January 23, 2008.

We ended up getting underway at 0920 and instead of Compass Cay we headed for Cambridge Cay.

Cambridge was the ultimate choice because it is centrally located between 2 premier snorkeling spots. We ended up heading out for a place called “The Undersea Aquarium”. We set out with 2 other dinghies and were soon joined by a crew from a fourth boat.

The Aquarium is marked by a pair of small floating buoys. The buoys are there so you can tie up your dinghy so you don’t have to drop an anchor and destroy the very things you’re here to see.


When we first rolled into the water the fish were so thick that it was awkward to try and swim for fear of hitting fish. There were a hundred kinds of fish, many of which were at arms length at times. There was a pretty good current running so it was great for swimming against the current as long as you were able and allowing yourself to drift back and view everything as you effortlessly floated past.


After we had enough of the Aquarium we climbed back aboard the dinghies and looked for a spot on the charts that indicated a crashed aircraft. A half mile away we found another float that marked the doomed aircraft. The plane sits inverted in about 12 feet of water. It is a small high winged aircraft missing its cargo doors on either side. It was either an intra island cargo plane or a drug runner. Either way now it’s a fish condo.

After those 2 great dives we traveled about 2 miles to get to Rocky Dundas. Rocky Dundas is actually a pair of small extremely inhospitable islands that have caves. They are surrounded by reefs and again, marked by floats. They are also spitting distance from the ocean. So the surface was extremely rough.

The tidal flow here is fierce so a slack water dive is best. We got there just about low tide so the tidal flow would be minimal. The other advantage to low tide is that the entrances to the caves were now visible. At high tide you’d have to swim down under the water to enter. The entrance roof is only about 3 feet over your head as enter. Once inside, the passage opens into a large room with a hole in the ceiling. There are stalactites and stalagmites all around.

It would have been much cooler to see if our first attempt at entry hadn’t gone so badly. Above the water the entrance is 20 feet wide. It wasn’t until I looked below that I realized that the only usable part of the entrance was the 8 feet all the way to the left. The rest of the entrance was only a foot deep and with the large waves crashing into the opening you would be reduced to a piece of hamburger if you attempted to enter from the right.

So I darted to the left and rode a wave in through the opening into the inner cave. Above me the cave was very large and really something to see. Under the water though the cave was rather small and cup shaped. Just enough room for one person to stand in the chest deep water. I turned around to face the opening and was confronted with the sight of 5 other bodies surfing in on a wave of their own.

It turned into a semi clusterf*ck in the narrow entrance. It was like 5 people trying to rush into a small elevator while one guy was trying to get out. We all had to turn around and get back outside. We then entered in pairs and it went much smoother. But it was still a bit scary and a little to rough for all of us to be comfortable.

After that it was back to the boat for dinner and an incredible sunset.