Tiger Shark Dive Images And Report

[Sharkphoto]

Always a great dive, I have posted some of my images results and a short trip report. Working on a video .

Looking forward to next year: from now on the boat will do longer 10 days trips which combine Tiger Beach and hammerheads in Bimini - Can't wait

http://www.gregorysweeney.photography/?p=2055

we move to different locations each day and this is one of my favorites - the sea grass bottom. Great color

 

[iamrushman]

well done...thanks for sharing..(link is empty)

 

[deeper thoughts]

nice pix but dead link

 

[mbs]

Gorgeous photos!! Just leave off the end stuff to see them - Photography Safaris and Underwater Adventures

 

[deeper thoughts]

thnx great pix at link

 

[drrich2]

Love that shot of the tiger shark cruising over the sea grass.

In one shot I notice the boat is called Dolphin Dream; a little online checking suggests you did a live-aboard trip with Dolphin Dream, an 86 foot yacht live-aboard operating out of Key West, FL, which judging from a photo has bunk beds? (They have some different pages for different kinds of diving; here's one on shark diving, but wish they'd update it; currently says they're now booking for 2014!). I don't see trip prices listed; can you book directly, or do you need to book with a group that chartered the boat?

Since this is a U.S.-based live-aboard that doesn't seem as known on the forum, care to tell us what you thought about it? Might someone else looking for a similar trip.

Richard.

 

[Guerrilla_Divemaster]

Beautiful shot!

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Hi Richard - just came across this post and as no one seems to have responded to you, I thought might give you some update on the Dolphin Dream and her Shark trips. I have been around sharks since the early 80's and our company specializes in shark and pelagic encounters around the world. I cannot speak more highly of Captain Scott on the Dolphin Dream, whom we have been using for our annual shark charters for nearly seven years and which we have always had extraordinary success. There have been three main live-aboard operators to this area for more than 10 years - the Dolphin Dream and Shear Water that operate from West Palm Beach, and the MV Kate that operates from Grand Bahamas. We work with all of them and they each have their advantages, but overall the size and comfort level of the Dolphin Dream means that she is generally booked up year to year by photo-pros and agencies specializing in shark diving. Pretty well all these boats do offer spaces for individuals to join but you need to find the dates and availability which you can see at a PDF on our website. Some of the trips are just Tiger Beach and others include time with the Great Hammerheads at Bimini. The season for the Great Hammerheads is at its best from November thru March and that is the time they sometimes offer combinations of the two. The Bahamas Aggressor is the new boy on the block and may operate differently in the way they bait, thus affecting the number of Tigers they attract but I have never been to Tiger Beach or nearby Fish Tales when we did not have mutiple encounters with Tigers. Stuart Cove and Epic Diving do operate some land based day trips from West End but I believe they they are limited to Nov thru April when the seas tend to be calmer and more predictable. There are several options out there to dive with the Tigers and/or the Great Hammer Heads but undoubtedly the best are aboard a liveaboard where you get basically unlimited time in the water and even include night dives with them - you can see a bit more about our trips on dive with Bahamas Tiger Sharks at Tiger Beach and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Happy and safe shark diving. Dom

 

[drrich2]

Thanks for the response. The recent news about the Spree ending live-aboard service brought some discussion about live-aboard options (or the lack thereof) in the U.S. Out of Florida the Truth Aquatics and the Peace are 2 operators that do some multi-day trips, the Fling out of Freeport, Tx does the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Jim Abernathy's Scuba Adventures and Blue Iguana Charters offers a variety of trip options out of Florida, so I'm glad to see there are some U.S.-based options. Glad to hear the Dolphin Dream is an option, at least if one can get a spot on it!

Richard.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Thanks Richard - to clarify for other readers, the Peace and Truth Aquatics operate to the Channel Islands and off the South California coast, and as you say, Fling to Flower Gardens from TX and Jim is Tiger Beach & Bimini from West Palm Beach. Dolphin Dream is also West Palm Beach. MV Kate goes out of the Keys from time to time but is mostly based in Grand Bahamas. Also in Bahamas is Aqua Cat, Black Beards, Bahamas Aggressor but they do not offer specialized shark dives as does Dolphin Dream, Kate and Shear Water. On the other coast, you have the Horizon that is the only US based boat that takes divers to Guadalupe Great White Shark diving. There are several operators that start and finish their trips from San Diego, with a short bus ride over the Mexican border before they sail out to Guadalupe so at least there are no international flights required. Other than that, you have the Rocio del Mar that starts her Sea of Cortez trips from Puerto Penasca, which is a 4 hour drive from Phoenix but other than that, I agree there is a shortage of US based live-aboards. But then you have a plethora of them a short flight away
We have a live availability feed on our website that lists many of those, and some that are not yet linked to the live feed can be found on the PDF that we try to update daily - so any questions don't hesitate to be in touch.