Shark Dive

[RockyTop]

Anyone here done the shark dive with Stuart Cove. I am heading to the Bahamas this week and have been looking forward to this all summer.

I cant wait to get there and do the dive. This will also be my first ocean dive so I am pretty excited. I just wanted to hear from some of the folks that have done it before.

 

[Harbour]

Do a search on Stuart Cove and see what you get there. I have heard several suggest skipping the Shark dive and do a regular dive - you'll see plenty of reef sharks as is.

Harbour

 

[Scubaguy62]

I did it three years ago. First let me definitely suggest you get a few ocean dives in before doing the shark dive. If you haven't done many dives and this being your first ocean dive, you might have your hands full fiddling with your newly found positive buoyancy; having to also deal with sharks as big as 8' coming within arms reach of you, while dealing with all the other, might prove to be a little overachieveing. Second, do pay attention to the DM's dive briefing. They know what they're saying. (for some odd reason everyone tends to do that more on this dive, although it should on all)

If it's still being done the same way (and I wouldn't know of a reason why it wouldn't be), it's a two tank dive. The first dive you swim with them in their natural habitat. This can be a bit nerve wrecking, even for some of America's finest (I had 3 Army rangers in my boat and when we got to the dive site they were having second thoughts about doing the dive as there were in excess of 40 dorsal fins breaking the surface), but it's common, so not to worry. The second dive is the feeding dive; the DM jumps in first with the food and you guessed it, the sharks follow him. You just go to the sand, kneel in a semi-circle with your hands tucked under your arm pits and watch the show.

Hope you enjoy it!!

 

[alikws]

been on some with unexso on grand bahama... they want you at least 5 pounds overweight, also get a 36 exposure roll of film if you can find it, and take pictures early, when there are few sharks {and stirred up sand which ruins the pictures} around, you will burn through film at an amazing rate... so many cameras going it sounds like paraparazi....

dificulty is on a par with pool dives in training {swim to bottom, line up, watch the show} and duration is about 45 minutes at 45 feet... pricey, but quite an experiance...

more later... mike p {who's tempted champ swimming while looking like a bass plug}

 

[Scubaguy62]

... they want you at least 5 pounds overweight

This is also true for SC. Then again, I was diving on temp C cards, so I was already overweighted

 

[stu_in_fl]

I did it three years ago. First let me definitely suggest you get a few ocean dives in before doing the shark dive.
Hope you enjoy it!!

I did it with Stuart Cove's at the end of July - it was fun. I definately agree with Scubaguy - do a couple of ocean dives first so you are comfortable just sitting on the bottom (without wobbling around and waving your hands about)..so do the shark dive later in your trip...they tell you to add 4-6 lbs of extra lead, so don't worry, you will be ok.
...It was more expensive than a regular 2 tank dive, but was worth it (I think). You often see sharks on normal dives, but not in those numbers or so closely (and not on all dives)

 

[one90proof]

RockyTop - Please let us all know how the dives went when you get back. I'm planning a trip to Nassau next summer and have wanted to try the shark dives too. Would love to hear about your experiences. Have fun!

 

[jdoblin]

Anyone here done the shark dive with Stuart Cove. I am heading to the Bahamas this week and have been looking forward to this all summer.

I cant wait to get there and do the dive. This will also be my first ocean dive so I am pretty excited. I just wanted to hear from some of the folks that have done it before.

I Just did the Shark Dive. Make sure you stay at the depth discussed on the boat. I went 15 ft deeper with the Dive Leader on my right, and I told him that I just got certified. The sharks were very docile, and it was very cool. No need to be anxious about the dive.

 

[jbisjim]

I did Nausau a few years back and did the regular dives, Saw one on the first dive and over 20 on the 2nd dive. I got some awsome pictures too. The DM prefaced the dive by putting on a wet suit that looked as though it had been chewed a few times. lol some of the noobs did not think it so funny.

 

[pete340]

Anyone here done the shark dive with Stuart Cove. I am heading to the Bahamas this week and have been looking forward to this all summer.

I did it a month ago, with Nassau Scuba Centre. Same location, same sharks. Great fun! I've got a few pictures at www.petebecker.com/nassau2004-07. It's not a difficult dive physically, but you need to be comfortable in moderate chaos. They sometimes feed the sharks by hand, so you're advised not to try to touch any sharks, lest they think you're offering them food. For the same reason, no snorkels. And, as others have mentioned, extra weight to keep you down even if you get a little overexcited.