I have been diving with Emerald Charters for about 4 1/2 years now and have finally come around to telling you all about them.
Most divers understand this concept, but not all; a shark is a shark is a shark... this is not a zoo. They are wild animals. Now, sharks are NOT mindless killers; that’s just bad tv.
Because of this fact I have witnessed Randy, Josh and Lauren work tirelessly to keep people safe as some divers intentionally or unintentionally put themselves in a potentially dangerous situation. Safety is their top concern and priority for the divers first and then for the sharks. Some people may take offense to a reminder on how to dive or how to stay safe. No one likes to be called out for violating the “Red Foreman rule of scuba”, but you need to adhere to smart and safe diving protocols while simultaneously multi-tasking. This is why they ask that you be a safe, Advanced and experienced diver. It’s not personal, it’s to ensure you have a good time and that you and the crew returns safely...
Now... IF that is YOU... then you are in luck!!!
Randy used to do all of the feeding, but with age and family and owning a business he has passed down knowledge and training to Josh who has been training and teaching Lauren. It is amazing to work with people who have a passion for sharks. These guys are top notch in educationing their divers of the plight of our sharks of Florida and the need for their conservation. Remember they have also been featured on National Geographic... that’s pretty rad! Just sayin...
With Emerald Charters my wife and I have seen hammerheads, tiger sharks, lemon sharks, bull sharks, silkies, and duskies. Great Whites, Whale sharks and Sawfish have also been seen by divers with Emerald. Remember, all sharks are different so you will see different species at different times of the year.
On our most recent trip my wife got to see her first tiger shark. A big beautiful girl of about 11ft. Lauren had a very in depth safety briefing about what was expected of the divers regarding location, positioning, posturing and protecting yourself should the need arise as we expected a bunch of lemon sharks but had hopes of tigers, although a little early in the season for tigers. GREAT news!! After passing big beautiful Goliath groupers, the lemons followed us to our location, my favorite location when diving with Emerald, the Bonaire wreck (always good luck for me); so I was super excited when Lauren mentioned this was our dive site. After a very short time of interacting with the lemons, this big beautiful tiger arrived. If you know about sharks, you know to always watch these beauties... Lauren mentioned thoroughly in her briefing what to do if s tiger arrives. Pay attention and redirect them away if they get too close to help keep yourself safe. Lauren swam constantly back and forth, tirelessly redirecting the tiger away from divers whom were not taking appropriate steps to keep themselves safe. My wife studies elasmobranches and was super excited when she needed to redirect the tiger as that spiritual oneness with mother ocean is there. It was my wife’s first tiger. That big beautiful tiger shark came around for all 3 dives, plus having the lemon sharks on all 3 dives was gorgeous, but to top it all off; on the third dive we had the lemons, the tiger came back and we also had an 8-9ft hammerhead make a cameo.
EVERY time we dive with Emerald we have an amazing time, I have sent almost 100 people to dive with Emerald and every one of them have had an amazing time.
If you are an advanced, experienced, safety minded diver with a thrill for adventure then call Emerald Charters to reserve your spot. Remember this is a dive boat, not a dive shop... so bring your gear, tanks and weights... the boat provides only sharks, a pretty dang good lunch, (sandwich, cookies, fruit cup, coleslaw, coke and water) and awesomeness. Tell them DIVE ARMY sent you!
They say that a picture is worth 1000 words... then look at our YouTube channel for videos diving with Emerald Charters.
Or better yet, see for yourself by joining us January 2019 for Shark Trek!!
https://www.divearmy.com/shark-trek-2019
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