Dean's Blue Hole - Freedivers' Paradise

Dean’s Blue Hole located in Long Island, Bahamas, is one of the favourite sites of free divers. With a depth score of 202m, it is the second deepest “blue hole” in the world. It is second only to Tamaulipas Blue Hole located in Mexico, with a depth of 335m.

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A big contributor to its popularity, is its relatively close location to the coastline. The site is located just 1km from the town of Clarence, on the north side of Long Island, and is perfectly visible from the nearby cliffs. The dark blue circle looks very picturesque against the turquoise shallows of the lagoon and the white sand of the nearby beaches.

The depth starts at the level of 6m and, surrounded by vertical walls, descends to the bottom, located at the level of 202m. The diameter of the depth is about 25-35m, descending to the bottom, at a depth of 20m, we find the entrance to a cave of 100m.

Despite its considerable depth, unlike similar natural wonders such as Belize’s Blue Hole or Dahab, Dean’s Blue Hole is known more for free diving than for diving by technical divers. Many in the freediving community call it the best place to practice this type of diving there is on Earth. Looking at the number of competitions that take place here, and the number of records that have been broken in recent years, it is hard not to agree with this opinion.

In April 2007. In April 2007, William Trubridge, set a world record here, reaching a depth of 84m, and moments later 86m, without using fins! A year later, during Vertical Blue 2008, 25 national records and 5 world records were set. And on 25 April 2010. Herbert Nitsch set a new world record with 120m in 4min 28s in the Free Immersion (FIM) competition. The record did not last long and already in April 2011 the amazing New Zealander William Trubrigde, beat Nitsch with 121m in 4min 13sand of course the site of the successful attempt was… Dean’s Blue Hole!

The surrounding waters, as well as Dean’s Blue Hole itself, don’t have a lot of lush marine life or beautiful reefs, but the sensations we experience as the afternoon sun illuminates this amazing place are priceless and an unforgettable experience, but it’s best to see for yourself!

Source: aquanews.com
Photo: hebforum.apnea.co.il, verticalblue.net, expatphilippines.wordpress.com