Sand Tiger

It's spring and you know what that means........back in the water!

I dove USS Oriskany off our coast a couple of days ago, Nikonos V and

SB-102 in hand. This is a great time to dive because this early in the

season the water is not filled with divers. The water is still chilly

around , but with a 1/8" wetsuit and hood, it is perfect.

 

This 8 - 9 foot female was our constant companion for most of the dive

but kept her distance for most of it. She did follow us up to both of our

decompression stops. At our second stop she lost her shyness and

came up close to check us out. Although I always dive with a

bangstick, I have never had to use it. She was just as curious about us

as we were of her and never showed any aggressiveness whatsoever. I

have been diving around sharks for long enough, almost 30 years, that I

have developed a kind of sixth sense when things are not as they

should be and she never exhibited any of those moves. I shot this as

she passed very close to me, man what a mouthfull of needles! When

we finally got in the boat, she was there on the surface, so we tossed

her a couple of Subway sandwiches!

 

All in all, a good day in the gulf

awesome...

Isn't it a little bit cold down there Scott?

 

PDE

Scott, the capture is wonderful, but the story even better. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but this one obviously needed about 1200. It just puts everything in perspective. Thanks.

"Pierre Dumas , April 01, 2010; 10:47 P.M. Great capture!Isn't it a little bit cold down there Scott? PDE"

It's in the 60's, definitely wetsuit weather but not bad. My 1/8" suit is a one piece, so with the hood tucked into the top it is not bad at all. For the most part I stay almost completely dry. The worst part is the decompression stops though, because you have to maintain neutral bouyancy and you can't move around much so you do get cold. I love diving with sharks though, they absolutely fascinate me, so it takes your mind off the cold. And this tiger was fun to watch, she never once showed us anything but curiosity. I ran my hand down her sides a couple of times. Her snout got pretty ripped up, very visible in the photo, so I am guessing someone hooked her recently. I have gotten to the point that the only wrecks I dive any more are the ones where I know we will encounter sharks. Even the tigers and bulls don't bother me that much, you just have to be vigilant and have respect for a 10' 350+ pound fish with teeth the size of Rhode Island. Plus I always have my 12 ga. bangstick. Of course it's only a "one shotter"...... you use it and you better be hauling ass, which, however is pretty much near impossible to do on a decomp dive unless you want to risk the bends.

great story to match a great capture. my compliments Scott

My friend, this is too close for such a creature, the image is sharp and of very original apperance, thank you for sharing it and wishing you all of the best.

Wonderful capture.

Wow; what an incredible shot and story! I envy you! Wonderful capture...those teeth and the steely gaze of her eyes! How wonderful that you got to touch her; it must be great to be so aquainted with the habits of these amazing creatures that you know when conditions are right for these type of close contact shots! Thank you so much for sharing. :)

I wanna start by saying fantastic shot. I love how close she came to get that shot. The colors are great and the detail on the teeth is really nice.

But then I want to continue by saying, you have been diving for 30+ years, you should know better. As a fellow diver and shark advocate, PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE SHARKS! This creates an association with the animals between people and food, and this is where issues happen. You fed her which is all fine and good and a one time instance is not the problem but now she will come up to other people looking for food (which in all reality this probably isn't her first meal from people if she followed you as she did up to the boat.)Now you get a diver who isn't AS intelligent or experienced with sharks and thinks A) this shark is attacking me or B) this shark is harmless let me grab/touch/molest it and now you have an ACTUAL shark attack on your hands. In which worst case scenario both the shark and the person are now dead along with the entire boat being traumatized, best case scenario both survive and now that person is adamantly AGAINST shark preservation.

These beautiful animals need all the help they can get when it comes to preservation. No fishery on the planet has ever withstood a collapse when man has put heavy fishing pressure on it. Sharks are under one of the most indiscriminate and unsupervised pressures ever with the fin trade. Don't help it along. She is an apex predator treat her with the respect for the great hunter she is.

Sorry that's my little rant. :) As far as the shooting keep it up your shots look fantastic.