Text and photographs by Mary L. Peachin and Hila Shimon
February, 2011 Volume 15, No. 4
Shark fins carved the ocean’s surface surrounding Aqua Cat. As the anchor drops and engines idle, Caribbean reef sharks anticipating a yummy “chumsicle” of frozen fish parts and entrails, gather. Lowered from the surface, the frozen bait gradually disappears as it melts and is gulped by a dozen or more sharks. Photographing divers shoot from a sandy bottom near the base of a seamount.
There are other dives that also boost the adrenaline. At a site called The Washing Machine, a six mile per hour tide carries divers through a narrow cut where currents drop from a ledge before making a sharp leftward turn. Swirling waters, similar to those in a washing machine, roll divers head over heels before quickly gliding them over a patch reef.