21 replies to this topic

[john36350]

So me and my usual dive buddy were continuing our exploration of our favorite new dive site today (Makaha Caverns) off the West Coast of Oahu!!!! There I was just goofing off playing around in the caverns enjoying the angel fish that are commonly seen on the dive. And we had probably already been down for about 25 minutes when i dropped down into a big hole that spreads into several caves. As I turned to go into the cave i just randomly picked and swam into the entrance I caught the most amazing creature right on the other side about 10 ft away!!!! It was a 5 ft long white tip reef shark!!!! I turned to find my buddy staring at some coral and I grabbed his BCD and turned him towards the shark and the bubble flew out of his reg lol. Then he just took off lol chasing the poor thing like he could actually catch it lol. So i followed and he outran us in about 30 seconds lol. Ok that was pretty much the most exciting part of my year lol, and we just ended our dive there cuz we sucked down all of our air in the moment and what a better way to end a day of diving!!!!!

[diverb0b]

where are the pics lol

[FLStarfish]

Congrats on your encounter. I can still remember the first time I finally spotted one too, and I don't think you ever forget it.

By the way, if you ever need a dive buddy in Hawaii, I can probably squeeze a trip into my schedule.

[diverb0b]

Remember My first encounter back in the 70 s.Isaw it but the time I turned to let my buddy know it was gone.He told to get a pic next time :lma o:

[divzac]

Thanks for the post! It was awesome just reading it! Good for you!!!

So me and my usual dive buddy were continuing our exploration of our favorite new dive site today (Makaha Caverns) off the West Coast of Oahu!!!! There I was just goofing off playing around in the caverns enjoying the angel fish that are commonly seen on the dive. And we had probably already been down for about 25 minutes when i dropped down into a big hole that spreads into several caves. As I turned to go into the cave i just randomly picked and swam into the entrance I caught the most amazing creature right on the other side about 10 ft away!!!! It was a 5 ft long white tip reef shark!!!! I turned to find my buddy staring at some coral and I grabbed his BCD and turned him towards the shark and the bubble flew out of his reg lol. Then he just took off lol chasing the poor thing like he could actually catch it lol. So i followed and he outran us in about 30 seconds lol. Ok that was pretty much the most exciting part of my year lol, and we just ended our dive there cuz we sucked down all of our air in the moment and what a better way to end a day of diving!!!!!

[SeaSeeker]

, John.
I know just how you feel - gotta love the close encounter of the shark kind . Diving at Playa del Coco, Costa Rica in early March, I saw a number of white tip reef sharks - from babies in a cave to 6' to 8' adults. At one point, I came up in a bit of a channel amid the volcanic rock and found a couple of white tip reef sharks napping on the bottom. One lifted off the bottom and did a lazy turn and started swimming RIGHT FOR ME!!! I sunk to the bottom and grabbed onto a rock and you can bet I was sucking down a bit of air. I was wondering what exactly I should do about then, and when it got about 5 or 6 feet from me it did a lazy turn again and swam off in the other direction. A little scary and pretty cool!

[drbill]

Hey, come on out here to Catalina. One mainland dive boat reportedly saw THREE great whites out in open water near two of our popular dive sites. The amusing thing is that an instructor friend of mine from Malibu Divers, who also serves as talent in the movie industry, was being filmed that day... swimming out in open (cold) water in just a bathing suit. Geez, I hope he got paid well... I was cold in my 7mm wetsuit (could it be the holes in it?)!

[ScubaStacy]

John that's GREAT!

I just love sharks! Even the little Nurses that are so common!

In Fiji I was behind my buddy and the group when I spotted two black tip reek sharks down below me - I squealed as loud as I could to get my buddies attention (works - she is attuned to that sound) and we made a bee-line down to them - got within about 4-5 feet before they took off. I was clicking my camera all the way down! Got some great pictures and the thrill of my dive life up to that point.


Stacy

[damselfish]

When I was in Oahu in January the dive master and I got within 5 ft of a White tip. He was probably 6ft. He was "sleeping" under a reef. Didn't wake up even though we were shinning the flashlight in is face. I'm sure my tank emptied quite a bit. I had never been around a shark before. Did you know white tips are different in that they can stay still and sleep? (special gills or whatever). I was thinking, @!&% all the reef fish they eat are yellow and so are my fins! The DM said they are very docile. It was cool. All the turtles were my favorite part. I can't wait to get back to Hawaii this June. ALOHA!!!!!!

[pir8]

When I was in Oahu in January the dive master and I got within 5 ft of a White tip. He was probably 6ft. He was "sleeping" under a reef. Didn't wake up even though we were shinning the flashlight in is face. I'm sure my tank emptied quite a bit. I had never been around a shark before. Did you know white tips are different in that they can stay still and sleep? (special gills or whatever). I was thinking, @!&% all the reef fish they eat are yellow and so are my fins! The DM said they are very docile. It was cool. All the turtles were my favorite part. I can't wait to get back to Hawaii this June. ALOHA!!!!!!

I've seen Nurse Sharks sleep like that but no White Tips?

[ScubaDrew]

When I was in Oahu in January the dive master and I got within 5 ft of a White tip. He was probably 6ft. He was "sleeping" under a reef. Didn't wake up even though we were shinning the flashlight in is face. I'm sure my tank emptied quite a bit. I had never been around a shark before. Did you know white tips are different in that they can stay still and sleep? (special gills or whatever). I was thinking, @!&% all the reef fish they eat are yellow and so are my fins! The DM said they are very docile. It was cool. All the turtles were my favorite part. I can't wait to get back to Hawaii this June. ALOHA!!!!!!

I've seen Nurse Sharks sleep like that but no White Tips?

There are quite a few species that can rest on the bottom fora time. White tips (not oceanic white tips, but white tip reef sharks), black tip reef sharks I believe. Also I have heard anecdotally that sand tiger sharks also can rest for brief periods as well.

I believe it has to do with muscle structure in the mouth and throat, some sharks can pump water over their gills and do not need to swim constantly. What sharks cannot do is change their bouyancy as they have no swim bladders. That is thought to be one of the functions of their huge livers, it is full of oil and thus offsets some of that muscle so they are not so negative...

I could be wrong on some of that, it has been a while since I read up on sharks. Got some new books though, looking forward to boning up!

[georoc01]

When we were in Australia I encounted a white tip reef shark that was trying to sleep. I made four tries to sneak up on him and get a pic but he would swim away when I would get within about 6-7 feet. Then come back and I would try it again until I finally gave up.

The sharks on that trip were a rush. Starting on the 2nd day out on Osprey reef, we would see them regularly on our dives. By the 4th day, it became oh, there's another black tip, etc.

[damselfish]

Trust me after that encounter I did my homework on sharks and everything about every type! lol. ~ Damselfish

[ladiblu]

I was diving in Key Largo last week. My first dive on Molasses reef, I was the first off the boat. I descended down right on top of a five foot nurse shark. It was neat, I backed up a few feet, we sat and looked at each other for a while, then she swam off. I turned to meet up with my buddy and was greeted by a swimming 6-7 ft moray eel. The rest of the dive was just as good, but the close up time with the shark was very cool.

[ScubaPunk]

It's not nice to chase the Sharks now! What would you have done if you caught it?