(dramatic music)
- [Mark] Welcome to Tiger Beach.
Located off the coast of West End Grand Bahama,
this location is not a beach at all,
but rather, a world famous destination for shark diving.
More specifically, tiger shark diving.
It also happened to be the location
of our very fist shark dive ever.
If we wanted to kick off Blue Wilderness in a big way,
let's just say, this location did not disappoint.
From the powdery white sand basin,
we encountered four different species of sharks.
There were reef sharks, nurse sharks,
the snaggle tooth lemon sharks,
and of course, the mighty and magnificent tiger sharks.
(dramatic music)
Being in their presence was exhilarating.
The recipe of danger, tranquility,
mixed with a dash of adrenaline,
resulted in a truly life changing experience.
Everyone on our team went into this dive
with a high level of uncertainty,
and admittedly, a healthy dose of fear.
But, we all survived and came out with a bond
that all shark conservationists share.
Sharks are truly incredible creatures.
However, there was one character missing
from the cast of sharks at Tiger Beach,
one we'd hoped to see, but had seemingly alluded us.
In fact, this shark was held in such high regard
for its rarity and greatness,
the crew of the boat would only
acknowledge its name by way of whisper.
Hammerhead.
But as we finished our final dives at Tiger Beach,
and prepared to make way for port, it became clear
the great hammerhead encounter was not to be.
Or so we all thought.
Luckily, with a few moments left before pulling anchor,
I decided to fly our drone.
Wow, look at all those sharks.
Hold on a second.
Hey Mario, is that what I think it is?
You gotta see this.
Come check this out.
That's a hammerhead.
That's for sure a hammerhead we're looking at.
Mario, go tell the captain we need another dive.
The entire boat lit up with excitement
as we all raced to reassemble our dive gear.
This was it!
This was the moment we'd been waiting for.
It's a good thing fellow diver, Jonathan Bird,
came along with us.
His years of experience kept us all
locked in on the task at hand,
which was not only to get our cameras
in front of that hammerhead,
but was to put our safety always first.
Ahem, in shark infested waters.
Remember, there were still hordes
of sharks surrounding the boat,
but this dive was different.
This was not our first shark dive
and it was all about the hammerhead.
- One thing that's really cool
about scuba diving guys is like,
every time you're about to go in,
you kind of get butterflies.
You kind of get tingly and excited,
and you can't wait to get in.
Let's do this. - Let's go--
- You ready? - Go for it.
- All right.
- [Mark] Without hesitation,
we all jump back into the water.
First Jonathan, then Mario, and then, yep, there I am.
Once again, we drifted through
countless lemon sharks and made our way
back to the white sands of Tiger Beach.
At this point, the tiger sharks that
greeted us upon landing almost seem like old friends.
Well, three hour old friends, that is.
But hey, once you do a barrel roll
to escape the path of a charging shark,
I think that definitely makes you friends for life.
But as strange as it may seem,
the circling tigers almost vanished.
Well, almost.
Still had to keep a watchful eye on them,
but the other sharks?
Well, they might as well have all been guppies.
Everyone in our crew wanted to see one thing,
and one thing only, the hammerhead.
Yet, it was nowhere to be seen.
I started to think, was that really
the shadow of a hammerhead?
Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me.
Will I forever be known as the diver that cried hammerhead?
But then, it happened.
Suddenly, the sand grew dark,
almost like the long shadow of
a thunderstorm rolling in from some far off place.
We all looked up, and there,
the perfect silhouette of a great hammerhead shark.
It glided across the sun like
some kind of aquatic phoenix.
But then it turned and it dove straight for me!
I froze as it plummeted by.
Wow, that was close.
Man, the speed of that 15 foot shark was so incredible
that I decided right then and there,
I would be blinking a whole lot less
for the rest of the dive.
(eerie musical notes)
Of the nine species of identified hammerheads on Earth,
the great hammerhead is by far the largest.
Some individuals have been known
to exceed lengths of 20 feet,
and weigh well over 1,000 pounds.
Of course, more impressive than their sheer size
has got to be the shape of that head.
Just look at it.
Perfectly designed to increase
the surface area of their face
to fit more electrosensing ampullae of Lorenzini
that help them detect their prey.
This makes hammerheads quite formidable food detectives,
able to sense a stealthy sting ray hiding beneath the sand.
Just seeing this shark at Tiger Beach
was an absolute stroke of luck,
as great hammerheads are not common at this location.
But today was our lucky day.
Well, as long as we made it back to the boat, that is.
Now compared to the tigers,
this hammerhead was downright ornery.
Between the multiple dive bombs at our cameras
to knocking down our dive master Houston flat on his butt,
it had no shortage of tricks to keep us on our toes.
It was fast, vigorous, and you know,
I think its antics even had an effect on the tiger sharks.
Check that out.
Where was that in the last video?
Of all my expectations of coming on this trip,
seeing giant sharks do tricks was not one of them,
but hey, it sure was cool.
After around 60 minutes of putting on quite the show,
the hammerhead decided it was time to take its bow.
And with that, it headed back into
the unknown regions of the reef.
What a perfect ending to the perfect day.
- Woo! - Dude,
most cooperative hammerhead ever.
- Is this real life?
Did that just happen?
- Unbelievable.
- Woo, man, guys what an epic dive.
We actually did it.
We shot an entire video with a great hammerhead shark.
I'm Mark Vinz, be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next dive.
In life, we are so rarely able to identify
the moments that truly reshape our existence,
and even more so while they're actually happening.
But the bond I formed with those sharks,
on this day, is unmistakable.
They have indeed changed me forever.
From here forth, I'm committed to
being a champion of their preservation,
a true believer on a mission to
educate others through the lens of my camera.
I mean, just look at them.
They are, in a word, extraordinary.
As for Tiger Beach, I'm not sure
when we'll return to the brilliant
white sands beneath the waves,
but I can say, soon won't be nearly soon enough.
- [Narrator] Do you want to become
an official member of the Coyote Pack?
If so, make sure to pick up your starter kit,
which includes the iconic pack tag,
adventure guide, and of course,
the one and only brave crew bracelet.
The Coyote Pack starter kit is the
best way to show the world that
you are one of the pack.
It's available right now.
- [Mark] If you enjoyed this adventure,
make sure to go back and watch our first shark dive ever,
where the crew and I make contact with giant tiger sharks.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram,
@RealMarkVins, for behind the scenes looks
at future episodes of Blue Wilderness.
(dramatic music)
(coyote howling)