Cave of the sleeping sharks

[divingjd]

I'll be there at the end of February and very interested. Is accessibility of this site very weather-dependent, or can it be accessed in most conditions?


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[Dave Dillehay]

Everything up there is weather dependent, as is Barracuda Reef. As long as the wind in below 15 knots it should be OK. Of course we have specially equipped boats and guides with UW radios/GPS, add in some extra safety procedures and we believe it is not unsafe. As for the Cave of the Sleeping sharks we will require that all divers be "Barracuda Reef Qualified", basically those with good buoyancy control, ability to get down fast, and disciplined.

For all the other Polar Express sites the average diver should be no problem.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[divingjd]

Thanks, Dave. We've been up to Barracuda with Dario and I knew that getting up there depended on the weather. It sounds like this would be similar. I was already looking forward to another week at the Villa and diving with Aldora. Now it. Looks like we have more to look forward to.


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[loudives]

Do Silky sharks eat divers?

Been known to!


Silky shark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Here is a photo 0f one of the sharks. We think they may be Silky Sharks. Any other ideas?

 

[sharky60]

Do Silky sharks eat divers?

NO sharks eat divers, or anyone else for that matter. They may bite someone on occasion, usually due to something the human did or was doing, and usually on the surface. Most shark bites happen in less than 3' of water and are usually to a lower extremity. It's just the bad bites that the press can exploit that get the attention.

Or, of course, the extreme cases of sea battles when sailors have a ship blown out from under them and there is a lot of blood & body parts in the water...

...sharks don't eat people.

---------- Post added January 24th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ----------

Here is a photo 0f one of the sharks. We think they may be Silky Sharks. Any other ideas?

View attachment 176150

Definitely looks like a silky. Long, sleek, that kind of goldish/silver sheen to the skin, 5 gills slits, pretty symmetrical dorsal ... looks like a silky to me! Hold on Dave! I'm comin'!!

 

[Prop Joe]

This looks great Dave!
I hope to get up there in March.
Just a thought and kind of related...
I read in another thread about another operation (NOT Aldora) was using reef hooks up north. Maybe they'll stop the practice knowing these creatures are around? The sadistic side of me hopes they hook one = One heck of a ride! I bet the shark wins that struggle.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Dear Joe,

This site is WAY north, I doubt if anyone else will go there, even if they knew where it was. To do it safely requires a lot of stuff out of the ordinary.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Mossman]

Here is a photo 0f one of the sharks. We think they may be Silky Sharks. Any other ideas?

This shark has a blunt snout, silkies have long slender snouts. Silkies are solitary, but you mentioned multiple sharks. Silkies have large eyes, but this guy's eyes look rather small. Silkies pectoral fins are more rounded. Definitely not a silky.

Why do you not think it to be a Caribbean reef shark?

---------- Post added January 24th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ----------

I read in another thread about another operation (NOT Aldora) was using reef hooks up north. Maybe they'll stop the practice knowing these creatures are around? The sadistic side of me hopes they hook one = One heck of a ride! I bet the shark wins that struggle.

Why would they stop using reef hooks because of sharks? All the times I've used a reef hook, it was specifically TO look at sharks. And how would they hook a shark with one, notwithstanding the sadistic side of you wanting the shark to get hooked?

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Dear Mossman,

I was not there on the dive, all I could say was what I was told. One of the most respected old time Mexican dive authorities, Alberto Friescone, was along with three other highly experienced divers. They have seen perhaps more than thousands of Caribbean Reef sharks, and insist they are not that. And I have no idea how you can discern how blunt the head is from this photo. It is most likely the silky sheen of the skin, witnessed first hand by very experienced authorities, that caused them to suspect the species to be Silky Shark. The very small second dorsal fin is also an indicator.

But hell, I don't know, that is why I posted the photo in the first place…didn't want to start a fight. Welcome!

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers