Phoenix — a small sailing catamaran for shark, wreck and blue-hole diving

Phoenix is for divers who want the Exumas without joining a large liveaboard. The route combines shark encounters, coral reefs, walls, wrecks, caves and blue holes, with up to 20 dives across six nights. The small passenger limit matters here: the boat carries eight guests, and the diving ratio is one guide to four divers. Non-divers can come too, so a mixed group does not have to split up for the week. The appeal is not a floating resort. It is a compact catamaran that takes a small group to sites around the Exumas, Eleuthera and New Providence, then brings everyone back to the same quiet base between dives.

Boarding takes place in Nassau, where Phoenix begins to feel more like a private sailing trip than a large dive operation. The catamaran was renovated in 2018 for diving, with an indoor saloon, an open-air area and cushioned beds outside. The layout keeps the group close without making the boat feel like a dormitory. The crew includes a skipper, mariner and divemaster, and passengers described the welcome as immediate and personal. Phoenix can sail, although the use of the sails is not guaranteed on every itinerary. When the boat is under way, the point is the journey between Nassau and the Exumas as much as the arrival at the next reef.

The atmosphere is built around a small group and a crew that stays involved beyond the dive briefing. Passengers have described the boat as feeling like home on arrival, with the crew working as a close team through diving, meals and sightseeing. By the end of a trip, conversations continue between dives and over an evening drink, and the boundary between crew and guests becomes informal without losing the working structure of the boat. English and French are spoken. Phoenix suits divers who want company rather than anonymity, but the eight-passenger limit leaves enough room for people to step away into the saloon or outside area when they need quiet.

The route runs for seven days and six nights from Nassau, reaching the Exuma Cays, New Providence and nearby areas around Eleuthera. The site list includes Dog Rocks, Up Jump To Devil, Barracudas Shoals, Pillar Wall, Jewish Fish, Crab Wall, Madison Avenue, Blacktip Wall, Washing Machine, Whale Shark Wall, Shark Arena, Heineken Wall and Ray of Hope, alongside wrecks such as James Bond Wreck, Sea Viking, David Tucker Wreck, Sea Trader Wreck and Port Nelson Wreck. Lost Blue Hole gives the route one of its clearest signatures: the rim is in 40 feet of water, a lobster-filled crevice reaches 80 feet, and the blue hole drops to 200 feet. Austin Smith Wreck is a 90-foot Bahamian Defense Force cutter lying in 60 feet of water. The exact itinerary changes with weather and sea conditions.

The route is built around large animals as well as reef life. Caribbean reef sharks, nurse sharks and blacknose sharks are among the encounters associated with the Exumas, alongside stingrays, eagle rays, groupers, jacks, angelfish, moray eels and lobsters. Lost Blue Hole concentrates several different scenes in one dive: coral heads and stingrays around the 40-foot rim, schools of fish over the sand, jawfish and gobies in the bottom, and lobsters in the crevice at 80 feet. One or two nurse sharks are usually found there, while a large school of blacknose sharks inhabits the bottom during spring. Colour comes from black coral, orange elephant-ear sponges and tube sponges. These are possibilities, not guarantees; weather and animal behaviour still decide what appears.

Whale Shark →

Rhincodon typus

Nurse Shark →

Ginglymostoma cirratum

Stingray →

Dasyatidae — Dasyatis, Hypanus, Pastinachus, Himantura, Taeniura

Dive groups run at a ratio of one guide to four divers, a useful limit when the route moves between walls, wrecks, caves and blue holes. The crew includes a divemaster, and English and French are spoken on board. Introduction to diving and courses are available, while certified divers should bring proof of certification for the first dive. Briefings and group organisation are handled by the dive guide before each descent. Safety equipment includes a first-aid kit with oxygen, life rafts, emergency jackets, firefighting equipment, GPS and radio. The itinerary remains weather-dependent, and the crew may change the route when conditions make a site unsafe.

Phoenix carries a compressor, tanks, weights and belts, with a diving dinghy used to reach the sites. Divers enter the water from the tender rather than from a large dedicated stern platform, and the operator describes the skiffs as spacious. Rental equipment is available as a paid extra. Nitrox is not available, and Phoenix is not set up for technical diving, so the operation is aimed at conventional recreational dives. The published information does not give tank volume, tank material, valve type, camera facilities, rinse tanks or a hot-water system on the dive deck. Divers bringing their own kit should therefore check the practical setup before departure, especially if they use DIN or need a specific camera workflow.

Between dives, Phoenix gives passengers two different places to settle. The air-conditioned saloon offers shade and a cooler room, while the open-air area and cushioned beds keep the surface interval outside when the weather allows. Sailing time links the dive areas, but the schedule does not guarantee that the sails will be used. On days with no dive immediately ahead, the space is simple: sit in the saloon, stretch out on deck, talk over a drink or watch the Exumas pass by. A dinghy takes the divers away to remote sites, leaving the main boat as the place to return to after the water.

The week starts with Saturday boarding at 11:00 AM in Nassau, followed by check-in, unpacking, orientation, a safety briefing and one check dive around New Providence. Once the boat reaches the Exuma Cays, the days carry three or four daytime dives, with a night dive included on the route around Dog Rocks and again on the west side of New Providence. Other days include four daytime dives around Allan’s Cay and Highborne Cay, then a return toward New Providence with three daytime dives. Meals, drinks and snacks fill the gaps between briefings and tender runs. Phoenix returns to the marina around 19:00 on Thursday; breakfast is at 08:00 on Friday, followed by sign-off at 09:00.

Meals cover both Western and local food, with dietary restrictions accommodated. Hot and cold soft drinks, coffee, tea and snacks are available through the day, and passengers have described fresh baked goods after dives. That detail matters on a schedule reaching four daytime dives: food has to appear when divers come back hungry, not only at one formal sitting. The table becomes part of the surface interval, with something hot to drink, a snack within reach and enough food to carry the group into the next briefing. The galley also handles specific requests, so divers do not have to treat dietary needs as an afterthought.

The four Standard Cabins are on the lower deck, each with a double bed, air conditioning and a private bathroom with shower. That gives every pair of guests a proper place to retreat after several dives, rather than relying on a shared washroom. Passengers have described hot fresh-water showers, private bathrooms and a boat that feels cozy rather than oversized. The saloon is air-conditioned, while the outside cushioned beds offer a place to lie down in the open air. Phoenix has no Wi-Fi listed in its onboard specifications, which suits a week built around diving, meals and the water outside rather than constant connection.

Phoenix departs from and returns to Nassau, Bahamas. Boarding is on Saturday at 11:00 AM, with sign-off on Friday at 09:00 AM after breakfast. Transfers are not included; the operator can recommend a local taxi service, with transfer details provided after booking. Arriving in Nassau the night before is the sensible way to protect the first morning from flight delays.