Sad News From Bimini

[Deep C]

Just was watching the news...

A story about a boat I once worked on. Shear Water used to be a fishing charter out of Key Largo and Panama City.... Several years ago it was sold and turned into a dive boat operation. Among the dives they do is a "shark dive" over near Bimini...
Call me a hypocrite, as I have dived with great whites in South Africa but I've always thought of how stupid it is to condition sharks to being around people. I'm not alone in my contempt for the practice and knew it would lead to somebody eventually getting bit in the ass...
Didn't think it would happen with a remote link to me though. Seems during yesterdays dive a bull shark opened up a can of whoop ass on a Austrian tourist diving from the Shear Water... For the first time in a long time, this attack was fatal...

Prayers to his family...

[phrog46]

Tragic story...it a chance all of us divers take when we enter their habitat. Thoughts and prayers to the family

[Capt_John]

I heard about that over dinner tonight down here. that sucks Prayers sent out.

[C.R.Hideawaysportfishing]

Just was watching the news...

A story about a boat I once worked on. Shear Water used to be a fishing charter out of Key Largo and Panama City.... Several years ago it was sold and turned into a dive boat operation. Among the dives they do is a "shark dive" over near Bimini...
Call me a hypocrite, as I have dived with great whites in South Africa but I've always thought of how stupid it is to condition sharks to being around people. I'm not alone in my contempt for the practice and knew it would lead to somebody eventually getting bit in the ass...
Didn't think it would happen with a remote link to me though. Seems during yesterdays dive a bull shark opened up a can of whoop ass on a Austrian tourist diving from the Shear Water... For the first time in a long time, this attack was fatal...

Prayers to his family...

We all take a chance every time we enter the water but every now and then we find out how smalll we are.

May be be remembered and the family find peace.


Capt RB

[RichardTerp]

Really sucks. News reports up here in the MidAtl was that they were chumming on a "shark sighting" trip.

[Barefootin]

To dive on an area that has been chummed. Most of us have seen how sharks behave in a chum slick. I would not have any part of me hanging over the side let alone hop in the water on purpose.
Ok, the sharks were used to humans, but sharks get excited & competitve just like most animals when food is at stake. Perhaps they were domesticated sharks - get real. Would you try to befriend a pit bull that has scraps of meat and other pit bulls around it?
Tiger sharks???
I have teased a 3' black tip with a hooked 5# red snapper and watched as 75% of it disappeared in one hit
I will not dive with bull sharks let alone tigers even if they are pets.
I will not slap a bear, I will not jab an alligator's eye, I will not kick a snake in the face and I will not tickle a wolf even if I paid an "expert" for the opportunity.

[Flatdog]

Bull's as you call them, or Zambezi's as we know them normally work in packs, got to have eyes in the back of your head with them, and they really pick up on a nervous person in the water very quickly! they seem to get more agitated the longer the person stays in the water take that person out they all clam down very strange.
Condolences to the family but at least he went doing what he loved diving.

[randall r]

from what i have been told about the incident from a friend that works in the marina where the boat is docked is: it was not a shark trip, these guys took it upon themselves to turn it into one. they didnt know rule number one- 360 degree view and were both facing the same way when one got hit from behind. that said still a huge tragedy.

[MikeAK]

Here is a good link on the story...

Diver Killed on "Shark Encounter"

Most divers in the tropics get to dive with sharks on one dive or another. A few have been on "shark" dives. For those interested, here is my personal shark dive story...

It was several years ago out of Walkers Cay. Nice June day. Three to 4 ft seas. Slight overcast. Diveboat circles the reef revving the motors. Stops and drops the hook in 40 ft next to a big reef.

Divemaster gives the briefing and last thing the he says before jumping in is "If dat big shark, dat hammahhead dat tigahshark come in mon, you look at me".

I think WTF(?) dude, look at you and then what???

I look down and 30 big reef sharks are slowly circling under the boat. I (gulp) swallow and follow the divemaster down. Several divers balked (understandably) at jumping in. They get all the (brave or stupid?) remaining divers down there, all wearing black wet suits and weighted down and back us up against the reef.

Next they lowered a frozen barrel sized block of chum down and anchored it and when I say "It was on" I mean man oh man feeding frenzy of biblical proportions "IT WAS ON"!!!

What ensued was basically every fish on the reef showed up and got in the act of feeding. Predators, prey, tropicals, all the locals were there. The highlight of course was the sharks. Watching about 100 reef sharks line up down current of the chum block and come in 3 or 4 at a time to tear off a chunk was absolutely f'ing amazing!!! After feeding the bruisers in the grey suits would circle around and rejoin the throng at the end of the line.

Side note: More than once I turned around and saw a big snaggletoothed reef shark BEHIND ME and between me and the reef. Not a particularly good feeling.

My favorite thing though was the half dozen or so big groupers that showed up hugging the bottom and shadowing a cloud of maybe 300 yellowtail snapper. Didn't see any grouper make a move but I'm pretty sure they did.

Anyways its several years later and I can't help but think it could easily have gone terribly wrong. At one point half the chum block broke free and drifted towards us divers. The dive masters did a pretty good job managing us and even yanked one dude down as his wife goaded him into backing up towards the chum block for a pic. (Was that about a souvenir pic or a good insurance policy?)

Can't imagine what might have ensued if the giant tigah shark or hammerhead HAD shown up. It was a trip. Run by professionals. One to be remembered. And most definitely not for the faint of heart!!!

[Deep C]

from what i have been told about the incident from a friend that works in the marina where the boat is docked is: it was not a shark trip, these guys took it upon themselves to turn it into one. they didnt know rule number one- 360 degree view and were both facing the same way when one got hit from behind. that said still a huge tragedy.

Oh no... It was definately a shark dive trip... I know the boat, the owner, crew... They set a box of shit on the bottom and have at it. They specialize in shark dives. They were even featured on Discovery Channel shark week when looking for tigers. This particular dive that they do is really a mess. All kinds of fish and several species of sharks. They sit around on the bottom and its quite a sight. Usually grey reefs or white tip reefs or silkies. Sometimes others like bulls come join the party.
Few things on earth scare me more than the bull. That fat stupid looking bugger can absolutely rock and roll when they want. Seen em run down hooked wahoo and even free swimming cudas. Agile and full of attitude. This one got the guy by the leg and he bled out too bad to be saved. He passed at the hospital.