“We saw a tiger shark,” said the Queens of Jersey dive group after the last drop. Not that we were mighty pleased about it, not out of jealousy but because we had missed out on it. However, we were determined to set things right and have our very own view of a tiger shark.
We set out on the skiff seeking our own undersea story to tell. Led by our divemaster Elise’s “can-do” attitude and our trip leader Ryan’s Wu-Tang Clan battle cries, our group dropped north of the wall in Cabo Pearce in search of a tiger shark. And there lies a tale that dreams are made of.
Magnificent View of a Tiger Shark – Dreams Fulfilled!
After descending to about 90ft shortly after our drop, a giant manta soared towards us under the cover of darkness and surprised us with a magnificent view of its belly before motioning us that we should look further down into the depths below. And there it was 30ft below us: the requiem dream, the holy grail of our journey, a tiger shark! Or was it?
Ryan, excitable as always and a born optimist, quickly broke out in song and dance underwater to celebrate the apparent success of our search. Not to be left behind, Victoria and I grabbed our Go-Pros and took some videos of the mysterious creature, supposedly a tiger shark, before it swiftly disappeared into the deep.
But soon we were ridden by doubts. Were our videos clear and would establish the sighting of a tiger shark without an iota of doubt or were the images questionable? We wondered if what we saw was really a tiger shark and not something else. Was it actually a great white? Was it some other marine animal?
Once we surfaced and returned to the Explorer forty minutes later, we impatiently awaited the truth. Victoria’s video was distant but the motion of the tail was clear. My video was no better than a 20th-century UFO clip with a splotchy blur in the middle of the footage.
However, Pascal’s keen eye and intimate experience with sharks left no doubt about our close encounter. He confirmed what we already knew deep down to be true: we had seen a tiger shark. Mission accomplished; dreams realized! In one moment, we had captured memories on film and the mind that would last us a lifetime.
My trip on the Nautilus Explorer was epic! Sharks everywhere, playful dolphins coming right up to us underwater to check us out (they´re just as curious about us as we are about them!), and honestly the best crew and dive team that I´ve ever had the pleasure of sharing these truly special encounters with.
A Special Thank You to The Wonderful Nautilus Team
Our incredible adventure of diving in the vast ocean looking for exotic sea animals that we had seen only in wildlife movies before would not have been possible without the excellent backup of the Nautilus team.
A huge thank you to the dive masters Elyse, Pascal, Joan, Fabio, our incredibly talented engineer Carlos, and our fabulous captain Ramon. Felipe has out-of-the-world talent and deserves a Michelin star for treating us to the tastiest food I´ve ever had and that too with limited resources in the middle of the vast seas. The cuisine he dished out was delectable, to say the least. Laura and Mark were outstanding and always took the best possible care of us.
Socorro is a magical place and I couldn´t have asked for a more friendly, competent, and passionate group to show me a world that, up until now, I´ve only seen in my wildest dreams. I joined this trip with great expectations and will go back with them more than fulfilled.
Thank you once again Nautilus Explorer for the trip of a lifetime. The crew throughout our trip has been amazing and I can´t wait to come back and do this again and again with you all. Your enthusiasm and knowledge about the alien world right below us will remain in my memories for the rest of my life.
Best trip ever!
