Stuart Cove's Snorkel Bahamas - Reef, Cessna, Shark

[danpass]

Dan Passaro: Stuart Cove's Snorkel Bahamas - Reef, Cessna, Shark


My first cruise (Carnival Imagination) took me from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas with arrival on November 29, 2008.

We arrived in port at 7am and debarkation started at 10am. The SC shuttle picked me up at 12:15 and I was off on a whirlwind adventure thru all the intermediate pickups on the way to Stuart Cove's.

After check-in and signing the permission slip we boarded the boat at 1:45pm. We initialed the list as being on board and took off for the first of three stops, each of which is 35 minutes. The water temperature was around 78F and was fine without a wetsuit as long as you kept moving.

Video compilation at the end. I am really buoyant and wasn't wearing my weight belt unfortunately, so as soon as I get to where I want and relax for good camera work I float up immediately lol.



Hollywood Bowl:

This spot was a shallow reef near a small island. Between the reef and the island is a sandy area where several movies have been filmed (such as Into the Blue). The sandy area is deepest at approximately 25 feet.

The moment we arrived fish came up to the boat. At this point one of the guides tossed in some food (looked like dog foods pellets) and the frenzy started up right on the surface.

As we got into the water the fish would swarm us looking for a handout. It was easy to reach out and touch the fish and they followed you around wherever you went.




Nari Nari / Cessna wreck:

This stop is the one I was most interested in quite frankly. It was shallow enough for me to freedive and touch the wreck (kinda slimy lol). I spent all my time at the wreck and the fish were mostly at the reef area (Nari Nari).

The wreck was intentionally sunk for the movie Jaws IV and also rests in approximately 25 feet of water.




Reef Shark Encounter:

Just as cool as the Cessna wreck! We arrived at the site and the captain told us that he would let us in the water only if:

- the Caribbean Reef sharks were swimming nice and lazy
- no shark fins were breaking the surface of the water
- guide (who gets in ahead of everyone else) also gives the ok


Everything was good so at this point:

- They were letting the buoy out (as usual) but keep both hands on the rope this time.
- ABSOLUTELY NO FOOD ON YOU. Make sure!
- Fins ON. Bottom of feet and palms of hands appear similar to grouper fish when sharks see them.
- Cameras are ok just keep elbow tucked in and hand close to your body.


There is a lot of feeding here (SCUBA sessions) so the sharks are accustomed to having people come in and feed them. As a result the sharks came up to the first 5-6 of us seeing if there were any handouts.

As soon as they realized nothing was available they went back down near the bottom (about 40ft depth).

I got good in-water shots and video. I also got chilled here as you can't move much.

After everyone got out THEN the sharks were fed. It got pretty crazy at the surface, lots of thrashing around by the sharks going after the food. All the other fish nearby, even seagulls, joined in on the party.


Equipment:
Cressi Focus mask, Aeris Filefish snorkel, Oceanic Caribe fins
Canon SD870 Powershot camera, Canon WP-DC17 underwater housing


Video Compilation YouTube - Stuart Coves Snorkel Bahamas Shark Freedive






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[CapnDan]

Thanks for sharing the account of your dive trip. It sounds like fun. However, I'd like to discuss the shark encounter a bit.

Personally, I think the practice of feeding sharks in order to create a dive attraction is stupid, shortsighted, irresponsible and dangerous, and I'm not just thinking about the paying customers. Suppose a random snorkeler or diver goes out there and is suddenly approached by a large number of "friendly" sharks? Suppose the snorkeler panics, thrashes around and basically starts behaving like a prey animal? A curious shark might just be tempted to take a nip, and this could lead to much, much more. Actually, it already has, and more than once. Shark feeding is a perfect example of the "anything to make a buck" mentality overcoming sensibility.

Sharks are beautiful creatures and they are well worth seeing in the wild, but the experience is far more meaningful when they are seen under natural conditions. Their natural wariness of humans is best for everyone, and when that natural barrier has been broken then the risk of undesireable human/shark interactions goes up.

If people really want to swim with the sharks then they should open up an investment account and trade stocks online. It's equally stimulating, I promise!

 

[daniel1948]

I was in Nassau about a year ago and went to Stuart Cove's. I rode the submarine (an underwater "motorcycle" with a hard hat -- kind of fun, as I was not yet a scuba diver) and went on a snorkel trip. I was not aware that sharks were on the agenda.

The first two stops were regular snorkeling. Reefs with very nice corals and fishes. But the third stop was different:

It was much as Dan Passaro describes above, except that when the sharks got close we all scrambled out of the water as fast as we could.

I agree with CapnDan above:

Feeding sharks, in my opinion, is criminally irresponsible, because it habituates the sharks to associate boats and people with food. Wilderness hikers, campers, and rangers know that bears who have learned to associate people with food are dangerous. No responsible person ever feeds bears nowadays. Sharks may not learn as fast as bears, because bears are smarter than sharks. But feeding sharks is sure to lead to tragedy.

Shark-feeding operations may never lose a client, because they are trained, and presumably know what to expect from the sharks. But after they sail their boat back to port, an innocent boater may anchor there and go for a swim, not realizing that the sharks have learned to expect food from boaters and arrive expecting a meal.

I will not patronize any operator who I am aware is feeding sharks.

That said, there are "shark encounter" operators who do not feed the sharks. That would be the responsible way to have a shark encounter, if you are inclined in that direction.