Jupiter, FL - June 2022

               It was World Ocean Day and it was a beautiful day for some epic shark diving off the coast of Jupiter, Florida.  As we descended for our 3^rd dive to about 75 feet at the Deep Ledge, the 82°F water was a welcome change from the previous dive which I would describe as bone-chilling at just 4° cooler.  As our shark feeder, Liz, began to spread the scent of fish blood, we maintained our buoyancy in the calm, endless blue water column.  The action was a little slow to start as we remained stagnant, looking left, right, and all around for any signs of life to emerge.  And then she appeared.

A beautiful, shy silky shark, probably somewhere between 5 and 6 feet in length, approached us slowly and methodically.  She looked similar to the silky we encountered on our first dive about three and a half hours earlier, but with one noticeable difference.  This stunning creature had three or four hooks deeply embedded in the right corner of her jaw, one of which appeared to actually be piercing through her thick skin like a lip ring.  In addition to these painful, rusty hooks was the two to three foot nylon fishing line attached to one of them, running along the side of her otherwise flawless body.  As she swam about circling around us, I could see the line wrapping around her from the right corner of her jaw to her left pectoral fin, almost slicing into her side, causing the fin to twitch uncontrollably.  She was helpless to unwrap it.  To make matters even worse, a heavy, bright yellow fishing lure was attached to the end of this line.  This was undeniably creating unnecessary drag so strong that it was causing the hook to penetrate deeper and deeper into this helpless shark’s jaw.

She made several close passes within inches of me and it was one of the most heartbreaking sights that I’ve ever witnessed on a dive.  Sadly, she knew she was suffering but she had no idea why.  Had I not been immersed in this oceanic realm, I would have been shedding empathetic tears for this brave creature, as I myself have endured intense physical pain as a result of the carelessness of human behavior.  But her situation was far different from what mine was.  She had to fend for herself in an unforgiving environment, she received no sympathy or remorse from the fisherman (or men) who did this to her, and she had nobody to make this pain go away.  But that would change today.

I watched intently with my GoPro in hand as Liz worked endlessly to remove this line, and possibly one or more of the hooks, that made this vulnerable creature suffer greatly.  She lured the silky in, either with the promise of a fishy treat or piquing her curiosity with the flapping of her hands.  Once the shark was close, Liz would rub the sensitive electroreceptors beneath her snout to calm her, putting her in a more relaxed state.  But the silky shark was not quick to trust anyone as she escaped Liz’s clutches multiple times.  Finally, after watching this back and forth dance for the next half hour, Liz was successful in removing the hook with the fishing line and lure from this astonishing empress of the deep.

What I saw on this dive was not a man-eating monster as so many would have you believe.  What I saw was an innocent victim, a mere gentle soul, a misunderstood being who has been villainized for decades and now was suffering quietly and needlessly.  As much as I prefer to see multiple sharks, this silky shark was the only one to join us on this particular dive.  Nevertheless, it was a dive I was glad to have witnessed and one that I will never forget.  Yes, it was highly emotional and disturbing for me to see the careless, destructive nature of human activity and the impact it leaves on helpless, innocent creatures.  However, it also allowed me to see the positive impact that we, as shark divers and compassionate human beings, can have on the precious lives of our wildlife counterparts with whom we share this vast planet.

Tiger Beach/Bimini - January 2020

               It was somewhat of a long journey for me to get to Tiger Beach.  It was a place I would have never known existed had it not been for my fellow boatmates aboard the Belle Amie at Guadalupe Island in 2017, my maiden voyage into the addictive world of shark diving.  I was the newbie onboard during that expedition, surrounded by experienced divers from all over the United States who seemed to agree that if you wanted the ultimate shark diving experience …. you go to Tiger Beach!  While I will admit I was mildly intrigued, it wasn’t a location that I saw myself seeking out anytime soon.

Upon returning home from Guadalupe Island, I was in no hurry to dive again or seek out different shark species, despite learning about this place they all called “Tiger Beach”.  I was beyond satisfied with the unforgettable experience I had just had, so it took me a while to recover from that high and come back down to earth.  But it didn’t take very long before I thought to myself, “well, I have this open water scuba diving certification.  Maybe I should put it to use and find someplace easy to dive.”

Tiger Beach was not even a thought in my mind at that time.  My husband and I decided on Cozumel, Mexico where we could have a nice relaxing beach vacation where I could dive and we could both have fun together with land-based activities as well.  In addition to that, we also decided to do a Whale Shark snorkel together in nearby Isla Mujeres.  (But that trip is a story for another blog!)  In any case, I was getting my feet wet (literally!) more as a diver and the whale shark experience just increased my hunger for encountering more sharks.  And this Tiger Beach place in the Bahamas was still in the back of my mind.  So what did I do next?  I educated myself on tiger sharks.

Upon research and watching documentaries, I discovered that this species has a bad reputation with humans.  Great Whites have a bad track record with humans as well but I had no apprehension diving with them because we were safely in cages the entire time.  Tiger Beach, however, does not come with cages!  I’m not ashamed to admit that this intimidated me just a little.  I came to the realization that if I was going to commit to Tiger Beach, I would have to get more comfortable with being around more mild-mannered shark species outside of a cage first.  So I booked a trip to dive with Stuart Cove’s Dive Center in Nassau, Bahamas where I dove freely in the open ocean with nurse sharks and Caribbean Reef Sharks.  (A topic for yet another blog!)  I realized that the behavior of these species would be significantly different from that of tiger sharks but after diving cageless with them, I had officially been baited and hooked by the shark gods.  Upon returning home from this third shark experience I immediately contacted Eli Martinez of SDM Diving to reserve my spot for his Tiger Beach/Bimini expedition just 4 months later.  And now, finally, on to the Tiger Beach/Bimini trip!

 

Similar to Guadalupe Island, I boarded a liveaboard boat with a bunch of strangers who, by the end of the week, would be an extension of my ever-growing shark family.  We would share meals and swap stories about our personal shark experiences as well as those currently underway aboard the Dolphin Dream, headed by Captain Scott and his amazing crew.  Spending a week with the legendary Eli Martinez was an added bonus to this venture.  Listening to his stories and personal wildlife experiences with marine and terrestrial animals alike was truly inspiring.  I also enjoyed hearing about his behind-the-scenes experiences with the likes of Discovery’s Shark Week.

The briefing for the tiger dives was like none I have ever had before.  Ryan, one of our safety divers, had a sternness in his voice when he stated, “The tiger sharks will come very close to you during the feed.”  When Eli spoke, he remained calm in his explanations but was very clear about what we were to do when (not if) a tiger shark gets into our personal bubble.  “If you got a shark that’s really, really close, you need to put your hand on it and move your body away from the animal.  If you don’t have a camera, if you don’t have a stick, you’re gonna have to use your hand,” were his instructions as he demonstrated the maneuver.  Then he added, “The tigers are very, very well behaved but sometimes they do misbehave.  And we just want to make sure that we’re on top of that before anything bad ever really happens.”

Following that intense yet reassuring briefing, I giant strode my way to meet the big girls of tiger beach for the very first time.  It wasn’t just the tiger sharks I became acquainted with here but this was also the place where I met my first lemon and bull sharks.  Caribbean reef sharks and nurse sharks were present as well, but I had already met them previously in Nassau.  This Tiger Beach was a very sharky place, indeed!  (And that is what you get in the shark sanctuary that is The Bahamas).

While the visibility was not optimal (reaching about 15 feet max) meeting my very first tiger shark was still unforgettable.  I do not recall particular characteristics of individuals but Jitterbug and Dirty Girl were two of the 3 or 4 tigers that were present.  And Ryan and Eli weren’t joking.  These tigers most certainly DID get into my personal bubble!  I recall one moment in particular when Jitterbug slowly approached me, making eye contact directly with me, curious about who I was and what I was doing in her dominion.  Rather than push this big girl down and away, I simply swam aside, allowing her to pass.

The seas and distant weather patterns did not allow for optimal conditions.  Therefore, Eli did not do any feeding with these tigers on this particular dive but instead just allowed us to hang around with them for the duration of the fifty-five minutes we were submerged.  As a first-timer at Tiger Beach, this was still a real treat for me.  Upon surfacing we were in for a big surprise though.  The sea had become so choppy that I found myself being pulled up and down 10 to 15 feet as I held the downline, trying to complete my 3-minute safety stop.  Obviously, this was not going to work, so I was unable to hold the line.  Once I had broken the surface and tried to swim the short distance to the boat, I was fighting a surge so strong that my energy was quickly depleting and I was becoming exhausted.  Ryan had to jump in without scuba to reel me in to the ladder, help me off with my fins, and assist me onto the boat.  I am forever grateful for his assistance that day because that was undoubtedly one of the scariest moments of my diving life (and possibly my entire life).  To this day it still ranks as one of the most frightening dive experiences I’ve ever had.  The tiger sharks prowling beneath me were the least of my concerns in that moment.  But despite feeling like I was on the verge of death, that did not derail me from jumping back in the water again the very next day.

I have never done a night dive before but that was about to change here at Tiger Beach.  Initiation by fire, as I like to call it!  Just shy of six o’clock in the evening, we were all on the back deck of the Dolphin Dream, gearing up and waiting to watch the sun plunge behind the horizon and create the burst of green light as we’ve all seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  Unfortunately, it did not happen, but diving in pitch black with tiger sharks more than made up for it!  Illuminating the blackness with nothing more than the powerful lumens of our dive lights, I watched in awe as these bold tigers appeared out of nowhere and approached Eli.  Adorned with his signature backwards baseball cap underwater, he flipped them in all different directions as they chomped down their massive jaws repeatedly.  He knew these tigers well and they danced a dance that appeared to have been done before.  What a thrill!

Due to the unrelenting poor conditions, the crew made the call to leave Tiger Beach after the first few days and venture to Bimini, home of the Great Hammerhead sharks.  While all the others onboard were more experienced divers than I, some of whom had been to Tiger Beach multiple times, this was a disappointment.  For me, I was still enthralled by the tiger action bestowed upon me during the few days we spent there.

Bimini is another special place and I was glad to have had the opportunity to be there.  The first dive here featured four gigantic Great Hammerhead sharks.  Despite my observation of their shy behavior, they made several close passes within inches of me.  One in particular I remember was named Medusa.  Her first dorsal fin was split in the middle.  How it became like that, nobody knew.  I will never forget her because Jose, one of my fellow divers on this expedition from Vancouver, snapped a perfect photo of me with Medusa.  He was gracious enough to share it with me and it currently hangs on my wall at home.  Great Hammerheads are truly special.  Their cephalofoil heads are an evolutionary work of art, their “sideways” swimming pattern is unique, and making eye contact with such a creature is like nothing else in this world.  It’s the closest I’ll probably ever get to what feels like an extra-terrestrial experience.

While the hammers were clearly the stars of the show, multiple nurse sharks lounged at Eli’s feet in hopes of catching a scrap of fish from the bait box.  Bull sharks were also patrolling the area, seemingly jealous of the Great Hammerheads as they kept their distance in their presence, circling us throughout every dive just at the edge of visibility.  When the hammers eventually vacated the area, the 3 or 4 bulls became bolder, more aggressive, and clearly territorial.  They came in closer and even followed some of us up to the boat during ascent, making for some interesting and less than comfortable safety stops!

I logged eleven dives during this six day expedition and spent ample amounts of time with six different species of sharks.  The tigers were intimidatingly curious and rambunctious, the bulls were territorial, the nurse sharks were lazy and relaxed, and the great hammerheads were shy but with a regal air about them.  When I travel solo on such an expedition, I’m never truly alone.  Those onboard share a fiery passion for this wild type of adventure as much as I do, so it’s super easy to click with such individuals and live like a closeknit family for a week.  And even though we connect and bond through words and spoken language above the surface, the bonds created below are just as meaningful.

Guadalupe Island - August 2017

        Having grown up in New Jersey in the 80’s and 90’s, going “down the shore” with my family and friends during the hot, humid summer months was always an enjoyable pastime.  As a little kid, I was always fascinated by sharks and for no apparent reason that I can recall!  I was just intrigued and curious about these exquisite marine creatures that the common public thought of as terrifying man-eaters.  When not at the beach, I loved going to our local video store and renting all the movies in the JAWS franchise.  Despite what most people thought about sharks, I was never afraid of them and I never feared going into the ocean because of them.  Even as a 10-year-old kid, JAWS did not convince me that this was the true depiction of sharks in real life.

 

        Throughout the course of the next 22 years or so, I continued to admire sharks from a distance, casually watching Shark Week on Discovery channel every summer and continuing to be a seasonal beachgoer with no concern of stepping foot into their salty domain.  It was because of Shark Week that I learned a place called Guadalupe Island existed.  This remote island is where the species I admire the most, the Great White Shark, aggregates during the summer and fall months.  Upon learning about this place, I made the uninformed assumption that only scientists and technical underwater photographers had access to it.  After all those years, I don’t quite remember what exactly triggered me to search this on the internet, but to my surprise I learned that I could travel to this remote island as a civilian with no marine biology background or any intense underwater training!

 

        At this point, and with no apprehension whatsoever, I became very eager to put down a deposit to reserve my spot on something called a liveaboard boat.  Whatever the heck that was, I didn’t care!  I was so excited that somebody like me could have the opportunity to get in a cage and see these Great White Sharks up close and personal in the wild.  I was dead set on doing this.  And what did I hear from my family and friends?  Comments and questions like … “You’re crazy!” and “Aren’t you afraid they’ll attack you?” and “Didn’t you see that video of the shark getting stuck in the cage?” and “Don’t get eaten alive!”  I knew very little about sharks at this time, but even so, I remained unafraid and brushed all those negative comments and questions aside like dust under a carpet.  In all honesty, I was more afraid of a scuba equipment malfunction than I was of being attacked by a shark.  (And that is still true of me today!)

 

        Heeding little attention to all the negativity and disapproval I was receiving from many, there was only one obstacle standing in my way to get the full experience I was hoping for.  In order to be granted permission to go into the submersible cages (which were lowered 30 feet into the bottomless water column), I would have to be a certified scuba diver, which I was not.  Noncertified divers were only allowed to go in the surface cages which, by definition, simply hover at the water’s surface.  So what was my next move?  Quite obvious!  In 2017 at the age of 33, I signed up to get my Open Water scuba diving certification.  I never had any interest in becoming a scuba diver in the past and the only reason I decided to pursue my certification at that time was simply to go in the submersible cages at Guadalupe Island.  I had absolutely no interest in diving more or doing anything else scuba related once I completed this trip and had the “once in a lifetime experience” of being in the water with these Great White Sharks.  Little did I know, this expedition and these Great White Sharks would completely change my outlook on life as well as my view of the world and all things in it.

 

        With the emotional support of my husband who completely understood how important it was for me to pursue this dream of immersing myself in the realm of the Great White Shark, I flew by myself to San Diego with my Open Water scuba diving certification in hand and a mere six open water dives under my belt.  There, I met with the liveaboard dive charter group and boarded their shark-adorned bus for a 2-hour drive across the border to Ensenada, Mexico.  Following our arrival there and after going through customs, we headed to the marina and boarded the Nautilus Belle Amie for a 24-hour crossing (roughly 200 miles) from the Baja Mexico coast to the isolated, uninhabited Guadalupe Island.

 

        I’m not going to lie.  The crossing was ROUGH.  I had been on cruise ships and ferry boats many times in the past and I had never gotten any type of motion or seasickness.  That’s why I was totally caught off guard when I woke up the next morning with a case of sea sickness that I thought I would die from.  “Why did I want to come here and do this?!” was all I could think to myself as I lay alone, nauseous and disoriented in my bed.  Despite having traveled solo, the crew onboard and my fellow passengers were extremely gracious, providing me with seasick patches from their personal stash, making me ginger tea, and providing me with general advice on how to get through this unpleasant experience.  During the height of my seasickness, I was seriously doubting my decision to take this journey.  I was thousands of miles from home and hundreds of miles from civilization in a remote part of the world with very limited access to phone and internet, vomiting off the side of a luxury liveaboard boat.  I often get nauseous, but I had never experienced anything like this!  But when the Belle Amie approached the island and I witnessed this beautiful, volcanic landmass with fluffy clouds gently rolling down the sides of it, a sight that I had seen numerous times on TV, the seasickness instantly became a distant memory.  And that marked the beginning of an amazing three days anchored at Guadalupe Island.

 

        All of my personal history and the drama of making it to Guadalupe Island aside, let me now focus a bit on my actual encounters with these Great White Sharks!  They behaved just as I expected and my nonchalant attitude heading into this journey was one hundred percent validated.  Words I would use to describe my firsthand general observations of these Great White Sharks in their natural habitat from merely just inches away include the following; non-aggressive, calm, peaceful, slow-moving, deliberate, cautious, curious, majestic, beautiful, and above all else … misunderstood.  We had many individuals hang around our boat for the three days and they varied in physical characteristics and personalities, just as people do.  Some were bolder and some were shyer than others.  They all had names and identities.  The two I remember in particular were Sadface and Andy.  Sadface was easily identifiable with a big black circular wound on the left side of his head between his mouth and first gill and Andy had a distinct flat-topped caudal fin while most shark fins come to a point.  I was now able to witness firsthand that the perception I’ve had of sharks all my life has always been correct and that of the general public was way off. 

 

        We had unlimited time in the surface cages, as long as there was room available, and three scheduled 45-minute submersible cage dives per day (nine in total), so we had ample time in the water.  I even found myself getting up at six o’clock on the last morning to get in the surface cage in order to maximize my time with these beautiful creatures.  I was having the time of my life aboard this small vessel in the middle of nowhere with a group of people I met only days prior who shared the same love and admiration for sharks that I do.  The crew fed us well, provided amazing service of everything we could possibly want or need, and provided general education of Guadalupe Island, the Great Whites that migrate there, the threat they are currently under around the world, and the conservation efforts that are helping them thrive.  During this voyage I learned so much about Great Whites, sharks in general, and even about myself and my own personal resilience to adapt and overcome impediments.  And this was only the start of my journey.

 

        Over the next 6 years, which brings us to the present day in 2023, I have continued scuba diving and even advanced my training to gain multiple certifications.  I have accumulated all of my own dive gear, developed my own little circle of dive buddies which ranges from California to Florida and back to NJ, dove outside the cage with 12 other species of sharks, became an advocate for the ocean, and a voice for the voiceless.  I am on a personal mission to dispel myths about sharks and provide factual information through my experiences with them and things I have learned from literature, documentaries, and others I’ve met along the way.  (The non-profit organization Sharks 4 Kids is really helping me to progress with my mission, allowing me to help in their efforts to create a future generation of shark advocates!)  I have recruited my friends to become shark lovers, taking them on their first shark dives to share the thrill with them that I know and love because photos and videos cannot truly replicate the experience of sharing a moment in time with a gentle, inquisitive shark.

 

        I have a greater appreciation for this planet and the creatures that dwell within it and my curiosity of the ocean has expanded to depths unimaginable.  I’m a better person because of all that I’m now able to see and experience.  The unintended path my life has taken is something I would have never seen coming and I have absolutely no regrets about any of it … and I owe it all to the Great White Shark.