tiger sharks and bull sharks, bahamas

Wow! great stories everyone!!!!

Jett, of course the shark came after you.... Canadians just taste better...

a 12 ft female tiger took a bizarre interest in me (and I was nowhere near any bait...I guess that means I WAS the bait?!

she veered off, but turned right around and charged me again, getting within a foot or two each time. A slight rise in my adrenalin level resulted, so I only thought to take a few shots while it was happening...

And here is Seacam's answer to Ikelite's Jessica Alba pin up picture:

Obviously, the most pervasive danger on a trip like this has nothing to do with sharks...it's the likelihood that you'll find a less-than-flattering photo of yourself plastered all over the internet!

Seriously, though, it's a great trip and a great group of people!

Eric and Gang,

Your footage brings back some crazy memoriers from our trip with JASA about a month ago. At Mokoran Mnt. I took the majic hour shift with a buddy from Philipppines (Gutsy is his nick name...and well earned)..just us two pretending to be bait as everyone else had wrapped things up for the day.

Just like you, were were dangling off the back of the boat on the line in current (less maybe 1 knot). Great hammers were taking turns hitting the bait. Gutsy and I had worked our way out to the end of the line and right next to/below the bait...mabye 3 meters of water. As the sun was setting, the action really heated up. Hammers started scrapping over the bait and fighting for position. Bull sharks were rocketing up from 80 feet below and attacking the bait whenever there was a lapse in the hammer action. Then the tigers showed up. This time one good size tiger 12+ feet got serious about the bait and chomped down hard. Camera was rolling and Gutsy lets go of the rope to get a closer shot. He swims directly (serveral feet) under the tiger that is violenty thrashing and chomping on bait. It ignores him as they pull in the bait with tiger in tow. As it passes me i see it's eye roll my way and it's body follow...jaws chomping away. The pressure on the rope fortunately pulls him back on course. Then he gets pissed and decides the fun is over. We bolts sides ways with bait and rope, thrashing on the surface. Gutsy and I are willing our way deep and getting ready for hell to break loose. Then he does. He bolts to the far side of the boat and get's close-lined. He turns back and bullets our way. Within feet of our terrified faces, he gets close-lined again. We are now doing everything we can to get the hell out of his way. He is thrashing above us like a the raging beast he is. At the moment when I am telling myself ("wow, you will be the first to die on one of Jim's trips...that sucks", the tiger lets go, gives us one glance and goes deep.

Gutsy and I ascend immediately for a much needed adrenaline break, just as the sun sets over the horizon...whew.

Chum the water to bring in the Tigers, dangle divers with their hands full out on a stringer in a strong current, and you're in store for a very wild encounter.  I believe that strobes charging tend to drive all sharks crazy. So how many of you had to rinse the inside of your wetsuits back on board? I was on a solo decent in the Southern Bahamas and as soon as I fired up my HID's, a 3 1/2 - 4' Atlantic Sharpnose Shark came into view shuddering it's head erratically and then came at me full speed, 5 times! The HID's had not even had time to warm up, and my video camera was not adjusted yet, but I recorded the whole incident while fighting off this pesky little shark. Small, crazy sharks can move incredibly fast. Anyhow, I think strobes and HID's when they're charging up, tend to make sharks crazy. I can understand why it's so difficult to take many pictures under the circumstances, I use to shoot stills also. Cool video Eric, and great shark pictures from the rest of you.

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Yup charging strobes and HID ballast are like crack cocaine ,heroin and their favorite meal all wrapped in one to the ampullae. Especially when they are in a feeding frenzy.

I know of a certain Sheik who'd put a tuna in his mouth to feed a great white or tiger. I'm sure he wouldn't mind being dangled on a life line like that.

More videos from the bahamas! I just uploaded them from the airport connection here in Palm Beach (flight is delayed -- might as well be productive. . This time, I encoded WMV9 with Vegas 6.0, which is 1000x better than export from Premiere Pro.

The clips are all here:

http://echeng.com/journal/2006/03/20/more-...videos-bahamas/

Here are some screen grabs:

Hey Eric

Who was the guy screaming in the video? Is he still alive?

Looks great!!

I must go back

Todd

It gets better and better every year. I can't wait to go back!

The pic's look amazing...

Count me in for the next 'Tiger' extravaganza please

Dive safe

DeanB

F'n incredible Eric! I can't even type. That multiple Tiger one is off the hook. Seeing Alex in mid-water was amazing. Makes our trip look like the kiddie version. WOW!

Rand

i hate video.....

Good screen grabs though! Hope y'all had fun

Awesome shots Eric. I got an adrenaline rush just watching the videos, you guys must still be high. It's unbelievable with all the Tiger Sharks coming in from all directions, and nipping at the equipment, that nobody got bit. Can't wait to see more video, and some of the still photos. Well done.

Wow that was cool Eric but I recond you guys are nuts...a wld animal ia a wild animal and well it only takes one have a basic spit instinct reaction and goodbye.

Like that Guy researching the bullsharks in the shallows for years that got his leg bit in the end.

Nice images there though, well done, am I'm sure you guys were 100% relaxed down there

How long have they been doing those trips for and Eric what did you shoot it on?.

Wags

Mike -- can't you download the smaller videos? There are some that are less than 2 megabytes.

For those of you interested in the shark trips, I first met jim abernethy on a summer "sharks and dolphins" trip led by jim watt in 2002. Todd was on that trip as well, which is where I met him. I went back for a winter trip in 2003 with the dive magazine guys, and have run annual winter trips of my own since 2004. Next year, we'll be doing back-to-back july trips. The best way to get notified early for these trips is to get on my mailing list at http://echeng.com/travel (scroll to the bottom). Or, you can check he trips forum here at wetpixel or call JASA directly (http://scuba-adventures.com). They don't have many non-charter trips anymore, but it can't hurt to check!

The sharks are wild, but after hours in the water with specific individuals, you can pretty accurately get a sense of individual temperament. It's the new sharks that get everyone's attention...

And as for erich ritter, he was at walker's when we were diving it. I have a photo of him and his missing calf, which I will post soon! (I already sent it to a certain brit named jeremy, which no doubt made his day).

Btw, I shot using a sony z1u in a light and motion bluefin hd housing. Stills were taken with my friend's d2x in a subal housing, with dual ike ds125 strobes.

First video trip ever! I have some nice reef shark scenics and close-up bull shark action as well. I am stuck at the dallas airport right now, browsing wetpixel via blackberry. Yippee...

I am also on my way home - in Atlanta - waiting for my flight back home. I have to say that it was one of the most fun weeks of diving I have ever done. A great crowd on board and Jim and his crew on the Shear Water are THE BEST! They made us all feel totally welcome and fully briefed up from a safety point of view. Even though I was still a chicken on the swimstep!

But I still got the shots! I also got a great video with my polecam - which I will post when edited.

The trip is amazing and is a must do for any lensman or lenswoman.

Really looking forward to sharing my photos.

Alex

p.s. a facemask is a great way of hiding ones fear! Although you can hear me screaming like a girl at the end of the swimstep video.

Yea, Eric i got the 1.4mb one of Alex.... cool stuff

Totally amazing. Simply breath-taking! That kind of trip definitely takes a big dome port.

I am also on my way home - in Atlanta - waiting for my flight back home. I have to say that it was one of the most fun weeks of diving I have ever done. A great crowd on board and Jim and his crew on the Shear Water are THE BEST! They made us all feel totally welcome and fully briefed up from a safety point of view. Even though I was still a chicken on the swimstep!

But I still got the shots! I also got a great video with my polecam - which I will post when edited.

The trip is amazing and is a must do for any lensman or lenswoman.

p.s. a facemask is a great way of hiding ones fear! Although you can hear me screaming like a girl at the end of the swimstep video.

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So that was you screaming. Isn't it now a lensperson vs gendered? LOL