UNEXSO (The Underwater Explorers Society) was started in the late 60’s by a construction engineer from Nashville, Tennessee by the name of Bob Nichols. He worked for an international construction company - Oman Construction - headquartered in Nashville.  Bob had a vision when he ended up in Freeport and wandered out to the area which is now Lucaya. There was nothing there except a few boat docks, but it suited him just fine to start one of the best known dive shops in the Bahamas.

I was priviledged to be one of the original early members , and have watched it grow from a small dive shop and museum with a small bar and grill upstairs (Where you could talk to the other divers post dive and swap all your lies about the day’s diving, and get the best hamburger and fries on the island.)

Years later, John Englander took over the club and has taken it from a small - almost private - dive club to what it is today. UNEXSO has spread out, expanded in all directions taking in many more areas than ever imagined in the early days. Now there is , of course, all types of diving available from reef to ships to caves to sharks to dolphins. The dolphin research station has been doing exciting work with the dolphins for many years now, and the shark experience is one of the best in the caribbean. And, they are now one of the largest, if not the largest, retail clothing outlet on Freeport.

With all this, they still serve a mean hamburger and fries at the outdoor grill where divers still gather to swap lies and brag about the whoppers they saw today.