I have been yearning to dive with tiger sharks in the open (no cages) for the last couple of years. It’s not a bravado thing, I am just fascinated with sharks in general and this species has a definite mystique and aura about them. Although tiger sharks are found throughout the world’s tropical oceans, my research quickly pointed me in the directions of Grand Bahama as the best opportunity to see tiger sharks in an uncaged environment.
I found three operations offering tiger shark expeditions. Two of the outfits were aggressive in their approach as they bait and feed the sharks (M/V Shearwater and M/V Dolphin Dreams). Both boats operate out of Florida and spend a day to get to Tiger Beach located on the Little Bahama Bank. The third boat was part of the Aggressor/Dancer Fleet, the Carib Dancer. I ended up opting to go with the Carib Dancer for the following reasons:
1. My last liveaboard was on the Belize Dancer II. It was a very nice, comfortable, and well run boat.
2. The M/V Shearwater is relatively small boat that offers a more “communal” sleeping arrangement. As I am a light sleeper, so one good snorer and my vacation is ruined.
3. I almost booked with Dolphin Dreams, but it is a substantially smaller boat than the Dancer boat and hosts almost as many divers. It also cost more (about $800 more), but I actually ended up spending this in airfare from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport, taxi fares, and one night’s hotel. As with the Shearwater, you also lose half a day of diving compared to the Carib Dancer since the boat operates out of Florida.
4. The Carib Dancer had Nitrox. The other boats did not.
5. The Carib Dancer agenda was to spend some time on the reefs in addition to “shark sites”.
Come early morning on May 22nd, I found myself at Seattle-Tacoma airport headed to Fort Lauderdale where I caught a small plane to Freeport, Grand Bahama. I stayed the night in Freeport at the Dolphin Bay Report. As I could not board the Carib Dancer until 4:00 PM, I did a dive that morning with Unexo. It was supposedly a “wild dolphin” excursion, but to my disgust it was a dive in open water with a captive dolphin. After a majorly disappointing experience, and a good lunch in Freeport, I took a $70 cab ride that afternoon out to Old Bahama Bay where the Carib Dancer was moored.
THE "LUXURY LIVEABOARD" Carib Dancer
BYOAC (Bring Your Own Air Conditioning)
I found three operations offering tiger shark expeditions. Two of the outfits were aggressive in their approach as they bait and feed the sharks (M/V Shearwater and M/V Dolphin Dreams). Both boats operate out of Florida and spend a day to get to Tiger Beach located on the Little Bahama Bank. The third boat was part of the Aggressor/Dancer Fleet, the Carib Dancer. I ended up opting to go with the Carib Dancer for the following reasons:
1. My last liveaboard was on the Belize Dancer II. It was a very nice, comfortable, and well run boat.
2. The M/V Shearwater is relatively small boat that offers a more “communal” sleeping arrangement. As I am a light sleeper, so one good snorer and my vacation is ruined.
3. I almost booked with Dolphin Dreams, but it is a substantially smaller boat than the Dancer boat and hosts almost as many divers. It also cost more (about $800 more), but I actually ended up spending this in airfare from Fort Lauderdale to Freeport, taxi fares, and one night’s hotel. As with the Shearwater, you also lose half a day of diving compared to the Carib Dancer since the boat operates out of Florida.
4. The Carib Dancer had Nitrox. The other boats did not.
5. The Carib Dancer agenda was to spend some time on the reefs in addition to “shark sites”.
Come early morning on May 22nd, I found myself at Seattle-Tacoma airport headed to Fort Lauderdale where I caught a small plane to Freeport, Grand Bahama. I stayed the night in Freeport at the Dolphin Bay Report. As I could not board the Carib Dancer until 4:00 PM, I did a dive that morning with Unexo. It was supposedly a “wild dolphin” excursion, but to my disgust it was a dive in open water with a captive dolphin. After a majorly disappointing experience, and a good lunch in Freeport, I took a $70 cab ride that afternoon out to Old Bahama Bay where the Carib Dancer was moored.
THE "LUXURY LIVEABOARD" Carib Dancer
BYOAC (Bring Your Own Air Conditioning)
Dive Reports
Emerald Diving
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Emerald Diving
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Emerald Diving
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Explore the coastal and inland waters of
Washington and BC
Bitten While Diving Tiger Beach, May 2015
NOTE: The biting has nothing to do with sharks.
NOTE: The biting has nothing to do with sharks.
TIGER
BEACH
BEACH
I was a bit underwhelmed when I first saw the boat. It is nowhere near impressive as the Belize Dancer II. Space was much tighter on this boat as well. The dive deck had a good layout and was of decent size with two hot water showers on the dive platform and an adequate camera table with a charging station underneath. As we only had 11 divers on this trip (max is 14), there was plenty of room. Each of the 14 dive stations also has its own filling whip, which is a nice touch.
The cabins were small – the smallest I have seen on a luxury liveaboard. The normal cabins had a bunk setup with a double bed on bottom and a single bed on top. I had the top bunk in our cabin which essentially had no head room. I don’t know how many times I banged my head while getting off the top bunk. The carpets in the hallway were worn, and there was often a towel laid down in the middle of the hallway for some reason. Again, not what I expect on a “luxury liveaboard”.
The main dining/social area was decent. The galley area seemed very tight, which just added to the amazement as an endless stream of outstanding food continually poured from it. In all fairness, I have not seen many of the galleys of the other liveaboards, so I have nothing to really compare it to. To me, it looked like a small place to spend a week.
The top deck hosted a sunning and covered area. A hot tub has located on the top deck, but it was not in service. When it rained, everything got wet on the top deck, covered or not. But most of the time the sun was out, so the shade on the top deck was much appreciated.
And now for the bitter part. Several systems on the Carib Dancer were lacking. Actually, two were complete failures. First and foremost was the air conditioning. It simply did not work at all. As a person from Seattle, imagine being stuck on a boat with in +90 degree weather with +80% humidity with no AC. Cabin temps at night were 89 degrees, and a muggy 89 at that. The only saving grace was the ever-present wind. The crew left an escape hatch open in the hallway at the cabin level which allowed some air movement at night. Regardless, I essentially did not sleep the first two nights which really took away from my experience. Being tired, I has not as sharp as usual and even found myself making uncharacteristic mistakes getting ready to dive. I slowly acclimated over time, but it was miserable.
Technicians were busy working on the AC system when we initially arrived at the boat. The charter prior to us had to return to port twice in an attempt to repair the system, but both attempts failed as they were missing parts. The technicians could not fix the system on our pick-up day (Saturday) either because they brought only two of the three parts they thought they needed to repair the AC system. As we could not get the “final” missing part until Monday (it had to be flown in from Florida), we left port to dive Sunday and Monday morning. The plan was to miss two dives Monday afternoon and return to Old Bahama Bay to pick up and install the part, then get back out to Tiger Beach Monday night (it’s about a six hour round trip). We got confirmation Monday the part had arrived, so abandoned our diving Monday afternoon to return to port for repairs.
The technicians worked on the system late into the night. When I “woke” Tuesday morning, we were still at port. The technician had not brought enough Freon to recharge the system on Monday, so we had to wait for the stores to open in Freeport Tuesday morning so the technician could buy more Freon and come back out to Old Bahama Bay to complete the repair. The technician showed up late Tuesday morning, charged the system, tested it…and it still DID NOT WORK. One of the passengers on board who manages commercial facilities for a living stated the HVAC system look like a kluged home system that someone tried to convert to marine use. He believed the technicians were not even focusing on the right part of the system. Looks like he might have been right.
Around midday Monday, the crew finally decided to abandon the plan to fix the AC and get back to diving. Some of the passengers considered bailing on the rest of the trip. We essentially missed a full day of diving and had nothing to show for it except for the anticipation of more sleep deprived nights.
Adding insult to injury, the Nitrox system did not work on the Carib Dancer. Availability of Nitrox was one of the reasons I selected this boat over Dolphin Dreams. When doing 5 dives a day, Nitrox can greatly extend dive times. During our first day of diving, the Nitrox system was able to generate up to 26% Nitrox instead of the customary 32%. We were jokingly calling it “SlightTrox”. By the 3rd day, this had dropped to 22%. Now we were calling it “NotTrox”. Others just called it what it was – air. Fortunately, most of the diving in this area is shallow (less than 50 feet). There were only 4 of the 22 dives I did where Nitrox would have had a material impact on extending the dive.
My final negative note on the boat was the fresh water system had to be reset numerous times throughout the trip. There were times where there simply was no water pressure, and one of the crew would have to run to the engine room to restart the system. After a few minutes, water pressure would return. Although not a big deal, the water system was obviously a system needing some work as well. What if that quit working like the AC?
What I couldn’t understand is how Aggressor did not have a spares kits for their fleet to address major systems issues. Common sense dictates using the same systems in all the Aggressor boats to minimize costs and increase familiarity. However, what I learned is the Aggressor/Dancer Fleet is really a franchise, and each of the boats are owned independently. Hence, the wide variation is vessel condition and quality.
The cabins were small – the smallest I have seen on a luxury liveaboard. The normal cabins had a bunk setup with a double bed on bottom and a single bed on top. I had the top bunk in our cabin which essentially had no head room. I don’t know how many times I banged my head while getting off the top bunk. The carpets in the hallway were worn, and there was often a towel laid down in the middle of the hallway for some reason. Again, not what I expect on a “luxury liveaboard”.
The main dining/social area was decent. The galley area seemed very tight, which just added to the amazement as an endless stream of outstanding food continually poured from it. In all fairness, I have not seen many of the galleys of the other liveaboards, so I have nothing to really compare it to. To me, it looked like a small place to spend a week.
The top deck hosted a sunning and covered area. A hot tub has located on the top deck, but it was not in service. When it rained, everything got wet on the top deck, covered or not. But most of the time the sun was out, so the shade on the top deck was much appreciated.
And now for the bitter part. Several systems on the Carib Dancer were lacking. Actually, two were complete failures. First and foremost was the air conditioning. It simply did not work at all. As a person from Seattle, imagine being stuck on a boat with in +90 degree weather with +80% humidity with no AC. Cabin temps at night were 89 degrees, and a muggy 89 at that. The only saving grace was the ever-present wind. The crew left an escape hatch open in the hallway at the cabin level which allowed some air movement at night. Regardless, I essentially did not sleep the first two nights which really took away from my experience. Being tired, I has not as sharp as usual and even found myself making uncharacteristic mistakes getting ready to dive. I slowly acclimated over time, but it was miserable.
Technicians were busy working on the AC system when we initially arrived at the boat. The charter prior to us had to return to port twice in an attempt to repair the system, but both attempts failed as they were missing parts. The technicians could not fix the system on our pick-up day (Saturday) either because they brought only two of the three parts they thought they needed to repair the AC system. As we could not get the “final” missing part until Monday (it had to be flown in from Florida), we left port to dive Sunday and Monday morning. The plan was to miss two dives Monday afternoon and return to Old Bahama Bay to pick up and install the part, then get back out to Tiger Beach Monday night (it’s about a six hour round trip). We got confirmation Monday the part had arrived, so abandoned our diving Monday afternoon to return to port for repairs.
The technicians worked on the system late into the night. When I “woke” Tuesday morning, we were still at port. The technician had not brought enough Freon to recharge the system on Monday, so we had to wait for the stores to open in Freeport Tuesday morning so the technician could buy more Freon and come back out to Old Bahama Bay to complete the repair. The technician showed up late Tuesday morning, charged the system, tested it…and it still DID NOT WORK. One of the passengers on board who manages commercial facilities for a living stated the HVAC system look like a kluged home system that someone tried to convert to marine use. He believed the technicians were not even focusing on the right part of the system. Looks like he might have been right.
Around midday Monday, the crew finally decided to abandon the plan to fix the AC and get back to diving. Some of the passengers considered bailing on the rest of the trip. We essentially missed a full day of diving and had nothing to show for it except for the anticipation of more sleep deprived nights.
Adding insult to injury, the Nitrox system did not work on the Carib Dancer. Availability of Nitrox was one of the reasons I selected this boat over Dolphin Dreams. When doing 5 dives a day, Nitrox can greatly extend dive times. During our first day of diving, the Nitrox system was able to generate up to 26% Nitrox instead of the customary 32%. We were jokingly calling it “SlightTrox”. By the 3rd day, this had dropped to 22%. Now we were calling it “NotTrox”. Others just called it what it was – air. Fortunately, most of the diving in this area is shallow (less than 50 feet). There were only 4 of the 22 dives I did where Nitrox would have had a material impact on extending the dive.
My final negative note on the boat was the fresh water system had to be reset numerous times throughout the trip. There were times where there simply was no water pressure, and one of the crew would have to run to the engine room to restart the system. After a few minutes, water pressure would return. Although not a big deal, the water system was obviously a system needing some work as well. What if that quit working like the AC?
What I couldn’t understand is how Aggressor did not have a spares kits for their fleet to address major systems issues. Common sense dictates using the same systems in all the Aggressor boats to minimize costs and increase familiarity. However, what I learned is the Aggressor/Dancer Fleet is really a franchise, and each of the boats are owned independently. Hence, the wide variation is vessel condition and quality.
THE DIVING
Most of the diving was very shallow. The first dive we did on the “Sugar Wreck” had a max depth of 16 feet. The three dives we did at Tiger Beach were only 19 feet deep. Most of the other sites were less than 50 feet deep. At a couple sites, including several drift dives, it was possible to get to or exceed 80 feet.
The unpredictable Gulf Current impacts this area. We had to move or delay several dives due to strong currents, and the current could change from hour to hour. On our fifth day, we did three dives at a fantastic site we had dove earlier in the week (Shark’s Paradise). The first dive had heavy current. Three hours later, we had only a moderate current on the second dive. Then a few hours later on the night dive – no current at all.
Vis also varied quite a bit. Vis at Tiger beach dropped to about 30 feet at times. At most sites, the vis was 75 feet, and occasion the would open up to over +100 feet.
Water temps were a very comfortable 81 degrees this time of year. I brought a light 3mm suit and a heavier 5mm suit that I thought I might use on night dives. Instead, I used a 3 mm vest with a hood under my 3 mm suit for night dives and was super warm. The 5mm suit never got wet.
We did three divemaster lead drift dives targeting the outer ridge of the Little Bahama Bank that drops off thousands of feet. We missed the ridge completely on two of these dives. The reef we did see on these two dives quickly gave way to sand which is where we spent most of the dive. On the last drift dive, we hit the targeted outer reef and only a very slight current was present. The first part of the dive was outstanding as we poked around the black corals on the reef and watched occasional lemon shark, Caribbean reef shark, and small schools of jacks mulling around. Seventeen minutes into the dive, we left the reef to slowly drift mid-water where the only high light was a confused remora that took a liking to our divemaster. On the last drift dive, it would have been great just to poke around the reef for the 45 minutes rather than launch into the abyss. I was left with the impression the divemasters really didn’t know these outer sites at all. They did know the inner reef sites.
All the diving was done right off the back of the Carib Dancer. The sites have established mooring lines for dive boats to anchor without damaging the pristine reefs below. A small tender was available, but it was referred to as “the dingy of shame” and was only used to pick up divers that were swept off the site by currents.
THE MARINE LIFE
Unbelievable. Superb. Incredible. Spectacular. Exciting. Awesome. Exhilerating.
Get the picture? If not, here are some that may help:
Most of the diving was very shallow. The first dive we did on the “Sugar Wreck” had a max depth of 16 feet. The three dives we did at Tiger Beach were only 19 feet deep. Most of the other sites were less than 50 feet deep. At a couple sites, including several drift dives, it was possible to get to or exceed 80 feet.
The unpredictable Gulf Current impacts this area. We had to move or delay several dives due to strong currents, and the current could change from hour to hour. On our fifth day, we did three dives at a fantastic site we had dove earlier in the week (Shark’s Paradise). The first dive had heavy current. Three hours later, we had only a moderate current on the second dive. Then a few hours later on the night dive – no current at all.
Vis also varied quite a bit. Vis at Tiger beach dropped to about 30 feet at times. At most sites, the vis was 75 feet, and occasion the would open up to over +100 feet.
Water temps were a very comfortable 81 degrees this time of year. I brought a light 3mm suit and a heavier 5mm suit that I thought I might use on night dives. Instead, I used a 3 mm vest with a hood under my 3 mm suit for night dives and was super warm. The 5mm suit never got wet.
We did three divemaster lead drift dives targeting the outer ridge of the Little Bahama Bank that drops off thousands of feet. We missed the ridge completely on two of these dives. The reef we did see on these two dives quickly gave way to sand which is where we spent most of the dive. On the last drift dive, we hit the targeted outer reef and only a very slight current was present. The first part of the dive was outstanding as we poked around the black corals on the reef and watched occasional lemon shark, Caribbean reef shark, and small schools of jacks mulling around. Seventeen minutes into the dive, we left the reef to slowly drift mid-water where the only high light was a confused remora that took a liking to our divemaster. On the last drift dive, it would have been great just to poke around the reef for the 45 minutes rather than launch into the abyss. I was left with the impression the divemasters really didn’t know these outer sites at all. They did know the inner reef sites.
All the diving was done right off the back of the Carib Dancer. The sites have established mooring lines for dive boats to anchor without damaging the pristine reefs below. A small tender was available, but it was referred to as “the dingy of shame” and was only used to pick up divers that were swept off the site by currents.
THE MARINE LIFE
Unbelievable. Superb. Incredible. Spectacular. Exciting. Awesome. Exhilerating.
Get the picture? If not, here are some that may help:
I dive for the marine life and this is simply the best I have ever done, which is why losing a full day of diving due to mechanical problems and poor execution was so tough to swallow. Even with the high degree of discomfort and frustration above the waves, the creatures below the waves made it all worth-while.
Grand Bahama Bank does not have the overwhelming vibrant colors and massive schools of pelagics of Palau or the majestic manta’s of the Socorro’s, but I would but I would rather dive here again than either or those two locations. Here is why:
Pristine reefs. Little Bahama bank is 30 miles from Grand Bahama. There is no protection from wind and weather out here, so it is not heavily frequented by other boats and fishermen. In fact, we only saw one other boat the entire time diving. As a result, the reefs are thriving, beautiful and healthy. Although not as expansive as Belize, I was having way too much fun poking around the wide variety of soft corals, hard corals, and sponges and taking in all the colorful reef fish hovering around the reef. Even without the sharks, I would have been fully entertained by the myriad of reef fish in this area. Barracuda, French angles, bar jacks, schooling blue-striped snapper, grey angles, indigo hamlets, blue chromis, juvenile drums, barred butterfly fish, trumpetfish, goatfish, blue parrotfish – I could go on for pages. The corals and sponges were equally as spectacular – robust and unusual tube, barrel, and vase sponges were commonplace along with gorgeous black corals on the deeper drift dives. I even ran into the occasional hawksbill turtle and Caribbean octopus. The reefs in the Tiger Beach area can stand on their own merit.
I really wish we could have spent more quality time on the outer reef that drops into the deep abyss, or at least hit the outer reef on our three drift dive attempts. The black corals on the outer reef were phenomenal.
Now the sharks. After researching alternative Tiger Beach dive charters before the trip, I realized I had the LEAST chance to seeing a tiger shark with the Carib Dancer. So I really didn’t know what to expect. I had good shark diving Palau and the Socorro Islands, but the sharks were somewhat skittish and a bit timid. I expected more of the same. I was wrong.
Grand Bahama Bank does not have the overwhelming vibrant colors and massive schools of pelagics of Palau or the majestic manta’s of the Socorro’s, but I would but I would rather dive here again than either or those two locations. Here is why:
Pristine reefs. Little Bahama bank is 30 miles from Grand Bahama. There is no protection from wind and weather out here, so it is not heavily frequented by other boats and fishermen. In fact, we only saw one other boat the entire time diving. As a result, the reefs are thriving, beautiful and healthy. Although not as expansive as Belize, I was having way too much fun poking around the wide variety of soft corals, hard corals, and sponges and taking in all the colorful reef fish hovering around the reef. Even without the sharks, I would have been fully entertained by the myriad of reef fish in this area. Barracuda, French angles, bar jacks, schooling blue-striped snapper, grey angles, indigo hamlets, blue chromis, juvenile drums, barred butterfly fish, trumpetfish, goatfish, blue parrotfish – I could go on for pages. The corals and sponges were equally as spectacular – robust and unusual tube, barrel, and vase sponges were commonplace along with gorgeous black corals on the deeper drift dives. I even ran into the occasional hawksbill turtle and Caribbean octopus. The reefs in the Tiger Beach area can stand on their own merit.
I really wish we could have spent more quality time on the outer reef that drops into the deep abyss, or at least hit the outer reef on our three drift dive attempts. The black corals on the outer reef were phenomenal.
Now the sharks. After researching alternative Tiger Beach dive charters before the trip, I realized I had the LEAST chance to seeing a tiger shark with the Carib Dancer. So I really didn’t know what to expect. I had good shark diving Palau and the Socorro Islands, but the sharks were somewhat skittish and a bit timid. I expected more of the same. I was wrong.
The big surprise at Tiger Beach were the magnificent lemon sharks. These sharks ranged from about 4 to 8 feet in length. They accompanied us on almost every dive, and I often had three lemon sharks within view – and sometimes as many as six. They are beautiful sharks with a distinctive pronounced second dorsal fin and a yellowish-brown skin lending them their name. They present a robust and rugged “sharky” profile as well, making them fun to photograph. Best of all, they are anything but camera shy and often passed within arm’s reach. I could have spent the entire trip just shooting pics of these incredible animals. These sharks really made most dives on this trip spectacular.
Next up were the Caribbean reef sharks. These sharks ranged from 2 to 5 feet, so were comparatively small. I had done some diving off Nassau ten years prior with these sharks, but they were markedly bigger (up to about 7 feet in length). These sharks were also not intimidated by divers, but not quite as bold as the lemon sharks.
We also had dives with several Atlantic nurse sharks. These sharks don’t have the formidable dentition as the other sharks. The strange things is I watched on several occasions as a nurse shark chased off a lemon or Caribbean reef shark. These sharks were also in the 6 to 8 foot range.
The star attraction is, of course, the tiger shark. These sharks have a large head with a mouth and teeth to match, thick body, and tremendous girth. We did not see any tiger sharks the first three days, although one of those days was spent at port working on the boat’s AC. On the fourth day, we spotted a tiger out on a sand flat while on a drift dive. A number of us made a dash out to get closer to it, but when I got within about 50 feet, it started to move off. I know chasing any fish is futile, but I had to try.
Then on the night dive that evening, we had a tiger shark pass within 40 feet of us out in the sand channel. I had a strange feeling while I was on the reef and pointed my light out in the channel and caught it in my light as it passed.
Both of these encounters were distant and brief. I have had a similar encounter with a tiger shark diving the Socorro Island’s years earlier that was 75 feet below me. My hope was to get a close, personal encounter. That goal was realized on the last day dive on the last full day of diving. One of the crew and I entered the water a good three minutes before anyone else. Within minutes after descending, we had an 11 foot tiger shark pass within 30 feet of us. It was very wary, and just made a single pass. Then it came back 10 minutes later and made another cautious pass and left. It came back 4 more times over the course of the dive, and got closer each time. On the last two passes it came within arm’s reach. It was an absolutely religious experience to share the reef for that moment with such a majestic creature. On the last pass 75 minutes into the dive, there were only two of us left in the water as everyone one else had returned to the Carib Dancer. What a Zen experience.
The next morning, I was certain we would end our trip with two more dives at Shark’s Paradise for more tiger shark diving before starting back to Freeport. I was disappointed to hear that we would not be diving Shark’s Paradise at all. Apparently, some of the passengers were tired of diving with sharks and wanted to dive somewhere else. Now that we finally had one opportunity to get up close and personal with a tiger shark in clear water with perfect morning light, we were going to dive somewhere else. It made no sense to me as I rationalized anyone who did not want to interact with the sharks could have easily spent their dive on the adjacent reef which was teaming with corals, sponges, and reef fish. My advice to any dive traveler: If you don’t want to dive with tiger sharks, don’t book a trip to “Tiger Beach”. Seriously.
Our first dive of the last day was a drift dive on the outer reef (which we actually found this time – we missed it the prior two attempts). As referenced earlier, it started off spectacular, but after 17 minutes we ended up mid-water as the reef broke deeper and we drifted with an overly friendly remora for 20 minutes before surfacing.
Our final dive was back at Tiger Beach. Unlike Shark’s Paradise where the visibility was 75+, vis at Tiger Beach was a poor 30-40 feet. However, unlike our other two dives at Tiger Beach where we only drew a couple of lemon sharks, on this dive we had about 6 lemons and several Caribbean reef sharks mulling about when we entered the water. About 20 minutes into the dive, an 8 foot tiger showed up. It did not get as close as the tiger the day prior, but it made 5 appearances throughout the dive and came within 15 feet of me. Again, I was grateful for the experience.
The Carib Dancer only dives the Tiger Beach area in May and June. Strangely, the other charters specializing in this area are NOT here then. Some reports I read stated that the best time to dive Tiger Beach is actually late fall and winter months when tiger sharks come to this area to mate. I’m already anxious to go again…but probably on a different boat as I don’t want to get bitten again.
Next up were the Caribbean reef sharks. These sharks ranged from 2 to 5 feet, so were comparatively small. I had done some diving off Nassau ten years prior with these sharks, but they were markedly bigger (up to about 7 feet in length). These sharks were also not intimidated by divers, but not quite as bold as the lemon sharks.
We also had dives with several Atlantic nurse sharks. These sharks don’t have the formidable dentition as the other sharks. The strange things is I watched on several occasions as a nurse shark chased off a lemon or Caribbean reef shark. These sharks were also in the 6 to 8 foot range.
The star attraction is, of course, the tiger shark. These sharks have a large head with a mouth and teeth to match, thick body, and tremendous girth. We did not see any tiger sharks the first three days, although one of those days was spent at port working on the boat’s AC. On the fourth day, we spotted a tiger out on a sand flat while on a drift dive. A number of us made a dash out to get closer to it, but when I got within about 50 feet, it started to move off. I know chasing any fish is futile, but I had to try.
Then on the night dive that evening, we had a tiger shark pass within 40 feet of us out in the sand channel. I had a strange feeling while I was on the reef and pointed my light out in the channel and caught it in my light as it passed.
Both of these encounters were distant and brief. I have had a similar encounter with a tiger shark diving the Socorro Island’s years earlier that was 75 feet below me. My hope was to get a close, personal encounter. That goal was realized on the last day dive on the last full day of diving. One of the crew and I entered the water a good three minutes before anyone else. Within minutes after descending, we had an 11 foot tiger shark pass within 30 feet of us. It was very wary, and just made a single pass. Then it came back 10 minutes later and made another cautious pass and left. It came back 4 more times over the course of the dive, and got closer each time. On the last two passes it came within arm’s reach. It was an absolutely religious experience to share the reef for that moment with such a majestic creature. On the last pass 75 minutes into the dive, there were only two of us left in the water as everyone one else had returned to the Carib Dancer. What a Zen experience.
The next morning, I was certain we would end our trip with two more dives at Shark’s Paradise for more tiger shark diving before starting back to Freeport. I was disappointed to hear that we would not be diving Shark’s Paradise at all. Apparently, some of the passengers were tired of diving with sharks and wanted to dive somewhere else. Now that we finally had one opportunity to get up close and personal with a tiger shark in clear water with perfect morning light, we were going to dive somewhere else. It made no sense to me as I rationalized anyone who did not want to interact with the sharks could have easily spent their dive on the adjacent reef which was teaming with corals, sponges, and reef fish. My advice to any dive traveler: If you don’t want to dive with tiger sharks, don’t book a trip to “Tiger Beach”. Seriously.
Our first dive of the last day was a drift dive on the outer reef (which we actually found this time – we missed it the prior two attempts). As referenced earlier, it started off spectacular, but after 17 minutes we ended up mid-water as the reef broke deeper and we drifted with an overly friendly remora for 20 minutes before surfacing.
Our final dive was back at Tiger Beach. Unlike Shark’s Paradise where the visibility was 75+, vis at Tiger Beach was a poor 30-40 feet. However, unlike our other two dives at Tiger Beach where we only drew a couple of lemon sharks, on this dive we had about 6 lemons and several Caribbean reef sharks mulling about when we entered the water. About 20 minutes into the dive, an 8 foot tiger showed up. It did not get as close as the tiger the day prior, but it made 5 appearances throughout the dive and came within 15 feet of me. Again, I was grateful for the experience.
The Carib Dancer only dives the Tiger Beach area in May and June. Strangely, the other charters specializing in this area are NOT here then. Some reports I read stated that the best time to dive Tiger Beach is actually late fall and winter months when tiger sharks come to this area to mate. I’m already anxious to go again…but probably on a different boat as I don’t want to get bitten again.
THE CREW
The crew did a good job, especially given the circumstances. Although they are more acclimated to the hot and muggy weather, it certainly had to wear on them too. Brent was our cook and did an OUTSTANDING job. Food was plentiful and delicious. I was also particularly impressed with young Matt and Dave (the divemaster). Very easy to converse with, accommodating, and just plain fun to have around. Kudos.
THE "COMPENSATION"
Because of similar AC problems with the Carib Dancer the prior week, Aggressor flew out an operation person from corporate to serve as chief engineer during our voyage. When the problem escalated on Monday, he told us he was working with corporate to “compensate” us for the missed dives and inconvenience. Most (if not all) of the passengers took that to mean we would be receiving a partial cash refund. On the last day of the trip, the chief engineer told us what the "compensation" amount would be. In retrospect, he was very careful NOT to refer the "compensation" as credit or cash. However, "compensation" typically implies a monetary payment. Assuming it was indeed a cash refund, most of the passengers thought the "compensation" amount was fair. It was only upon my return to Seattle when I received the email confirming the "compensation" that I discovered it was actually a credit against a future Aggressor trip, and it expired in two years. I was not pleased. The operation manager should have told us ON THE BOAT that the "compensation" was a credit. I reached out to Larry Speaker, VP Operations of Aggressor and stated my discontent. The only concession Larry was willing to make was extend the credit expiration date by 12 months. Larry hid behind a calculation he uses based on their cost of running the boat which in no way took into consideration the customer’s cost of getting out to Grand Bahama, lost vacation time, diminshed trip quality, etc.
Aggressor outright cancelled the next week’s charter so they could sail the Carib Dancer to Florida to get it fixed properly. I asked Larry what happens in that situation as many people have purchased non-refundable airline tickets, etc. As a dive traveler, I want to know what to expect in these situations so I can plan accordingly (trip insurance, refundable tickets, etc.) As of today, he has not answer my question. For a company that claims to be customer focused, my experience is exactly the opposite.
The crew did a good job, especially given the circumstances. Although they are more acclimated to the hot and muggy weather, it certainly had to wear on them too. Brent was our cook and did an OUTSTANDING job. Food was plentiful and delicious. I was also particularly impressed with young Matt and Dave (the divemaster). Very easy to converse with, accommodating, and just plain fun to have around. Kudos.
THE "COMPENSATION"
Because of similar AC problems with the Carib Dancer the prior week, Aggressor flew out an operation person from corporate to serve as chief engineer during our voyage. When the problem escalated on Monday, he told us he was working with corporate to “compensate” us for the missed dives and inconvenience. Most (if not all) of the passengers took that to mean we would be receiving a partial cash refund. On the last day of the trip, the chief engineer told us what the "compensation" amount would be. In retrospect, he was very careful NOT to refer the "compensation" as credit or cash. However, "compensation" typically implies a monetary payment. Assuming it was indeed a cash refund, most of the passengers thought the "compensation" amount was fair. It was only upon my return to Seattle when I received the email confirming the "compensation" that I discovered it was actually a credit against a future Aggressor trip, and it expired in two years. I was not pleased. The operation manager should have told us ON THE BOAT that the "compensation" was a credit. I reached out to Larry Speaker, VP Operations of Aggressor and stated my discontent. The only concession Larry was willing to make was extend the credit expiration date by 12 months. Larry hid behind a calculation he uses based on their cost of running the boat which in no way took into consideration the customer’s cost of getting out to Grand Bahama, lost vacation time, diminshed trip quality, etc.
Aggressor outright cancelled the next week’s charter so they could sail the Carib Dancer to Florida to get it fixed properly. I asked Larry what happens in that situation as many people have purchased non-refundable airline tickets, etc. As a dive traveler, I want to know what to expect in these situations so I can plan accordingly (trip insurance, refundable tickets, etc.) As of today, he has not answer my question. For a company that claims to be customer focused, my experience is exactly the opposite.