|
Sharks! Sometimes it seems that sharks is all Walker’s is about. Among divers it is certainly the best known fact about Walker’s - SHARK RODEO! Well, not to disappoint anyone, Walker’s is , in my opinion, one of the two best shark experiences in the Bahamas. The other most recommended shark dive would have to be Stella Maris on Long Island. Some day soon I’ll have to do a comparison review of all the shark experiences available in the the Bahamas, but that’s for another day.
Several places let you see sharks from fairly close up, but not many let you get in the middle of a literal swarm of animals. Imagine being close up and personal with up to as many as 100 sharks at one time. You are quite literally surrounded by sharks of all sizes and quite a variety from gray reefs, nurse, bulls, black tips, and the occassional tiger. They swarm around you as they try for their turn at the chum ball (a mass of fish frozen in a ball around an anchor) and frequently will brush against you as they pass. I have had eight foot bulls and black tips swim under my arm as I was filming. So far I still have all my appendages.
I don’t in any way want to give the impression that this is a totally safe dive however. Always remember that these are wild animals and their main interest is food. Fortunately, they don’t see humans as being food, but they can get testy if you get in the way of their food. Of the three shark bite incidents (I hate the word ‘attack’ as it just isn’t so!) I have been privey to witness, the most dramatic one was at the Shark Rodeo in Walker’s. I was able to video two blacktips biting one of the divers who was also videoing the feeding. He accidentally got between the two sharks and the food, and they removed the obstacle which happened to be his right arm. Fortunately he suffered no more than five triangular bites on his forearm, which will give him some wonderful scars to talk about back at the bar.
|
