Diving & Driving

Grand Bahama Island

By: Portia Badham

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I have two outdoors passions—a longtime love of scuba diving and a newfound penchant for golf. And as fall temperatures began to dip below my idea of perfect golfing conditions, I knew it was only a matter of time before my excursions would be limited a number of four-walled confines. With that in mind, you can imagine how excited I was to receive an invitation to travel to the Bahamas in November, to write about the island, my golf experiences and attend the National Association of Black Scuba Divers Summit.

Grand Bahama Island, just 55 miles off the east coast of Florida, is among over 700 islands and 2,500 cays that make up the archipelago of The Bahamas. Stretching out over 100,000 miles in the Western Atlantic Ocean, The Bahamas is home to the world’s third longest barrier reef and a wondrous array of sea life including groupers, angelfish, needlefish, stingrays, sea turtles and sharks (more on those amazing creatures later so don’t cue the “Jaws” soundtrack just yet).

Every November, 200 to 300 members of the National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) from across the United States convene somewhere tropical for four days of diving adventures, fellowship and shared appreciation for marine life. Established by Dr. A. Jose Jones and Ric Powell in 1991, NABS was created to promote scuba diving and water sports within the African American community and provide a supportive network for the hundreds of black divers across the country who previously had no way of sharing their collective underwater interests. Dr. Jones, often referred to as the “black Jacques Cousteau,” is a decorated combat veteran who began his lifelong association with scuba diving and oceanography while serving in the military. He founded the Underwater Adventure Seekers, a Washington, D.C. scuba club that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and has logged more than 5,000 dives worldwide and certified over 2,000 students from Africa to Australia.