Live It Awesome #22.) Swim with Sharks! (on purpose…)

Imagine being 70 miles off the coast of south Florida, standing on the bridge of a US Navy warship, when you hear the report of a capsized fishing boat from a merchant ship not too far from your current position. You hear from the Captain that the plan is to launch the small boat and go check the capsized boat for survivors… or bodies… That was one of my first real life Search and Rescue (SAR) operations as a SAR Swimmer. SPOILER ALERT! There were luckily no deceased people floating under the boat, but we were still tasked to go check it out, so that’s what we did. I went out with another swimmer and it was honestly an incredible experience. Forgetting the nerves, we got over to the boat and underneath, there were tons of beautiful fish swimming around and you could tell that the fishing boat had been capsized for a while. However, at one point, I made eye contact with the other swimmer, John. He looked at me, looked down, then back at me and took off for our small boat. Confused, I looked down too, and maybe 50 or 60 feet below us was about an 8 foot shark just swimming by. At that moment, I was mesmerized by the beauty and gracefulness of the sharks movements. I couldn’t tell you what type of shark it was or anything beyond how much I enjoyed watching it swim through the water, but I was lost in it. We were quickly called back by the coxswain to our boat because we had been recalled back to the ship. From that moment on, though, I was obsessed with sharks and I KNEW I had to be in the water with these creatures again.

And that’s how this journey began. From that moment, I researched what I could about sharks, learning different types, what regions they lived in, and how they interact in the water. Still, I knew most of all I needed to spend time with them in their habitat again. I also knew I wanted to feel free Free of tanks and cages so that I could feel like I was really with them and not just watching them. That I could share the moment with them, at least in some frame of reference. So, I started my research. When I finally had the chance to go, I was living in North Florida and I found a company called Shark Addicts Diving in Jupiter, FL. I had followed them on social media and I really loved the videos they were putting out so I know I wanted to dive with them. The first time I booked with them, it got cancelled because of weather. At first, I was upset, but looking back, I’m really glad they did that. It means they always put the safety of the guests and crew first, which should always be the most important thing, and with the research I later did and learning what I’ve learned about the ocean, they were definitely right.

The second time, I booked in May of 2019 and I was going with my (at the time) girlfriend, Laurie. She flew down to visit me in Jacksonville and we drove together down to Jupiter. We stayed near the marina at a Best Western. Luckily, I had a bunch of points saved from work so our stay was free, but even if I didn’t, we probably would have stayed there. The price wasn’t bad for the area and the room was really nice for what the price would have been. It also wasn’t far from the marina, and we had booked the first cruise of the day, so being close helped us to sleep in more than other hotels might have. What really made our stay fun was (as the shark nerd that I had become) I bought both Laurie and myself shark onesies, gold fish, and red wine so we could pretend to be sharks the night before… Yes, it is super embarrassing and goofy, but it was so fun and I would do it again in a heart beat! Maybe for a very memorable night before, and it’s the little things that really make experiences worth having.

The next morning, it was the day of the dive. We had booked for 7 AM, and as someone who hates being late, we headed to the Jupiter Pointe Marina where the trip launches from and got there a little before 6 AM. Yes, it was much earlier than it needed to be but that made us well prepared when it was time to start the dive. We ate the breakfast we had brought with us and I got my personal gear ready. The Shark Addicts crew showed up shortly after us and it was kind of cool to watch them prepare for the trip. They readied some frozen bonitos fish to be able to help attract the sharks, made sure all the rental gear was properly clean and ready to provide to those who needed it, and that the boat was fueled and ready to go. They were extremely professional and you could tell they knew what they were doing. Once they had everything ready to go and the rest of the guests had arrived, we did the scariest part of the whole trip, signed the liability waiver. We boarded the boat and set off out the Jupiter Inlet. The ride out to the shelf was incredibly beautiful. The boat goes through the Indian River and out of the Jupiter Inlet past the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, which is a lovely sight in itself. The one thing I remembered the most from that ride was, even though it was 7 AM on a Sunday, there were a lot of people already out on the river. People were paddle boarding, sitting on their dock enjoying the sun, boats leaving out for the day, and I remember one couple sitting along the river bank having a morning picnic. I wondered what they might have been talking about that morning. They looked so happy there on the little bit of grass above the water. We continued out through the inlet and the little bit of rough water you always expect when getting out into the open ocean and we were off into the deep, powerful Atlantic.

They drove us to a first to a spot right along the edge of the continental shelf. The crew tossed a tied off crate with bonitos into the water and then they gave us a safety brief for when we got into the water. They taught us how to safely redirect the sharks if they swam up to us by putting our hands out, palm down facing down and calmly but firmly directing the shark away from us. We also learned that is was important to try to keep an eye on all the sharks around us, and if a shark swam towards us, that we should maintain eye contact with it as we prepared to redirect it. This let the shark know we were aware of it’s presence and prevented it from thinking we were prey. After the brief, the safety diver got into the water. He used a plastic bottle in the water, that we would twist and crinkle to make noise in the water to also help attract the sharks. It took a little bit of time before the first sharks showed up, but then they were there, all around the boat and just below the surface. At this first spot, there were about 10 or more bull sharks swimming around us. They were absolutely mesmerizing to watch them move so fluidly and quickly around the boat. You couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous preparing to get in the water with a species of shark who have been known for having one of highest number of unprovoked attacks per year in the world, but that’s what you were there to do.

Then the moment came, and the captain told us that we could get in the water whenever we were ready. I was so excited, I offered to be the first to get in, and luckily no one protested. Admittedly, were all pretty nervous now that the sharks were finally there and I took a bit of a mental pause once I realized what I was about to do. I sat on the edge of the boat, threw my legs over the side, and pushed off into the water. The help with my nerves, I just tried to focus on the best way to enter the water, put my hand to my mask to keep it on, entered the water and cleared my snorkel. As soon as I pulled my hand down, there they all were. These incredible creatures that I had been obsessing about all around me. At first, I was too nervous to dive down. During the safety brief, we also learned that bull sharks would be interested in the deepest person and furthest from the boat. As the time went on though, I started to feel more comfortable, saw the safety diver and the Shark Addicts filming diver make some dives and eventually felt comfortable diving some myself. It was amazing being around these animals. The bull sharks were surprisingly skittish, almost like cats. They would start to swim towards you, but when you made eye contact and swam towards them, they would quickly turn away. They seemed very aware of everything around them.

We dove with the bulls for a while but then the crew had us get back into the boat so we could head to another spot. The second spot, we only stopped at for a little while. There were about 3 sandbar sharks well below us but they never came up to the surface to be near us. We still got in the water but wasn’t too exciting. I did find a small jellyfish though and watched him float around me for a little bit. It made me think how interesting it was in this whole big ocean that I could end up so close to this little guy. He was nearly translucent, and if I didn’t slow down to pay attention, I don’t think I would have ever seen him. When the sharks wouldn’t come up to us though, we loaded back into the boat and headed to a third spot.

The third spot was my favorite! The safety diver got in first to use the plastic bottle again to attract the sharks and they were there in what felt like only a few minutes. There were only two sharks but they were both Lemon sharks and extremely active. Before we could even get in, these two sharks were all over the ladder at the back of the boat, where the captain wanted us to get in from. Honestly, I was even more nervous getting in this time than the first. Before, we could see the sharks from the edge of the boat but they were fairly deep below us. This time, they were right there! Before you could even get your fins on, they were only inches away. Hard not to be nervous… I eventually slipped into the water and the nerves went away almost immediately. One of the sharks left us fairly early on, but the one that remained would get so close to everyone. She was almost playful in a sense, like a puppy going for a walk that wanted to meet the people along the way for a quick pet, but with a cautious timidity that showed just a sense of apprehension. As long as we showed her respect, she showed it to us in kind. The peace and connection felt with this animal was truly indescribable.

However, my feelings weren’t entirely shared by everyone. Laurie was noticeably a bit fearful of the lemons because of how close they would come to her. She was perfectly fine in the water until the moment the shark would come right towards her. You could tell she wanted to let the shark approach but the closer it got, the more her fear built. To be fair, in the home of a known predator that has all the advantages if it wanted to use them, her nervousness was understandable. Luckily, the safety diver was incredible with watching out for her (and everyone), and he made sure to redirect the sharks when they would get too close to her. But of course, Laurie was MY girlfriend and I wanted to feel like the “manly man” to help her feel safe. So, I started to stay closer to her to help redirect the sharks when they would approach. During one moment, the shark started to swim towards her, so I put my hand out to redirect the shark. With the bull sharks, simply putting your hand out made them turn around, but with this lemon, she actually turned towards my hand. The turn wasn’t in a dangerous or aggressive way, but she turned as if asking to be pet. I almost couldn’t believe this moment until I watched the video later and she really did turn in just so I could reach out to her! This is still one of the most incredible moments of my life and one that I will never forget for as long as I live. One of the most powerful creatures in the Ocean turned just towards me and the connection was amazing to say the least! It’s this moment I wish I could share with anyone who has a fear of sharks without knowing them. They deserve our respect but not our fear. They are absolutely not mindless killing machines, and this moment proved it to me more than any other before. The sadly, she had a hook stuck in her jaw from someone who must have been fishing. Makes you wonder a bit who actually is killing mindlessly and without thinking of what they’re doing. The safety diver tried to remove the hook a few times, but was unfortunately unsuccessful. The attempt alone made me happy I chose to dive with them and showed they genuinely care about the well being of these creatures.

We stayed at the third spot for a good while before packing back into the boat to head home for the Marina. On the ride back, the crew noticed a deflated mylar balloon floating in the river. They stopped and recovered the balloon to dispose of it properly. This proved even further that the Shark Addicts Diving crew truly do practice what they preach. They aren’t just in it for the money but for the education and betterment of their guests and the Ocean. We pulled back in to the Marina, thanked the crew, and disembarked. Laurie and I got cleaned up, rinsed our personal gear off, and were hungry so we walked over to the Blue Pointe Bar and Grill attached to the Jupiter Pointe Marina. The food and view was excellent! They even had live music and a pool in the center of club. It was nice watching the kids play and just have a good time. The Blue Pointe Grill was a great way to wrap up the day before the long drive back to Jacksonville and I highly recommend it if you ever find yourself at the Jupiter Pointe Marina.

All and all, this adventure was one of the best I’ve had in my life and I strongly encourage anyone with even the slightest desire to dive with sharks to do it with Shark Addicts Diving in Jupiter, Florida. If you think this is the right adventure for you, you can book with the Shark Addicts on their website, https://sharkaddictsdiving.com/. To be clear, I don’t have any kind of a partnership with them and don’t get any kind of compensation if you book with them. I just think they are an incredible company who deserve your support and patronage. Also, if you care about the Ocean as a whole and helping preserve sharks by supporting programs that provide shark fisherman other, sustainable means of financial compensation, I highly recommend you check out 4Ocean (https://www.4ocean.com/) and Project Hiu (https://projecthiu.com/). 4Ocean protects our Oceans through different international clean up projects where they have crews literally pull the pollution out of our Oceans to be recycled and disposed of properly. Each purchase of just one of their countless bracelets helps by pulling one pound of trash out of the Ocean. Project Hiu, on the other hand, prevents further shark fining by hiring former shark fining crews in Indonesia for tourism projects. Providing these men who had no other means with which to support their families with renewed income has saved 73,560 shark fins, at the time of writing this, from being removed from these beautiful creatures just to be sold in foreign markets for soup and medicinal remedies. Project Hiu has even increased the good they do by providing water purification systems and even English learning resources to the children and families of the villages they support. You can support them as well by buying merchandise from their website that funds their cause, or maybe even book a trip with them. Both of these organizations deserve our support so please, check them out. Just remember to always “Abide by the Mantra” and “Live it Awesome”!