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December 4th, 2009
This week we departed with guests from Austria and Germany for another shark expedition. The group seemed very nice and excited to see the beautiful sharks of the Bahamas. After somewhat of a rough crossing we started diving at Crystal Tiger. Although the visibility was still poor we did see at least three different tiger sharks including Emma.

This was the third week since we first saw Emma after she gave birth hopefully to many healthy tiger pups. Each week she has had a new set of mating scars. This week they were under her left side as well as on top behind the dorsal fin. We have not observed a male in the area, but hope to soon. Everyone did well so we traveled to a calm anchorage for the night.

December 5th, 2009
The next day we started out diving at Classic Tiger Beach where we first discovered the abundance of tigers in this area. We enjoyed the company of at least 7 different tigers during the day and then moved on to a reef called Shark Tooth Ridge. At this location way too many tigers showed up too early in the week and at least one of the individuals was  uncomfortable with so many there at once. We spent the night at 16 Gig in preparation for a rough day.

December 6th, 2009
Today the wind was at least 30 knots all day leaving only two options. Either we sit at the dock or we stay at sea playing with sharks at the surface. We decided to stay at sea, which is always the case as the Shear Water doesn’t do land very well. The vessel is just not set up well for sitting at the dock when outstanding shark encounters are so close, even in rough seas with low visibility. We played with at least 5 different tiger sharks during the day as well as 6 different lemon sharks. One of the lemons was one we rescued and named “Lucky”. Lucky had a line wrapped around its neck and although we attempted to save it several times we were not successful until April of 2009. I am happy to report that Lucky’s wounds seem to have healed up completely. You can see from the images that she is doing very well now. All the crew was very happy to see this. Hopefully we will be able to do things like this again in the future.

December 7th, 2009
With a very early start we started diving at Classic Tiger Beach for most of the day. At least 10 different tigers showed up during the day. At one point I could count 7 at a time. Emma and Begonia stole the show staying up close with the guests all day long. One of the guests actually told me that he loves her. It is amazing what personal encounters with these creatures can do to someone. Hopefully she will turn more of our guests into ambassadors saving more sharks. After a full day we decided to do a night dive as well. On the night dive in addition to the sharks we also had a large school of reef squid. The night dive is so relaxing and enjoyable. I was especially pleased to see 6 of the 10 guests enjoy it. Usually the guests are way to tired to participate.

December 8th, 2009
This morning we started early at the sugar wreck as some of the guest wanted to just see some of the marine inhabitants of the area other than sharks. After two wonderful dives on this site we moved to Carcharious Cut. During the day one of the guests saw a great hammerhead. Unfortunately it did not hang out with us. A tiger showed up as well, but not one of our regular girls so it stayed at a distance observing us. We anchored for the night at a calm place which was really needed after a great day of diving.

December 9th, 2009
Our last day we stayed at Tiger Beach once again and our prayers were answered. Everyone wanted to see our favorite super model Emma once again! Everyone every single week falls in love with this very special shark that has such a wonderful personality and is known world wide as the gentile giant that she is. We crossed the Gulf Stream at the end of the day and fortunately many of the guests are already talking about when they will be able to come back!

One of the nicest advantages of running a vessel of this size is the opportunity to meet such wonderful people as well as make new friends that will hopefully last a lifetime!