Scuba Diving

Cat Island’s south coast offers some of the country’s best diving. The walls start from very shallow depths, allowing long dive times and great photography. Some of the area's best dive sites, which are most easily reached from Hawk’s Nest Marina, are: Hole in The Wall: (12 miles, 50–100 feet) Spectacular break in the wall and entrance to a small channel with lobster or spotted drums. Impressive archway, black coral, stingray, sharks, dog snapper, barracudas, and groupers; all kinds of soft and hard coral. The Oz: (7 miles, 55–100 feet) Tunnels and canyons overgrown with soft corals, turtles, reef sharks, reef fish of any color, hogfish, Nassau and other grouper, and oceanic triggerfish. Spectacular when leading to the wall. Tartar Bank: (6 miles, 40–60 feet) Has strong currents, for pro divers only. Offshore pinnacle, reef sharks, white-tip sharks, big turtles, and more. Fish Bowls: (20–30 feet) From micro to macro, a photographer’s paradise includes schools of goat fish, Atlantic spadefish, yellowtail, and mutton snapper. White spotted eels are numerous, along with nurse sharks and lobster. See a spider crab refuge and cleaning station as you follow the reef’s ledge. Dives at Hawk's Nest must be booked a month in advance.

Hawk's Nest Marina Dive Shop. Hawk's Nest at one time was the only PADI-certified dive operation on Cat Island. Nowadays, certified diver Randy Holder conducts guided diving adventures (albeit for guests only), rents diving and snorkeling gear, and has equipment and sundries for sale. The running time to dive sites off the southern tip of the island is 15 to 30 minutes in the shop's 43-foot custom dive boat, outfitted with VHF and GPS. Call ahead for bookings. Dives must be booked one month in advance. $250 minimum to take the dive boat out. Ask for package rates. Devil's Point, Cat Island. 242/342–7050; 954/376–3865; www.hawks-nest.com.