(exciting music)
- [Mark] Looking around, I became aware
of how surrounded we were by stingray.
One wrong step here could send me straight to the hospital.
(rushing water)
(intense music)
(gentle surf)
Waves crash as water rolls
onto a preserved expanse of coral reef.
The brilliant blues and white caps,
a signature of the vibrant ecosystem thriving below.
With this tropical landscape in front of us,
and the wind to our backs,
the crew and I set course for our next ocean adventure.
Welcome to Grand Cayman Island.
This 22-mile stretch of land,
located in the Caribbean Sea just south of Cuba,
is home to lush beaches, crystal clear waters,
and an abundance of marine life.
In fact, Grand Cayman is one of the most iconic locations
in the tropics to experience up-close encounters
with some of the world's most renowned aquatic creatures.
And today, that's exactly what we plan to do.
What's goin' on everybody?
I'm Mark Vins and welcome back
to another special adventure
brought to you by our friends at B&H Photo.
And today, we are just off the coast of Grand Cayman Island
at the world famous Stingray City Sandbar.
This site has drawn people from all over the globe
to get up-close and personal with,
you might have guessed it,
giant southern stingrays.
And these rays are absolutely huge.
You can already see 'em
off the sides of the boat in the water
and they are here in masses.
So, today, we actually are going to be testing out
the brand new GoPro HERO8.
This will be the first time we've ever used this camera
and we're super excited about it
because we use GoPros for just about every video
we've ever made.
Honestly, some of the best shots that exist on the channel,
were captured on a little camera just like this one,
except this one is brand new
and it's packed with all kinds of new features
that we're excited to test out.
All right, Shan, so we havin' calamari for lunch?
(Shan laughs)
- If you would like it, we can.
I think we're gonna give it
to all those stingrays out there, though.
- One pound of calamari.
That's what we're allowed to have out here.
It's gonna be what we're going to use
to track in the stingrays that are here
at the sandbar at Stingray City.
- Now, the proper way to feed a stingray.
Hold it in your hand just like this.
- Uh huh.
- You're gonna guide it
and they're gonna bring their nose right up to it
as they hunt by smell.
You're gonna open your hand nice and flat
and that suction is gonna suck it right up.
- Is there a chance you can get bit feeding stingrays?
- Ah, there is a chance you can get bit,
but they just have a couple plates.
- So mashers?
- That's exactly right.
So they're very, very powerful.
- The stingrays here are habituated for this activity.
This is not something you wanna just go do
at your local dive site or your local beach.
But if you do wanna get close to stingrays,
this is the place to do it.
We have our pound of squid cut
and now we're ready to go out there at the sandbar
and have some fun.
Okay, let's get our wetsuits on.
- Sounds good.
- Awesome.
- Now one thing I wanna mention about this site
is that we need to go barefoot
so I'm gonna take my wet boots off
because we wanna be able
to feel around the sand with our toes
and that's the best way
to keep from stepping on a stingray.
We wanna do a stingray shuffle
as we make our way to the sandbar
because one of the best ways to get stung out here
is to step on one.
We don't want that to happen today.
All right.
I think it's time to put on our mask
and get out there with the stingrays.
You guys ready?
- [Crew Man] I'm ready.
- All right, let's go.
Upon entering the warm Caribbean water,
the crew and I were immediately greeted
by several stingray.
I could already feel them brushing our feet
as we made our way to the shallows of the sandbar.
Oh my goodness, here they come.
The food has arrived.
And so have the rays.
- [Crew Man] Hold this end.
- I definitely made sure to shuffle my feet.
One wrong step here could quickly end this adventure
and send me straight to the hospital.
As soon as our boat arrived,
the stingray had their eyes on us.
They knew we would be giving them some tasty squid
that we were cutting back on the boat.
As I mentioned, these stingrays are habituated to humans,
from decades of fishermen gathering in these calm waters
to clean their daily catches.
After cleaning their fish,
they would then toss the remains and old bait overboard.
And the stingray and other marine life caught on to this
and began associating boats and humans with an easy meal,
which subsequently created this iconic location
known as Stingray City Sandbar.
Got my first piece of food.
Let's see if we can get a ray to come feed.
(water lapping)
(laughing)
Whoa.
Oh my goodness.
Wow, they are hungry, that is for sure.
As they continue to swarm the crew and I,
I had to keep reminding myself to shuffle my feet,
which is harder than it sounds
when you're being pushed around by waves
and almost tackled by hungry stingray.
Whoa, almost got my fingers in there.
That was a close one.
And even though we were completely surrounded,
they are actually very gentle creatures.
They're just hungry and looking for food.
They actually like to be pet right under the nose,
kinda like a puppy.
And if you put your closed fist
with a little bit of squid in it
right underneath them,
the stingray will actually follow your hand around.
To the touch, stingrays feel extremely soft,
and their skin is actually slick,
not at all rough like most sharks.
Oh, here we go.
(water lapping)
Whoa, did you see that?
Since the stingrays had settled down a bit,
I decided it was time to try something new,
something that I had never done before, hold a stingray.
I have a good feeling about this piece of squid.
This is gonna get the stingray we're after.
But I quickly learned that was much easier said than done.
I like that stingray.
That one's my 'vrit'.
This light gray stingray is actually a female.
I noticed her swimming around us the entire time.
And it seems, that because she's the most docile,
she'd be the best candidate to try to hold.
All right, here goes nothin'.
Attempt number one (gasps) nope.
All right, here is number two.
Ah, not even close.
All right, number three, eee, nope.
Okay, clearly this was just as difficult as I'd expected
although I'm not really sure what I expected at all,
holding a stingray isn't really something
you'd normally want to do.
But, and of course, as luck would have it,
it finally happened.
That's me holding a stingray.
It happened.
Look at this.
This will be the official stingray blue holder day.
This very gentle giant of the ocean.
- [Crew Man] Should you name her?
- We'll name that one Jenny.
And released.
To Dan, high five.
Whoo, all right, take a break from holding stingrays.
I just, Sig was getting footage.
Take like all the way back.
And Les you havin' fun?
You havin' fun, Cory?
- [Cory] I'm havin' fun.
(crew laughs) - All right, awesome.
That's what it's all about today.
We're out here havin' fun
with stingrays and the new GoPro HERO8.
The HERO8 is the latest in the line of GoPro cameras.
And it features some stand-out upgrades
from its predecessor,
including a total body redesign
with built-in mounting capabilities.
And a new side door for quick access to battery media
so you don't miss a second of the action.
And then lastly, there's the brand new hyper-smooth 2.0
for ultra-stabilized footage,
which, I have to say, I'm particularly excited about.
And, of course, before we left,
my new friend Jenny stopped by for one more visit,
you know, just to say goodbye.
You imagine, you know
when you get close to one of these stingrays,
this is something that I feel like everybody
who loves the ocean needs to come and do someday.
Wow what a gentle furry creature.
Who would have thought?
Southern Atlantic stingrays and human beings
co-existing out here like this.
This is so great.
All right, it's getting late in the day.
We gotta pack up and head home.
Whoo, oh man, that was crazy.
The Stingray City Sandbar
certainly did not disappoint today.
And you know what else didn't disappoint?
The brand new GoPro HERO8.
I have to say I am thoroughly impressed by this camera
and cannot wait to get home to check out the footage
that we captured from today's adventure.
And here's some more good news.
If you go to www.bhphoto.com/brave,
you can take advantage of exclusive deals
that B&H Photo is offering just to our audience,
including the brand new GoPro HERO8.
So go check it out.
Grab yourself a GoPro and get out there
and have some fun on your own adventures.
And, if you ever come to Grand Cayman Island,
I highly suggest checking out the Sandbar.
It's definitely worth your time.
I'm Mark Vins.
Be brave, stay wild.
We'll see you on the next dive.
If you like this up-close encounter
with the Southern Atlantic stingray,
just wait until you see what happens
when we plunge deeper into the ocean
with the sting king of the sea.
Get ready, brave crew.
Our adventures on Grand Cayman have only just begun.
Can't wait for next week's episode?
Check out our new members-only section
for behind the scenes extras and exclusive episodes.
The most important thing about this camera
is the 4K 60p absolutely essential
when you're filming anything underwater
'cause that allows us
to slow down the footage ever so slightly
and it gets rid of the jitters and the shakes.
Access to these videos and more
are available right now
by clicking the JOIN button on the channel homepage.
(roar and cry of a coyote)