Diving With Sharks

[Papa_Bear]

I have been diving with sharks for many years! It is always a thrill and honor to be in the presences of these beautiful wild animals with all their strength and a personal presence I find intriguing! Here is one link to a shark video I compiled! I have dived with every major verity except the Mega Mouth to date and find the Tiger and Great White will get your blood pumping! Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services

Here is one of the Tiger Videos: Two Tanked Productions HD & SD Underwater Productions and video services

 

[lulubelle]

How goes your OW certification?

It is hard to know what you will be ready for and when you will be ready for it since you aren't certified yet, so I don't want to offer you too much specific advice. Get some feedback from your instructor as to where your skills are when you complete your OW and go from there. If you are iffy on your skills, then I'd continue diving in shallow environments until you are more proficient and save your AOW for later.

If large animals are your thing, and sharks in particular, I'm going to break rank with the group here regarding the timing of your AOW and suggest that you go ahead and do it. AOW is not particularly advanced to be honest, I think we can all agree on that. It serves only to introduce you to a broader variety of diving environments and skills and may help you direct future learning needs based on what you do well naturally and what you need to work on. But it doesn't make you advanced at anything! Only diving and more in depth training do that. Here in NC, most of the ops will require AOW or higher and at least a couple of deep offshore dives in order to take you out and I did it soon after OW for this reason.

(flamesuit on) My first dive out of OW was on the Hutton/Papoose, a rather deep dive for a new diver (110 or so). I'm told I looked like I had been down there forever and was quite comfortable. Importantly, I was very familiar with the ocean here, was very well prepared, am a very strong swimmer, and had a buddy who no longer bothers to log her dives. The only reason I was taken out was because the op knew my buddy quite well. I have been out a bunch at this point, have successfully handled a number of challenging situations underwater, but still know that I have a lot to learn and respect Mother Ocean. I don't buddy with new divers or people I don't know because our conditions can be tough.

So, my point in sharing all of this...if your skills are very good and you can get a significant number of deep dives in, there are lots of sharks to see here! I'd highly recommend that you buddy only with someone who has a LOT of experience here, perhaps even hire the DM to buddy with you. AOW is not advanced, but the diving here is, so if you choose to dive here, do so mindfully and carefully.

Happy shark finding.

 

[smellzlikefish]

Lulu-I agree.

 

[Tinytechie]

I disagree with everyone saying to get a lot of diving experience before doing the AOW, i think its a great idea for new OWs to go right into the advanced course. its extra diving experience while still under supervision of a professional and the specialized activities will broaden your already learned dive skills. Generally, as an instructor, i have found that when my students finish open water and go straight into advanced, once they finish that course they are fully confident and capable to dive on their own without a guide or instructor. Cuz lets face it, the OW cert IS a ticket to learn and most newly certified OW divers are no confident to plan and execute a dive all on their own.. which is why they generally hook up with groups and guided dives. If you're super keen to get into the advanced course right away, i say do it! then you can keep on diving and learning after that too!

 

[Troutmaster]

Doing your AOW right out of the gate won't hurt you a bit. The most important thing to becoming a better diver is to dive more. Dive within your skill level, preferably with someone with more bottom time than you who can mentor you a little.

My shark encounters have been much like my encounters with bears, you tend to see them when you are not really looking, and they are breathtaking. Being near a big predator of any kind is kind of awe-inspiring.

And in the (very unlikely) event of an attack, you don't have to be able to out swim the shark, you need to be able to out swim your buddy!

 

[lulubelle]

Doing your AOW right out of the gate won't hurt you a bit. The most important thing to becoming a better diver is to dive more. Dive within your skill level, preferably with someone with more bottom time than you who can mentor you a little.

My shark encounters have been much like my encounters with bears, you tend to see them when you are not really looking, and they are breathtaking. Being near a big predator of any kind is kind of awe-inspiring.

And in the (very unlikely) event of an attack, you don't have to be able to out swim the shark, you need to be able to out swim your buddy!

People speak of them in terms of encountering single sharks, you all should come to dive in NC, there are a number of wrecks where there are quite a few sandtigers in one place. There are also occasional bulls and hammerheads from what I have heard, but I have never seen either. I've seen a couple of other types traveling solo, and some species hang in the shallows so we are more likely to see them when we swim :shocked2:

 

[jmasin]

I've done the Cara a Cara shark dive in Roatan too, it is pretty awesome.

I personally would get a few open water dives in before going on a dedicated shark dive. The shark dive in Roatan for example was pretty close quarters, so required good body and buoyancy control. I did it with 40 dives under my belt and I'm glad I was at that stage. Others were floating all over.

My wife had her mask kicked off at 70' and quietly and calmly put it back on. Large sharks (6') circling, us at 70' and an unexpected loss of her mask... I was so proud of her we fist-bumped underwater. I'm glad we had 40 under our belt.

The shark dives do add some uneasiness the first time. Nice to be otherwise very calm.

Here's my wife coming down the line at Cara a Cara

 

[lulubelle]

I've done the Cara a Cara shark dive in Roatan too, it is pretty awesome.

I personally would get a few open water dives in before going on a dedicated shark dive. The shark dive in Roatan for example was pretty close quarters, so required good body and buoyancy control. I did it with 40 dives under my belt and I'm glad I was at that stage. Others were floating all over.

My wife had her mask kicked off at 70' and quietly and calmly put it back on. Large sharks (6') circling, us at 70' and an unexpected loss of her mask... I was so proud of her we fist-bumped underwater. I'm glad we had 40 under our belt.

The shark dives do add some uneasiness the first time. Nice to be otherwise very calm.

[/IMG]

When you speak of a "dedicated shark dive" do you mean when they are fed in order to attract them?

We don't do those here because they are plentiful on certain wrecks. I'd be scared of doing a dive where they were fed

 

[jmasin]

When you speak of a "dedicated shark dive" do you mean when they are fed in order to attract them?

We don't do those here because they are plentiful on certain wrecks. I'd be scared of doing a dive where they were fed

Yeah.

The places I've been so far "free range" sharks are hard to come by. I've seen nurses and 'cuda but other than that the only sharks I've come across where the "shark dives". I'm still fairly new though, ~50 dives, not all blue water.

The feed dives are very interesting to see, but they can be an adrenaline rush. The sharks aren't at all interested in you, but flailing hands aren't a great idea , hence my recommendation for a little experience before doing one.

I'm not sure I'd do another one. They are neat to see... amazing creatures, but I have mixed feelings about the feed dives (whether they are a good thing or not).

 

[lulubelle]

Yeah.

The places I've been so far "free range" sharks are hard to come by. I've seen nurses and 'cuda but other than that the only sharks I've come across where the "shark dives". I'm still fairly new though, ~50 dives, not all blue water.

The feed dives are very interesting to see, but they can be an adrenaline rush. The sharks aren't at all interested in you, but flailing hands aren't a great idea , hence my recommendation for a little experience before doing one.

I'm not sure I'd do another one. They are neat to see... amazing creatures, but I have mixed feelings about the feed dives (whether they are a good thing or not).

I'm with you, I prefer to be a passive observer when diving. You should try diving out of Morehead,NC. There are always sharks, mostly sand tigers. The boat captains are really good about sharing info so that divers know what to expect. In my limited experience, the Spar is the most consistent, although I think there are some wrecks way offshore that have plenty too.

Weird that I like sharks so much. I'm a girl. Not sure what that means. What I can say, unequivocally, is that I am a hell of a lot more afraid of the ones here on land!