Fear of Sharks, I am not gonna see them, right?

[kaliklove]

I know this must sound foolish, but- I don't want to see sharks, so I don't think I will. My dive buddy said that I'm crazy and need to prepare myself, because I WILL see them. I will be diving in Abaco, Bahamas next week.
Is there any way to avoid them? (besides not going in the water)
Diving is new to me, and also something I'd like to make it a life long hobby.
Please any suggestions or words of advice, so the Sharks don't chase me out of the water.

 

[Bubble Junky]

There's nothing to worry about with sharks ! There awesome creatures, nothing else moves quite like a shark - beautiful. Sharks do not eat divers. I've dived with loads of sharks of different species and never felt threatened. They might be curious to come and have a look, but we're too noisy, and they usually keep a distance.

 

[Rick Murchison]

I know this must sound foolish, but- I don't want to see sharks, so I don't think I will. My dive buddy said that I'm crazy and need to prepare myself, because I WILL see them. I will be diving in Abaco, Bahamas next week.
Is there any way to avoid them? (besides not going in the water)
Diving is new to me, and also something I'd like to make it a life long hobby.
Please any suggestions or words of advice, so the Sharks don't chase me out of the water.

I highly recommend you include a supervised "shark dive" in your Bahamas adventure. Once you've seen 'em doing their thing, you'll be much more relaxed when you have that very lucky chance sighting later. Seeing a shark on a non-shark dive is pretty rare, really, as they're shy and don't like bubbles, but there's no guarantee one way or the other. If you want to see sharks on non-shark dives, take up spearfishing
Rick

 

[sasscuba]

First time you see one you might be a little nervous but that will soon change to awe! If there is one place to see a shark it is the Bahamas. Besides the numerous Carribean reef sharks I have seen tiger and hammerheads in Nassau, awesome!

 

[Tavi]

The stuff you're thinking of usually happens on TV or at the movies. Rarely in real life. Most Shark attacks in real life happen in shallow murkey water. On most of the dives I've done in the Bahamas we've had 100'+ visibility. The Sharks can see that you're not food.

On my second or third dive ever, the other divers on the boat were hoping to see Sharks. I was a little worried!! The first time I saw a Caribean Reef Shark it was about 40' away. It was pretty cool. The second time I saw one it was maybe 20' away....Awesome!! Since then, Me and my Camera try to get closer and closer!! Close enough to touch (but I don't) I love photographing them. Some of my pics can be seen at Rick'Scuba.com.

Now I'd love to see the Hammerheads, or maybe do one of those Bimini trips to dive with the Tiger Sharks.

Don't worry, have a great Trip, and don't forget to let us know how it went!!

 

[Cacia]

Ditto what Rick M said....once you see them, whatever Hollywood sensationalistic trash is in your brain will be replaced with new footage. I spent many years being so preoccupied with shark terror, and once I dove with them everything changed.

You would have liked the two-foot pup we found yesterday, BTW.

Aloha

 

[Sasquatch]

You don't really need to actively avoid them as they'll be actively avoiding you. Enjoy your trip and please report back.

Sea ya!

 

[divingjd]

You are unlikely to see them unless you go looking for them. About the only shark you can expect to see is a nurse shark, and it will probably be sleeping under an overhang. It's not exaggerating too much to say that they are not much more than overgrown catfish. They have small mouths, and use suction to feed on fish, molluscs, and crustaceans. They have teeth, although they are not obvious. Nurse sharks are far from menacing and you are unlikely to see any other sharks. Go diving and don't worry about the sharks.

 

[OceanObsessed]

The Abacos are beautiful islands, you will love it! Kaliklove, you would not be going near Walkers Cay would you?

The sharks are really nothing to worry about. Usually when you see them they are quickly swimming away from you. Most divers consider themselves LUCKY to see a shark. There are alot of sharks in the Bahamas though and you should be prepared to see one. If you do, odds are that it will not come close. The only thing you can do to NOT see one is to NOT spearfish. In the Bahamas they do tend to come quickly after you spear a fish.

It is rare that they attack (or even take an interest in) divers without speared fish and/or blood in the water.

They tend to prefer surfers over divers anyway

 

[herman]

I highly recommend you include a supervised "shark dive" in your Bahamas adventure. Once you've seen 'em doing their thing, you'll be much more relaxed when you have that very lucky chance sighting later. Seeing a shark on a non-shark dive is pretty rare, really, as they're shy and don't like bubbles, but there's no guarantee one way or the other. If you want to see sharks on non-shark dives, take up spearfishing
Rick

I totally agee with Rick with one minor exception.
While seeing a shark is pretty rare in most places, here in NC, it is very common to see sand tigers on some of our wrecks. They look pretty dangerous but we consider them nothing more than puppy dogs and look forward to seeing them. Unlike most sharks they don't seem to mind divers, it's common to have them buddy up with you for a while. There is nothing cooler than the have a 3 "man" buddy team- 2 divers and a 8ft sand tiger. We have thousands of divers in the water each year and I have never heard of a problem with sharks.
Don't worry about the sharks, like the others have said, it's pretty rare to see them and they have no interest in eating you. I would bet after you have seen one in the wild, you will look forward to seeing them again and again.