Tiger Shark up close and personal!

[Alan]

http://wm9.easystream.co.uk/alanedwa...error-Jaws.wmv

I have to say that I have had the most terrifying moment of my diving career 2 days ago, thanks mainly to a 10 foot Tiger Shark in Sharm El Sheikh. Every diver loves seeing a shark, but this can change when the shark starts getting to close/aggressive, especially when it’s a bloody great Tiger Shark.

Mickael from Tiger TekStreme as I now call them had spotted Tiger Sharks on almost every dive at the aptly named Shark Observatory. I had just arrived yesterday and Aaron who was guiding me got the call from Mickael that they had seen 5 sharks together, 2 Tigers and a few Silkies and a Reef Shark.

After some questioning at the dive centre I had established that Tigers had been coming in quite often and there would be a good chance to see one/some of these wonderful creatures.

Ominously Aaron and Mickael had turned up with their largest dive knifes, given what happened today I will be purchasing a Samurai sword before diving there again. There was some gallows humour that morning among our group of Rebreather divers at the centre. We had one guy doing his Evolution course, Andy, a photographer on a Evo, Sarah, five Inspiration divers Mick, Mickael, Gary, Carol and myself and Aaron on his new Megladon.

Mickael had abandoned his dive yesterday due to the aggressive behaviour of a Tiger Shark, which we all had a good laugh at. I can tell you known of us are laughing now.

I was looking forward to the dive, I thought the opportunity to get a good shot of a Tiger would be breath taking experience (plus I had never seen one before). The reputation of this infamous creature is well known. While the Great White attracts the limelight, divers know that the Tiger and the Bull shark are far more aggressive and responsible for more deaths.

Thisat morning even Aaron was excited about the dive, and we headed swiftly to the Shark Observatory in Ras Mohammed. I was buddying with Aaron, Mickael was with his student Andy who was failing to complete his skills due to the numerous shark encounters.

We all dropped in straight down to about 35 metres, I had literally just got my bearings before I heard Mickael who was on the reef in front of me with his student laughing, signaling that he had spotted something through his mouthpiece (the Rebreather allows divers to have audible conversations to a degree).

My heart was already racing and I set the lights and video system on, on my BlueFin V950 Light and Motion camera.

Panning down into the depth I saw a very large Black Tip (the biggest I had ever seen about 20-30 metres below us). Trying hard to compose my excitement I panned down to get a shot of this, which I did but the camera found focusing in the gloom of the depths a struggle. There seemed to be more laughing coming from Mickael’s direction.

Everything was happening so fast I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Looking down this shelf (which extends 800 metres straight down), I made out another shark, but not quite sure of its identity. At this point I should have read the warning signs, Mickael and his student were both now pretending to be coral in the reef and all the fish on the reef had disappeared from this normally very active reef.

Our entire group of Rebreather divers were trying to fit into any hole in the Reef they could. I started backing in towards the reef, but facing the camera down to catch the action. Trying to control a Rebreather and a video camera, is no easy task and I was severely task overloaded at this point. I looked down below me and I just caught a glimpse of a shark with stripes across its side.

My heart started racing, my first Tiger Shark, and I had it on film. At this point I hadn’t reckoned on what the potential danger’s were.

The Tiger Shark made a pan across the reef about 5 – 10 metres below us and was starting to look very aggressive. The fact that we were all Rebreather divers with no bubbles meant it was more inquisitive to us poor Coral Divers.

The Tiger which seemed at least 10 ft across, then moved back along the reef and started heading up towards me. At this point my very task overloaded brain hadn’t really accepted what was happening to me. I was watching one of the most aggressive sharks in the world heading aggressively at speed towards me. I involuntarily started to feel like a rabbit caught between the headlights of a car.

It kept coming at me, at this point I stopped looking through the view finder and started looking at it with my own eyes (to get across to the reader how I felt at this time, imagine, watching Jaws on TV, and then imagine looking over the TV, realizing your in the water with Jaws and he is coming straight at you).

You cannot imagine the fear I felt when it had gotten to within 1 ft of me. I was now jammed backwards against the reef and was frantic with panic. I dropped the camera and turned round to try and protect myself. I can assure all those with large dive knifes that you would do the same. I did not feel like taking on a 3 metre plus Tiger Shark with my 3 inch blade.

My heart was in my mouth and so was each member of the dive group, Aaron said afterwards that he was watching this thinking he was going to have to report to Emperor that they had lost a diver to a shark attack. Everyone else though my number was up (not least me), at least everyone thought he would it would take a bite out of me.

I was trying so hard to get into the reef, my mouthpiece caught and resultantly pulled from my mouth. At this point I was working on 10% of my mental faculties. The rest was absorbed in panic and fear of this shark. I went to Open Circuit Bail Out (direct access to the air in my Rebreather), and was hyper ventilating.

Thank god I heard Aaron’s voice, he saw my large panicked eyes and mouthed, “Right dive over” and pointed up, I was struggling a bit, and going through my Air Diluent (Used in a Rebreather as a volume gas for the purposes of breathing in Closed Circuit Mode) at a rate of knots.

Aaron took charge of the situation, and put me onto to his bail out supply after I had managed to go through the Air Diluent in a manner of minutes. At 15 metres I was back in control, but let him just take me up. We got to the surface and made a very rapid trip to the dive boat (in the blue over the reef, OMG).

Back on board Aaron started laughing, a sort of nervous laughter, I was deeply indebted to Aaron, things had got nasty at 35 metres, a depth when things can start getting really nasty if they get out of control. Cheers for that!!

We started eagerly discussing what happened, I was surprised to learn that the entire group of Rebreather divers had literally been shitting their pants. To the outside observer, the site of 8 Rebreather divers doing what would have appeared to be coral impressions in the reef would have seemed hysterical.

Mick, one of the other Inspiration divers, and the diver closest too me, joked nervously he was fighting with a Moray to get into it’s hole when he saw it come at me/us.

It was only after discussing with Sarah, a staff diver in Sharm and a very knowledgeable photographer, I discovered why I had been singled out by the shark. The electrical signal from my electrically driven video system, would have attracted the attention of this creature. It has a strip down its side which helps it detect prey.

When Sarah had caught site of the shark she had switched her camera off and covered it (whilst doing the soft coral impression), I on the other hand had not.

The electrical field created by the camera and the lack of bubbles meant I had an extremely curious and aggressive Tiger Shark on my hands.


I have some entertaining video of this dive to add to this article and will re-edit on my return, but take it from me. I am glad not to be Shark food at this moment.

There was about 20 000 dives amongst the group and all agreed this was the scariest dive they had ever been on.

Video of the incident, not great but I was shitting my pants:

http://wm9.easystream.co.uk/alanedwa...error-Jaws.wmv

[Darren A]

Waiter..... new pants please !!

[Alan]

Where going back this week, would you believe it. There are two mating Tigers on Ras Mohammed Shark Observatory who just love Rebreather divers.

Im bringing a golf club this time.

[Ding Dang Doo]

OMG...

plenty of exercise for the sphinkter!

Glad that you all came out of it okay... enjoy the rest of the hols...

I take it you are getting back on the bike????

Pete

[Narced at sea level]

Originally Posted by FishFinger

Where going back this week, would you believe it. There are two mating Tigers on Ras Mohammed Sharl Observatory who just love Rebreather divers

yeah but they couldn't eat a whole one





at least not in a single mouthful

[blondie]

why did i read this just before going there???!!!

did it just swim passed then or change direction or ?

[Alan]

It came right at me, up the reef, looking at me with one eye and showing its teeth. I have the film to prove it. It turned in front of me before I filled my pants, teeth out.

There is a 4 metre one on the straights of Tiran, which I am going tomorrow, anyone in Sharm fancy some dives, I am on a quiet boat all week, with Dave Thompson no less.

FF

[Neil M]

We saw a rather large Tiger shark about 2 weeks ago on Shark and Yoldanda... came to within 10m of us

It stayed swimming near us for about 5 mins.... The footage one of our group got was excellent

[Alan]

Of that dive I think, an Italian guy took it. Its very good, mine isnt good because I have so much camera shake when it came at me

With the OC guys its not a problem, the Tigers stay away, with the Rebreather its a complete different ball game.

[Helen F H]

Alan, you PROMISE me you aint going to get eaten!