shark dives

[jkaufman]

Hey all -

 

I'm headed to Roatan on the Grand Princess in April (the 7th out of Galveston) and am really interested in getting a serious shark dive in while I'm there.

 

I'm PADI certified and will be bringing my own reg, mask, etc.

 

I'd REALLY love to be able to wear the chainmail and feed the sharks, if that's at all possible.

 

oh yeah, I'm diving solo since the wife isn't certified (yet).

 

Any hints or suggestions?

 

Thanks

[cmdchiefthom]

jkaufman,

 

Hey guy, whoa! Jumping in with sharks is on thing, chainmail and feeding is something totally different. You might be able to find a dive operator in Roatan who might find a dive site where sharks may come by, but getting into feeding them is a whole different thing. Reef sharks are normally not really dangerous, and are as afraid of divers as some divers are afraid of them. That's what you'll typically see on the reefs in Roatan, if your lucky, or perhaps only by accident. However, asking for chainmail, and sharkfood without ever having experienced them up close and personal for the first time, is probably looking for a potential problem, and a liability issue. No dive operator wants one of their divers ending up as fish food. So shark feeding dives are kind of a special deal, not anything SHOREX is going to get involved with.

 

I dived French Polynesia a couple of months ago, and Black Tips, Lemon's, Hammerheads were all over the place. No problem baiting the Black Tips with fish heads, but you sure don't want to mess with the big peleagics. My suggestion is to see if you can find a dive operation in Roatan that offers a shark dive, see what you think, and then plan a shark dive to the Sea of Cortez, or off San Diego and you'll have the thrill you think you may want.

 

It's not a macho thing, sharks are absolutely fantastic, as are whales, mantas, and eagle rays. However, people do get hurt by sealife, just ask the Croc Hunter. So ease in, get a feel for it and if its really want you want to do, go after it from professionals who offer shark feeding in chainmail as a regular dive trip.;)

[jkaufman]

well, i've already found operations that do shark dives and will feed them during the dive while you kneel around and watch. this is boring to me - i want to be in the middle of it.

 

for info: http://www.roatansharkdive.com/

[beemerrider]

I think you are biting off more than you can chew......shark diving is one thing, but feeding them is a whole other ball game.:eek:

 

I totall agree with chiefthom on this one!!!:o

[jkaufman]

I think you are biting off more than you can chew......shark diving is one thing, but feeding them is a whole other ball game.:eek:

 

I totall agree with chiefthom on this one!!!:o

 

 

ok, so you're not interested. instead of telling me i'm crazy (which isn't the point), why not add something constructive to the thread or leave it alone.

 

it's something i'm interested in for the adrenaline rush - just diving with them is like sky diving; a few seconds of thrill and the rest is boring.

[cmdchiefthom]

jkaufman,

 

I usually don't say this much, but I've been diving almost 45 years come May 2. Much of that has been professional, either military, or in diver instruction. Choosing to interact with sharks is very cool, and can get you the rush you seem to be looking for under the conditions of a supervised, purpose designed diving experience. You need to research who can provide you with the chainmail type experience, contact them and set it up. Just, as they say, "do it". I would say, however, that on this cruise oriented forum, most of the folks that come here just want info on having a great, safe diving experience.:) Near death, or near dismemberment experiences can produce a real rush, trust me on that. However, I'm not sure its something I ever went out of my way to intentionally seek out, especially given the inherent danger in diving. It really scares me when divers choose to intentionally take risks when the name of the game is safety and survival.

 

If you want the rush, go for it, but I don't believe you're going to find much interest in it here on this particular forum without taking some heat on the "I need a rush issue". My suggestion is to take a look on the http://www.scubaboard.com/ forums, and you'll probably find someone with your similar interests.

 

I really hope you get what you want out of the sport, and survive safely to share it with your buds.;)

[S&M in Pgh]

Because of the species of shark you usually see in Rotan , I don't think there has been much demand for a feeding dive. The feeding dives are more common in the Bahamas.

 

I occasionally think it would be pretty neat to go on a feeding dive, maybe on to do the feeding, but rather to observe and take pictures.

 

Then a vocie in the back of my head screams out" Are you nuts?"

 

No offense. But these are wild animals, on a good day they are unpredicable at best. Just ask Steve Irwin's family.

 

To make a comparison, would go on safari in Africa and step out of the landrover and chuck raw meat to the lions and hyenas? Would you go to Yellowstone and throw venison to the Grizzly? It is no different.

 

Don't get me wrong, I am an avid outdoorsman. I have seen a few sharks up close (and they all swam away) and felt the rush. I have been within 10 feet (in the wild) of a blackbear twice my weight. I have picked up the wrong end of a Copperhead snake (totally by accident and in the dark). In hindsight, all those encounters were my fault and very fortunate. It has been proven that the sharks that frequent the feeding sights have lost fear of people an have come to recognize that the dive boat equals food. Accidents have begun to happen.

 

If you want to do it for the thrill, by all means go ahead and do it. Just don't condem the shark if he wants to see if you taste like chicken.

 

Mike

[tomboyy]

Not rotan but Stuarts cove in nassua(sp?) has exactly what your looking for.. just from memory... there are 2 different experiences, both are high $$$ like 2 or 3 THOUSAND dollars.

[kirbmeister]

Not rotan but Stuarts cove in nassua(sp?) has exactly what your looking for.. just from memory... there are 2 different experiences, both are high $$$ like 2 or 3 THOUSAND dollars.

 

Sounds like a good program if you rally want to do it.

 

http://www.dive-bahamas.com/pages/diving/shark-feeder.html

[cruzegirl]

They have great shark feeding expeditions off the coast of San Diego and Mexico.... Not something I would do but if you REALLY want that thrill, go there.... Like cmdchiefthom said, "most cruise ship excursion or port excursion companies for cruises won't offer that"... I think Lawsuit might influence them.......

[gvre]

We have done over 50 dives with sharks in the South Pacific. Enjoyed every minute of the dives. We where alway right up close.

I have had black tip's come up to me and rubbed their stomach. See the photo. They were looking for food and I had none and I probably took a risk by doing it.

 

But when feeding them, I leave that up to the DM. It's kinda tricky when you have 8-10' lemon shark who snuggles up to you for a bite of tuna.

Photo Rubbing a black tip