The Badlands, Dan’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Cave diver Arnaud Leblant swims through the labyrinth of shallow passages that make up The Badlands section of Dan’s Cave. This circuitous, but highly decorated section of the cave meanders beneath the island for more than 5 miles, yet it is the shallowest part of the cave at a depth of 75 feet (24 meters).
Brian Kakuk
Founder/Director of the Bahamas Caves Research Foundation
CoOwner/Operator of Bahamas Underground Cave and Technical Diving Facility
Brian is a former U.S. Navy Diver with over 40 years of professional diving experience. His work has taken him beneath nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, to jumping from helicopters into 10- foot seas to recover million-dollar weapon systems, to record penetrations of underwater cave systems around the world. Brian is the Founder of the Bahamas Caves Research Foundation and has worked as a Diving Consultant for the National Museum of the Bahamas (Antiquities Monuments and Museums Corporation). His research diving work with various governmental and scientific institutions has revealed new species of cave adapted marine life, as well as the discovery of fossils that are now repainting the picture of the Bahamas past environment.
His expertise in diving safety has been used widely in the feature film industry as a Diving Safety Officer and underwater stuntman. With more than 3000 exploration cave dives, Brian is considered one of the leading authorities on the underwater/underground environments of the Bahamas and is a veteran of multiple high-profile underwater cave expeditions in the Bahamas, Mexico, Belize, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Australia, Christmas Island and the U.S.
Though a seasoned underwater explorer, photographer, author, cave diving instructor and conservationist, Brian’s primary efforts are in the pursuit of the protection of underwater caves in the Bahamas, with a current focus on partnering with international researchers and explorers in underwater caves around the world.
On the side, Brian assists several equipment manufacturers with the development of new side mounted cave diving equipment and closed-circuit breathing apparatus.
Brian is an Advanced Cave and Technical Instructor Trainer for and serves on the International Advisory Board of the International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers (IANTD). He is a Cave Diving Instructor for the U.S. National Speleological Society – Cave Diving Section and through his company Bahamas Underground, continues to teach and guide cave divers in the Bahamas. Brian is a Fellow of the prestigious Explorer’s Club of New York since 2015.
Email Brian Kakuk at bahamacave@aol.com
Fangorn Forest, Dan’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Cave diver Arnaud Leblant appears to fly in the middle of Fangorn Forest, a massive, decorated room half a mile from the entrance of Dan’s Cave.
The Crystal Bat, The Glass Factory Section of
Ralph’s Cave, Abaco Island, the Bahamas.
Cave diver Mathew Perkins takes a close look at a 13,000 year-old bat skeleton completely encased in the calcite crystal floor of the Glass Factory section of Raph’s Cave. These skeletons and others represent times when the sea levels were much lower and the caves were dry allowing for crystal development
Mohrdohr Cavern, South Andros Island, The Bahamas.
Cave diver Richard Mounce hovers in air-clear water that fills Mohrdohr Cavern, a massive fracture cave system that runs along the easter coast of Andros Island. Caves within this fracture reach depths of more than 400 feet (120 meters) and are places of great archaeological and paleontological significance to the country.
Erabor, Ralph’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Erabor is one of the most highly decorated underwater cave passages on earth. It lies between Dan’s and Ralph’s Caves and requires multiple cylinders or rebreathers to reach, with depths reaching 160 feet (49 meters). Here cave diver Rick Witter hovers in awe of the mesmerizing beauty.
The Roses in the Glass Factory section
of Ralph’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Formed when the cave was dry, dripping stalactites grew downward to a still, shallow pool of cave water where angular crystals grew on the ends of the stalactites once they touched the water. Now located at a water depth of 65 feet (20 meters), the roses and the other formations in these caves are stark reminders of past climate change, with lower and higher sea levels than we know today.
“The Ents”, Fangorn Forest, Dan’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Standing 33 feet tall (10 meters), “The Ents” are massive crystal columns reaching from floor to ceiling of the passage known as Fangorn Forest, approximately 2,300 feet (701 meters) into the southern passages of Dan’s Cave. Here, cave diver Rick Witter poses to show just how massive these crystal formations are.
The Cheap Seats section of Wrigley Field,
Dan's Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Hundreds of thin, soda straw stalactites, hang from the ceiling of a massive passage known as “Wrigley Field”. Cave diver Rick Witter hovers carefully below these extremely delicate crystal tubes.
Crystal draperies in the Cascade Room,
Dan’s Cave, Abaco Island, The Bahamas.
Cave divers, Jen Van Cura and Tim Perrault look closely at the fragile crystal structure of these unique formations near the back of the Cascade Room.
