Bull Sharks/Santa Lucia Cuba

[Tizzy]

Planning a dive trip to this area. The main agenda would be the shark dive. I have not been able to get a great deal of information about this dive. Does anyone know if there is a better time to do this trip or are the bull sharks there all of the time. I read one posting that the sharks migrate. Does anyone know if this is true or were they just not around on the paticular dive day. Any information about diving this paticular area of Cuba would be appreciated. Also if anyone knows how I can contact Sharks Friends dive shop directly that would be helpful.

 

[Misty58]

As far as I know you can't contact them directly. We were there in March of last year and was told that the bull sharks are only around November (iffy) December and January.

 

[havnmonkey]

do they chum??? cuz that would probably guarantee you some biters... whether you agree w/ that is a different thread...

 

[Tizzy]

Thank you Misty for the reply. That is pretty much what I was able to find out also. Just wondered if it was true or not. Did you dive while you were there, and if so how did you find it? As for chumming, yes, I do believe they hand feed the sharks.

 

[Misty58]

I found the dive shop very disappointing. Since the guys get paid whether they go out or not, the slightest breeze cancelled the dive. Show up at 9, don't know if they are going out, come back at 10, still don't know, come back at 10:30, nope, they then decide not to go out. EVERYDAY was the same thing. So, for the whole week we never got out.
The don't chum per say, they hand feed the sharks. And I mean hand feed, not even on a stick. The dive is supposed to be awesome. Hopefully one day we will return at the right time.

 

[Tizzy]

Do you mean to say, in that whole week you never got 1 dive in? That is very unfortunate. I have heard that this might be the case, but wasn't sure. Maybe I will just have to rethink this dive destination. I know we have no control over the weather, but it is frustrating!:11:

 

[Jean-Louis]

I was there on first week of february last year. They had told us the sharks were'nt there at this time of year, but we were lucky enough to see one big fellow. Who refused a dead angelfish some hunter had just speared.
But the Morterra wreck, where the shark dives are done, is beautifull. And home of the biggest green moray i've ever seen! That guy didn't refuse the angel!

We had no trouble with the boat not going out, althought i suspect that a little tip may help you if they seem reluctant to go!
Es Cuba,amigo!

You can find on UTUBE a video of one of the DMs getting his arm bit by a shark. They do handfeed them, and are a bit over-confident, altought that "incident" might have made them more cautious!

On other sites there; including one where they do snorkeling when you take catamaran trip to playa bonita; marvelous elkhorn corals, lots of life...

Have a good trip!

 

[soggydog]

The north coast of Cuba is notoriously windy (onshore) during the winter and early spring months.
I've traveled to Playa Guardalavaca, with my dive gear in tow, 3 times. I have yet to dive the area, because the dives were cancelled due to the conditions.
In most cases, this call is made by the coast guard, not the dive shops. The boats are controlled by the coast card and they have the final say.

I dove Santa Lucia this past March and had some great dives. I found the operators and dive masters to be very professional. They did cancel the trips on 2 of the days due to the conditions. On another days that I didn't dive, they made the decision to go out even thought the winds were high and storms were a possibility.
A storm blew up while the divers were still out and when they returned, most were green. I didn't see any of them for the rest of the week.

If they cancel the dives, it's usually for good reason.

 

[tiburones]

Most of the time this is a shore dive. Much faster, to get to, by road, then by boat.
It's in the channel, just past Playa Coco, by road, that runs towards Nuevitas.
At full strength the tide here runs 6 knots in, or out, so you have to dive it between tides.
The guys from Sharks Friends know exactly how, and when.
There is no "best time of the year", but December - March is a "bit better".
In any case, there is no guarantee the sharks will be there, regardless of the time of year.
We have done this site 17 times in the past 12 years, and had from, no sharks to, 10 sharks on a dive.
The good thing - there's the Mortera wreck on this dive site (80 years old, about 60 meters long, I believe).
So if you get no sharks, just dive the wreck. It's a great wreck dive on it's own.
Not as good as the Cristobal Colon, but a very good wreck dive.
Aside from the shark dive, Santa Lucia has many excellent dive sites to offer.
If you have any questions about diving Cuba, just contact me.
We have visited 35 times, so far, and I will be more then glad to answer.
M.
Shark feeding videos:
Diving Cuba, Scuba Shark videos, Santa Lucia Cuba
Santa Lucia:
Cuba, Diving, Scuba Santa Lucia, shark videos, Underwater photography by Nina Janutka,.
Cristobal Colone dive:
Diving Cristobal Colon wreck, Cuba, diving, Underwater photography by Nina Janutka
Diving Cuba:
Cuba, Diving, Scuba, Destinations, Cuba

 

[angel in the sky]

As far as I know you can't contact them directly. We were there in March of last year and was told that the bull sharks are only around November (iffy) December and January.

We were there 3 years ago in Dec Jan and we were capable of participating in this dive...very fascinating...
but this seems to be the time they're there...good luck and have fun...dive safe!!