Shark Dive- Check.

Ever since Ryan and I became SCUBA certified, we have been talking about going on the shark dive at Big Momma's Reef that they offer here in St. Maarten. We finally decided on the day-yesterday! Ryan has been very very busy studying for his 4th blocks, and this was the perfect celebration for when he was finished. It also just so happened to be the Monday after Shark Week BUT surprisingly... I was not scared at all. You would think that I would be a little nervous or anxious about having 6 8-foot Caribbean Reef sharks surrounding me at 55 feet under the sea... but nope! I also know that the guide has been doing this for about 10 years, and there have never been any accidents. I just felt like the sharks were used to being fed like this, and why would they come to attack me when they were getting free food from the guide?

Here is a video of the guide feeding the sharks while we are surrounding him in a semi-circle, holding on to cinder blocks on the ocean floor:

Here is how it all began: We went to the Scuba Shop in Simpson Bay (about 5-10 minutes from here), and signed the required paperwork. We received the needed gear: flippers, wet suit, mask, etc. and got on the boat. We went all the way to Philipsburg (where the cruise ships come) and then out into the middle of (nowhere) the ocean. We suited up, and were told to jump in and follow the line down to the bottom of the ocean floor. Then we were supposed to crawl (so as to not kick up a bunch of sand) about 50 feet to the destination where the cinder blocks were. I, however, did not crawl because there were shells and stuff, and I was not about to get my knees all cut up with sharks around... 

We were told one very strict rule to follow before jumping in the water: "Hold on to that cinder block and don't wave or even stick your arm/hand out because this is how the sharks are fed and we don't want you to lose an arm".. wow. So needless to say, I didn't move my arms at all. 

We were down there about 45 minutes watching them get fed. It was very cool, and it hit me that the sharks were just like dogs. Some were big, some were small. Some looked a little scarier than others. Their eyes were a very pretty golden-brown color, and they would look right at you! One had a spot, and they had named him "Spot." The guide would touch them, and pet them like a dog. He would hold on to their tail and push their heads down if they came too close. A couple of times, the sharks got a little too close to him to get a fish- and he would actually hold the shark's mouth closed and point his finger at the shark.. like you would do to a misbehaving dog. Crazy, huh?

The guide didn't tell us this until after the dive was over, but the sharks that we saw are Caribbean Reef sharks which are in the top ten most deadly sharks.. kinda scary. But he said that to prove his point that sharks aren't these giant killing machines that everyone makes them out to be in the movies and on Shark Week. He said that more people are killed by falling coconuts than by sharks, but falling coconuts don't make for a very exciting movie. It made an impression on me to see that these sharks were just like any other creature in the sea. We were told that when they started this dive about 10 years ago, they would have 60-70 sharks show up to feed... and now it is about 6-8 because they are being fished out. Pretty sad. Yes, they do kill people but it is usually an accident. Anyway, that was his little speech at the end, and I really agreed with him. No- I'm not a shark hugger now, but I do respect them and don't want to see them die out. 'Nuff said. 

Here are some pictures:

I think this is Spot- he was the biggest ~7.5 feet

Here we are. You can see me- the fourth from the left and Ryan is right next to me on the right. 

They came pretty close

Hauser and Tim

Where the fish-bait was kept

Here is Aaron (closest), Ryan, me (furthest away)

Me and Ryan again 

Really close

You can see us in the distance

Here we are!

That little black, white, and yellow striped fish kept swimming near me and biting my arm! At first I didn't know what in the world had happened because I just felt this sharp nibble on my forearm, but then I saw this little guy swimming away. He bit me about 4 times and I kept trying to hit him to make him go away, but I didn't want to attract any of the sharks by moving my arm. He bit the man next to me like 10 times, and his arms looked worse than mine. I was just scared that he was going to draw blood and really attract the sharks! It turns out that we were near where he (really a she) laid his eggs, and he was trying to protect them. Doesn't seem like a safe spot if you ask me, to lay your eggs right where scuba divers come every week to watch sharks feed. Oh well... 

Ryan and I are at the very left

There is that bad little striped fish again

All in all, it was a great adventure and I am so glad that I can cross that off of my bucket list! Now, if we can just make it through Ryan's finals.. we can find another adventure to do! 

P.S. I start my job August 17th, which will be nice to have money but I have really enjoyed having the summer off! But like the song says: "Back to life, back to reality"