail ray! This stunning ray was huge in size and yet very docile underwater - Annie hopped in and after she assessed the rays mood/body language she invited others in, too. What a rare and likely once in a life-time moment for almost everyone!

After our incredible encounter spirits were sky high and our captures continued. We tagged more nurses, Caribbean reef and a new species for the trip, a blacktip! It was an exhausting but exciting day.. but a long one!

After our long and hot day on the water it was time to head home. The boat ride home was full of laughter and amazement that we had all seen a whiptail in the wild! Once home, the usual showers and dinner commenced before settling down in our rooms for the night.

Day 4

A new day and with more activities planned it was go time! Today was going to be a mixed day with some research planned, and also a little diving!

First up the team set out to retrieve our Receivers (Listening Stations). Acoustic tags (the tags we place inside some sharks) transmit sound signals that can be detected by an array of underwater receivers placed in the ocean by researchers like us. When a tagged shark swims within the detection range of receivers (300-1000 meters), its unique signal is recorded, allowing scientists to monitor its movements and behavior within a specific area.

Once the wet team (divers in the water) locate the receivers they retrieve them and pass them to a dry team on the boat who then download the data from it, replace its battery and pass it back to the divers for redeployment. Once receiver downloads were complete it was dive time!

We arrived on location, a creepy ocean blue hole known as The Coffin! Everyone hopped in and took it in turns diving down the crevice! This dive is open to all and our team always dive along side others to ensure they’re safe.

After our dive it was time to fish! First up was a nurse shark, and then another, and another, and another, and another… They just kept on coming! The team worked hard to quickly and efficiently measure and tag all sharks before quickly releasing them.

After our, what turned out to be a jam-packed nurse shark day we were treated on our way home when Annie spotted a giant loggerhead turtle! A few people quietly got in the water and were able to swim alongside the turtle which was incredible! Once home we had an abundance of equipment to clean, which everyone helped with, before showers, dinner and a much needed rest in bed.

Day 5

Another mixed day with both research and diving on the cards… We started the day with more Receiver downloads. As before a couple of divers hopped in to retrieve the receivers whilst the others assisted with downloads and battery change outs.

After our downloads we hopped back in on the fringing reef; this time in just 6-8ft of water! The team enjoyed swimming around the reef observing the fish darting about their day and the corals swinging in the current. These peaceful moments are truly grounding and special as people connect to the water and life around them.

So much sea life was spotted including a conch, a sea cucumber, a giant trigger fish and some stunning elkhorn coral!

After our snorkel we decided to enjoy a drift dive. We started in around 60ft and were engulfed by horse-eye jacks. These curious, huge fish came straight towards the divers and with well over 50 fish in the school they formed an underwater wall! On our drift dive, which took approximately 45 minutes, the team spotted many fish, a turtle, a number of southern stingrays, a barracuda, a nurse shark and even a Caribbean reef shark!

After our drift we climbed back on the boat, headed home to the lodge and drove north where we visited a local restaurant for lunch, followed by a visit to a famous inland blue hole, known as Captain Bill’s! The team took it in turns to jump from a platform, approx. 30ft high, into the blue hole! To say it was addictive is an understatement! After our fun we headed back south to the lodge for some dinner, followed by a good nights sleep.

Day 6

With alarms going off at ~6am the team departed at 6:30am, just as the sun started to rise. Today’s mission was to capture and tag silky sharks.

On arrival no sharks were seen but we remained hopeful. We deployed our equipment and after an hour of attempts we had to call it a day and move to a new location. Many years ago we could almost guarantee seeing silky sharks, but now we see very few. We are unsure what is happening beneath the waves but hope to see them back sometime in the near future.

Once at our new location it was back to fishing and we didn’t wait long before we had a shark on! First up was a Caribbean reef shark, followed by a nurse shark! A few more sharks appeared, however the show was stolen by an incredibly confident Frigate bird! This beautiful bird made a few extremely low and close passes and the team all got a front row seat viewing the pure size of this ocean giant.

After our captures things went incredibly quiet with no further sharks caught so to end the day on a high we made our way back to Isla’s Spot. Within 10 minutes we had our lovely lemons back swimming around our ankles. The team knew this would be their last in water experience for the trip so enjoyed and savored every moment!

Day 7

The last day blues were upon us, but not before one last outing! Today we rolled the dice at attacking a hammerhead and we set in a great position with a fantastic tide. We only had a few hours of fishing but spirits were high and the team optimistic. First up was a nurse shark, then another and then another new species for tagging, a blacknose capture! Things went quiet and although we were all still hopeful we had a flight to catch and so called it a day and reluctantly headed in.

Once back at the lodge we showered, packed our final things and jumped in our taxi’s to head north to the airport. After very little waiting (under an hour), we were on our plane heading back to Florida. The view out of the flight window is always bitter sweet, stunning views, but so sad to say good-bye. Until next time…..

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Annie Guttridge, Emily Spurgeon and Sorantaa Bain for guiding the team through an incredibly successful week. A huge thank you to our research assistants for their passion, determination and endless enthusiasm to work hard, learn and produce results. We would also like to thank the Andros Island Bonefish Club for their hospitality, and the hardworking and ever professional Marvin for his top class boating and captaining skills.

Gratitude must also go to Annie Guttridge for her generosity in allowing us to use her imagery in this blog.