Wanting To Go Shark Diving

[drrich2]

Okay, I'm back.

4.) The Bahamas is another popular 'sharky' destination. Stuart's Cove is famous for the shark feed diving with reef sharks. Live-aboards may offer natural observation, plus a shark feed dive. Some options - Blackbeard's (super cheap - see review by T.C. from May, 2014, & Kimbalabala's from 2013), AquaCat (very reputable) and the Caribbean Aggressor (which spends part of the year with an itinerary including some Tiger Beach action.

5.) North Carolina - mainly sand tiger shark diving, deep wrecks, water temp.s & sea conditions are seasonal, and this can be some very nice diving. My trip report from Aug. 2015.

6.) There are other trips where people see sharks, & may see a shark feed dive; I did both on the Sun Dancer 2 (now Belize Aggressor IV) - trip report May 2015.

7.) The great white shark diving out of Guadalupe, Mexico is out of your current price range, & cage diving, but I'll mention it as a possible bucket list item.

8.) You already know about Tiger Beach for tiger shark diving in the Bahamas. It's possible to find great hammerheads there - see a Jim Abernathy Page on that. People also speak of hammerhead observation diving Cocos and the Galapagos.

9.) File under 'Too rich for my blood,' now and maybe not ever, but there are people who dive cageless with oceanic white-tips near Cat Island in the Bahamas. Just reading about how those sharks come at & generally accost divers gives me the willies.

To sum it up, I'd recommend you start with shallow reef diving in Key Largo & maybe see some reef sharks, taking the AOW & nitrox courses, & when you're comfortable in the ocean and with deeper diving, maybe try Jupiter during the lemon shark migration, or North Carolina from June to August for sand tiger sharks, and see how you feel & handle the situation. If you want a shark feed dive, this might be a time for a cheap live-aboard (e.g.: Blackbeard's, perhaps pay a bit more for the Juliet, Lost Island Voyages or the Caribbean Aggressor), and make sure the boat in question will do that. If you then are comfortable with all that, and capable enough, perhaps Emerald Dive Charters might give you what you're looking for?

Richard.

P.S.: Since shark feeding is a controversial & contentious topic, and rightly so in my view, I'll go on a little tangent & post here my thread collection dealing with it. Whether you are pro. or con., it's worth reading up on a bit.

2005 - Shark Dives vs Au Natural. shark dives vs au natural

2005 - Feeding Sharks. Feeding Sharks

2008 - Shark Bites Live-aboard Guest. Shark bites liveaboard guest

2009 - Shark Feeding. Shark Feeding

2010 - Shark Feeding Dives in USA? Why Not??? Shark feeding dives in USA? Why not???

2010 - Shark And Other Fish Feeding. shark and other fish feeding

2011 - Chumming/Baiting For Shark Dives. Chumming/Baiting for Shark Dives

2014 - Shark Divine…Florida? Bahamas? Shark Diving... Florida? Bahamas?

2015 - Jim Abernathy Baited Shark Dive. Jim Abernethy baited shark dive

2015 - Shark Court For Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter. Shark Court for Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter

2015 - Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans. Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans (this thread was noteworthy for broader discussion of locations & shark species).

 

[docmartin]

Unfortunately the odds of seeing a tiger without bait in the water are not much better than running into Elvis at your local diner. They are too shy.

 

[drrich2]

Since you're not certified yet, a few things may not be obvious about scuba diving with big predators around. Some issues:

1.) Water has a 'zoom' factor, making things look bigger. Your dive mask has a skirt. Put them together, you lose some peripheral vision.

2.) You loose directional hearing; you can't tell where sounds are coming from, due to the speed sound moves through water. Which may not matter that much, since unlike many large land predators, a large shark can come at you silently.

3.) In the water, you are geared up, bulky and very slow. The shark can slice through water like an arrow. You are pretty helpless.

4.) On land, a predator has to come at you from your level (unless you're in an African safari with leopards in trees, or near water worried about a Nile crocodile bursting out). In water, you've got your sides, yes, but above & below, so a 3-D environment.

5.) Maintaining buoyancy, messing with gear, watching for sharks, keeping up with your dive buddy or the group & likely messing around with a camera & being mindful of your NDL time remaining, air or nitrox gas pressure and current depth amounts to a lot of task loading.

Now, if that's not enough drama for you, add a couple of tiger sharks, spread out so you can't keep an eye on both of them at once.

It's hard to get a handle on this until you've been on some dives. And I didn't even get into current, lower-than-expected visibility, the added anxiety of buddy separation, and what do you do if your gas supply is low & you need to head up, but there's a big tiger shark circling overhead?

Richard.

 

[diversteve]

Unfortunately the odds of seeing a tiger without bait in the water are not much better than running into Elvis at your local diner. They are too shy.

Try Olawalu off Maui... - just slightly better than running into Elvis though - the beach gets closed once in a while when they hunt in the bay.

Of course there the ocean provides the bait - turtles.

 

[NoobDiver1]

Bahamas|Tiger Shark Diving|Caribbean Reef Shark Diving|Shark Courses is likely what you want - but you really should get more diving experience first - around smaller sharks. And be able to get out of the way - big sharks generate a lot of force moving. Get hit by a tail and it's cuts/bruises or worse.

And call/contact Reef Oasis with your expectations/dive count - they may not let you off the boat in the water. Long/pricey trip to GBI if they don't - they make the final call based on whether or not you're competent to do the dives - it's their liability insurance and professional reputation at stake . Plus no matter how many waivers you sign, your heirs could sue. One guy has been killed there - Tigers are known to "mouth" things on occasion to see what they are. At 325 PSI let's hope it's not your hand or leg.

Tigers are big, fast when they want to be, and some like to "bump" divers. Panicking then would not be a good thing - panic and bolting for the surface even worse. Getting bumped by a 20', 1500 lb, Tiger with an open 2' wide mouth? Yeah that's a clean the wetsuit moment. There's also going to be big Lemon Sharks there - probably more than the Tigers.

Get 50 dives first. For what you're paying to stay on Grand Bahama and dive, you should have better air consumption before you go to Tiger Beach - as much as you don't know now, it's an adrenaline rush so you'll go thru your air too fast and have to surface. I don't know the operation but if it's first guy low on air brings the group up - you won't make any new friends on the boat if it's you - they all paid also.

In feeds I've been to (several) they generally bring the group down together, keep them a safe(r) distance away and bring the sharks in. Then everyone leaves together at the end - often with DM's discouraging your new friends from following. No matter how exciting it is, check your air. Last thing you want is to have an OOA situation in the middle of a shark feed.

Unexso does reef shark dives also. Not at Tiger Beach. If Cristina Zenato is still doing those dives, she does an amazing job handling them.

I'm sorry to burst your bubble but you seem to have a very un-realistic picture of what to expect as a new diver. Or how much your lack of refined, practiced skills can be dangerous - not just for you. You should have your air consumption and most importantly buoyancy control dialed in before attempting a dive like that.

Huge help! You aren't bursting my bubble - I obviously don't know what to expect, I just kind of want that "rush," so to say. There are also other non-threatening dives that I'd love to do (dolphin, whale shark, etc.), so those may be options as well. I'm just trying to package together some great options. It's not easy to just Google "Best places to dive and see multiple species." So, I guess I am here to collect advice, but also to see what recommendations people may have from their personal experiences.

 

[NoobDiver1]

Okay, I'm back.

4.) The Bahamas is another popular 'sharky' destination. Stuart's Cove is famous for the shark feed diving with reef sharks. Live-aboards may offer natural observation, plus a shark feed dive. Some options - Blackbeard's (super cheap - see review by T.C. from May, 2014, & Kimbalabala's from 2013), AquaCat (very reputable) and the Caribbean Aggressor (which spends part of the year with an itinerary including some Tiger Beach action.

5.) North Carolina - mainly sand tiger shark diving, deep wrecks, water temp.s & sea conditions are seasonal, and this can be some very nice diving. My trip report from Aug. 2015.

6.) There are other trips where people see sharks, & may see a shark feed dive; I did both on the Sun Dancer 2 (now Belize Aggressor IV) - trip report May 2015.

7.) The great white shark diving out of Guadalupe, Mexico is out of your current price range, & cage diving, but I'll mention it as a possible bucket list item.

8.) You already know about Tiger Beach for tiger shark diving in the Bahamas. It's possible to find great hammerheads there - see a Jim Abernathy Page on that. People also speak of hammerhead observation diving Cocos and the Galapagos.

9.) File under 'Too rich for my blood,' now and maybe not ever, but there are people who dive cageless with oceanic white-tips near Cat Island in the Bahamas. Just reading about how those sharks come at & generally accost divers gives me the willies.

To sum it up, I'd recommend you start with shallow reef diving in Key Largo & maybe see some reef sharks, taking the AOW & nitrox courses, & when you're comfortable in the ocean and with deeper diving, maybe try Jupiter during the lemon shark migration, or North Carolina from June to August for sand tiger sharks, and see how you feel & handle the situation. If you want a shark feed dive, this might be a time for a cheap live-aboard (e.g.: Blackbeard's, perhaps pay a bit more for the Juliet, Lost Island Voyages or the Caribbean Aggressor), and make sure the boat in question will do that. If you then are comfortable with all that, and capable enough, perhaps Emerald Dive Charters might give you what you're looking for?

Richard.

P.S.: Since shark feeding is a controversial & contentious topic, and rightly so in my view, I'll go on a little tangent & post here my thread collection dealing with it. Whether you are pro. or con., it's worth reading up on a bit.

2005 - Shark Dives vs Au Natural. shark dives vs au natural

2005 - Feeding Sharks. Feeding Sharks

2008 - Shark Bites Live-aboard Guest. Shark bites liveaboard guest

2009 - Shark Feeding. Shark Feeding

2010 - Shark Feeding Dives in USA? Why Not??? Shark feeding dives in USA? Why not???

2010 - Shark And Other Fish Feeding. shark and other fish feeding

2011 - Chumming/Baiting For Shark Dives. Chumming/Baiting for Shark Dives

2014 - Shark Divine…Florida? Bahamas? Shark Diving... Florida? Bahamas?

2015 - Jim Abernathy Baited Shark Dive. Jim Abernethy baited shark dive

2015 - Shark Court For Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter. Shark Court for Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter

2015 - Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans. Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans (this thread was noteworthy for broader discussion of locations & shark species).

Thanks for the suggestions/advice!

 

[All Star Liveaboards]

Thanks for the mention Richard. Blackbeard's Cruises and Aqua Cat Cruises were recently rated as one of the top 5 shark encounters by Sport Diver Magazine We've been offering shark feeds on our cruises for over 25 years! You will also have sharks encounters on most other dives from Caribbean Reef Sharks to Nurse sharks, Lemons and occasionally Hammerheads, Blacknose,Tigers and if you're lucky a Whale Shark encounter

 

[NoobDiver1]

Thanks for the mention Richard. Blackbeard's Cruises and Aqua Cat Cruises were recently rated as one of the top 5 shark encounters by Sport Diver Magazine We've been offering shark feeds on our cruises for over 25 years! You will also have sharks encounters on most other dives from Caribbean Reef Sharks to Nurse sharks, Lemons and occasionally Hammerheads, Blacknose,Tigers and if you're lucky a Whale Shark encounter

Thanks for the response. You had me at beer, wine, and rum punch.

 

[NoobDiver1]

Okay, I'm back.

4.) The Bahamas is another popular 'sharky' destination. Stuart's Cove is famous for the shark feed diving with reef sharks. Live-aboards may offer natural observation, plus a shark feed dive. Some options - Blackbeard's (super cheap - see review by T.C. from May, 2014, & Kimbalabala's from 2013), AquaCat (very reputable) and the Caribbean Aggressor (which spends part of the year with an itinerary including some Tiger Beach action.

5.) North Carolina - mainly sand tiger shark diving, deep wrecks, water temp.s & sea conditions are seasonal, and this can be some very nice diving. My trip report from Aug. 2015.

6.) There are other trips where people see sharks, & may see a shark feed dive; I did both on the Sun Dancer 2 (now Belize Aggressor IV) - trip report May 2015.

7.) The great white shark diving out of Guadalupe, Mexico is out of your current price range, & cage diving, but I'll mention it as a possible bucket list item.

8.) You already know about Tiger Beach for tiger shark diving in the Bahamas. It's possible to find great hammerheads there - see a Jim Abernathy Page on that. People also speak of hammerhead observation diving Cocos and the Galapagos.

9.) File under 'Too rich for my blood,' now and maybe not ever, but there are people who dive cageless with oceanic white-tips near Cat Island in the Bahamas. Just reading about how those sharks come at & generally accost divers gives me the willies.

To sum it up, I'd recommend you start with shallow reef diving in Key Largo & maybe see some reef sharks, taking the AOW & nitrox courses, & when you're comfortable in the ocean and with deeper diving, maybe try Jupiter during the lemon shark migration, or North Carolina from June to August for sand tiger sharks, and see how you feel & handle the situation. If you want a shark feed dive, this might be a time for a cheap live-aboard (e.g.: Blackbeard's, perhaps pay a bit more for the Juliet, Lost Island Voyages or the Caribbean Aggressor), and make sure the boat in question will do that. If you then are comfortable with all that, and capable enough, perhaps Emerald Dive Charters might give you what you're looking for?

Richard.

P.S.: Since shark feeding is a controversial & contentious topic, and rightly so in my view, I'll go on a little tangent & post here my thread collection dealing with it. Whether you are pro. or con., it's worth reading up on a bit.

2005 - Shark Dives vs Au Natural. shark dives vs au natural

2005 - Feeding Sharks. Feeding Sharks

2008 - Shark Bites Live-aboard Guest. Shark bites liveaboard guest

2009 - Shark Feeding. Shark Feeding

2010 - Shark Feeding Dives in USA? Why Not??? Shark feeding dives in USA? Why not???

2010 - Shark And Other Fish Feeding. shark and other fish feeding

2011 - Chumming/Baiting For Shark Dives. Chumming/Baiting for Shark Dives

2014 - Shark Divine…Florida? Bahamas? Shark Diving... Florida? Bahamas?

2015 - Jim Abernathy Baited Shark Dive. Jim Abernethy baited shark dive

2015 - Shark Court For Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter. Shark Court for Randy Emerald Charters Jupiter

2015 - Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans. Proposed interactive shark diving in the Caymans (this thread was noteworthy for broader discussion of locations & shark species).

Richard,

Thanks for the tips again! I made it out a few weeks back with All-Star Liveaboard's Blackbeard cruise. Saw some reef and nurse sharks, and it was awesome. It's funny - going in, I was only expecting to see a few sharks in their natural habitat and be done with scuba diving (cross it off the bucket list and be done). I will say scuba diving turned out to be a pleasant surprise all around and it turned out to be one of the better vacations I've had in my life.

Thanks to all others as well!

 

[drrich2]

Glad you had a good time. Scuba diving isn't just an activity; it's a means to access another world, and there's a lot to see there. I just got back last month from 5 days diving the Channel Islands of California; I saw a torpedo ray, got buzzed by a sea lion, a harbor seal messed with fin and I saw amongst kelp forest. Last year out of Morehead City, North Carolina, I've seen amongst sizable sand tiger sharks! And there are so many places & things to see where I've never yet been...

Richard.