FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—FEBRUARY 4, 2014 – Cayman Island’s iconic hideaway resort, the Southern Cross Club on Little Cayman, has joined the Expedition Collection of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts. The …
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com It’s a multi-sport event like no other. You paddle instead of swim; hike instead of run; and bike the final leg with …
Spear fishers and anglers from the Carolinas to the Keys to the Florida Panhandle may soon face new hogfish restrictions under rules approved by the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management …
By Sue Cocking | Guy Harvey Outpost It looked more like the marine version of a rodeo than a scientific expedition in the clear, shallow waters of Tiger Beach off West End, Grand Bahama Island in the spring …
To help families stay engaged, entertained and educated while they spend time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, world-renowned artist, conservationist, scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Guy Harvey and …
Marine artist/scientist/conservationist Dr. Guy Harvey, daughter Jessica, and scientists from the Guy Harvey Research Institute at Nova Southeastern University near Fort Lauderdale recently completed …
by Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Travel Journalist scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com Lionfish: they gobble just about anything they can fit in their mouths, decimating native marine fish populations and …
With the Labor Day Weekend on hand, the historic Bimini Big Game Club is attracting guests by air, by sea and with a unique tasty menu featuring a Caribbean specialty – Lionfish Nuggets! General …
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![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Road Named#1 Underwater Travel Experience By AOL&body=<a href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/diving.htm"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-146" title="Dive Bimini" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/divebiminilogo.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="173" /></a>
Are the rock formations off the coast of <a title="Official Bimini web site" href="http://www.bahamas.com/out-islands/bimini" target="_blank">Bimini</a> really part of the <a title="Wikipedia entry for Atlantis" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis" target="_blank">Lost City of Atlantis</a>? No one knows for sure, but the dive site is so unique & the mystery so compelling that <a title="AOL web site" href="http://www.aol.com" target="_blank">AOL</a> recently named the <a title="Wikipedia entry for the Bimini Road" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimini_Road" target="_blank">Bimini Road</a> as the <a title="AOL's List of the Top Ten Underwater Travel Experiences" href="http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/08/05/top-10-underwater-travel-experiences/" target="_blank">#1 Underwater Travel Experience</a>. Dive it now with <a title="Neal Watson's Dive Bimini web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/diving.htm" target="_blank">Neal Watson's Dive Bimini, a Guy Harvey Outpost Dive Center</a> and draw your own conclusions! https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/bimini-road-named1-underwater-travel-experience-by-aol/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Southern Cross Club in Little Cayman Joins Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts as an Expedition Property&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/scc1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image" id="i-1856" alt="Image" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/scc1.jpg?w=650" /></a>FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—FEBRUARY 4, 2014 – Cayman Island’s iconic hideaway resort, the Southern Cross Club on Little Cayman, has joined the Expedition Collection of <a title="GHO web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts</a>. The announcement was made today by Mark Ellert, President of Guy Harvey Outpost Resorts. Established in 1954, Southern Cross Club is a recipient of the World Travelers Award for Leading Boutique Resort in 2013 and is rated #1 by TripAdvisor as the top B&B in Little Cayman. The resort today becomes the eighth member of the elite Expedition Collection of Guy Harvey’s rapidly growing Outpost system, which currently covers Florida, the Bahamas, Caribbean, Mexico and Galapagos Islands. “As a resident of nearby Grand Cayman, the Southern Cross Club is my favorite place to relax, “ notes Guy Harvey, Outpost Chairman. “The diving is truly extraordinary; the best the Caymans has to offer.” Located approximately 60 miles northeast of Grand Cayman with fewer than 200 residents, Little Cayman is also home to the acclaimed <a title="CCMI web site" href="http://reefresearch.org/" target="_blank">Central Caribbean Marine Institute</a>, whose Chairman is Peter Hillenbrand, owner of the Southern Cross Club. “Peter is a very close friend and a dedicated steward of the institute’s work in the conservation of coral reef ecosystems”, adds Harvey. “The Club’s commitment to conservation through education is matched only by its superior facilities, excellent service and attentive management.” Featuring spacious and colorful ocean-view beachfront bungalows, the casually comfortable Southern Cross Club offers top-of-class in-house diving and sport fishing operations. Little Cayman is one of three islands that comprise the Cayman Islands. “The Southern Cross Club sits on a powder white sand beach that stretches to a horizon dotted with palm trees and sapphire blue water,” comments Outpost President, Mark Ellert. “The club has the feel of an elegant safari camp, where beach and bonefish are the tropical substitute. Here you hunt with a 9 weight flyrod and a GoPro camera. ” With its tropical seclusion, miles of shallow flats, and deep ocean canyons just offshore, Little Cayman is the sport fishing destination of choice in the Cayman Islands. “We’re honored to have the Southern Cross Club as a member of Guy Harvey Outpost,” Ellert adds. “Sustainable tourism is on full display at this outpost, and it’s so well executed here, you’ll just never want to go home.” The Guy Harvey Outpost program earlier this month welcomed Dominica’s premier hotel, Fort Young, to its Expedition portfolio. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/southern-cross-club-in-little-cayman-joins-guy-harvey-outpost-resorts-as-an-expedition-property/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Tamiami Trail Triathlon: See the Everglades by Bike, Kayak, On Foot In One Day&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/gator.jpg"><img class="alignleft wp-image-3761 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/gator-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
By Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost staff writer
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
It's a multi-sport event like no other. You paddle instead of swim; hike instead of run; and bike the final leg with alligators as spectators. Hah! The Iron Man's got nothing on the Everglades & Big Cypress Tamiami Trail Triathlon.
Conceived by a couple of Everglades National Park rangers about three years ago as a way to encourage athletes, families, and nature lovers to "experience the diverse habitats and recreational opportunities offered along the Tamiami Trail/US 41", this free, year-round event is as strenuous or as leisurely as you want it to be. It's not a real competition. You don't have to complete all three legs in the same day. There' s no one keeping track of the time you took to finish. But by the time you are done, you will have learned a thing or two about this beautiful, fragile ecosystem-- the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi.
Recently, I completed the triathlon in just under eight hours. It was fun, not too difficult and gave me an excuse to carbo-load enthusiastically before embarking. You, too, should try it soon before the weather grows too warm and buggy.
My first stop was Everglades National Park's Gulf Coast Visitor Center in Everglades City-- starting point of the 3 1/2-mile round-trip kayak/canoe leg to Sandfly Island. (The visitor center is NOT located on Tamiami Trail, but it isn't far.) I checked in with the rangers, then set out across Chokoloskee Bay in a single sit-inside kayak. With an outgoing tide and northeast winds of 10-15 miles per hour, the trip took only about a half-hour. I wandered around the island for a few moments, examined the artesian well and cistern built by the early 20th-century inhabitants, and treaded the modern boardwalk.
When you do this leg, pay attention to the interpretive signs posted on the island because when you return to the visitor center, rangers will ask you a question about what you saw and you have to answer correctly in order to win the grand prize of a finisher bumper sticker. The same thing happens at the other two sites.
My return trip to the visitor center took more than twice the time of the outbound leg because I had to dig down against wind and tide and steer around shallow oyster bars. The cheeping of ospreys and whine of small planes taking off from Everglades Air Park made up my paddling soundscape.
<a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/fish-package"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-3768 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/blogad.jpg" alt="" width="490" height="293" /></a>
I got a ranger to stamp my trail map after correctly answering the non-64-million-dollar question, then hopped into my car and drove about 20 miles to the Big Cypress National Preserve Oasis Visitor Center on Tamiami Trail.
A ranger there gave me a trail map and lent me a walking stick for the three-mile loop trail hike north, and I was off.
I had previously walked this section of the Florida Trail, but never when it was this wet. Normally in mid-winter, you might encounter mud and a few shallow puddles, but nothing like the knee-deep sloughs that I slogged through. I even scattered tadpoles as I sloshed along. (If you do this, make sure you bring dry shoes and clothes.)
When I arrived at a beautiful pine and oak hammock, I was supposed to cross over to the east to reach a swamp buggy trail for the return hike to Oasis. But that trail is very rocky, so I just turned around and splashed back the way I came-- admiring distant cypress domes and exchanging greetings with an egret.
I correctly answered question number two, returned the ranger's walking stick and drove east on Tamiami Trail for 20 miles or so to the Shark Valley entrance of Everglades National Park to complete leg #3--the extremely popular 15-mile bicycle loop road.
Shark Valley is the best place by far in South Florida to encounter alligators of all sizes. They sun themselves beside the canal and sometimes even sprawl across the road, forcing you to pedal around them. (There's a reason why you find so many here, but I am not going to give away the answer to triathlon question number three.)
I set out on my bike from the visitor center and spotted a gator lolling on the side of the road in the first five minutes. It was the first of many I passed on my two-hour ride-- all of which ignored me. I also encountered anhingas drying their wings and great blue herons looking for fish to impale. Normally in mid-winter, the sawgrass prairie on the "back" side of the road is nearly dry, but water was streaming across the pavement and the culverts held whirlpools.
I made it back to the visitor center about an hour before dark and collected my congratulatory bumper sticker. This had been one very long, very exhilarating and strenuous celebration of nature-- but totally worth the effort. And a great excuse to carbo-load.
Go <a href="http://nps.gov/bicy/planyourvisit/tamiami-trail-triathlon.htm." target="_blank">HERE</a> for more information on the Tamiami Trail Triathlon.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts.
https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/tamiami-trail-triathlon-see-the-everglades-by-bike-kayak-on-foot-in-one-day/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Lassoing Tigers by the Tail&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934055_121444225965_813001_n1.jpg"><img class=" size-medium wp-image-2800 alignleft" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/1934055_121444225965_813001_n1.jpg?w=267" alt="1934055_121444225965_813001_n" width="267" height="300" /></a>By Sue Cocking | <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost</a>
It looked more like the marine version of a rodeo than a scientific expedition in the clear, shallow waters of Tiger Beach off West End, Grand Bahama Island in the spring of 2009. Dr. Guy Harvey-- renowned marine artist, scientist, conservationist and cinematographer--and a handful of colleagues were trying to capture a 9 1/2 -foot tiger shark-- one of several for which the shoal was named-- so they could implant it with an acoustic transmitter tag. The tag emits a signature beep that is picked up by an underwater receiver installed in the area. Whenever a tagged shark passes within 300-500 meters of the receiver, it stores the signal to be downloaded onto a computer. So far, the shark had successfully eluded the scientists, but they weren't giving up.
Not nearly as high-tech as today's satellite tracking tags, which can follow a shark's moment-by-moment travel for up to several years, acoustic tags are nonetheless useful, showing when and how often an animal uses a specific area. They are also a lot cheaper than the $3,500 satellite tag.
"We should tag every one of these animals to see where they go," Harvey said. "The ultimate would be to have the species protected or--if not-- this area of the Bahama Bank could be designated no shark fishing. This is the beginning of what will hopefully be a 20-year study where we involve the Bahamian government, researchers from various institutions, dive operators."
Eventually, Harvey-- along with Dr. Mahmood Shivji, professor and director of Nova Southeastern University's Guy Harvey Research Institute and their fellow researchers--managed to lasso their target underwater, bring it to the dive platform of their boat and implant the tag in its belly. It swam away smartly.
Fast-forward six years to 2015 and you'll find that Harvey's tiger shark research and conservation efforts have reaped a handsome return. Expanding well beyond the Bahamas, recent long-term satellite tagging data reported in the June 9 issue of the journal Scientific Reports details previously unknown migration patterns covering thousands of miles between completely different ecosystems.
The study-- led by Nova Southeastern University scientists James Lea, Brad Wetherbee and Shivji and co-authored by Harvey-- found that tigers tagged in Bermuda travelled more than 7,500 kilometers round-trip between the open waters of the mid-North Atlantic and the coral reefs of the Bahamas and Caribbean each year. Like snowbirds, the male sharks spent winters in warm waters, headed as far north as Connecticut in summer, then returned to the same favorite winter hang-outs in the tropics.
One shark named Harry Lindo covered the longest tracked distance--27,000 miles-- ever documented for a tiger.
For Harvey, Shivji and the other scientists, the findings have profound implications for tiger shark conservation. The animals, listed as near-threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, are protected from harvest in Bahamian and Florida waters. But as a target in the lucrative shark fin soup trade, they don't enjoy the same safe haven in other waters where they travel.
Said Harvey: "Understanding how these animals use the oceans is the first step toward effective conservation. Protecting migratory species is a great challenge because they can be found in such a wide area. Protecting the areas where animals such as tiger sharks spend the most time is a tractable goal once those areas have been identified."
To track the movement of the tiger sharks tagged by the Guy Harvey Research Institute, visit the <a href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/tracking/" target="_blank">GHRI shark tracking web site</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/lassoing-tigers-by-the-tail-2/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=More Reasons Than Ever to Harvest Lionfish&body=by Sue Cocking, Guy Harvey Outpost Travel Journalist
scocking@guyharveyoutpost.com
Lionfish: they gobble just about anything they can fit in their mouths, decimating native marine fish populations and taking over coral reef ecosystems. They are colorful and tasty and now there are more reasons than ever for you to hunt them down and take them out.
The month of May-- warmer water temperatures, calmer winds-- marks the unofficial grand opening of the recreational diving season in Florida and the Bahamas, and the kickoff of a busy season of lionfish removal derbies. All kinds of incentives are being offered for you to harvest, log, photograph and eat your catch of these venom-spined invaders from the Indo Pacific.
The <a href="http://www.guyharveyoutpost.com/destinations/bahamas/green-turtle-cay-abacos/" target="_blank">Green Turtle Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Expedition Lodge</a> in Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas will conduct its eighth annual Lionfish Derby June 24-25 in conjunction with the non-profit Friends of the Environment. Prizes will be awarded for the most, the largest, and the smallest lionfish brought in, and competitors will celebrate by eating their catch. The club was the scene of the very first lionfish derby in the Bahamas in 2009, organized by dive operators Brendal and Mary Stevens. The fleet of some 20 boats harvested 1,408 of the peppermint-striped exotics in the inaugural tournament. At last year's contest, they took out 763. The event has become a model for other lionfish derbies throughout the Bahamas. To get in on the action, book your stay by calling 1-800-513-5257 and email info@friendsoftheenvironment.org for an entry form.
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GTC-Blog-Image.jpg"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-4058 size-full" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/GTC-Blog-Image.jpg" alt="GTC Blog Image" width="624" height="237" /></a>
Stateside, lionfish derby season opens May 14-15 with Florida's <a href="http://reefrangers.com/event-info/" target="_blank">Lionfish Removal and Awareness Day Festival and Tournament</a> at Plaza de Luna Park in Pensacola co-sponsored by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and <a href="http://www.guyharveymagazine.com" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Magazine</a>. Harvesters can win prizes at this free event, which inaugurates the statewide Lionfish Challenge running through Sept. 30.
To qualify for the Challenge, participants must take out 50 or more lionfish between May 14 and the end of September. They can win prizes such as fishing licenses, fuel cards, dive tank refills and the opportunity to take one extra lobster over the bag limit during the 2016 sport diving mini-season July 27-28. Whoever documents the most lionfish over the course of the contest will receive a lifetime saltwater fishing license and be inducted into the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Lionfish Hall of Fame.
Especially for the Florida Panhandle, where Gulf waters have become a lionfish hot zone in the past couple of years, the state has launched a year-long pilot program running from May 14, 2016 to May 20, 2017. For every lionfish taken from the seven-county region, the diver or angler will be eligible for a tag to take either a red grouper or a cobia over the bag limit in state waters. Anyone who harvests 500 or more lionfish over the one-year program will have the opportunity to name an artificial reef.
And removing really big lionfish can earn you a spot in the Florida state record book. The current mark for the longest lionfish harvested in the Atlantic is an 18.78-incher caught by Captain Jimmy Nelson in Islamorada. In the Gulf, the largest in both length and weight is a 17.24-inch, 3.1-pounder weighed by Captain Andy Ross of Pensacola.
For details on these contests and rewards programs, go <a href="http://www.myfwc.com/lionfish/" target="_blank">HERE</a>.
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Sue Cocking chronicles the Guy Harvey Outpost travel and adventure experience in regular blog posts on GuyHarveyOutpostNews.com/. For 21 years, Cocking covered the full spectrum of outdoors adventure opportunities in South Florida and beyond for the Miami Herald, including fishing, diving, hunting, paddling, camping, sailing and powerboat racing. She is a certified scuba diver and holder of an IGFA women's world fly fishing record for a 29-pound permit.
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Share your photos, videos and experiences with Guy Harvey Outpost by hash tagging #OutpostAttitude to all of your social media posts. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/more-reasons-than-ever-to-harvest-lionfish/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Big Game Club Sold Out for Labor Day Weekend!&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bgclaborday-heli.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-849 " title="Arriving by Air!" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/bgclaborday-heli.jpg" alt="" width="495" height="316" /></a>Guests are arriving by any means necessary for the Bimini Big Game Club's sold-out Labor Day Weekend celebration!
With the Labor Day Weekend on hand, the historic <a title="BBGC web site" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.comn" target="_blank">Bimini Big Game Club</a> is attracting guests by air, by sea and with a unique tasty menu featuring a Caribbean specialty - Lionfish Nuggets!
General manager Mike Weber said the 51-room resort is completely sold out for the Labor Day Weekend, a good sign for the iconic resort and marina, which returned as a <a title="About GHO" href="http://www.biggameclubbimini.com/aboutus.htm" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost</a> last year.
"We are looking good with several bookings for 2012 already in place," said Weber. "The property is really spectacular and we currently rated very high in customer reviews on <a title="BBGC Reviews on TripAdvisor" href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g147426-d147623-Reviews-Bimini_Big_Game_Club-Bimini_Out_Islands_Bahamas.html" target="_blank">TripAdvisor</a>."
Closed for two years, the BBGC reopened last year following a multi-million-dollar renovation that included all guest rooms, the new Bimini Bar & Grill, the Outfitter Shop and the Gulfstream Conference Center and adjoining Hemingway Rum Bar & Social Lounge.
Located on the main navigation channel in Bimini, the BBGC has again become the epicenter of water-oriented pursuits, including offshore game fishing, backcountry fishing and diving. The resort features a 75-slip marina capable of accommodating boats up to 145 feet in length. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/big-game-club-sold-out-for-labor-day-weekend/){kind=link}
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