Scared to death of encountering a shark while diving

[Theunis]

What do you guys do when you see a shark? Move slowly? Ascend? Sink to the bottom if it's close?

Hi there courtneyinpink, you've got a beautiful user name!

I'm from South Africa and had done plenty of shark diving on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Nowadays I'm a vacation diver doing about 10 dives a year at the South Coast. I'm about 600 kilometers from the sea and going on vacation once a year to the coast. So, I am rather particular about my dives...I do deep dives(40m or 130 Feet) and my dives are all shark dives.

You needn't do anything in particular when you see a shark...just stay calm and observe!!

 

[courtneyinpink]

I just dove with bull sharks in Playa with Mayan Aquadive's*Ben Mooney. it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

I dove with ScubaCaribe in Playa Del Carmen in August, it was lots of fun.

 

[RonFrank]

It's not all that rare to see sharks when diving off the east coast of FL.

However there are only two sharks I really fear vs. respect. Those are the Bull shark (I have seen them UW), and the great White (never seen one of those monsters). Great White sightings off the S. coast of CA. while diving are very rare.

As you can tell from the responses on this thread, most of us have never seen a Great White, and likely never will. We are not on their diet, so most sharks leave divers alone. The exception to that rule is when spearfishing, or chumming to attract sharks.

The best thing to do if you do see a shark is to keep an eye on it, and exit if it displays hunting or defensive postures. If you want to know what those behaviors look like, I'd use the internet search option!

I would not limit your time in the water because of a fear of sharks. They generally leave divers alone. I've seen a LOT of nurse sharks in FL, and they are likely more worried about us. The one exception I experienced was while spear fishing. I think my spear must have had blood on it (not that I could tell), but I had a good sized nurse shark following me around on a dive during the day. Not typical Nurse shark daytime behavior. Not the company I prefer, but it behaved it's self, and kept some distance even if it was shadowing me.

 

[kathydee]

Hi Courtney,
Jaws really ruined the water experience for many, but I think driving a car or walking across the street is statistically MUCH more dangerous.

I too had some fear-till I saw my first shark and was mesmerized by it's beauty. Since then I have seen many (but never a great white).

Have to say the ones over 10 ft still make me a little nervous - especially when there are more than one. But when I don't see them, I miss them now. So I actually plan dives just to see them .

Best to just stay calm like you would if watching any wild animal and enjoy their amazing motion!

The Whale Shark is the best and quite harmless ;-)!

 

[mikeguerrero]

Courtney,

All I can tell you is that I too have Asthma and here in Northern California I'm the biggest wimp of all my diving buddies when entering the water. I dive Monterey and as soon as I begin my long surface swim from the shore and I enter deeper water over a sandy patch, I begin to think he's going to get my leg.

I don't lose this feeling until I descend below the water column because I'm not splashing along the surface like a seal.

What helps me is diving with a large group of divers and not diving unfamiliar areas. Remember that you have to worry about many other important things more than a GWS to be a safe diver. When I start paying attention to all the other important factors in diving the GWS fear goes away.

Remember not all of us are lucky enough to swim in open water with sharks here in California. But if you do find yourself within a school of sharks, just behave calmly until they move on.

I got certified in Sep 2007 and on my 11th dive at Lover's point in Monterey my dive buddy and I were comming back to shore and we ran into a pack of Leopard sharks feeding in the shallows. They ranged from 2 feet to about 4 feet in length. Was enough to almost make me pee in my wetsuit.

But like I said, stay calm and know that they are in there natural environment with you as a visitor, respect them and they will do the same.

Remember one thing Courtney, you run the possiblity of running into a shark on dive one or dive 1,000. My time came up on my 11th dive, you too might get lucky and run into a pack of harmless Leopard sharks like me. I'm truly honored that I got to share this experience.

MG

 

[courtneyinpink]

All of you on here are so nice, thank you so much.

 

[MT_Shadow]

I'm new to "certified diving". But I have come across sharks snorkeling and before certification. I definitely prefer to be under a shark. Being on the surface is unnerving to me. I hope to see sharks next weekend near Seattle but Octopus are much more likely.

 

[RAD Diver]

Most really won't bother you, some up close views from my camera.
Off the coast of Cape Hatteras N.C.

We also saw a 12ft Great Hammerhead while on our 20ft stop & I was so mesmerized by it I didn't even think about grabbing my camera for a picture.:depressed:

 

[scubadrewvideo]

I always tell my divers that "We are not on the sharks menu. If we were, there would be NOBODY in the water"
I will tend to swim towards any shark I see to get better video, and I say if I get munched, well at least get it on video and let the video go viral, then my wife wouldn't have to work anymore.

Seriously, once you see a shark, you have already reduced the chances of a bad encounter...it's the one you don't see that will cause problems.....not meaning to scare anyone, but it's the reality of it.
of course I say all this with never having seen anything bigger or meaner than a 12 ft Galapagos.

 

[WOODMAN]

I have seen more sharks than I care to count, but the vast majority of them were Caribbean reef sharks. I did have one memorable encounter with a couple of tiger sharks in the Bahamas, and also a couple of Hammerheads, but only at a distance- (hammerheads are notoriously shy). In all of these encounters, I have never had a shark do more than come up and look me over (great photo ops!). If you research this forum you will find this subject discussed ad nauseum, and I believe the vast majority of what you will find mirrors what has been said here already.
Bottom line- the risk factor for divers with sharks is nearly non-existant (note the 'nearly'...there is always the unexplained..[cue X-files theme]) You can live in fear of something that is almost certainly not going to happen, or you can get on with it and go out there and live. The choice is yours. Woody