Sharks

[Sbrown]

If you go to Honeymoon Harbor, studies (done by @Julian and myself) show you have a greater chance of being "tasted" by a nurse shark than being attacked by any other type of shark during your entire visit. Lol, just kidding, I have pictures of my kids (all girls) hanging out on the sea bottom in the shade under the boat with nurse sharks. They were scared at first, too. By the end of the first day they couldn't wait to go back. They had even named the freakin' sharks. I did see one big Blacktip, I think, at Turtle Rock in 2018. It was probably 50 yards away and it came up from the bottom and hit something on the surface and then disappeared. Startled me pretty good, I'll admit it.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I have seen lots of sharks in my time in the water. Scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming etc.

Last year I was bitten by a large nurse shark while feeding it in Bimini. Silly me didn't realize just how fast they can move and it grabbed the bait and my hand almost instantly. Fortunately @Sbrown was there to patch me up and life went on. 3 days later @Sbrown pulled into the marina with his hand patched up saying "you are right....they are fast". Nurse sharks have no teeth, but they do have very sharp cartilage on their bite plates.

The best way to get a serious shark bite is to spear fish. You effectively turn yourself into bait. Kill a fish and then swim with a dead or dying fish and sharks will have your attention.

In general being in the ocean is pretty safe. Sharks are not what I worry about. Jelly fish, fire coral and the like will sting you and be more troublesome than sharks. That said, when big sharks are around I let them have the ocean to themselves (except nurse sharks....which are harmless unless you feed them without understanding how to avoid an unintended chomp of a finger. Akin to feeding a horse wrong).

@Julian .....agree 100%. Many years ago I saw a 12 foot reef shark turn in its length. OK that got my attention.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

If you go to Honeymoon Harbor, studies (done by @Julian and myself) show you have a greater chance of being "tasted" by a nurse shark than being attacked by any other type of shark during your entire visit. Lol, just kidding, I have pictures of my kids (all girls) hanging out on the sea bottom in the shade under the boat with nurse sharks. They were scared at first, too. By the end of the first day they couldn't wait to go back. They had even named the freakin' sharks. I did see one big Blacktip, I think, at Turtle Rock in 2018. It was probably 50 yards away and it came up from the bottom and hit something on the surface and then disappeared. Startled me pretty good, I'll admit it.

@Sbrown ....yes, as a diver that's what gets your attention. A 14 foot tiger just appears out of the blue then its gone again. When you are 90 feet down a 5,000 foot wall.....spooky. I'll see if I can find some shark pics LOL. Was diving in Turks last winter and a guy on a dive boat said aren't you afraid they can out swim you? I said h3ll no I because I can out swim you. Poor guy nearly had a heart attack - had to tell him it was safe and I was just kidding ..... frickin' beginners! LOL.

 

[Julian]

@Sbrown ....yes, as a diver that's what gets your attention. A 14 foot tiger just appears out of the blue then its gone again. When you are 90 feet down a 5,000 foot wall.....spooky. I'll see if I can find some shark pics LOL. Was diving in Turks last winter and a guy on a dive boat said aren't you afraid they can out swim you? I said h3ll no I because I can out swim you. Poor guy nearly had a heart attack - had to tell him it was safe and I was just kidding ..... frickin' beginners! LOL.

I was walking into the water to go snorkeling in the Turks a few years ago, and as I was clearing my mask standing in 4 feet of water, I stuck my head underwater and there was a small (2-3') reef shark at my feet. I had a gopro with me but didn't have it running yet, but quickly pressed record and went to go film it but told the guy coming in behind me just before I put my snorkel in "theres a nice little shark here" (thinking he'd be interested). I startled the little shark and it took off and I stood back up again to finish prepping for my snorkel, and notice that everyone that was in the water is now standing on the beach looking at me. Whoops....guess I scared a bunch of people.

Snorkeling at that same place in the Turks another time, I was able to encourage a nurse shark into the shallower water. I saw a group of snorkelers nearby and yelled to one who's head was up "hey, theres a nice nurse shark over here, come see". The woman replies "Go fuck yourself! No WAY I'm coming over there!" (she said is nicely). I explain its harmless and eventually get the whole group to come and see it. Here is a bit of video of that day:

In Bimini in 2017 one of my Danik clips was dropped over the side of my boat in the harbor. The next morning I figure I'll jump in (no boats were around) and dive down and find it (it was white plastic). I get in the water with my fins and mask and dive down to find it, and within about 30 seconds a huge reef shark swims by. I decided that he could keep the clip and got out of the water. I'd forgotten that people clean their fish in the harbor all the time.

 

[Canuckjetboater]

I was walking into the water to go snorkeling in the Turks a few years ago, and as I was clearing my mask standing in 4 feet of water, I stuck my head underwater and there was a small (2-3') reef shark at my feet. I had a gopro with me but didn't have it running yet, but quickly pressed record and went to go film it but told the guy coming in behind me just before I put my snorkel in "theres a nice little shark here" (thinking he'd be interested). I startled the little shark and it took off and I stood back up again to finish prepping for my snorkel, and notice that everyone that was in the water is now standing on the beach looking at me. Whoops....guess I scared a bunch of people.

Snorkeling at that same place in the Turks another time, I was able to encourage a nurse shark into the shallower water. I saw a group of snorkelers nearby and yelled to one who's head was up "hey, theres a nice nurse shark over here, come see". The woman replies "Go fuck yourself! No WAY I'm coming over there!" (she said is nicely). I explain its harmless and eventually get the whole group to come and see it. Here is a bit of video of that day:

In Bimini in 2017 one of my Danik clips was dropped over the side of my boat in the harbor. The next morning I figure I'll jump in (no boats were around) and dive down and find it (it was white plastic). I get in the water with my fins and mask and dive down to find it, and within about 30 seconds a huge reef shark swims by. I decided that he could keep the clip and got out of the water. I'd forgotten that people clean their fish in the harbor all the time.

@Julian.....AWESOME. My family used to own a couple of houses in Thompson Cove, Turks. I go back every winter for a couple of months to SCUBA.

 

[Sbrown]

@Sbrown ....yes, as a diver that's what gets your attention. A 14 foot tiger just appears out of the blue then its gone again. When you are 90 feet down a 5,000 foot wall.....spooky. I'll see if I can find some shark pics LOL. Was diving in Turks last winter and a guy on a dive boat said aren't you afraid they can out swim you? I said h3ll no I because I can out swim you. Poor guy nearly had a heart attack - had to tell him it was safe and I was just kidding ..... frickin' beginners! LOL.

I hear you, I'm a diver as well, only most of the diving I do is not pleasant. I am not used to the kind of visibility you get in the Bahamas, in fact more than a few feet of visibility can make me uncomfortable sometimes. The shark that day at Turtle Rocks startled me partly because I caught it actually feeding in the wild, not just complacently swimming around. I was LOOKING for sharks and it moved so fast it seemed like it appeared out of nowhere and then disappeared the same way. I didn't even see it until it was within a few feet of the surface and the light caught it. Once I got over being startled I thought it was kind of cool and rare.

 

[Inthrustwetrust]

Another tip I thought of (might not want to share with the afraid ones) is to get a med kit that goes above and beyond your normal band aids and aspirin, and some training, and honestly it’s useful to have for more than just salt water, but normal boating, car accidents etc. if nothing else I would spend the $50-$100 for the supplies and watch some YouTube videos. If you have any friends in military, police, fire, or ems they should be able to help you and give you some pointers.
I keep a tourniquet, combat gauze, quick clot, and combat dressings in my boat and our vehicles. If you got some basic supplies and training you can make a big difference in the amount of time you can buy to get someone to a hospital.