This week we were delighted to see over 50% of our guests returning once again for another shark expedition. Our guests came from all over the world. From as far away as Singapore, Germany, England, Canada and the US everyone was here because they love sharks. Several of the guests have been here for more than four sharks trips with us.

We departed Palm Beach, Florida and started our long journey to see the Oceanic White Tip Shark. This species which was once the most prolific shark in the sea is now one of the most endangered. At the planets present rate of eradication it will not be long before we no longer have them around. I hope this day never arrives but the 100 million sharks that are being removed for the sake of shark fin soup I am sure is having it’s toll on this poor creature.

After a stormy rough crossing we finally arrived at our first stop to see the beautiful family of pigs that lives at what we call “Pig Island”. As soon as they saw us three of them swam out into the water to great us. The spotted ones I had seen as babies just a year ago were now almost as big as there mother. All of them seemed to be doing very well. With an overcast sky we enjoyed there company while we snorkeled with these enjoyable creatures. Many of them are now very proficient swimmers.

After spending three hours at Pig Beach we moved on to an island cave with six different swim openings to the sea. The next morning we started back on our mission to find the Oceanic White Tip Shark. The first dive produced duskies, silkies, lemons and Caribbean reef sharks but no Oceanic White Tips. The second spot we finally had one. This was the perfect way to start as I knew this would be the last time we only had one.  This shark also had a large hook on it’s left side that looked like we could remove it. On my second attempt I was able to remove the hook while the shark swam by me. Now we had the great karma that we needed to be successful. In addition some of the guests also saw a tiger shark. We spent the rest of the day filling are compact flash cards with images of these species. The totals for the day were 6 duskies, 3 silkies, 1 lemon 1 oceanic white tip and one tiger shark. Everyone did exceptionally well despite the rough seas.

Early the next morning our small protected anchorage had spotted dolphins, spotted eagle rays and cow nosed rays swimming around us. Within one hour of deploying the bait we started diving with Oceanic White Tips, duskies, silkies, lemons and one more tiger. The weather seemed to be getting nicer by the day and well deserved after such a rough crossing. The totals for the day were 5 oceanic white tips, 2 silkies, 6 duskies, 1 lemon shark and 1 tiger shark.  Everyone crashed early after a full day of diving.

This morning we experienced a very strong current. Although we started with 5 different oceanic white tips after we drifted into shallow water we lost all but two. One of the ones we lost had lots of pilot fish with it that we all wanted images of. We moved the bait back to deep water without success with the pilot fish.

Our last day here and we started in the water for our first dive with nine different oceanic white tips, including one with four pilot fish. A tiger came in for a while as well. It was spectacular! Two of them we had seen two years earlier. At the end of the day we headed back to pig island.

We started the day off first with pigs and then with iguanas. Everyone really enjoys the pigs. The following day we swam with spotted dolphins for a very short encounter. We departed home due to a storm that was following us. The trip was spectacular, mostly because of all of the extremely nice guests on board.

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April 24th, 2009 - At 5pm our guests boarded the Shear Water. Six of the group were from Germany all of which seemed very excited to be here and very nice. The rest of the group were Americans including Joe Romeiro from 333 Productions and Jen and David Doubilet from National Geographic. I have admired his work for many many years and was delighted to see that he finally joined us. We departed for West End around midnight in strong winds and slowly made are way to West End.

April 25th, 2009 -  After clearing customs at 9:30 we started our trip out at Breaching Tiger Splashing Tiger where we tried our luck at surface tiger shark shots, as it was too rough to dive. Everyone was very tired from the rough crossing so after a nice dinner we went to sleep early.

April 26th, 2009 - At 5:30 am we started our journey to Classic Tiger Beach. This area in bright white rippling sand in the early morning provided a beautiful backdrop. Everyone was delighted to see all the lemon and tiger sharks. A total of 8 tigers showed up including TC, Milo, Lama and Secorra. After the tide turned we moved out to the west edge of Tiger Beach to an area we call Crystal Tiger. The current picked up while we were there until finally we had to move to an area with some protection from the Gulf Stream current. TC, Secorra and a new tiger shark entertained us there.

April 27th, 2009 - With the wind still strong we stayed at tiger beach, but moved for the morning to the chain which is slightly deeper very close to the shallow reef. Even with the rough seas the visibility was still over 100 feet. 8 different tigers showed up with the main super star being Relentless. After a very enjoyable morning we moved to the Turtle Grass section of Tiger Beach. There we were greeted by a completely different set of tiger sharks, three of which were new to us. I was only able to get images of two of them which I named after the females that are on this trip. Hopefully the other one will stay long enough to have her pictures taken and named as well. The tiger shark identification book is to try to get a grasp of how many tiger sharks utilize this area. I am sure it is the best place in the world to see tiger sharks as there are more here than anyone else.

April 28th, 2009 - Finally the wind let up enough to show our guests the beautiful reefs of the little Bahama Bank. We started out at a gorgeous reef called Hammer Time. This place is fantastic for great hammerheads and today one of our guests shot video of one while it investigated us. The highlight of the day however was when Emma made her appearance. In all her splendor she came, entertained us for about three hours before taking off again. To me she seemed more cautious, hopefully because she is so pregnant. I hope she is able to give birth too any pups that have her wonderful disposition towards humans despite what we do to them every single day. Roughly 28, 000 sharks are killed everyday to meet the demand for shark fin soup. 90% of all large sharks are already removed from the planet because of this and this has taken place in the last 50 years. David, Jen, Joe and I enjoyed Emma’s company on the deep side of the reef for one of the dives today and I am sure we will all never forget it. Her huge size and gentle demeanor are amazing to witness up close. She completely buries the media drive to make these beautiful creatures into monsters. If there was just some way to let the world see what they were really like, I know I could change there viewpoint. After the sunset where we attempted to capture some of the magic light with sharks we moved into the shallows to do a night dive. The night dive was very peaceful and calming as the sharks swam around us in the inky black water under the lights from the boat.

April 29th, 2009 - Once again with the wind down slightly we moved to another spectacular reef called Ginormous. We were greeted by four different tigers during the day and finally the third new tiger shark came close enough to allow me to put her into the Tiger Shark Identification book. I announced the new tigers to the group after dinner. The day was epic to say the least as TC took center stage and allowed us to take many images of her. This beautiful four meter plus shark has the personality of a very classy, polite, well mannered lady. She moves in very slowly calculating her every move so she doesn’t scare us with her power and size. As she gets closer she slows down almost stopping, allowing us to look at her very close. These tiger sharks rock my world every single day. We are so fortunate to be in an area where they have not been slaughtered. I hope that day never comes, but I am fearful it will.

April 30th, 2009 - With the wind slacking off even more we spent the day at the chain which is a deeper part of Tiger Beach. It was another fantastic day with Emma as our super star and TC, Milo, Joanna, Lama and two others filling in where they were needed we took an enormous amount of images in the 150+ visibility. Before we knew it, dinner was on the table, some of us had even missed lunch in all the excitement. Emma was incredible as always, despite being pregnant she moved about cautiously taking care not to scare us or hit us with her tail. It was a day we will not forget and the smiles on the guests were evidence of this.

May 1st, 2009 - This morning we started at The End of the Map. With the wind at 10 mph out of the east we took the opportunity to see if the great hammerheads and bull sharks were still here. After anchoring we quickly realized that Mother Nature had given us a very slow current that was going in two different directions. The bull sharks appeared immediately, but we had no sign of the great hammerhead. We enjoyed the bulls and then headed home. One of the greatest things about this job is the opportunity to meet and get to know people with similar interests. Like many of you, I have enjoyed reading the underwater stories that David Doubilet and Jen have written for National Geographic as well as many other magazines and to finally get to know both of them has been a real joy for me. They are both really nice and even though they are extremely talented, there is no ego at all. They are both truly wonderful people that I am proud to have as my friends. I hope all of you have the pleasure to spend time with both of them in the future as I am sure you will enjoy it immensely.

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