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Limestone ridge covered in silver palms above a pale beach and rough turquoise surf under a stormy sky — Cat Island

Cat Island · Bahamas · Pelagic & blue water · Drift

Columbus Point

Oceanic whitetips in open water, no reef and no cage

Area photo: Trish Hartmann from Tampa, Florida, USA · CC BY 2.0

The open-ocean shark ground dived off Cat Island, where oceanic whitetips gather from winter into spring, drawn by the abundance of large bony fish. There is no reef and no bottom in reach: the dive is a drift in the blue with no cage, in calm clear water with a gentle current, and the sharks work close to the surface. Epic Diving, which runs it, lists the season as May and June.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Columbus Point: typical dive to 18 m (to 60 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit18 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Cat Island and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

The boat leaves Greenwood Beach Resort and stops about twenty minutes later over open ocean, with nothing below in reach. Divers go in and drift in the blue rather than descending to anything, and because the whitetips hold close to the surface the profile stays shallow. Conditions on the days the trip runs are calm and clear with only a gentle current, which is what makes a dive with no bottom reference workable at all.

The sharks set the pace. Oceanic whitetips gather off Cat Island from winter into spring, drawn by the abundance of large bony fish, and silky, dusky and reef sharks come through the same water. There is no cage, so the group and the guide are the structure of the dive: stay together, keep gear tucked in and keep the boat in sight. Freedivers and snorkellers work the same trips, with extended time in the water on the surface.

Marine life and season

  • Oceanic whitetips
  • Reef sharks
Month-by-month season rating for Columbus Point
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairGoodPrimePrimePrimeFairFairOff-seasonOff-seasonFairFair

Season follows Cat Island: The oceanic whitetip season runs Apr–Jun; outside it the sharks disperse and operators do not run blue-water trips.

Know before you go

  • No bottom reference and no cage: the boat is the only fixed point, so stay with the group and the guide, keep gear tucked in and keep the boat in sight.

Questions divers ask

When can you dive with oceanic whitetips off Cat Island?+

Oceanic whitetips gather off Cat Island from winter into spring, drawn by the abundance of large bony fish, and the blue-water trips run as a short season — Epic Diving lists May and June.

Sources

  1. Oceanic whitetip shark — Wikipedia
  2. Oceanic Whitetip Shark Diving — Epic Diving
  3. Cat Island — Oceanic Whitetip Season — Epic Diving

In The Logbook

More dive sites in Cat Island

Seamount

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A pinnacle off Cat Island rising from 610 m to within 12 m of the surface

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