#20831 - 07/05/04 08:44 PM
Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
way2old
Member
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
|
I have dove all over the Caribbean and seen very few sharks...one or two small reef sharks and some larger nurse sharks. I will be on Moorea and Bora Bora next March and of course do some diving. The species of sharks in these areas are listed as not agressive towards divers and I have viewed many pictures with many sharks. I know I should not be worried but I would appreciate hearing from other divers and thier first time experiences in water with numerous sharks. Shark feeding seems to be a common excursion in the FP Islands. My wife is not a diver and she is freaked out looking at the pictures. I guess I am looking for reassurance.
Thanks!
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20832 - 07/06/04 10:08 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
Icediver
Junior Member
Registered: 05/07/04
Posts: 12
Loc: Michigan
|
I dived with the black tips, grays, and lemon sharks on Bora Bora. I found that the black tips and lemon sharks pay little if any attention to divers. In fact, it was not easy to even get real close to the lemon sharks. The grays do come a little closer than the others, but they seem to be just more curious than the others. I never felt uncomfortable about any of them at any time. My wife, who is a certified diver, would not do those dives but she did snorkel and was very glad that she got to see them. The dives I went on were not shark feeding dives, but were actual open ocean dives, and the dive operators stressed that these sharks were not fed. I would guess that there were around 15 to 20 sharks in the area on each dive. I say go for it! Also do the manta ray dive in the Bora Bora lagoon.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20833 - 07/26/04 11:18 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
yllams
Member
Registered: 02/12/04
Posts: 121
Loc: Cleveland, OH, USA
|
We dove the Tiki site on Moorea which is the main shark dive on that island. The experience was great...we were underwater with around 50 sharks and I was as comfortable as could be. They fed them and it was a very cool sight to see. The scariest part was flipping off the boat into water that had sharks swimming around the boat...after you're in the water it's cake.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20834 - 07/26/04 11:53 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
way2old
Member
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
|
YLLAMS,
Thanks for the reply as well as you Icediver.
Yllams...was this your first time to dive with so many sharks in the water? Who did you dive with
on Moorea. Are the divemasters reasurring about the shark thing?
Thanks...way2old
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20835 - 07/26/04 11:55 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
way2old
Member
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
|
YLLAMS,
Thanks for the reply as well as you Icediver.
Yllams...was this your first time to dive with so many sharks in the water? Who did you dive with
on Moorea. Are the divemasters reasurring about the shark thing?
Thanks...way2old
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20836 - 07/27/04 07:18 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
yllams
Member
Registered: 02/12/04
Posts: 121
Loc: Cleveland, OH, USA
|
Actually that was my first dive with sharks, for that matter it was my first dive after getting my open water dives finished up (split between Tahaa and Moorea). We dove with Rafael from the Pearl resort. He was great and very reassuring that we had nothing to worry about.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20837 - 07/28/04 01:51 PM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
Swoosh
Member
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 29
|
My first diving EVER! was in BB. I could not believe the excitment it was being with the three types of sharks that I saw. My first trip right after my certification was to feed the Lemon sharks at the opening of BB lagoon. The dive masters from the Bora diving center were great! I agree with Icediver. The grey shark dive at north point was the most exciting of all. They do come in close to see if you have any food for them. have you checked out my pictures on my website. http://jdavi4.homelinux.com/bora/
The last part of the photo set is of my diving in BB.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20838 - 07/28/04 02:38 PM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
Swoosh
Member
Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 29
|
Way2old,
I really did not address your question or concern in my last post.
To address your question, "What to expect". With sharks always expect the un-expected. After all they are SHARKS!!
With that said I will give you my oppion of the BB shark feeding.
The north point Grey shark trip is outside of the BB reef. When the boat arrived at the floating anchor rope, I looked over the side of the boat to see how clear the water was. It was dark blue and no sign of any sharks. By the time the rope was hooked and tied to the boat we were surounded by over a dozen gray sharks. They were all swimming around and around the boat. I asked one of the dive leaders how they found us so fast. He said it's because they are feed all the time here and they know when we arrive!
I realized that what he was saying was that after years of doing this exact same thing, the sharks were trained for this procedure.
We all hit the water and moved to the bow rope. I looked for all the sharks but did not see as many as I first did. We decended down to the bottom slowly. I could see all the sharks still hanging around the boat. They have been trained that the feedind comes from the boat, not the divers, so they stay where the boat is.
The tour of north point has the best coral of all I saw. The north point dive is listed for advanced divers. They don't bring just anybody out here. You must be respectful and pay attention not to hurt or touch anything. You can really see the difference between here and other dives in and around BB.
After the tour we returned to the bow rope for the feeding. I was holding the rope at the first spot, which is highest and closest to the boat. This is one reason I had grey sharks swimming close to me. They stick close to the boat for the feeding.
It was increadable how in tune they are to what is going on around them. I did not even see the food hit the surface, but in that instant they were all on top of it. Even sharks that were on the far side of the boat made of over to the food in 1/2 a second.
When the feeding was over, I could not see any of the sharks around anymore. They have been doing this for so long that they know there will be no more food so there is no reason to stay after that!
So to sum it up for you. The dive masters have been doing this for so many years that the sharks know exactly what to do. I feel it is safe because of this reason. If you think of how many different dive shops are in BB, and how many dives they do each day, and how many time they feed the sharks. It's no wonder BB has fat happy sharks 
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20839 - 07/29/04 10:22 PM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
way2old
Member
Registered: 06/23/04
Posts: 25
Loc: Fort Worth, Texas, USA
|
Swoosh,
Hey, lots of thanks for your very complete reply on life with the sharks. Your description of the dives makes it a must!
We will be on Moorea for 4 days at the Intercontinental and then 4 more at the Bora Bora Lagoon Resort.
I will be diving in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 30 days. This will be my 4th trip there and I have logged 12 dives there. We stay on St. John...a very special island with beautiful views and awesome beaches.
We are looking forward to the French Polynesia experience in March, 2005.
When and where is your next dive going to be?
Welcome to the wonderful world of downunder.
Warmest regards and many thanks!
Go Limin...way2old
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
|
#20840 - 08/03/04 11:48 AM
Re: Sharks-What To Expect ?
|
Icediver
Junior Member
Registered: 05/07/04
Posts: 12
Loc: Michigan
|
We went diving in St Johns in 2002. We stayed at the Westin in Cruz Bay and I thought they had the best dive operation I have ever been diving with. The dives were nothing spectacular, especially compared to Bora Bora, but I did propose to my wife while we were on one dive there. She said yes and today is our second anniversary.
I should point out that on my shark dive in Bora Bora, they did not feed the sharks, and we still had plenty of opportunity to see them up close. Again, I would urge you to do the manta ray dive as well. It is really worth seeing them glide through the water with such grace.
|
|
Top
|
|
|
|
Moderator: BarbiJKM, hamara, DenverJoe, Poehere
|
6901 Members
15 Forums
10250 Topics
91339 Posts
Max Online: 118 @ 04/08/12 01:59 PM
|
|
0 registered
and 8 anonymous users online.
|
|
|
