Tiger Beach, BAHAMAS ~ October 2024
My previous trip to Tiger Beach was nearly 5 years ago in January 2020, just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic event that would unpredictably uproot travel plans and life in general for the next several months and even years to follow. Back then I was a novice diver with a mere 30 logged dives to my name with limited shark encounter experience. But even after hearing about the dangerous behaviors that tiger sharks can impose upon humans, I was still enticed to visit this place and check another shark species off my “shark dive list”.
I have learned that you can never really appreciate something or get a full sense of what it truly is unless you witness it for yourself. Through firsthand experience is when we often discover that what others say, claim, describe with fascination or with utter fear, that their accounts are either not fully justified through words alone or they are pure falsifications. After visiting Tiger Beach that first time I was able to create my own impression and it was this …. I was left fascinated and with a diminished level of fear for these magnificent animals then when I had arrived. I just knew I was going to have to return to this place.
More than 100 dives additionally logged, at least 5 more shark species encountered, and dive experiences both good and bad have been added to my arsenal of dive experiences since my previous Tiger Beach excursion. I was more than ready to board the Dolphin Dream liveaboard vessel with Eli Martinez, Captain Scott, and his crew yet again to relive the magic that is Tiger Beach in the azure blue Bahamian waters. Despite being a more experienced diver who has gotten herself out of a few sticky dive situations since 2020, I was still mildly intimidated by those Tigers. But my past experiences had reminded me that this slight fear in my head was all from being away for too long. I knew that the fear would melt away as soon as I was in the presence of these majestic creatures.
Day 2 of diving was to be our first day with the big tiger girls. On the first dive of the day we had only one Tiger BUT … it was the queen herself, Emma. I’ve been hearing about her and seeing her on Shark Week for years and unfortunately, she did not show up during my previous trip to Tiger Beach. I felt so honored that she decided to show up this time around. I felt like I was in the presence of royalty.
When thinking back to a specific encounter I had with the
rambunctious Jitterbug on my last trip to Tiger Beach, I was very intimidated
by Emma initially. I’d nervously move
out of her way when she approached me.
But then I caught a glimpse of one of the safety divers, Jake, who signaled to
me, “be calm, it’s okay.” I quickly
learned that beneath her intimidating-looking exterior, Emma is a sincerely gentle
soul. In fact, she was one of the
calmest tiger sharks (or any type pf shark!) I have ever met. She had a very relaxed demeanor about her and
was highly tolerant of her human guests.
When she would approach me with her over-sized head and telltale grin, I
quickly learned that she would not investigate me further with her curious
jaws. She would make eye contact but
then would simply cruise right past me.
I quickly fell in love with this charming shark. My fear of her dissolved and was
carried away by any current that remained.
I am not saying that you should not be on your guard when in the
presence of Tiger sharks because you absolutely must be at all times,
regardless of how chill they are behaving!
But after several close interactions with this enchanting individual, I learned
that her personality and temperament were nothing to fear. She was a Bonafide sweetheart and I could
easily see why she is referred to as The Queen.
My old friend Jitterbug did return to visit me on this return trip to Tiger Beach. I wonder if she remembered me? Her unique clefted snout was a dead giveaway to knowing it was her. Still as rowdy and curious as ever, her persona is the complete opposite of Emma. A third tiger also graced us with her presence that day and it was Gabriela. She was a HUGE girl and most likely pregnant as her distended belly would suggest. This day was definitely one for the books and things were only about to get better.
On Day 3 of diving I woke up with mild nausea and a
moderately intense headache, but nothing that a few Advil and some ginger
couldn’t stave off until I got in the water.
This day also happened to be Tutu Tuesday, so a bunch of us jumped in
decked out in colorful tutus. Apparently,
the tigers were not impressed because they stayed away from us on dive #1. I only befriended Gary the grouper who stared
at me dressed in my rainbow tutu as if I were totally nuts. Who could blame him?! I mean, I probably looked like no other
tropical fish he had ever seen before.
On dives 2 and 3, most of us ditched the tutus and then the
tigers came barreling in! (Turns out I
was right … they didn’t like the tutus!)
Not only were Emma and Jitterbug present again, but a few other tigers
joined the party. They included
Stephanie, Natalie, and a new tiger which the crew later informed us was a new,
unnamed girl. In addition to these
lovelies, there were at least 15 to 20 Caribbean reef sharks, a couple of
lemons, a couple of nurse sharks, a majestic Southern stingray, and Gary the local grouper. It was so incredibly sharky, I felt like I
died and went to heaven. My headache and
nausea quickly took a backseat to all the excitement that surrounded me.
The following day, unfortunately, was riddled with rough
seas. We were surrounded by miles and
miles of open ocean, yet we were unable to jump in. It was a great day to look through footage
and photos, relax on the upper deck beanbag chairs, continue eating great food,
and connect with my fellow shark-enthusiast friends. Special mention to Kathy who I quickly grew
to respect and admire as she is in her 80’s and still living life to the
absolute fullest, traveling the world and diving with tiger sharks! Life goals.
Thanks for giving me something to aspire to, Kathy, and for showing me
that it IS possible!!
Our final day of diving was Halloween. Luckily, the seas improved and Captain Scott
deemed it safe for us to jump in and meet up with the girls one last time. Lots of exciting things happened on this day. I saw Jitterbug steal (and later spit out) a
GoPro camera. She also chomped on a
small Caribbean reef shark who happened to be in her way. The reef shark got away and hopefully learned
that you don’t get in Jitterbug’s way!
Emma swam past and above me many times, giving me several opportunities
to stroke her belly and side body. These
sharks are so incredibly muscular and feel as hard as steel tanks. Dive #2 ended with Finch grabbing and gifting
me a tiger tooth, freshly released from the mouth of Jitterbug! We also witnessed some exciting topside
action with a bird that decided to sit in the water right above a
shiver of hungry reef sharks. “You might
be pretty, bird, but you’re not too smart,” one of my boatmates said.
The final dive of the day (and the trip) went out with a bang but it was an incredibly sketchy situation. Visibility dropped significantly from the previous dive and was probably no more than 15 feet. It was extremely hazy and murky. Silt was kicked up easily and lingered, making visibility even worse. This can be extremely dangerous when there are predators lurking around! And what do you know … SIX tigers showed up by the end of the dive! Emma, Jitterbug, Stephanie, Natalie, Gabriela, and an unnamed new girl. Not to mention all the reef and lemon sharks that were also in the area. I only stayed for about 20 minutes when 4 tigers were present. When I couldn’t keep track of them all I decided I was satisfied with the experiences I’ve had on this trip, told Finch I was out, and proceeded to ascend to my final safety stop at the down line.
Needless to say, this trip was truly epic and priceless
memories were made. Twelve logged dives,
one precious tiger tooth to take home, and a group of new friends were but a
few of the rewards. But I must say with
absolute certainty that my favorite thing about this trip was meeting
Emma. She is the EXACT opposite of what common
people think about sharks. Emma is kind,
gentle, tolerant, relaxed, and peaceful.
She actually made my fear, anxiety, and stress melt away. Have you ever seen a therapy dog? Well, if therapy sharks existed, I’d have to
say that Emma is mine.
