5th Day: Shark Dives

Holding on to the current line with one hand, I survey the deep blue water beneath me. The surface water is choppy, and the water is so deep I can barely make out the bottom. As I wait for the other divers from our boat to jump in, I feel oddly exposed. The water is teeming with sharksuckers. About 2 feet long, and sporting large suction pads on the top of their heads, these fish are bigger than the better known remoras, and they are swarming just a few feet below me. Some have had huge bites taken out of them. Some are even missing their tail fins entirely. But somehow they manage to stay alive. It is a sign of what is to come below.

We are about to do the famous shark dive in Beqa Lagoon. The Fijians from Beqa Island have an ancient belief, that no shark would ever harm them. To this day, the Fijian divemasters, who hark from this island, feed large sharks by hand. On every dive there are lemon sharks, nurse sharks and bull sharks. On almost every other dive, a Tiger shark will cruise by.

Bull sharks and Tiger sharks are two of the three most dangerous sharks in the world, in case you didn't know (the third is the incomparable Great White Shark). Although the Bull Shark is probably the single most dangerous shark in the world, based on it's number of fatal attacks on people, they are actually the smallest of the three sharks, topping out in length at about 8 to 10 foot. The Tiger shark and the Great White sharks, however, can grow to 20 feet in length. Although enthusiastic (especially male) divers like to refer to these large sharks as "big boys", they are more than likely members of the opposite sex. You can call them "big mamas".

Up to this very day, there haven't been any deaths or injuries among either the dive crew, or the divers. And it is not by luck alone. The normally fun and ebullient Fijian divemasters become strict taskmasters on this dive.

Finally, everyone has entered the water and we descend to the bottom. We line up behind a rope just a few feet above the staging area. I am surprised to see divemasters Missy, and Seru wielding large metal poles the size of crutches instead of their usual pointers. They perch behind us to fend off any sharks should they get too close.

Black Jacks the size of tombstones swirl above the scene. There are 3 or 4 Bull Sharks circling for a handout. They turn on a dime to face the feeder and open their mouths like puppies for a hand held fish head. Mark is invited down to the amphitheater floor to take closer camera shots. The 7 foot Bull sharks come within an arms length of him. He pulls his camera, and his arms in closer. These sharks are surprisingly wide, and their girth makes their beady eyes look even smaller. We are told later that these are the fattest bull sharks one well travelled diver has ever seen. There are more than enough fish heads to provide for all of their eating needs. One Bull Shark burps up a cloud of fish juice.

Pretty soon, the tornado of fish grows out of control and gets ever close. The effect is like sitting being beside a high speed freeway. Mark turns around to find that the divemaster beside him, who had erstwhile been protecting him, has already jumped over to the safe side of the rope. Leaping over the wall with one hand, Mark demonstrates a fine sense of self preservation.

Dive #175: Bistro I
Mina: 82', 0:43 min.
Mark: 84', 0:43 min.

Dive #176: Bistro II
Mina: 65', 0:47 min.
Mark: 63', 0:47 min.

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