Current Cut

Current Cut is a gap around thirty metres wide between Current Island and the northern tip of Eleuthera, and through it the entire tidal exchange between the Bight of Eleuthera and the open Atlantic has to squeeze. The result is a flow that can run at several knots, and diving it means dropping in at one end and being carried through the channel at speed in a few minutes, past walls, coral heads and whatever is holding station in the flow, which regularly includes reef sharks, eagle rays and large schools of jacks. It is one of the best known drift dives in the world and it is over almost as soon as it starts.

What you'll find

• The drift - carried through the cut at several knots in a few minutes.
• Eagle rays and reef sharks - holding in the flow.
• The channel walls - coral and sponge along both sides.
• The tidal timing - the whole dive depends on getting it right.

When to go

December to May is the dry season and the calmest for boat handling. The dive can only be run at specific states of the tide, so operators schedule around it rather than around the day; be flexible. Visibility is best on a rising tide.

Practical notes

This is not a beginner dive: the current is genuinely strong, there is no swimming against it, and buoyancy control matters because the flow pushes divers up and down. Operators require experience. It is short, often under fifteen minutes of actual drift. Tidal timing means the schedule is fixed and cannot be moved to suit visitors.

Nearby

Harbour Island is a short boat ride; North Eleuthera airport is nearby.

Key facts