Rodale’s Scuba Diving

An Interview with Stuart Cove

Thanks to a James Bond film, Stuart Cove was able to buy his first dive boat. The rest is Bahamian diving history.

In 1977, after working as a stunt/safety diver with Roger Moore and Carole Bouqet in For Your Eyes Only,” Stuart Cove purchased his first dive boat. It left from the canal behind his father’s house. Since 1994, Stuart and his wife, Michelle, have operated as a team, with Stuart concentrating on dive operations and customer service and Michelle focusing on the business side of the equation.

Today, Stuart Cove’s Dive South Ocean is the largest full-service dive operator on the island of New Providence. The operation can service upwards of 200 divers a day at full capacity and has a fleet of eight boats, six of which are over 40 feet in length and are custom dive boats.

RSD Extra: How did you get started in this business?

Stuart: Prior to opening my first dive operation, I captained a diving and snorkeling boat for Club Med. For Your Eyes Only allowed me to put away enough money in the bank to buy my first dive boat. Back then, I offered a single 1-tank dive each day. If I was lucky enough to take out 20 divers, that was considered a great day! However, it also meant spending the rest of the day and part of the evening filling each of those 20 tanks one at a time from an old and slow compressor.

That one boat operation proved successful and Stuart Cove’s built a good reputation for offering quality services on New Providence. As a result of that reputation, in 1983 the Lyford Cay Country Club invited me to assume the responsibilities for managing their watersports concession. In addition to continuing to offer the regularly scheduled dive trips, Stuart Cove’s now offered water-skiing, banana boat rides, and other water activities to club guests. Divers who were not members of the club were picked up in my shuttle bus and brought to the club for their dives. Upon completion of the day’s diving activities, they were returned to their hotel.

This growth resulted in the purchase of the first custom dive boat--the Black Coral, a 54-foot flat-top dive boat. During several years, while operating out of this location, Stuart Cove’s grew to become the leading dive operator on New Providence and continued to achieve outstanding customer service. This feat is especially significant when you consider that we were serving two diverse clients--divers visiting New Providence island on vacation and Lyford Cay Country Club members utilizing watersports and diving services from their private club.

The second significant event during this time period occurred when I hired a childhood friend with whom I grew up--Michelle Berlanda. My achievements in managing dive operations and customer service were equaled by Michelle’s ability to manage the business operations. Together, we laid down a strong infrastructure for the business to grow on.

In 1992, Divi Hotels sold the South Ocean Golf & Beach Resort and as a result the property was left without a dive operator. With a strong reputation already established and a successful business already operating just a few miles away, the new owners sought out Stuart Cove’s to assume the dive operations at the hotel. In order to implement this expansion, three custom dive boats were purchased. In addition a new, larger air storage system was obtained; a full retail boutique opened; and a host of other equipment was purchased in order to create one of the Caribbean’s leading dive centers.

With all of the growth since 1978, one of the things that we are the proudest of is that almost ever day customers at Stuart Cove’s will see and be greeted by the bosses--we insist on maintaining a hands on management style by being directly involved with the customers and seeing that they experience the adventure of a lifetime. Today, Stuart Cove’s continues to strive for outstanding customer service and provide one of the most complete and modern dive centers in the world.

RSD Extra: Tell us more about the ‘film’ side of Stuart Cove’s.

Michelle: The For Your Eyes Only in 1977 shoot was just the beginning. In 1983, we reinforced ourselves as the leading underwater film production coordinators on the island during the filming of Never Day Never Again. This Bond thriller starred Sean Connery and Kim Bassinger. This time, Stuart was the lead underwater coordinator. As part of those responsibilities, he personally certified Mr. Connery and Ms. Bassinger as divers in order for them to complete their roles. In addition, he choreographed underwater fights and again lead the “shark wrangling” team.

There always seems to be some film shoot or another going on at Stuart Cove’s. On average, we have three or four shoots a month that may include scenes for feature films, commercials, documentaries, or magazine shots. Stuart has a reputation in the underwater film industry as the man to go to in order to get the job done. Whether it requires sharks, shallow reefs, plate shots, location scouting, or marine coordination, he can make it happen.

RSD Extra: Adventure diving has become another big segment for you, hasn’t it?

Stuart: Adventure diving evolved out of a love for diving and a need to keep it interesting and exciting. The shark dives started when I decided to dare my buddies to go in the water with schools of silky sharks in 6,000 feet of ocean at a popular deep-sea fishing site. They fashioned protection with sticks with nails in the end used to jab away the sharks. They soon realized that the sharks were not interested in them at all. Word got out at the dock and customers began begging to come along for the fun. After awhile, it became a part of our regular trip schedule. A few years later, we developed a reef shark dive that was less weather-sensitive and more consistent with shark populations. This evolved into our shark dive program that runs every day.

With our wall flying adventure, we combine the exotic beauty of Nassau’s crystal blue waters with a high-intensity adrenaline rush produced from high-speed underwater encounters aboard a state-of-the-art underwater propulsion vehicle.

Divers operate as a squadron and follow the squadron leader over the edge of the Tongue-of-the-Ocean, with 6,000 feet of blue below. Divers also swoop through coral valleys and disappear in small caves along the edge the wall, as well.

Never before have recreational divers been able to use such high-tech equipment on such a wide expanse of unexplored areas--that’s what “Extreme Adventures” are all about for Stuart Cove’s.

RSD Extra: Wreck diving has also become a specialty for Stuart Cove’s, right?

Stuart: We have more than 10 wreck sites to dive on in our immediate area. I sank our first wreck, the Willarie, in 50 feet of water in 1989 to create a new dive site and marine habitat. Today, corals and fish live all around and on the site. Since then, we have sunk numerous other wrecks, including three Coast Guard cutters, one de-commissioned oil tanker (the Carib Breeze), and a few freight ships. We sink these wrecks in areas that do not have much coral or marine life. It is amazing how quickly (almost immediately) schools of fish move in.

RSD Extra: Tell us about running this husband-and-wife business.

Michelle: I grew up in Lyford Cay, a private community where Stuart ran the watersports operation and dive shop. I used to hang out with all the fun watersports staff and help out. Although I had already been diving for a few years Stuart certified me when I was 16. I worked for him on and off in the summer breaks and began working for him and dating him full time once I graduated from University 11 years ago.

In 1994, we acknowledged the strength of our teamwork and made our relationship permanent by becoming husband and wife. Our team grew in 1996 with the birth of our son Travis and, in 1998, with the birth of our daughter Sasha.

We love working together as our different skills really compliment each other. We make a great team. Since both Stuart and I are both Bahamian, we are used to all the ins and outs of operating a business here. In comparison to owning one in the U.S. it is easier in some ways, such as less paperwork (due to no income taxes, etc.) and harder, in that you may have to wait for 5 years to get a phone line! The positives far outweigh the negatives. I can come to work every day with no shoes, a swimsuit, T-shirt, and shorts. I have a beautiful view of the ocean all day and I get to meet loads of different people from all walks of life.