An adventure you can count on!
We can count on seeing tiger sharks at Tiger Beach and on loving every encounter. We also expect the lemon, reef, and nurse sharks to make an appearance. This year, two bull sharks and a hammerhead shark also rocked up to our boat, adding to our excitement.
We set sail with a smooth crossing to the Bahamas. Since our last day was likely to be cut short due to impending weather, we started our dives with all the seriousness of ensuring great encounters. When we jumped in, we were enthralled to find reef sharks already on the site even before we added any bait. Although the encounters are as guaranteed as a trip can provide, we never truly know what nature will offer.
Camera readiness
The first dive of our Tiger Beach trip is always a shake-out dive to ensure dive equipment and cameras are ready for action. After taking a quick dip at Fish Tales, we dropped into Tiger Beach to check out the conditions and sharks.
This next dive is a swim around so we can start our test shots to ensure our camera settings and evil dust spots are all taken care of. Then, we get a little spicy and add bait to the mix. The reef sharks are the stars of the show until the bigger sharks enter the scene. To our amazement, a bull shark made an appearance straight away. This was the first bull shark I’ve seen come close to the boat at Tiger Beach in the last five years.
Strategic feeding
Feed dives are conducted with a strategy that puts safety first and encourages the tiger sharks to swim past each of our divers. Everyone has a great seat in the house, whether it’s at the open end of the horseshoe toward the current side or up current looking down to the feed.
We saw several familiar faces and many new sharks that we weren’t able to identify. More new sharks were seen this year than in the last few years. Jitterbug followed us on nearly every dive with her quirky personality. A very pregnant Kim was an imposing presence. Tequila seemed to follow Kim. Cindy, Daisy, Ali, Kathi, and Kelly waited for the feeds only. A new small shark that featured numerous scars also made a couple of appearances.
Free swimming dives
With so much to see, it can be hard to stay in one place on free swimming dives. It’s easy to run around looking for all the action knowing that the site is big enough that everyone can have a different experience on free swims. These dives are an opportunity to hunt for the subjects and encounters you want more of. That can mean waiting in the sand for more tiger shark passes or roaming the reef looking for other shark encounters.
Lemon sharks also take afternoon naps on the sand and are a popular favorite. It’s awesome to see everyone befriending their own lemon sharks.
Sometimes, the reef also provides surprises such as the schooling sharks who took particular interest in a lionfish that ducked out of its hole.
Tiger shark dives
Although feed dives are popular because they encourage the tiger sharks to stay around, the free-swimming dives offer opportunities to track tiger sharks across the reef and position yourself for other encounters. This also allows you to move around with the visibility. High tide provides the best visibility, so when the outgoing tide brings in cloudiness, it’s great to have the freedom to find the best opportunities.
2025
We’ll be back at Tiger Beach at the same time next year for more sharky action with more exciting opportunities for photo and video.
Join us there:
Tiger Beach 2024 Liveaboard
If you want even more sharks, check out our Ultimate Bahamas Shark Diving Safari.
