Expedition leaders: Annie Guttridge, Gabby Lozada and Khyrs Carroll. Local Bahamian Sorantaa was, as always, part of our crew.

Crew: The Bachelor/Bachelorette crew included: Blake Moynes, Jess, Noah Erb, Martin and Zac Clark.

Introduction

A Saving the Blue first; Leading The Bachelor/Bachelorette guys on an adventure of a lifetime!

Day 1

We started the day with a very early meet at a semi-private airport. As the team arrived and handed over their luggage, introductions were made, and everyone began chatting excitedly about the week we were going to have. We boarded our plane and made the quick trip over to Andros, pointing out rainbows and islands on the way. Upon arrival we made our way through customs, said a few hellos and met up with our co-leader Khrys before loading up into the cars we’d hired.

The group was buzzing to get up to Red Bays, an area we had not yet explored on a Saving the Blue trip. It was a about an hour and half drive during which those that did not know each other were able to chat and get acquainted. When we finally reached our destination, our team stopped for a delicious breakfast at a local restaurant where the owner had an amazing spread and music playing to welcome us! The team ate, had a safety briefing, and headed to our lodge to drop off our things and head out for our first day on the water!

Our goal was to survey areas where smalltooth sawfish had previously been spotted in the hopes of spotting one by eye, or with a drone. We headed out in two teams on flats boats and made our way to our first key location. As we were cruising around, taking in the remote beauty, one of our boats ran into some mechanical trouble and needed to be towed to land.

We were all able to make it to a little beach where the group walked around and saw stingrays while our boat captains were trouble shooting the boat issues. After some time, it was determined that one of the boats needed a part in order to run properly so it was decided that we would stay with that boat and the captain would run back for the part. Before heading out we looked for a good place to pass the time and get some tasks done while we waited. We anchored up and the broken-down boat was left anchored in a channel with our whole team, minus Khrys, who went to get the part with the other captain. We ate our lunch and watched for sharks in the channel while everyone chatted and enjoyed the company.

Even with the mishap the team was in high spirits, and we saw a few sharks cruising the channel. After a couple hours, our other boat returned with the part. They were able to quickly repair the boat and we hauled our gear and began the ride back, continuing to search for sawfish on route. On our ride back we were delighted to see dolphins playing in the shallows and spent some time with them before finally going in for the day.

After we arrived everyone had much needed showers and headed to a delicious dinner at the local restaurant and we debriefed our day. Going to new places, with new people, new boats etc. always has challenges. Hard days, such as today are extremely important for the trips that follow. We must continue to try new thing in order to push forward and expand our work. Even with a long and bumpy day the team had a blast and laughed and chatted before heading back for bed.

Day 2

A large storm came through in the night and the crew woke up to several inches of water outside of the lodge! With a wet walk over to the breakfast spot we discussed the plan for the day and prepared to head out and make our way across the island to our usual lodge.

After breakfast the team made their way through the water and down towards the beach for some exploration. Many sawfish have been spotted just a few feet from the shoreline so our team walked and searched for a sighting. While walking they were also on a secret mission which we can not disclose at this stage.

After the beach mission our team packed and loaded up, dropped a few boxes of children’s clothes and toys (that were brought over from the United States) off at a local church and said our goodbyes to the wonderful people who took care of us. Next, we started our long drive south. Before leaving the area, we made sure to stop at a local school to hand out sawfish coloring sheets, bamboo toothbrushes, and Saving the Blue pins. We went from class to class and gave the children their gifts and talked to them about plastic use while they excitedly colored their new sawfish coloring sheets!

With a very successful school visit, we wished the children well and then got back on the road to make our way to one of our favorite blue holes. Along the way we hit a small mishap when one of the tires on our hired van blew! We safely pulled over and with help of our team and some local men, we were back on the road in no time! What a wild 24h hours!

Finally making it to the famous Captain Bill’s blue hole. Everyone was finally able to test out their snorkeling gear with help from leaders Khrys and Gabby. They were given tips on diving and how to use their snorkel and mask all while jumping into, and exploring this amazing blue hole.

Reluctantly, we loaded back into our vans and finally made it to the lodge. Everyone sat down for a delicious dinner, and we did an introduction to the new area and a quick briefing on what the rest of the week would look like. As Andros is a relatively small island, word that a number of Bachelor contestants were in Cargill Creek and before long many people had gathered around the lodge to enjoy a few drinks and good conversations. With an early start it wasn’t long before we finally headed off to bed for some much-needed sleep.

Day 3

We started our first day on the east side of Andros with a delicious breakfast before loading onto Captain Cole’s boat. Our first mission of the day was searching/observations. With all eyes on the water we drove the boat looking for movement or shadows, particularly those that could resemble a sawfish. Of course, smalltooth sawfish are globally critically endangered so their numbers are low, making them hard to find. Unfortunately, our search mission was unsuccessful with no sawfish spotted.

With the relentless summer heat upon us it was time for a quick dip to cool down. We made our way to a favorite dive site of ours. The crew geared up and hopped in the water to start a drift snorkel into one of our favorite coral reefs. As soon as we entered the water, we were greeted by a friendly school of spade fish, that seemed as interested in us as we were in them!

We slowly drifted our way towards shallower water and very healthy reefs teeming with life. Everyone enjoyed diving down to inspect the coral and look for animals tucked into the crevices. After some time, we were greeted by a nurse shark cruising along the sand. After a few passes from the nurse shark, we loaded into the boat and headed back to the lodge to avoid a quite intense storm. The safety of our team is always the priority.

Once we were back, we were greeted by Annie! She had flown in and was going to be joining us for the rest of the trip. There were several lemon sharks swimming along the seawall which provided entertainment for the next few hours! After our sharkie afternoon we took turns getting cleaned up and getting ready for dinner. Another amazing meal and great conversation before we all headed to bed early to prepare for an early morning.

Day 4

We headed out on an early morning to make our way to our silky shark spot. This area typically has silkies there and the conditions on the way out were extremely flat and calm. As we pulled up to the spot there didn’t seem to be much action, but a few people hopped in and were delighted to see a couple juvenile silky sharks swimming around. With everyone in the water, we had one silky that was not shy and made sure to give everyone very close passes. The reason for this dive was to count how many sharks were present, to confirm sex if possible, and to see if we could identify any tagged sharks.

With a very fun and successful dive completed, the team loaded back onto the boat, and we made our way to a fan favorite blue hole that we call ‘The Coffin’. This blue hole is rectangular in shape and surrounded by healthy reefs and plenty of wildlife. A rising tide had chilly water pumping out of the blue hole and made for some fun challenges as people practiced a little freediving. Everyone spent time exploring the reefs and crevices around the blue hole and enjoying the beautiful conditions. With another spot on our agenda for the day, we said goodbye to our blue hole and made a quick stop for lunch.

Ready to continue our adventurous day, we made our way to see if we could spend some time with juvenile lemon sharks. Captain Cole dropped us off near shore and we made a short trek to our spot. The group took in the beautiful scenery and waited to see what sharks would show up. As we waited, a storm blew in and tested our resolve but everyone was determined to see the sharks, so we stuck it out and had a few laughs at the crazy weather. Luckily our patience paid off and we had several little lemons all swimming around our feet. 

This is always an amazing experience whether you’ve seen it many times or it’s your first time. The little sharks swam in front of people’s legs and the now calm water made perfect conditions to see them clearly from the surface! Reluctantly we finally made our way back to the boat, loaded our gear and ourselves on, and headed back to the lodge to get cleaned up and eat dinner before all getting some sleep.

Day 5

Another early morning and amazing conditions as we headed out to do a bit of drifting in a popular channel, again, focusing on searching for resting or moving sawfish. We drifted over reefs that were roughly 40 feet deep and after a few minutes we were able to see multiple species of sharks! We had nurse sharks, including small baby ones, Caribbean reef sharks, blacknose and even a little Atlantic sharpnose all made an appearance. We spent about an hour in the water with the sharks and many thimble jelly fish floating in the current.

Once the team was satisfied, we hopped back in the boat and decided to try a different technique for viewing the reef and looking for wildlife. Tying two ropes to the back of the boat, two of the crew hopped in the water, held onto the ropes and were very gently tugged along as the boat drove over the reef.

It was a fun and unique way for us to survey the reef for potential sawfish habitats. Andros is a huge island and this technique allowed us to cover a much larger area, when compared to swimming. We ended the day with more boat searching, rope tying lessons. With another fun day in the books, we headed back to the lodge. Everyone showered and ate dinner before all settling into the couches in the common room to watch shark videos together.

Day 6

Our last full day on the water is always bittersweet. To make the most of it we rode out shortly after sunrise to test our luck with the silky sharks again. It definitely paid off! We had several sharks swimming around and countless thimble jellyfish. The sharks were extremely bold, as they usually are, and the team had a blast diving with them as well as watching them from the surface. We spent a couple hours there enjoying the sharks and somewhat painful jellies. Our goal was once again to count how many sharks were present, to confirm sex if possible, and to see if we could identify any tagged sharks.

It was decided it would be best to take a quick midday break to eat back at the lodge. Everyone had their lunches, went through their footage from the morning, and excitedly waited to be back out on the water. Shortly after heading out the crew was surprised by a pod of dolphins! We threw a rope off the back of the boat and everyone who wanted to, held on as the boat drove around slowly which intrigued the dolphins and would bring them closer. After the amazing surprise, the dolphins eventually went on their way, and we continued on our way to see some lemon sharks.

We arrived at our spot and after a brief storm, had lots of sharks show up. The water was glass flat and we had lemon sharks from tiny little newborns to sharks well over a meter long all swimming around our legs. The crew was extremely happy with the busy and shark filled last full day, so we headed back to have a nice relaxing night and spend time just hanging out at the lodge with Annie leading a talk on shark tags, and shark tagging techniques.

Day 7

Final morning had us all eating breakfast together and getting our things packed ready for departure. For one final activity, we did a trash cleanup along the creek and land behind the lodge we stay in. We filled multiple bags with plastic bottles, caps, ropes, and Styrofoam. All items were removed from the mangroves, particularly their beautiful root systems.

Everyone finished packing and did one last look for sharks from the seawall. Saying goodbyes to the wonderful staff of the bonefish club, we climbed into the taxis and made our way to the airport to head back to the states. Although we said our good-byes Blake Moynes had his eyes set on pulling together his footage from the week to make some educational content for his social media channels, so we will all relive this week for many years to come.

Thank you

Thank you to our research trip leaders Annie Guttridge, Gabby Lozada and Khyrs Carroll for guiding the team through an incredibly successful week. A huge thank you to our assistants for their passion, determination and endless enthusiasm to work hard, learn and produce results. We would also like to thank all of those in Redbay, the Andros Island Bonefish Club for their hospitality, and the hardworking and ever professional Cole from PFO Charters for his top class boating and captaining skills.

Gratitude must go to all who were on the trip for their generosity in allowing us to use their images for this blog.