Sharks & Scooters we hear you say? Yes, we would love to have a go at that! One of the latest innovations at Stuart Cove’s is to dive alongside the Caribbean Reef Sharks using a Seabob DPV and we were lucky enough to have a go on our recent trip to the Bahamas. Before getting in the water, Andrea talked us through how the Seabob scooters work. These are no ordinary scooter, and are capable of high speeds, so you need some training before heading out into open water. Once happy with the controls, we set out to the shark dive site.

The dive crew lowered in the Seabobs into the water and we descended with them to the seabed. With our large cameras, it was too challenging to try to take photos and ride the Seabob at the same time, so we took it in turns to ride and to shoot. As soon as you get the Seabob scooters going, you can glide effortlessly alongside the sharks, able to keep pace with them as they swim around the reefs.

For a bit of fun, we tried turning our DPVs up to near full power and were amazed at the speed they can achieve, making it feel like you mask was going to be pulled off by the water movement as you sped around the arena. But, to be honest, a more relaxing pace made for better encounters with the sharks, who soon got used to us buzzing around them and seemed to barley notice us. The Seabob is not only fast, but also quiet and so the marine life does not seem to take much notice of you.

All too soon, it is time to head back to the surface. We had a blast! This is a great addition to the already excellent programme of dives available in Nassau. In our next blog we will be covering the wrecks and shark feeding dives that Stuart Cove’s has to offer.

For more information visit the following websites:

www.stuartcove.com

www.bahamas.com

www.seabob.com

All images & text by Frogfish Photography