TLDR: We had a great time doing a 3 tank shark dive with this company. Their service and…read moreprofessionalism are evident, and they still have great personalities that keep the anxious divers relax.
The story:
My wife has been diving for 20 years but has never seen a hammerhead shark. When we were looking at different charter companies for shark diving, we found Emerald Charters and had multiple phone calls back and forth with Randy, the owner, setting up the trip and also answering LOTS of questions. My wife had no concerns whatsoever, but after talking to some people who told horror stories of being thrown into the water after they drop chum in, I had questions I have a hard time believing that that can even be true, buuut it did prompt me to ask Randy. So it turns out that Emerald doesn't do it that way. We would be following a guy with a bait bin (think of fish parts in a big cat toy) and never actually be in contact with the bait. Phew!
Randy is in charge of the boat. The scuba portion and gear is provided by a concierge scuba outfit called Jupiter Scuba. We contacted them the days before the dive. They helped us fill out all the forms and made sure we had the gear we needed for the dive. It was going to be a 3-tank drift dive across a wreck field, so we knew that getting cold could be a factor in late March. We rented one of those giant, fluffy warming coats for my wife during the surface interval. She gets cold usually by the end of the 1st dive, and we wanted to make sure she got all 3 dives in to have a chance to see her hammerhead.
The place you meet is under an overpass where there is a fishing dock and ample parking. It also appeared clean and safe - but the town is also pretty nice. We passed the turn on the first try because we were looking for an address marker on a storefront when all we had to do was turn left under the overpass. Pretty sure that was on us.
The gear was all there waiting for us and we went through the Nitrox mix on our tanks and checked our rental gear. We only rented fins, wet suits, and hoods, but others came with just bathing suits. The gear was in good shape and easy to use, and after we had all checked through in the parking area, they brought all the gear down to the boat. All we had to do was walk.
At the boat, we met Randy who introduced our Skipper, Brandon and deck hand Shelly. They both did a great job the entire time. Brandon handled the boat like a pro. He minimized rolling and was always to us quickly and safely when we surfaced. Shelly was on the spot for everything we needed including helping me escape from the bungie holding my tank in when I had only seconds to get up and dive. She rocks!
The boat was comfortable for the 14 divers we had. The head was clean and easy to use. We saw 20 plus lemon sharks every dive. They are actually sort of tame. During the second dive, an 8 foot, juvenile tiger shark came in at the end, and the third dive had all the lemons, the tiger returning and staying most of the dive, and even Thor, the 10 foot great hammerhead, visited. It was amazing!!
the return back to the docks was comfortable and easy as was the offload.
The Good: Nice boat, comfortable and well appointed. Very knowledgeable staff who helped us with every problem that arose. Great dive and a wonderful day.
The Bad: Nothing at all.
The mediocre: Really nothing.
Overall: We will dive with Emerald again when we return. I have no reservations about recommending them.
Since you read this far: Some people have a problem with bait diving for sharks. It is true that this activity is modifying their behavior to a certain extent, but so is every other thing that man does in the ocean. I believe in conservation and not preservation, so I believe that the more people have a chance to see sharks in person and experience the simple, calm, and pleasant interactions, it will change their opinion about sharks in general. I believe this will lead to greater conservation efforts and people will STOP EATING SHARK FIN SOUP! Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk :-)
