My Favorite Dive of the Season
Shark Dive with Emerald Charters in Jupiter
Saturday, July 5
It all began with flat calm seas and perfect weather when 13 Active Divers gathered under a bridge in Jupiter, Florida to get up close and personal with big sharks. This dive is so exciting because it mirrors the elation I feel when I discover a sea turtle or a spotted eagle ray on a reef. I am mesmerized at observing sea life, amazed at the elegance and majesty of being at one with an ancient creature in their home. Only with this dive that sense of euphoria goes on for 40 minutes and is repeated three times in succession.
Dive 1: Boat - they always start out this dive in the Gulf Stream which is the pelagic highway for migration of large sea creatures such as sharks: silky, bull, lemon, reef and the elusive Great Hammerhead - and they taught us the underwater hand signals for them all. Though this is clearly an advanced dive, a myth about this dive is that it's deep and long. Actually the dives are relatively shallow and short, with the majority of the dive being spent at 20 feet. We exit the boat commando style with a negative entry into gorgeous 60-foot visibility and follow the shark feeder immediately down to about 80 feet. The milk crate containing smelly chum makes a creamy trail all the way down which dissipates into the water and triggers the sharks' keen sense of smell. They start coming in one, then two, then four then, eight, then too many to count. The first dive brought bulls and sandbar sharks, and one rather large silky shark which the feeder JC let us know was very pregnant.
Dive 2: Jupiter Wreck Trek (Zion Train, Miss Jenny, Esso Bonaire) - Normally they reserve this location for the third dive, but in this case we descended into a bitterly cold thermocline at 60 feet. The Bonaire wreck sits at about 90 feet with the majority of the structure at 70. While the water temp for the first 60 feet was a balmy 85 degrees, beneath the shimmering ice bath it was a chilly 74 degrees. Thank goodness a wet suit and hood is required for this dive, and I was very grateful that I chose my 3.5 mm today. As soon as we descended the goliaths followed us, as this is a prime spot for the Fall's Goliath grouper aggregation dive. We went to the stern of the wreck where we watched the Goliaths and nurse sharks. Then the lemons came in, and thankfully JC soon ascended to warmer waters. We spent the majority of the dive at the balmy 15-20 foot safety stop depth which was good for warmth, air consumption and bottom time, as the lemons swirled all around us.
Dive 3: Jupiter Wreck Trek - the third and final dive was similar to the second, but with twice as many sharks. JC spent even less time in the icy waters of the wreck because it took no time at all to get the sharks to come up with us. The third dive was literally a sharknado of swirling lemons and at this point I lost count at around 15. This dive never disappoints and today was no exception. There is nothing that compares to being in the presence of these majestic creatures, and I am very grateful for this special opportunity, and to Emerald Charters for giving us such a great experience every time.
-- Active Divers President and Safety Officer Rachel Davis
Underwater photos by Laura Geselbracht and Luis Perez.
Happy shark divers (from left): Bruce Garber, Rachel Davis, John Lutkehaus, Hilda Balbi, Angelica Cookson, Shark Feeder JC, Luis Perez, Wally Vega, Laura Geselbracht, Enrique Menocal, Arnaud Giraud, Marisol Beleche, Samantha Weisz, Roger Bach.