iainwilliams
Contributor
Always wanted to be first at something! Iain
I am the first
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ShakaZulu
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I am second..........
KidK9
Contributor
3rd is the terd!
realdiver7
Contributor
Darn...I was going to be first, but I got involved in answering another thread! Oh well! At least I'm the first to post a real response on diving with sharks...Ha! There!
Sharks...I have made many dives with sharks in the vicinity and even sometimes within touching distance over the past 10 years. Sometimes I even go to locations where I know there are plenty of big sharks, just for the adventure, adrenaline rush, and great photographic opportunities. I always welcome the chance to see a non-aggressive shark species any time I dive, except during the occasional spearfishing trip. When I was much younger, it took me almost 3 summers of diving to experience my first shark encounter, and waiting that long was actually a great disappointment. A large shark encounter gave us "bragging rights" when we were younger, and also gave us our official "badge of diving courage" because everyone always asks divers about sharks, first and foremost over any other questions they have about diving.
I have only felt uncomfortable on 3 or 4 dives with sharks during my entire diving "career," and that was only when I was spearfishing, or others in my group were spearfishing. When there is blood in the water, and you are carrying the sharks' "lunch" in a game bag, then you really can't blame the sharks for following their natural instinct to eat for survival.
I have been followed around, followed to the surface, and approached somewhat aggressively by large hungry sharks when I have had their "lunch" in my game bag. I even almost had my mask knocked off one time by the tail of a shark while peering through a large hole in the side of a wreck where he and his mate were residing. I don't think he ever saw me until afterwards. When you have to push an aggressive shark away from you with a spear pole, their tough skin stretches and makes a squeeking sound underwater. They usually go away, circle around, then come back to investigate further. They don't usually swim straight at you either, but they follow the blood trail in the water until it reaches you at the source. I was always fortunate (and fast) enough to remove myself and the bait from their environment before things got nasty. Like I said before, this only happened 3 or 4 times in over 10 years, and that was early on when I used to do a lot of spearfishing. The other 99% of my shark encounters were fantastic, fun and very interesting.
In summary...I learned from my early experiences years ago that sharks and spearfishing do not mix. However, sharks and cameras mix very well, and I welcome and look forward to the next time I can observe and photograph these wild animals in their natural environment. My photo collection is much larger these days than my freezer's fish population! Also, I feel much more comfortable on the very bottom on good visibility dives, where I can see the sharks, and they don't mistake me for something else other than a large, noisy, bubble-blowing human being that would taste awful combined with neoprene or trilaminate, metal and rubber!
Sharks are nothing like what the movie "Jaws" would like to have everyone believe. I enjoy diving with sharks and hope to do it again in the near future! What an exciting rush!
Sharks...I have made many dives with sharks in the vicinity and even sometimes within touching distance over the past 10 years. Sometimes I even go to locations where I know there are plenty of big sharks, just for the adventure, adrenaline rush, and great photographic opportunities. I always welcome the chance to see a non-aggressive shark species any time I dive, except during the occasional spearfishing trip. When I was much younger, it took me almost 3 summers of diving to experience my first shark encounter, and waiting that long was actually a great disappointment. A large shark encounter gave us "bragging rights" when we were younger, and also gave us our official "badge of diving courage" because everyone always asks divers about sharks, first and foremost over any other questions they have about diving.
I have only felt uncomfortable on 3 or 4 dives with sharks during my entire diving "career," and that was only when I was spearfishing, or others in my group were spearfishing. When there is blood in the water, and you are carrying the sharks' "lunch" in a game bag, then you really can't blame the sharks for following their natural instinct to eat for survival.
I have been followed around, followed to the surface, and approached somewhat aggressively by large hungry sharks when I have had their "lunch" in my game bag. I even almost had my mask knocked off one time by the tail of a shark while peering through a large hole in the side of a wreck where he and his mate were residing. I don't think he ever saw me until afterwards. When you have to push an aggressive shark away from you with a spear pole, their tough skin stretches and makes a squeeking sound underwater. They usually go away, circle around, then come back to investigate further. They don't usually swim straight at you either, but they follow the blood trail in the water until it reaches you at the source. I was always fortunate (and fast) enough to remove myself and the bait from their environment before things got nasty. Like I said before, this only happened 3 or 4 times in over 10 years, and that was early on when I used to do a lot of spearfishing. The other 99% of my shark encounters were fantastic, fun and very interesting.
In summary...I learned from my early experiences years ago that sharks and spearfishing do not mix. However, sharks and cameras mix very well, and I welcome and look forward to the next time I can observe and photograph these wild animals in their natural environment. My photo collection is much larger these days than my freezer's fish population! Also, I feel much more comfortable on the very bottom on good visibility dives, where I can see the sharks, and they don't mistake me for something else other than a large, noisy, bubble-blowing human being that would taste awful combined with neoprene or trilaminate, metal and rubber!
Sharks are nothing like what the movie "Jaws" would like to have everyone believe. I enjoy diving with sharks and hope to do it again in the near future! What an exciting rush!
I have to be part of the firsts on this one..... woohooo sharks!
I ate it. Crap! Too slow.
Greg D.
Contributor
Better late than never!
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