The Steel Forest is a set of three wrecks that were scuttled between 1997 and 2002. They orient to form a triangle on the sandy bottom in 40-120′ of water, right on the edge of the Tongue of the Ocean, a 6000′-deep ocean trench.
The “fake hand on/under a wreck” thing seems to be fairly common in Bahamian dive sites. We’ve also seen a few when diving off Lucaya in Grand Bahama. They’re always good for a laugh.
On crowded dive boats, it’s a good idea to be geared up and ready to enter the water as soon as the captain stops the boat. That way, you’re a few minutes ahead of the crowd, and can avoid chaotic situations like this.
Please check out my entire Nassau underwater photo gallery here.