A SHARK Tale

I watched with rapt attention as the diver from Stuart Cove's carefully opened the lid of the bait box, skewered a piece of raw fish onto the end of a hand spear and slowly held it above his head. Instantly, an eight-foot reef shark swung its head sideways, turned upwards, snatched up the bait, and then swam a short distance away to enjoy its morsel. Meanwhile, a dozen other sharks swam over, around us, and even bumped into us as we knelt, motionless on the sand, among the coral heads 50 feet below the surface. The sharks appeared to be maneuvering into a favorable position as they stalked the bait box, knowing that more food was on its way.

The Bahamian Tourist Office takes every opportunity to promote the country’s pleasant climate and beautiful clear waters. There is an extraordinarily diverse amount of marine species thriving amongst the coral, caverns, and blue holes. The diving possibilities are endless. Reef sharks are prohibited from being caught and harvested in United States waters. It is also forbidden to feed sharks in the waters off the coast of Florida, so you must go to the Caribbean to participate in scuba shark-feeding dives.

You can find a shark dive in many parts of the Bahamas; however, participating in Stuart Cove's shark feeding dive is the ultimate adventure! Stuart Cove's is located on the southwest side of New Providence Island. Stuart Cove landed a job as a stunt diver in the James Bond feature film For Your Eyes Only (1981). Subsequently, he bought his first dive boat and started his own dive business, which soon grew into one of the leading dive operations on New Providence Island. In 1983, Stuart and his partner, Michelle, became underwater film production coordinators on the island during the filming of another Bond movie, Never Say Never Again. He trained Sean Connery and Kim Bassinger as certified divers, so they could complete their roles in the film. Stuart also choreographed the underwater shark wrestling. Later, the site was part of the set location for the movie Flipper, and by 2003, it had become one of the leading dive centers of the entire Caribbean. I figured that if Stuart’s operation was good enough for James Bond, it was good enough for me, so we booked the shark-dive event for a Saturday morning in October of 2006. It was to be an adventure of a lifetime - albeit a short one-day event.

We arrived early at Stuart Cove's with eager anticipation and a good amount of butterflies in our stomachs. It was about a 45-minute ride out to the dive location - a flat sandy area called the Runway and Shark Arena - near the New Providence Wall and the Tongue of the Ocean.


The event was organized as a two-tank dive. The first dive was an exploratory dive  and "free swim" with the sharks along the magnificent wall at a depth of about 40 to 50 feet. No bait was exposed on this dive so there's time to relax and get used to seeing a few sharks in their environment. It also provided an opportunity to change our minds and return to the boat if swimming with the sharks suddenly seemed too intimidating. None of us opted out.


By the time we dropped anchor, donned the dive gear, and entered the water, sharks were already swimming around at a distance, waiting for an easy lunch. The arrival of the boat and the anchor hitting the bottom must have sounded like a dinner bell to the sharks in the area.

While changing tanks for the second dive, we received careful instructions to follow during the feed. It was important not to panic or make any sudden moves, to sit still on the sand with our hands and arms tucked close to our bodies, and to avoid waving our hands or touching the sharks as they swam past. A professional underwater cameraman was present to capture this memorable event on film. The internationally recognized “buddies” safety system was enforced. We were set! 

With tanks on and masks in place, we entered the water once again and formed a semicircle on the sandy bottom about 50 feet down. The feed took place at 11 a.m. every morning. Several sharks were already starting to gather in anticipation of the next feed. Soon the Stuart Cove feeder left the boat with the bait box and slowly drifted downwards to the center of the semicircle that we had formed. The sharks saw the bait box, knew exactly what it was all about, and immediately followed the feeder to the bottom. By then, plenty of sharks were on hand and they proceeded to swim closer, passing between us, over our heads and all around, several even bumping into us. I watched a couple members of our dive group struggle to get the correct negative buoyancy that would allow them to sit comfortably on the bottom, and hoped they would not provoke an attack with all their thrashing about.

The Caribbean Reef Shark (classification: Carcharhinus perezi) is not considered a threatened species and lives in abundance in the tropical western Atlantic and the Caribbean waters, from Florida to Brazil. Generally, they inhabit shallow waters near shore, cruising along the edge of a reef or continental shelf over deep water, feeding on rays, crabs, and other small fish. The reef shark has six very keen senses to detect its prey, including smell, sight, sound, taste, and electric pulses. They are also able to pick up low-frequency sound vibrations.

When the sharks were being baited they became quite bold and hyper, creating a feeding frenzy atmosphere. The Stuart Cove feeder carefully presented the bait on the end of a two-foot long stainless steel spear in order to keep the sharks a bit further away at the critical moment when they chomp the food. Each piece was small enough to be gulped easily in one bite. The feeder never removed more food from the bait box until the previous piece had been completely consumed and the sharks settled down while waiting for the next serving. That technique controlled the pace of the feed and kept everyone safe. When the energy level of the feed became excessive and the sharks became a bit unruly, the food was withheld until the situation calmed down. It was amazing, exhilarating non-stop action during the entire dive. At any given moment looking around to see 20 or more beautiful sea creatures within touching distance was a sight to behold. 

At one point during the dive, a shark peeled away from the group, flicked its tail slowly and headed straight toward me. Its beady eyes, chipped teeth, and diabolical smile succeeded in frightening me for an instant as it passed over my head like a silent submarine. As it turned and came back toward me, the photographer caught me and the shark in a perfect pose - I momentarily held my breath so the bubbles wouldn't obscure the view. 

At the end of the feed, all the sharks quickly disappeared as if to be excused from the dinner table. We remained at depth until they had gone and then explored the area to look for the sharks’ teeth that would often fall out and settle to the bottom. Only a couple of divers were lucky enough to find one. I wasn't one of them. Finally, our group surfaced, made the way back to the boat, and eventually back to shore. At the conclusion of each day's dives it became a tradition to find the nearest pub where we could enjoy a filling lunch and a cold, locally brewed beer over conversation about our latest adventure. 

The Bahamas offer some of the best shark encounters in the world today. Most are well organized; the waters are warm and crystal-clear, and there's plenty of action. The experience exceeded my expectations! I recommend it to anyone that's an adventure junkie and thrill-seeker, such as myself. Now, I hope my next shark encounter will entail cage diving with the Great Whites off the coast of South Africa! It's on my bucket list!


For more information on the Shark Adventure dive click here.