.This is our story...

(please note, this dive is not a reader trip dive that SDM offers, this story is about an extreme dive that the SDM team experienced out in the cuds, and everyone that experienced this shark dive are all veteran shark divers.)

L-R; Andy on couch, me, Nat behind me, and Capt Al with back towards camera

This was the first trip that the SDM team had ever done together (well almost all, Nigel Marsh, Tom Burns, and a few others were not able to be here). But this was the first time that a full SDM shooter team had gone on an adventure together. The last time me, Andy, Paul, and Nat had been on a dive together was back in November of 2004 for blue sharks in Southern California. But back then Nat and Paul were not shooters for SDM yet, and a lot has happened to all of us since then. We have all evolved as human beings, gotten better at our craft, and have experienced so many adventures since that time. Which made this trip, the conversations and the beer sessions so much sweeter. The one thing that has not changed in all that time is that we were all still good friends, and our passion for sharks is still very strong.

In this photo; Nat, Eli, Andy and Claire, (Paul was shooting so he was not in the shot.) This bar image was taken the night of our arrival. Me and Paul were the last to arrive, Andy, Claire, and Nat were already there. It was around 9 PM in the evening when we got to the marina. Rolling up, the crew was waiting for us by Andy's van. I had not seen Andy since we filmed Summer of the Sharks together, which was over 2 years ago, so it was so good to see my buddy again.

Andy is the sharkiest guy I know, and probably has dove with more species of sharks then some of the saltiest divers on the planet. Andy is on this crazy shark diving road trip which will take him full circle. They started it in Baja, then went through California, then on to Alabama, then down to Venice, (which is where we hooked up), then on to Florida, then back up through New Jersey, then through Canada, then down to Seattle, then back through Cali again. It is so crazy. I just love this guy.

Nat is this really good natured, laid back guy, who just want to go shark diving, and because of his good karma has ended up being invited to some of the most amazing adventures on the planet; marlin baitballs with Doug Perrine in Baja; swordfish and false killer whales in Isla Mujeres, with Doug Perrine and Bob Cranston. He is headed up to Alaska this summer to dive with salmon sharks. Just cool ass shit.

Claire is new to the SDM team, she is Andy's lady and partner on their latest crazy adventure. They are treking across North America chasing sharks and rays along the coast lines before they head back to Australia where they will, stop to get married, (Claire's an Aussie) and then again travel the coast lines searching for more sharks and rays. If you want to read about their adventure, check out Andy's blog which talks of their amazing adventures.

In this photo; Claire and Paul. Paul is just a crazy guy. No other words for Paul. He is SDM's adventure historian, and is documenting all of SDM's travels and adventures, which he has done an amazing job with. Often times Andy gets frustrated because Paul's camera is always snapping photos, and he sometimes hates it. Years from now when we pull up pics, he will appreciate it, I know I always do. I spend a lot of time travelling with Paul and we have experienced countless adventures together. Of course he is a warm water wuss, and refuses to travel with us when we seek out cold water sharks, but that is ok. I am sure we will have no trouble replacing him! (Haha, ribbing him on now). Any takers? Qualifications; must like traveling, cold beer, big sharks, doesn't mind cold water, and must like adventures in the cuds.

Hang bait for the sharks. You can NEVER - NEVER have too much bait on a shark trip.

SDM's gang sign.

Heading out into the water this day was one of my most gratifying moments since starting this magazine back in early 2003. Here I was with some of my best friends going shark diving in my favorite body of water, the Gulf of Mexico. I love the Gulf, every shark adventure I have had out in the gulf has always been amazing and so much fun. I have dove with makos, duskies, blacktips, scalloped hammerheads, silkies, whale sharks, Atlantic sharpnose sharks, and they have always been EPIC adventures. And today was no different.

In this pic; Captain Ed, and Captain Al. Captain Al is the guy I call when we head out to this part of the world. About 3-4 years ago I got this call from Al, I did not know who he was or where Venice, LA was. But this crazy cajun guy called me and was telling me about these wild shark dives out in the Gulf with tiger sharks, and monster sized makos and so on. He is telling me to come out there and go shark diving with him. I said sure one of these days. Then of course I got busy with life and sort of forgot about it. 2 years later...when we were planning out locations for Summer of the Sharks, we talked about adding a spot that is totally in the cuds and something that no one knows about. Then I remembered Al and the crazy stories he told me. I figured it was a shot in the dark but if any of the things he told me were true then it was worth taking a look at it. So off we went to Venice and ended up filming one of the most important sections in the SOTS film. We filmed an encounter with something like 40 dusky sharks and even ended that trip swimming with a whale shark. The whale shark did not make it into the final cut of the film, but it was an amazing experience, and Venice is now one of my very favorite places in the world.

If you are not familiar with the Gulf of Mexico then let me give you a quick lesson, the Gulf is one of the moodiest bodies of water in the world. It is always windy, and the ocean almost always has swells, which makes it hard for small boats to get out there. Many of my shark diving trips have been cancelled due to bad weather, so it really was a gamble as to whether we were gonna be able to get out there or not. But we just happened to arrive at just the right time to go sharkin. Captain Al is your typical crazy cajun. On our first trip out with him in 2006, I was sitting in his boat and we were about to head out, something like 60 miles to one of his favorite spots. I asked him what the weather was like. He looked at me and said "I don't know?" and fired up the boat engine.

Present time; Al took us to this oil rig something like 50-60 miles out and while Al and Ed were anchoring the boat, we could see silky sharks already starting to arrive. Me and Andy started gearing up, and Andy jumped in the water first. I followed shortly after, and by the time Nathan and Paul jumped in we had something like 100 silky sharks swimming around us.

I have never dove with that many sharks before and even with all the shark dives I have done, this did take some getting used to. The silkies were all over us, and we were fortunate that they were just curious and not bitey because if they were this would of been a very short dive. The silkies have a typical pelagic sharks behavior and will come in and investigate everything. They bumped us over and over again. At first it was a clausterphobic feeling having all these sharks all over us. But after we settled into the pace and flow of it all it turned into an amazing feeling to have all these sharks all over us! It made think of what diving for sharks must of been like 40 years ago, before all the massive populations of sharks were decimated by commercial fishing. Oh the glory days.

This was the view we saw the entire time in the water. Sharks bumping and banging our dome ports. It was so much fun.

Claire was the last of us to enter the water, and Andy was terrified for her. She had never been with this many sharks before so he was worried for her, and also worried that the one of the silkies might take a test bite out of her. But she was fine, having experienced many other types of shark dives, and she was totally in her element. We tried to watch each others backs like we do on normal shark dives, but it was impossible with all these sharks around. Nothing we could do could keep them from bumping us, there was just too many sharks to look out for. So after a while we just gave up trying to let each other know there was a shark behind each other, because that would of eaten up all our time in the water. Please note that we were not being irresponsible and wreckless, silky sharks are not a shark that is known for aggressive behavior towards divers. Yea they were bumping us, and checking out our gear, but that is normal curious behavior, not to be mistaken for aggressive behavior. Two very different things.

The crew that we had in the water has experienced every kind of shark dive you can think of, and when a shark is acting aggressive you can recognize the signs. Don't get me wrong, we were weary of these sharks, and kept a sharp eye out for any signs that there may be an agressive shark, or a bitey one, but these sharks were all very relaxed, and we totally living on our nerves, experiencing it all as best we could. But in truth, this was just a fun dive, with some great sharks and good friends.

There was a slight current and if we found ourselves drifting away from within the circle of sharks we would would quickly swim back into the middle of it. Sometime during the dive we looked down and saw 3 scalloped hammerheads swimming something like 30 feet below us. They were trying to get the courage to come up and grab the hang baits we were offering the sharks, but they never did quite build up enough confidence to do it. I think the closest one of them got was about 15 feet away from me. So it was cool having two species of sharks on this dive.

We had sharks bumping us all over the place. Nathan never saw this shark until it bumped his ear.

At one point during the dive, me and Andy ended up swimming next to each. We looked at each other, both with a knowing smile on our faces. We fist bumped, and without words we knew exactly what each other was thinking. That moment stands out in my mind so well. I had not seen Andy since we filmed Summer of the Sharks together, and here we were over 2 years later, still experiencing EPIC once in a lifetime moments together. This adventure was easily one of the best times I have experienced in my shark diving career. Of course I say that until I hit the water again, and experience something else equally as grand. Summer coming up my friends, who knows what the summer shark migrations will bring?