H O R I Z O N S

Monday, 21 February 2011 09:17

By Chris Hall / Daily Mail UK

This is a real photograph from one of the most mysterious environments in the world:

80ft below the surface, the Cascade room in Dan’s Cave, on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, is one of the most sensational chambers in the cave system

80ft below the surface, the Cascade room in Dan’s Cave, on Abaco Island in the Bahamas, is one of the most sensational chambers in the cave system

No, it’s not a still from Sanctum – although James Cameron’s new diving film was inspired by a near-catastrophic expedition by the man who took these pictures, Wes C Skiles.

This is a real photograph from one of the most mysterious environments in the world. You could visit Abaco Island, in the Bahamas, and have no idea that beneath you lies this vast network of caves, accessible by as many as a thousand ‘blue holes’ – submerged vertical caves peppered with entrances to this forbidding domain.

Exploring these passages is the diving equivalent of climbing K2 – you’ve got to be exceptionally well trained and well prepared. Even then, safety is no guarantee; Wes C Skiles died during a dive last summer. Sanctum is dedicated to him.

Of the 1,000 or so blue holes in the Bahamas, fewer than 20 per cent have been investigated, and almost none fully explored. It’s a perilous mission to undertake; the caves are pitch black, vast and labyrinthine: the deepest blue holes can be 600ft deep, and the connecting caves run on for thousands of feet in all directions.

Divers maintain a taut safety line at all times. Without it, it could be nigh on impossible to find your way out before your air supply runs out. Divers carry three tanks of nitrox mix – one to use on the way in, one on the way out, and one for emergencies – and three lights, which are used to communicate as well as navigate. Standard practice states that if any one light fails for any diver, the whole dive is called off.

In Sawmill Sink, another of Abaco's blue holes, bacteria colour the water a violent red, and signal the presence of hydrogen sulphide clouds

February 21, 2011 10:22 PM

An official groundbreaking was held in the Bahamas on Monday for Baha Mar, a 1,000-acre, $3.4 billion resort, gaming and entertainment complex, slated to open in late 2014. Present at the ceremony were T. Brent Symonette, deputy prime minister; Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, minister of tourism and aviation; Li Ruogu, chairman and president of the Export-Import Bank of China; and Hu Dingxian, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the Bahamas.

The upscale resort will feature hotel properties from Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, Morgans Hotel Group and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, and will also feature a world-class casino hotel, for a total of 2,250 new hotel rooms. Baha Mar will also include the Bahamas’ largest convention center, with 200,000 square feet of space. Other facilities will include a 50,000-square-foot retail village combining an upscale shopping experience with Bahamian arts and crafts, branded restaurants and entertainment venues, and a 20-acre Eco Water Park and pool experience, three spas and an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf. Baha Mar will create 12,000 new jobs generate more than $305 million in annual wages, raising the average annual income for a Bahamian family from $29,000 to $33,500, according to the project organizers, who added that the resort will contribute almost $1 billion to the local economy in its first year.
For more information, visit www.bahamar.com

The Bahamas is well known in the world of Sports, especially Track and Field. However, Tennis has been making a major splash, thanks to our very own Mark Knowles (son of Vicky Knowles-Andrews and brother to Samara Albury, HG Christie’s 2010 Top Producers for Nassau and Paradise Island)who has been representing the Bahamas on the International circuit for almost two decades.

Now for the first time in our history, the Bahamas is set to host a major International Women’s Professional Tennis tournament, The Bahamas Open.

The International Tennis Federation has awarded the Bahamas a one-year sanction to host a Pro Women’s tennis tournament, in anticipation that the Bahamas can be a regular tour stop on the International tennis circuit.

This historic event will take place on March 14th, 2011 to March 19th, 2011. The qualifying rounds will start on Friday, March 11th, 2011. The top 100 women pro players in the world are invited to this event, and there will be Singles and Doubles. Almost half of the top 15 in the world are expected to participate in this event as well, even though this is not a mandatory event for them.

The Bahamas Open will feature a classic display of professional tennis for the first time in our history. No other country in the Caribbean have held a tournament of this size either, and the Bahamas is coordinating with our neighbors to host this once-in-a-lifetime event, for the benefit and enjoyment of all. And, even though the prize money is only $100,000.00, the emphasis is on staging a memorable tennis classic, that the world will recognize the Bahamas as a major player in international tennis.

Read more…

http://www.thebahamasopen.com/

Rating Countries for the Happiness Factor
According to a Bloomberg Businessweek article:
A study pulled together from sources and surveys found that good health care and education are as important as wealth to modern happiness and ranked The Bahamas in the Top 5 places to live on the globe!

World’s Happiest Countries

No. 5: Bahamas

Population: 303,800
Life Expectancy: 65.6 years
GDP Per Capita: $20,200

“Bahamians know how to enjoy life. “Maybe it’s our ‘Bahama Mamas,’ our sweet sea breeze, our conch salad, and fun loving people,” suggests Kendenique Campbell-Moss, a senior executive at the Bahamas Tourism Ministry. Although the poverty rate, at 9.3%, is relatively high, the beautiful weather and laid-back lifestyle keep Bahamas’ citizens smiling. Campbell-Moss also reckons the fusion of African and European cultures, strong family values, and Christianity contribute to the happy vibe in the Caribbean country.”

Read full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2006/gb20061011_072596.htm