Tiger Shark Expedition 31 Oct - 6 Nov, 2020

[Dan]

I would like to dive with tiger sharks in Tiger Beach, Bahamas, ever since I saw Jonathan Bird of Blue World dove with the sharks there, as shown here:


They went with: Tiger Shark Diving at Tiger Beach Bahamas!

My buddy & I decided to charter the whole boat to save the cost for everyone. The M/V Dolphin Dream has 6 cabins for 12 divers, 2 divers / cabin. The charter cost will be divided equally to everyone at $2,100 / diver, double occupancy (our cost for chartering the whole boat) from 31 Oct to 6 Nov, 2020 (7 Day - 6 Night Trip / 5 Days Diving) trip.

So, join us on the M/V Dolphin Dream and the Captain, who first chummed Tiger Beach back in 2003 to bring in tiger sharks.

Located 20 nautical miles off West End, Grand Bahamas, Tiger Beach is the ideal and best place for long encounters with tiger sharks in crystal clear, shallow water. The number of sharks here has grown and continues to grow, fueled by the protected shark sanctuary of the Bahamas waters.

The Dolphin Dream sails out of the Riviera City Beach Marina so international travel is not required for US residents. The closest airport to the marina is Palm Beach International (PBI) followed by Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL). If you are traveling from another country there is also Miami International airport (MIA) a little further south.

We have 2 months from now to fill up the cabins (till 4 Dec, 2019). So, if you are interested in reserving your spot, please send me a PM.

 

[Dan]

Here is a proposed itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrival day to the M/V Dolphin Dream located at the Riviera City Marina. Boarding starts at 2PM and you must be on board before 6PM. Dinner is provided and we will depart for the Bahamas after 10PM.

Day 2 - After clearing customs sometime after 7AM we will travel to Tiger Beach normally arriving at 1PM for a two tank dive. This is usually at the site Tiger Chain which is 20 feet deep. Our first dive will be a check out dive. The diving at Tiger Chain is primarily with lemon sharks but the possibility of encountering our first tiger sharks is always present!

Days 3 - 5 - We will move locations to dive each day at Fish Tales which is 40 feet deep and a sandy bottom. Upon arrival we will begin chumming for tigers. Each day 4 dives are planned and every dive at Fish Tales is a shark feed.

Day 6 - Our final day of diving at Fish Tales. A maximum of 3 dives with 2 morning dives and 1 after lunch. We normally depart back to the Riviera City Beach Marina around 6PM.

Day 7 - (Departure Day) - We arrive back in Florida waters usually around 6AM. After we clear customs following our 9AM appointment, the Dolphin Dream will return to the marina at 9:30AM.

While on location at any of the dive sites “the pool” is usually open! In addition to tigers there are also some resident nurse sharks, large aggregations of lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks and occasionally bull sharks visit. We may even have great hammerheads stop by. There is also a nice reef adjacent to Fish Tales.

 

[Dan]

Other 2019 & 2020 Shark Trip are available here:

Book a Shark Diving live-aboard trip with the Dolphin Dream Team

As listed in that webpage, individual booking would cost $2995. By chartering the whole boat & spliting the cost equally among 12 of us would save each of us $895.

 

[Islandiver69]

Here is a proposed itinerary:

Day 1 - Arrival day to the M/V Dolphin Dream located at the Riviera City Marina. Boarding starts at 2PM and you must be on board before 6PM. Dinner is provided and we will depart for the Bahamas after 10PM.

Day 2 - After clearing customs sometime after 7AM we will travel to Tiger Beach normally arriving at 1PM for a two tank dive. This is usually at the site Tiger Chain which is 20 feet deep. Our first dive will be a check out dive. The diving at Tiger Chain is primarily with lemon sharks but the possibility of encountering our first tiger sharks is always present!

Days 3 - 5 - We will move locations to dive each day at Fish Tales which is 40 feet deep and a sandy bottom. Upon arrival we will begin chumming for tigers. Each day 4 dives are planned and every dive at Fish Tales is a shark feed.

Day 6 - Our final day of diving at Fish Tales. A maximum of 3 dives with 2 morning dives and 1 after lunch. We normally depart back to the Riviera City Beach Marina around 6PM.

Day 7 - (Departure Day) - We arrive back in Florida waters usually around 6AM. After we clear customs following our 9AM appointment, the Dolphin Dream will return to the marina at 9:30AM.

While on location at any of the dive sites “the pool” is usually open! In addition to tigers there are also some resident nurse sharks, large aggregations of lemon sharks, Caribbean reef sharks and occasionally bull sharks visit. We may even have great hammerheads stop by. There is also a nice reef adjacent to Fish Tales.

 

[Islandiver69]

Greetings:

Dan’s dive buddy Gregg here. I first went to Tiger Beach in 4Q 2013 and paid over $2600 for 6 nights / 7 days. I’d attach a video, or 2, but they would pale in comparison to Jonathan’s video which Dan attached to his initial email.


The first 2 dives were INTENSE and they will be for you. I was so nervous when Emma (the huge resident female tiger) came right at me while descending for the first baited dive. Then the DM just pushed her away. Ha! I was buried in the sand at that point!

Tigers coming into the arena nonstop will take your breath away and make you wish you had eyes in the back of your head. My first time I was mostly prone with breathtaking videos/shots of the tigers cruising by right over my head and around.

It is an exhilarating and unique experience unlike any other.

Our price of $2,100 per person double occupancy is our true cost for chartering the whole boat - the M/V Dolphin Dream out of Riviera Beach marina.

If you go online to book directly with Captain Scott and the Dolphin Dream it will cost you $2,995 for the same experience. I know you can do the math but that’s a savings of $895! That pays for your airfare, hotel (if any), transports and more.

Come join us for this special trip . Feel free to email, message or call me (or Dan) with any questions.

Hope to See You There,


Gregg Backemeyer

Atlantis, Florida
islandiver69@gmail.com
gbackemeyer@aol.com
314-651-2884
(A STL # but I’ve lived in south Florida for 5 years now)

 

[runsongas]

request that they do the feeds next to the sea grass, makes for nicer pictures with the contrast

 

[Dan]

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Dan]

I saw a great video by Lax-Sharks on: Top 10 questions @ Tiger Beach, Bahamas

1. Where is Tiger Beach?
2. What kinds of sharks will you see?
3. What kind of experience do I need to have to dive there?
4. What is the accommodation like in the boat?
5. Do you need your own gear / passport?
6. How are the diving conditions?
7. What tips do you have for me?
8. How many tiger sharks can you expect to see in a single dive?
9. How many dives a day?
10. How dangerous is it, has anybody been bitten or killed?

Answers: Watch his video, below.

 

[Dan]

Here is an interesting video of tiger sharks in Tiger Beach that Jonathan Bird of Blue World was experimenting on. They are not the ocean garbage can as depicted in the movie “Jaws”, where they found license plate, baseball, can, etc. in a tiger shark’s stomach.

They actually don’t care about camera. One of them even spitted out a GoPro that was thrown into its mouth by Jonathan.

A diver put a camera on dorsal fin of Roxie, one of the tiger sharks. It showed a good footage of what Roxie saw when the divers were there.

 

[Dan]

Due to the pandemic situation, this trip has been rescheduled to October 23-29,2021.

Tiger Shark Expedition with Dolphin Dream October 23-29, 2021