Shark Diving... Florida? Bahamas?

[taymag]

Where is the closest place for shark diving in south Florida? I assume since you cant feed here it is hit or miss but I know there has to be some boats that "target" this more so than others and was just looking for some direction.

Also, I know the Bahamas can feed so I would guess there are some decent places there if anyone has visited and done this I would appreciate this info as well.

I know some think this is stupid but I don't and its been on my bucketlist forever

Any info would be appreciated since most people here know their way around the dive world. Thanks!

 

[Wookie]

How much and how many sharks do you want? If you go with Randy Jordan on the Emerald, you stand a pretty good chance of seeing sharks on a 3 tank dive. If you go to Tiger beach on the Shearwater, Dolphin Dream, or Spree, you can spend a week diving with Tigers, lemons, and reef sharks. If you want to go with Stuart Coves, you will still see them, but on a 2 tank dive. It all depends on what you can stand, and how much your bucket list is worth to you.

 

[sportxlh]

......I assume since you cant feed here it is hit or miss.......

You can't bait/feed in Florida waters but you can in Federal waters (3 miles offshore).

I dive with Jupiter Dive Center and see reef sharks on the majority of my dives (Tunnels is a site that is virtually guaranteed to have reef sharks). JDC does not bait or feed sharks but another Jupiter operator mentioned by Wookie does feeding dives off-shore. I'm not keen on these types of dives myself and have never done one, but this sort of 'adventure' is available in the area. SB'ers seem to be about evenly split on whether this sort of diving in the Florida area makes sense or not.

See this thread for a feel of what can see.....

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...erent-tiger-sharks-jupiter-fl-05-18-14-a.html

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Depends on your experience level as well. The dive ops out of the Palm Beach area that go after sharks (both baited ops like Emerald and Calypso and charters that don't bait but love looking for sharks, like Ocean Quest, Jupiter Dive Center, and Narcosis) are deeper (60-130 ft) drift dives. Emerald in particular is not for the inexperienced. The Bahamas ops tend to be shallower dives without current. Stuart Cove's feeding dives tend to be very simple, aside from the part where you're sitting on the bottom with reefies all over you.

If you're looking to stay in Florida, check with Ocean Quest, JDC, or Narcosis.


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[diversteve]

Or you could go to UNEXSO (Freeport) and dive with Cristina Zenato - she's in the Women Divers Hall of Fame partly for her shark research work. In case Dolphin Diving is on your bucket list - you can do that there also.

She's got a video also... f.y.i. You don't get to get as close as Joe - he works for the Shark Research Institute...



You can also go out to Tiger Beach from there on a day trip with Stuart Coves other location on Freeport's West End. It's only about 40' deep but as mentioned there's big Tigers and Lemons usually there.
Welcome to Stuart Cove's Newest Dive Operation at Old Bahama Bay Resort, West End, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas

There's almost always reef sharks milling around near the Cove's Nassau feed site. Usually waiting for it. They have an interactive map on their website where they list the species often seen at many of their dive sites. Obviously the closest ones to the feed are more likely. So you can dive with sharks on a regular two tank if you get them to take you to the right site. It's actually a lot more of a personal encounter than the canned feed where you all sit around in a circle with your hands down.

Emerald and Calypso are the topic of another thread here also: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...es-illegally-feeding-sharks-state-waters.html
Not someone I'd want to associate with.

 

[diver 85]

Wookie mentioned a Randy Jordon---& murfdizzle(sp) has a number of videos on here about diving with sharks.....Here's a link to one post I found, just hit his recent posts & you can find more....
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/fl...erent-tiger-sharks-jupiter-fl-05-18-14-a.html

 

[taymag]

Thanks for the answer! That video with Randy is amazing.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

I don't know if "amazing" is the term I would use. I've dove with Randy and enjoy viewing sharks at close range (and where else are you going to get 4 tigers in one day?) ... but personally I'm not too crazy about the full-blown shark noogies in that clip.

 

[taymag]

As long as I'm not the one giving the nookies its amazing to me. He's the one taking the "risk" and if he feels comfortable enough to do it then more power to him. If the shark cared they would let him know and from what I can tell searching his name hes made it pretty far without a problem

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

"No one died so far" That's Emerald's philosophy and they will stick with it as long as they can . . . Sounds like that record is comfortable enough for you, so go for it! You do understand that they also actively spear to attract sharks as well? Still, it's a lot cheaper than a Bahamas trip. I did one of Abernethy's five day trips and it was amazing, well worth it. But, the baiting was much different--everything sealed up, no free bait in the water, no active feeding, very strict protocols for diver behavior, much less active (aggressive?) sharks. Also, the shallow water gave multi-hour bottom times with the sharks due to the huge tanks ("cave filled" LP 95s) that they can provide if you ask.

Wookie, are you doing Tiger Beach now?