Ever feel like you're swimming with sharks? (Travel pics)

[Veronica]

I like that feeling! Taken a few days ago in Nassau...





(My regulator is in one hand; my camera is in the other)

[HAPPYPEEKERS]

Wow.. amazing pics

I would be scared to death!

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Happypeekers

Wow.. amazing pics

I would be scared to death!

Yeah, someone got bit by one of those sharks that afternoon... apparently, he didn't get the memo about "not flailing" around the sharks. They're pretty docile, but the sharks in that area get regular feedings by humans, so they have come to associate humans with food. We were told to keep our arms at our chests and avoid sudden movements while they chummed the water. He wasn't in our group, but in a dive spot just yards away with the same company - when I got back to the dock, he was on his way to the hospital - just stitches, but prolly not too fun. Swimming with sharks that get up to about nine feet with a box of bloody fish heads nearby isn't smart, but it is fun

[Drake]

You're nuts!

[Lonely immortal]

These two didn't have as good an experience as you I'm afraid

[Supz]

yea, put me in water with sharks while the are chumming, sure.

[VicD]

Very cool but i'am to chicken for that

[Scott McD]

I would do that, but i'd still soil myself in the process...

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Scott McD

I would do that, but i'd still soil myself in the process...

Peeing is a great way to warm up a wetsuit

[papill0n]

Very cool pics veronica

[cykoe6]

That is some seriously crazy shit.

[Violetta]

id be scared like shit!

[cherrylula]

Damn, running a business where people pay you to put them in dangerous situations must be awesome.

[biskoppen]

One crazy girl right there

[DarkJedi]

Originally Posted by Lonely immortal

These two didn't have as good an experience as you I'm afraid

This surely can't be real?

[Monique Niccole]

That had to be a really cool experience. I don't know if I'd ever do it though. Too much potential for something to go wrong.

[yys]

Pretty cool; must have been an awesome feeling having those swimming so close.

Originally Posted by Veronica

Yeah, someone got bit by one of those sharks that afternoon... apparently, he didn't get the memo about "not flailing" around the sharks.

This comment reminded me of this commercial; maybe thats where he got his swimming with the sharks advice from.

[eroticsexxx]

Originally Posted by Veronica

I like that feeling! Taken a few days ago in Nassau...

Hey, I've dived there! That's just off of Clifton Pier.

What's interesting about that place is that the sharks are now accustomed to showing up when any boat arrives.

On my last dive, we started seeing sharks trailing the boat about five minutes before we got to the dive site. By the time we anchored, there was a school of 'em circling below. Of course, I was the first one over the side and made my way down the dive line.

They do swim pretty close to you, even without the chum. I managed to skim the tummy of one with the edge of my fingers as it swam just above my head, but by the time everyone was down the line the sharks had all just about moved on.

Who'd you dive with Veronica? Stuart's Cove, Bahama Divers or Nassau Divers?

[Zorgman]

This is the equivalent of putting a fish on our dinner plate. Im glad you made it back.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by eroticsexxx

Who'd you dive with Veronica? Stuart's Cove, Bahama Divers or Nassau Divers?

I went with Stuart's Cove. And yes, they showed up before the bloody fish heads went in the water, but the group pretty much dispersed within about five minutes.

[Sly]

What kind of sharks are they?

Damn... I am becoming such an environmentalist, LOL. The whole idea is very cool, but thinking about what that kind of conditioning is doing to those sharks can't be good.

Anyway, I'm glad you made it out alive. :-)

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by yys

Pretty cool; must have been an awesome feeling having those swimming so close.




This comment reminded me of this commercial; maybe thats where he got his swimming with the sharks advice from.

Yeah, I never thought I'd actually want to have sharks bumping into me, but it was really neat having them swim so close that they were brushing up against me and bumping into me with their fins. I never felt like I was in any danger - they seemed much more interested in the bits of fish offered by the divemaster than in tasting my wetsuit.

Great commercial!

[Vick!]

dayam .. i'd think 10 times before diving with sharks.

[Spunky]

Great pix..scary shit

[ProducerCashDave]

Originally Posted by Lonely immortal

These two didn't have as good an experience as you I'm afraid

omfg

[Antonio]

I wanted to do that once but they let in only people with diving permit (license?), it was a disappointment and relief at the same time ;)

[Lonely immortal]

Originally Posted by Davey Jones

This surely can't be real?

It's a photoshop job, at least that's what it said on the forum I found it on. I just wish I was that good at photoshop

[eroticsexxx]

Originally Posted by Veronica

I went with Stuart's Cove.

Those guys are the best.

Better dive that area while you can within the next few years. Two major resort projects on that side of the island may have a devastating effect on the marine life. Environmentalists are saying that the fertilizer run-off from golf courses and the silt from dredging a new canal probably is going to have a serious effect on the reefs on that end.

No reefs, no fish, no sharks, no divers...end of story

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by eroticsexxx

Those guys are the best.

Better dive that area while you can within the next few years. Two major resort projects on that side of the island may have a devastating effect on the marine life. Environmentalists are saying that the fertilizer run-off from golf courses and the silt from dredging a new canal probably is going to have a serious effect on the reefs on that end.

No reefs, no fish, no sharks, no divers...end of story

Wow, that's awful! I just read yet another article talking about the devastating effects of fertilizer runoff on marine life... that it creates a bloom of phytoplankton and bacteria that wind up sucking all the oxygen out of the water and creates "dead zones" of no marine life - usually a seasonal thing, but getting larger, more common, and lasting longer. The fish that can swim fast enough can get away, but slow moving things like starfish and the like are sitting ducks.

I don't get the whole golfing phenomenon, anyhoo...

I'd be happy to have an excuse to go back... and I'd recommend Stuart Cove's anytime - I picked up a magazine at the airport on the way home that said they were among the best - so I know it's not just us

[Defiance Inc]

"I just read yet another article talking about the devastating effects of fertilizer runoff on marine life... "

Yeah, there's a giant dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico where the runoff from farming in the midwest seeps into the Mississippi River. http://www.gulfhypoxia.net/

We swam with the sharks in Hawaii, even though we were in a cage it was still pretty intense! There is a place near Cabo where you can swim with sailfish. They found
it a couple years ago. Its an annual occurrence where they gather for the mating season, then disperse. And there is another place off baja where you can get in a cage where
great whites are swimming around you.

[spider_x]

they're like lions, feed em well beforehand and ya got nothin to worry about I thnk there's alot of people exaggerating. I'd kill to be in nassau myself right now lol

[crockett]

My cousin went to Tahiti and hand fed sharks with some old local guy that's been doing it for years. She said he just walks out into the surf and they just come up and peck it out of his hands.

Pretty crazy if you ask me..

[chompers]

very cool

[gecko]

Sweet, I would love to do that!

[Mr Pheer]

next time, Invite me

[D Ghost]

great pics!!

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Sly

What kind of sharks are they?

Damn... I am becoming such an environmentalist, LOL. The whole idea is very cool, but thinking about what that kind of conditioning is doing to those sharks can't be good.

Anyway, I'm glad you made it out alive. :-)

They are Caribbean Reef Sharks, even though Nassau is not technically in the Caribbean. I looked up their distribution on wikipedia and found this: "Florida to Brazil. Fished out of many areas but still abundant in the Bahamas where some degree of protection has been granted due to tourist dollars being generated by shark feeds."

I had some quasi-environmentalist-morality issues with going on a shark feed - I remember denouncing the sharks feeds in Florida ten years ago because I thought it would teach the sharks to associate people with dinner and hapless swimmers would end up getting bit. But, the urge to be around sharks overshadowed my moral tendencies and I decided to go. At least I feel a little better knowing that it's partly the shark feeds that keep them from going on the endangered species list.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Mr Pheer

next time, Invite me

There's a good chance I'll be back in the Caribbean in November. There's an event I attend almost every year in Jamaica called Kink in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the diving is kinda crappy in Jamaica compared to other parts of the Caribbean. I got certified while at Kink a few years ago, and two weeks later I was on a week-long dive trip in Little Cayman - diving Bloody Bay Wall - AWESOME! Good way to get started, but the downside is that now I'm ruined for enjoying less populated/diverse dive sites.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Zorgman

This is the equivalent of putting a fish on our dinner plate. Im glad you made it back.

Thanks

I checked out your tube script - looks cool!

[ntmaven247]

more power to you guys, if I could swim at all, I'd be inclined to go myself...very cool pics!!!

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Defiance Inc

We swam with the sharks in Hawaii, even though we were in a cage it was still pretty intense!

I did a few open swim dives on the south side of Kauai last summer, and it was a little boring in terms of reef diversity, but I did get to see a few sharks. They said we might get to see a few reef sharks, which are docile. As we were descending, I saw a nice plump one and ditched the group to get a few pictures (I am the worst dive buddy ever!) When I surfaced, the divemaster told me I was really brave for swimming up to a Galapagos shark. She said that they hadn't seen one on that side of the island in over a year, and that people go cage diving on the north side to see them. I told her that it was more a matter of ignorance than bravado - I thought it was a gray reef shark.

Anyway, here's a pic of the guy...


I'd love to go on a cage dive with Great Whites, but the locations all seem to be either really far away or really cold.

There is a place near Cabo where you can swim with sailfish. They found
it a couple years ago. Its an annual occurrence where they gather for the mating season, then disperse.

Awesomeness! I'd love to do that

And there is another place off baja where you can get in a cage where
great whites are swimming around you.

My boyfriend went without me on that one a few years ago (he had booked it well before we met) - he really liked it. Unfortunately, there's a 17 hour part of the boat ride where the swells run diagonally across the boat's path - even people that normally don't get seasick were miserable. I get queasy just in movies where there's a lot of handheld camera; I'd be fucked.

[PLATINUMPORN]

wow thats great! I wish I was there right now instead of on my computer at my kitchen table LOL

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by crockett

My cousin went to Tahiti and hand fed sharks with some old local guy that's been doing it for years. She said he just walks out into the surf and they just come up and peck it out of his hands.

Pretty crazy if you ask me..

Yeah, I'm not sure if I am crazy enough to do that... but probably, after watching a local.

Wonder if that's what this guy was doing when he got bit by a shark...



Note: for the morbid and the curious, here's a site with lots of shark attack photos, aptly named *shock* "SharkAttackPhotos.com

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by Antonio

I wanted to do that once but they let in only people with diving permit (license?), it was a disappointment and relief at the same time ;)

They call the permit a "C-card." It's a certification card - what you get when you successfully complete a basic course in diving through an organization like PADI or NAUI.

A lot of places have what they call a "resort course" which is where you take a quick class in the pool and then go on a shallow water dive with an instructor as a dive buddy. I did that my first year at Hedo III in Jamaica; the next year I got my open water certification which allowed me to go on deeper dives and made me eligible to do night dives and wreck dives (without - heh heh - penetration). Hedo III has a reputation as the pervert resort in the Caribbean, so every time I present my C-card I get smirks and things like "Oh, we'd better watch out for you..."

I don't carry my C-card anymore; I lost it and never bothered to send in for a new one. Most places can look you up in the online database as long as you have an id, like a driver's license. It's just a liability thing. Personally, I think I was a much safer diver before I got my certification - it emboldened me a bit. I did a private lesson where I asked my instructor turned off my air so I could know what it felt like to be out of air, and thought up ways to get by if I didn't have a buddy nearby. I tend to take my camera and wander off on my own a lot - I got a little knocker for my tank so I can find the group whenever I get lost - and I tend to get lost a lot, or accidentally end up with other dive groups

[shekinah]

That's so scary!! I envy your courage girl..

[viencarl]

you two are very brave

[sniperwolf]

whooow! no, I won't try that!

[Gabriel]

Do sharks eat seamonkeys?

[Drake]

Veronica, how warm was the water?

[BlueDesignStudios]

awesome pics, thanks for sharing