Swimming with Sharks

16th April, 2011

“I need you to keep watch and if any sharks come close, punch them in the nose,” said Chris Maxey, moments before we entered the shark-filled waters of the Cape Eleuthera Resort and Marina at Powell Point.  The MoonShadow, an Island School boat that can be used for advisory trips or an afternoon at sea, was in desperate need of a bottom cleaning.  Since I generally jump at the chance to try something new, and especially when it involves swimming in the ocean, I volunteered to accompany him.

According to the Island School handbook, no one is allowed to swim in the marina at any time.  The primary reason is that boats come in from a day out packed with fish.  Red snapper and grouper are the more common catches.  There are filleting stations located around the perimeter overlooking the water.  As each fish is being gutted, cleaned, and filleted, the scraps are tossed into the water, creating a feeding frenzy among the sharks which have pooled in the area in anticipation of an easy meal. 

The MoonShadow is only 30 feet from one of these stations and anything hitting the water immediately draws the curiosity of the waiting sharks.  After the bubbles cleared it only took 30 seconds before a strong, sleek nurse shark came cruising by.  My best guess would be 7 feet long, weighing in at over 500 pounds.  This shark was followed soon after by two remoras, a species similar to a dolphin, but much smaller and with more of a bluish hue than grey.  After the initial trepidation of having a shark appear out of nowhere and come bother me, I set about completing the task at hand.  I did a number of spins underneath the water to make sure that I was aware of everything that was swimming by.

With a blue bottom, it was tough to see the algae growth along the bottom of the MoonShadow.  Taking the scrub brush to the underside of the hull resulted in a plume of blue paint exploding forth and creating a murky haze which drifted easterly along with the flooding current.  Becoming more comfortable, both with the concept of sharks in the vicinity and the job of diving below the surface to clean a keel with a draft of 5 feet, I began taking extended trips underneath the waves.  At one point, out of the green light made cloudy by paint, I could identify 4 nurse sharks ranging anywhere from 12 feet away up to 30 feet out.

One shark became so curious as to rub along the underside of the keel.  Moving at a leisurely pace where Chris and I could watch the approach, Chris reached down and grabbed the tail fin of the passing nurse shark.  At that point, the shark become so rattled it sped off into the deep.  I too became rattled as I would never have thought to toy with a 600 pound unpredictable creature in its natural habitat.  We quickly finished the hull and I began working on the boot stripe as Chris powered his way through cleaning the propeller and rudder section at the stern. 

While focusing at one spot along the bow, I noticed three curious sharks approaching with menacing looks on their faces.  I could not tell if they were hungry, just cruising, moving with the tide, or actually coming in for a meal.  Luckily, we both were able to clamber aboard using the step ladder attached to the stern before either of use became feed.  Also, fortunate for our purposes of minimizing risk, a large fishing vessel came into the marina and began unloading its fresh catch not 10 minutes after we had emerged from the water.  We were able to get out of the water before the scene got active with chum.

As I mentioned to some of the on-lookers who were taking pictures, it was a once in a lifetime experience, and I’m glad it is over now.