Off of Staniel Cay is Thunderball Grotto where the James Bond movie was filmed. At the Staniel Cay Yacht Club there are several photos of the movie cast with Sean Connery hanging around the Yacht Club bar.
The grotto is a favorite snorkling sight for cruisers and tourists. I got to try out my new Panasonic underwater digital camera. As you will see, good underwater photography is all about the lighting.
In the movie, James Bond swims into the "secret" grotto hidden from outside view but if you know where to dive you can come up inside the island into the grotto. We go at low tide and slack current when you can see the opening (its a few feet high at low tide - at high tide the opening is covered with water).
At the entrance to the grotto a school of "sergeant-major" fish (with their multiple yellow and black stripes) hang out waiting for the snorklers to feed them. We watched a group of young girls feed them from a Cheez-Whiz can. Sue is checking them out here.
A large Nassau Grouper has learned the grotto is a safe place to hang out. This guy would quickly be on a dinner plate if he strolled around anywhere else in the open like this. They normally are hiding in the dark shadows under ledges or rocks.
Inside the main chamber the ceiling is pretty high with openings in the roof. Our friends told us 5 years ago there was only one opening so looks like the erosion is accelerating.
Most of my underwater photos came out too dark even with the flash on, but I see the closeups in good sunlight come out excellent.
The water is crystal clear here and the colors are far better through your diving mask compared with how the camera shows them. Staniel Cay is one of the best spots in the Bahamas to vacation at. You fly in here on Watermaker Air from Fort Lauderdale.
