Webster's Dictionary defines the word "Anticipation" as something to look forward to. Remember the commercial when everyone was running on the beach towards a cooler filled with Sunkist? It seemed like forever until they reached for a nice cold Sunkist. The background music played the song Anticipation, it's making me wait", over and over again in my head. My first shark dive was like reaching for an ice cold drink, popping the tab and just enjoying the moment. My moment came just days ago. The trip had been planned for a while, days, weeks, months....all I thought about was coming eye to eye with these beautiful creations in the ocean.
The negative damage caused every year by Shark Week influenced me to head to the Bahamas and visit the experts in shark diving, Stuart Cove. Standing on the aft deck of our cruise ship, Captain Morgan in one hand and a dive magazine with a shark on the front cover in my other hand, I was often stopped and asked, "Are you diving in the Bahamas"? My answer was always the same. "Yes, and with sharks", to which most would reply, "What a fool he is, or guess he won't be coming back on this cruise". What made the public perceive sharks as killers of the oceans? Sure they aren't dolphins doing flips in the air, or tossing a beach ball from their noses. Maybe they don't bring the ooohhhs and aaaahs that a killer whale does as his tail splashes water high in the air. But like every shark conservationist, we have one goal in mind: To change the public's view of sharks. We all approach it in different ways. Today I was going to convince the acquaintances I've met on board , why sharks are important to our oceans, and the only way to do that is to swim side by side with them. Then I will try to see just what it is that everyone fears.
The ride to Stuart's Cove was another one of these anticipation moments. I got the feeling that of the twelve of us diving with sharks today, all had different visions of what was ahead for us. There was a moment during the drive there that I heard a father ask his young daughter, "Are you scared"?, to which she replied, "No way dad. I can't wait to see sharks!" That brought a smile to my face. I, myself had a hard time keeping my backside planted on the bus seat. My wife looked into my eyes as if she read my mind. She said, "You're happy, aren't you honey"? She knew this was my day. A day that I would spend doing what I loved and believed in, diving with sharks.
Gearing up for the ride to Shark Wall only took minutes. I wanted to be first off the boat and first to see the sharks. Then the crew yelled "Sharks!" and there they were....4, 5, 6 or more swimming around the aft end of the dive boat. The next words I heard were "Pools Open"! Descending down the rope with camera in hand and heart pounding I almost forgot to breathe.
Our first dive was like a pre-season football game. It was to get you focused on the big picture. If I was an average Joe and knew nothing about sharks, I might have felt intimidated with so many sharks following us. Heck, there were times I was so mesmerized by the sharks it never occurred to me to pay attention to where or what the other divers were doing. I have to laugh now as I was telling my wife that I was so caught up in one shark that when I turned forward, Bam!! My head smashed into the butt of a female diver swimming in front of me! What is happening to me? I'm forgetting the basics of scuba diving and worst yet, how do I say "Sorry miss for placing my head up your backside"?
Back on the boat while changing my tank, I stopped to apologize to this young lady. We shared a few laughs as this was a first for both of us, a true rear end collision. Glad she didn't ask for my insurance papers!
Once again it's back down the dive rope, first in the water. This was the main event and I wanted front row seats like others want the 50-yard line or center ice! I'm pretty sure at this point that the sharks had huddled up and had their game faces on because as I knelt on the ocean floor there were too many sharks to count, all waiting for meal time. Dinner time for these sharks wasn't someone's arm or leg like so many people believe. It was a fish head being lowered down in a steel box. When the dinner bell rang and the excitement began, shark after shark circled the container. My eyes lit up like when I was a young boy on Christmas morning, opening my present to find a Lego set. Sharks to the left of me, sharks to the right and at one point a small 4-ft male shark swam through my legs. I even had the pleasure of meeting a large grouper that I named Brownie, as he hung out at my knees for most of the dive. What I saw and experienced through the shark feeding dive will last me a lifetime!
Seeing so many sharks in one area gracefully swimming all around me, never once showing any aggression towards me or the other divers, made me wonder who is at fault for the fear many people have towards sharks? Is it the media with their gruesome stories of shark attacks streaming across our airways? Maybe the front page story of a surfer losing his leg, or maybe it's simply the fact that for years we've been taught to think dolphins are cute and lovable while sharks, like some friends will say, are better off dead. Was there ever a point in any of our lives, during our school years, that teachers educated us about the necessity of having sharks in our oceans? Not to my recollection.
I watched all the amazing sharks as time slowly ticked by. I felt sorrow for a few. One in particular is a female reef shark named Joker. Her left jaw was ripped away by a fisherman. I was assured by the Stuart's Cove staff that she is fine and eats well. Then my eyes focused on another female with two large fish hooks attached to her face. Sad to see but happy to know she didn't become someone's trophy catch.
The ascent back onto the boat was hard for me. Maybe it was the 18 pounds of weight attached to my BC, or simply the fact that I was leaving the sharks. The further up the rope I ascended the smaller the sharks became. Many times I stopped and looked back down just to say "So long, I'll be back again".
Back on board I got the opportunity to speak with Terry, one of the shark feeders. She is a bright, energetic young lady with a passion for saving sharks. Terry reminded everyone on board why Stuart Cove does what it does. She explained how shark conservation is very important and how each staff member spreads the word. Speaking with her gave me the opportunity to ask a few important questions. I asked her how she felt about the shark feeding dives since some divers and shark enthusiasts believe shark feeding is wrong. Terry replied, "John, these sharks are not dependent on us feeding them. Think about it. There are 30 plus sharks on this dive in the circle and only 7 fish heads. If this was the case, then many of them would starve. Stuart Cove's marine biologists tag and track our reef sharks to see their feeding habits". Terry was happy to say some have made it way up the east coast to enjoy a good meal.
The answer to my next question surprised me the most, knowing that we both love sharks and want to save them. But I had to know what Stuart Cove is doing to promote shark conservation. Terry said with a smile, "It starts here on our boat with every diver aboard. We talk to the divers about why sharks are important to our oceans then when you are eye to eye with them below, we take the fear away and hope you see sharks in a different light". She explained that Stuart Cove has been fighting for many years to protect the sharks and when the government finally passed the law to make the waters around the Bahamas safe for sharks, the Stuart Cove staff was elated. But there is a sad side to this story. I was reminded that shark killing continues to go on and when I asked what the local authority does to those people, I was told they turn a blind eye.
Back on the cruise ship with a huge smile across my face, I ran into some of the same acquaintences we had met earlier. "Hey John! Welcome back. We see you made it back safe". I started to explain how wonderful my dive with the sharks was and I noticed more and more ears opening up to listen to my conversation. It was then that I realized shark conservation starts with yourself. We cannot rely on schools or the media. We, as divers, must let everyone that listens know they do not need to fear sharks. Love sharks, get to know them, dive with them , read about them, learn all there is to know , then help us save them.
I know that night as I stared into the dark blue ocean, I made some new friends. Most importantly though, I changed the views of a few and now they are on the side of shark conservation.
