- The sun is setting at Tiger Beach,
and we just started shark diving yesterday.
Never been night diving before.
But somebody thought it was a good idea
we go diving with sharks at night.
Was that you?
- Definitely was not me.
- No, no, it was this guy.
- It's gonna be fine, you guys.
It's gonna be fine you guys.
(creepy music)
- Welcome back to Tiger Beach,
the site of our fist ever shark dive on Blue Wilderness.
If you want to see sharks, like a ton of sharks,
you come here.
Tiger Beach is a small, pristine, white sand flat,
about an hour's boat ride from West End Grand Bahama.
And it's one of the few places on earth
where you can see up to five species of shark
all at the same time.
Divers who make the pilgrimage here
are rewarded with the chance to swim
with scores of reef and nurse sharks,
dozens upon dozens of lemon sharks,
and if they're lucky, massive hammerheaded tiger sharks.
The last time we entered this warm, crystal clear water,
we found ourselves in the middle of a shark frenzy.
When swam alongside an incredible hammerhead,
and Coyote and I got up close and personal
with a massive tiger shark.
Well, maybe a little too close, in the case of Coyote.
So how do we top that?
Well, on this episode of Blue Wilderness,
we're going back in the water,
but this time, we're waiting until the sun goes down.
All right guys, well, the sun is setting at Tiger Beach,
and we just started shark diving yesterday.
Never been night diving before.
But, somebody thought it was a good idea we go
diving with sharks at night.
Was that you?
- Definitely was not me.
- No, no, it was this guy.
- It's gonna be fine, you guys (laughs).
- I mean, I don't know, is this a good idea
for guys who haven't gone, you know,
night diving at all?
- [Jonathan] What's the worst that can happen?
- [Mark] I mean we're surrounded by sharks.
- Right, but, you know, they're probably sleeping.
- And we can't see.
(Jonathan laughs)
- [Mark] Wait, don't sharks feed at night?
Aren't they nocturnal predators?
- It's gonna be fine.
- We're gonna give it a shot, guys,
so let's get geared up, get in the water
with the sharks, at night.
This dive into the darkness will test my resolve
more than almost anything I've ever done before.
But that's what drives me forward.
At the core of every great adventure,
lies a thin line between thrill and fear.
And the moments where you nerves start to scream,
turn around, go back,
is exactly when the teammates next to you
matter the most.
- I'll tell you what,
if I was nervous about diving with sharks during the day,
I'm very nervous (Mark laughs)
while diving with sharks at night.
See ya.
- Well, in case this is the last time,
I'm Mark Vins, Mario's already down there,
it's time to go dive with sharks, at night.
As soon as we dip below the surface,
the world opened up.
The last bit of twilight after sunset,
combined with the white sands of Tiger Beach,
allow for a lot more visibility
than we could have ever expected.
But as we neared the bottom,
the fleeting light that remained, began to disappear.
And so did our peripheral vision.
Hey Mario, watch out, there's a,
yep, big tiger shark right behind you.
Within minutes, the entire landscape turned pitch black.
And our only field of view was directly in front of us.
Other divers in the distance appeared as alien craft
with orb-like lights designating their location.
With ominous shadows stirring the now murky water,
we were surrounded on all sides by two things
that have terrified humans since the beginning,
sharks, and darkness.
But our focus was sharp,
and as soon as we got our bearings, our fear was gone,
mostly.
And then we noticed something
we didn't expect to see at night,
color.
You see, water is excellent at
absorbing color from natural light.
The deeper you go, the more color disappears.
Red is the first to be absorbed,
then orange, and then yellow.
The same order as the colors of the rainbow.
At our depth during the day,
the reef can look pretty bland and washed out.
But under the cover of night,
our powerful dive lights
illuminated a completely new world
that had been right in front of us the entire time.
Even the fish were more vibrant.
And then, while we were all completely mesmerized
by the colors of the reef,
from out of the darkness,
ghostly figures flew gracefully into view.
These rays are filter feeding fish.
Their flight pulls plankton
and other nutrients into their systems.
And spreads water across their gills,
allowing them to breathe.
Like spaceships flying across their night sky,
just as fast as they appear, they were gone.
The rays may have vanished,
but if there's one constant at Tiger Beach,
it's, well, sharks.
And more specifically, tiger sharks.
We knew they were out there,
but at night, we couldn't see them
until they were right in front of us.
They drifted in and out of our light like phantoms.
The effect was chilling and surreal.
And so unnerving, in fact,
that I started to actually become numb to it.
Here I am sitting at the bottom of a pitch black ocean,
surrounded by deadly nocturnal hunters,
and I'm totally at their mercy.
And then, suddenly, we came upon something
that would change my perspective of sharks forever.
It was a lemon shark.
And it appeared to be, well, sleeping.
Okay, so sharks don't actually sleep.
At least, not like we sleep.
But some sharks, like nurse sharks, or this lemon shark,
go into restful periods that appear like sleep.
But trust me, this shark was still wide awake,
and ready to defend itself against anything,
including, a curious first time night diver.
But did that stop me?
Nope.
This would be the perfect opportunity
to get some great closeups of that shark.
And of course, its razor-sharp teeth.
Lemon sharks can grow up to ten feet long,
and weigh over 400 pounds.
But despite their imposing size,
they tend to be gentle giants,
and are not responsible for any known human fatalities.
Although, like any shark, they will bite if provoked.
They can be found in shallow waters
and hunt with their incredible electroreceptors.
And just in case you're wondering,
they do have a slightly yellow tinge to their skin,
you know, like a lemon.
Gentle or not, I knew this sleeping giant
was still an apex predator,
capable of inflicting life threatening injuries.
And the last thing I wanted to do was provoke it.
Especially at night, this far from shore.
But, we film with grizzly bears and badgers.
This was my chance, I had to get the shot.
And to my surprise, I was able to lie right next
to the nearly ten foot shark.
This was amazing.
A life changing experience, to say the least.
And now I would never approach a tiger shark,
or other top land predator like this,
but laying there beside this incredible creature,
I could sense it's gentle nature.
And it became clear that it had accepted my presence
and was allowing us to film with it.
And then, I reached out.
Testing its trust, I couldn't believe it.
It actually let me make contact.
I was literally petting a shark.
This chance encounter cultivated within me
a growing sense of connection,
not only to this creature,
but to its entire aquatic realm.
Swimming during the day in a frenzy of tiger sharks,
and now petting a lemon shark on my first night dive,
reminded me of how misunderstood these animals are.
Our fear of them, like our fear of the dark,
is really just a fear of the unknown.
Every single time we go out for a Blue Wilderness adventure,
we've managed to see something unexpected.
And this incredible dive, our first night dive,
was no exception.
Swimming among them, and literally lying beside them,
in the darkness of Tiger Beach at night,
brought home to me more than ever,
how meaningful our adventures could be
to better understanding the mysteries of the ocean.
Ascending back to the surface,
I couldn't wait to celebrate with the team
what had just happened.
I knew that this night would be a story
that Mario and I would share for many years to come.
All right, we're back, and we officially survived
night dive number one.
Now, I will say, guys,
it was a little intimidating when we first got in the water,
but once we got down there,
it was absolutely incredible.
We saw all kinds of cool creatures
from sting rays, to sea cucumbers.
And we even got to pet a lemon shark.
Man, I definitely can't wait
until our next night diving adventure.
I'm Mark Vins, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next dive.
The oceans have depended on sharks
for over 400 million years.
They are true survivors, and yet,
many species of shark are facing
overfishing and habitat destruction,
leaving their populations vulnerable,
and on the verge of collapse.
These ancient animals are certainly not
the nightmarish killing machines depicted in movies.
They are a critical part of our ocean's eco-system.
And we must all do our part to ensure their home,
the ocean, is protected.
We would like to extend an extra special thanks
to our friends Jonathan Bird,
and The Blue World Dive Team
for making this adventure possible.
Please make sure to check out
some of Jonathon's other adventures
by clicking on the link in the description below.
If you enjoyed this dive,
make sure to go back and watch the time we got up close
with a gian hammerhead shark.
And don't forget, subscribe,
and click the notification bell,
to join me and the crew
on the next Blue Wilderness expedition.