Andros Expedition, January 11-17th 2020

The weather was not on our side, but with an incredibly humorous and upbeat group we had an absolute blast, and saw seven species of shark, including over 35 silky, and two free swimming tigers! Andros is a truly special location for naturalists in search of adventure, and it always delivers.

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Day 1

As with all of our trips heading to Andros the group met at a semi-private airport, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This Silent Hunter expedition was in collaboration with Madison Stewart, so Madi and Annie met the crew and gave informal introductions, before handing over passports for check-in. While our bags were weighed Annie distributed the eco-friendly gift bags, which all guests receive. The bags were packed with goodies such as a bamboo toothbrush, reusable flask, shampoo bars and more. Annie talked through the benefits of making simple replacements, that truly make a difference. Soon we boarded our private flight and were in the sky closing in on Andros.

As always, the flight into Andros was breathtaking and took around 80 minutes. Greens, aqua blues and the deep contrast of the Tongue of the Ocean is something you need to see in person to truly appreciate it. Touch down! We landed in Andros and were swiftly through customs and in our taxi’s, heading south. A short, 30 minute drive and we arrived at our accommodation, a local owned and operated traditional lodge.

Guests were shown to their rooms and we had a short break to unpack before meeting in our communal area for lunch and a briefing. Annie and Madi spoke about everything from room and marine life safety, to first aid, facilities and general expedition guidelines. After our speedy break it was time to head out! We opted for a local, inland blue hole. 

We piled into Captain Coles truck, and were off! After a short drive we arrived at some dense foliage and the crew made their way through the off-the-beaten-track pathway. Within 10 minutes of light trekking we arrived at a remote blue hole. Everyone geared up and hoped in! 

We toured the circumference of the blue hole gazing at mosquito fish, and the eerie green water below. Some guests enjoyed freediving to the bottom at around 15ft, while others explored the mini caves, and breeched the water like dolphins! 

After our few hours of fun we slowly made our way back onto land, and to the truck. A short ride home, followed by a shower and wonderful homemade dinner the night was concluded with some night baiting where we attracted in three large lemon sharks! A great start to our week, and off to bed we went.

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Day 2

First on the cards today was a beautiful mangrove snorkel and our team trekked through thick foliage and shallow water for over 20 minutes to finally arrive at a stunning and secluded creek, surrounded by mangroves.

The Bahamian heat, tied with our walk meant cooling down with a mangrove snorkel was a welcomed treat!  We spotted lion fish, sea cucumbers and an abundance of creatures packed deep in the mangrove roots, and with the current pumping, our return swim down the creek felt like a water rapid ride!

With our dip over we set up for a baiting session. Within minutes we had 2-3 lemon sharks around our ankles, and within 10 minutes we had 12! The conditions were incredible; glassy water, picturesque mangroves and sharks everywhere. Guests enjoyed the sharks topside, and with their masks underwater, in the shallows.

After a wonderful morning it was time to trek back to the truck for lunch, with a view! We sat down, shared stories, enjoyed some food to refuel, flew on a rope swing and took selfies on a traditional, heavenly Bahamian beach.

With lunch consumed we moved on to our afternoon activity; a giant, isolated blue hole! The drive in took some 30 minutes with the road overgrown and chaotic! On arrival however, was peace and utter silence. It was clear the blue hole hadn’t seen many recent visitors. We all jumped in! The water was brackish with a thick layer of fresh water at the surface. We took it in turns jumping from the platform, blowing bubble rings, and freediving down and exploring the caves/overhangs the blue hole was hiding. The walls of the hole were covered in algae and life, and as we gazed up to the tree tops, birds could be heard, it was a beautiful moment.

After a short walk we headed back to the truck, then homebound for dinner, and most importantly, Johny bread! After a full, three course meal we got to know each other through a game of Heads Up! If you’re not familiar with Heads Up! it’s a fun, silly game that involves acting out words- it’s utterly hilarious and kept us laughing all night! After our antics it was off to bed.

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Day 3

With winds forecast to be almost 25nts, we had no choice but to stay land-locked. We did however have an exciting day planned with a Silent Hunter first!

To start the day we headed to Androsia. Androsia is a small, local batik store, that was established in Andros in 1973. Batik is a very beautiful, and unique art form which involves hand waxing textiles. The Silent Hunter commissioned a special stamp (our logo) for the group to use during a private lesson. First our team received a detailed tour of the facility. We were shown the full process from waxing and design, to dying, washing, drying and pressing. We were also given a talk on the history of Androsia before finally settling in for our guided lesson.

The team were all given a choice of clothing, a bag and more. All items were white, and we soon began the creative fun with the hot stamps and wax at the ready! We were given a lesson on techniques, and then we were off! Everyone enjoyed making their masterpiece before a vote on dye color was made- the color choice almost took at long as the batiking!

With our items moved on for dying we relocated to our next activity. We decided to try something new; we positioned ourselves in a new, novel location to bait in, whatever was around! We knew this new location was a risk, and as a team we decided to take the chance.

We dug our heels in and after many hours of baiting, we had just a single subadult lemon and nurse shark drive by. Neither stuck around and with visibility falling, we took to a team vote- to stay and keep trying, or to leave and try somewhere new. The vote was in, we moved on.

At our new location all looked great and we once again started to bait. Some guests decided to venture to a nearby lighthouse, while others sat tight in the hopes of some shark action! But no such luck, the sharks were just not out to play today. During our wait we did spot a beautiful moray eel which put on a show venturing out from a wreck showing itself in full view, accompanied by a lion fish.

So, we drew a line under our new location, and moved on, again. It’s always a risk trying somewhere, or something new, however true adventures do exactly that. We must keep trying new things to push boundaries and to unlock some of the secrets Andros is hiding. Last on our days activities was a beach clean.

We took to the beach, armed with compostable bags and regrettably filled them with ease. Bag after bag was piled into the truck, followed by random pieces of trash such as refrigerator parts, fishing lines and fuel cans. With a truck full of trash, and larger items moved away from the ocean, and closer inland, we hopped on the truck to relocate our goods to the local dump. We piled the trash out, and Annie gave a brief talk on consumer choices, and impacts.

After a long afternoon of waiting our breezy ride home and a hot shower felt like heaven! A good dinner, and another few rounds of Head Up completed, team names were decided, lemons were baited in, and slowly our crew made their way to bed.

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Day 4

Up early for another day of adventure! Each day, guests have the choice of a freshly-made breakfast eggs (scrambled, fried, or an omelet) to-order at no extra cost, cereals, toast, fresh fruit, yogurt, and more. On filling our tummies and gathering our array of equipment, we left the dock in search of some sharks!

First up was a morning in a very special location. Imagine remote, white sandy beaches surrounded by shallow, tropical water, and heaving with life. This very sharkie spot was established by Annie and Tristan many years ago and is always a popular location for guests to experience. 

Within minutes of setting up, our team were surrounded by lemon sharks, 10 in total. All watched on as the sharks behaviors changed with time. At first they were shy and cautious, but within the hour the majority were bold and seemingly fearless. Everyone enjoyed the sharks closeness, while filling up camera memory cards far too easily!

Towards the end of our session we invited the lemons up on to the sand banks to feed. Guests watched on with amazement as the flexible, daring little sharks comfortably swam with their entire backs out of the water! All good things must come to an end, and with everyone buzzing from an exciting and enjoyable morning, it was time to move on.

Next up was a dive with blacktips! These sharks favor murky water, and are typically shy by nature. In order to entice them near we packed the group tightly on a line and began to bait. To our surprise the sharks were within view some 15 minutes later. We had a total of three sharks making regular passes and everyone got to see the beautiful torpedo’s up close.

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Day 5

This morning we’d planned to see reef sharks, however on rising early, and winds lower than expected,  Annie decided we should attempt a drive out to our silky shark spot! Guests scampered to collect their equipment as Annie was excitedly herding everyone towards the boat. Sometimes, if the weather allows, plans change last minute, and this was one of those moments!

Within 30 minutes we were on the boat and heading out! The ocean was by no means calm, but it was workable, and the buzz of the team at an all time high. On arrival some silky sharks were spotted. One, two, three… ten, maybe twenty! Annie hopped in and placed the estimate at around forty!

She climbed back on the boat to give a thorough dive briefing before she and Madi entered the water with guests, two by two. The atmosphere was off the scale, everywhere we looked, there were sharks, mahi-mahi, tuna, rainbow runners and more. It was electric! There was absolutely no bait in the water, we were in the middle of a natural encounter. A natural schooling and feeding event; we were in the midst of something incredibly special.

With guests elated with the dive we enjoyed the experience until the very last moment. Wow, what a morning, we couldn’t have asked for a more incredible start to our day. With the winds picking up, we headed home, back to the lodge. Once home we took a mini break. We enjoyed a late breakfast/brunch, played a few games of ring toss, searched for snakes, and simply recharged for our next outing. 

Next up was an afternoon on the reef. On arrival everyone hopped in for a snorkel around a very pretty, and healthy coral reef system that was bursting with life. Guests had the opportunity to practice some freediving, and simply enjoy the beauty that Andros has to offer.

Once back on the boat we opted for another baiting session, this time over the reef, to see if we could attract some reef sharks. Bingo, within 20 minutes we had at least 10 reef sharks, and 2 blacknose around our boat. The sharks appeared to be riding the waves of the wind which was surprising, and fascinating to watch. Who would have thought?! On satisfying our topside view, we decided to jump in and snorkel with the sharks. Once in however we realized just how strong the current was. A challenging current, falling visibility and sharks present meant our dip was short lived. We enjoyed seeing the sharks for 20 minutes or so before calling it a day and climbing back on board the boat. 

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Day 6

Today we were eager to see a large shark, however with winds keeping us away from our hammerhead spot, we were forced to rethink our plan.

First we decided to setup in a shallow area where we’d previously seen large sharks. We knew it was a gamble trying here, but we voted and the challenge was on. On arrival everyone jumped in to cool down, but just as Annie sat down she yelled ‘What is THAT!, it looks like a giant tiger shark!’ – There may have been some additional words said, inappropriate for this blog! A large, approximately 4  meter/12 ft tiger shark was within 30 ft of our guests moving through like a freight train! The shark was clearly looking at the snorkelers but decided it was too risky to approach, and started to move out to deeper waters. Captain Cole suggested to follow the shark to confirm an ID, so everyone scrambled back onto the boat and all eyes were on the water looking for the large shark.

Bingo, we found it. The shark was HUGE, and in less than 10 ft of water. The tiger was extremely mellow, allowing our boat to carefully approach. All guests saw the beauty up close while hanging their cameras over the bow of the boat to gain some footage. Wow, what an experience! After just a few minutes we left the shark to do its thing, and we headed back to our spot.

With spirits high and everyone keen to jump back into the water we decided to take advantage of the tidal height and stunning conditions; we visited a beautiful ocean blue hole. Everyone hopped in to snorkel around the hole, and dive down into the shallow crevice. The walls were lined with corals, and stone crabs could be seen tucked away in the overhangs.

After our swim we decided to bait once again, and try our luck searching for sharks, by boat. Bingo! Luck was on our side, and Annie spotted another large tiger shark swimming at the surface. This shark was approximately 2.6 meters/8.5ft and was once again comfortable with our presence. We followed the shark and witnessed what we believe was an attempted predation. For no apparent reason the shark took off with immense speed, zig-zagging, clearly focused on something beneath the waves. We believe the shark was hunting. The animal, like many tigers, was very relaxed with our boat nearby and for it to take off, and act in this manor suggested it was predating on a fish, or turtle! It was extremely impressive to watch and those that saw it were left speechless.

Even with such a jam-packed day, we didn’t end there. We moved on to another spot, this time to try for hammerheads. We were once again positioned somewhere new due to winds, and gave it our best shot to attract a hammer. Large horse-eye jacks, almaco jack, barracuda, maceral, and two reef sharks came in to satisfy their curiosity, nut no hammerheads showed up.

With the day drawing to a close our team were grateful for such an epic morning with the tigers and heading home for our last night at the lodge.

After our shower and meal we opted to feed the local lemon sharks from the dock. Seeing sharks is addictive and we always go the extra mile to see them at any given opportunity.

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Day 7

Our last morning on Andros, and with calm seas we headed back out to our silkies, one last time! On arrival there were once again sharks everywhere! We hopped in to find at least 20 sharks below us, with mahi-mahi and other large fish in the mixer.

All guests enjoyed the view, and we decided to add a little bait to really bring the sharks up, even closer. Minimal bait was used and the atmosphere was once again electric. Mahi zooming in and out of the group, and silkies schooling tightly together. It was wild! Slowly but surely our crew climbed back on the boat and once everyone was on board, we enjoyed feeding the silkies, and mahi, from the surface.

Once again though, all good things come to an end, and we headed home, back to the lodge a final time. We quickly washed our equipment, packed our belongings, grabbed a light lunch and set off in our taxi’s back to the airport. Although leaving Andros is always hard, the view from the plane always picks spirts up. Before we knew it we had landed back in Fort Lauderdale and it was time to say good bye. A wonderful week, and a truly unforgettable team. Until next time, crew!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful guests for joining us, the incredible Andros Island Bonefish Club for their hospitality, the hardworking and ever professional Cole from PFO Charters for his top class boating and captaining skills, and everyone that made this trip as awesome as it was: an entirely unforgettable January 2020.

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If you’d like to join us on an expedition, we just released our 2021 expeditions, so contact us and be part of something truly special.