Jonesing for Jaws: A Review of the Stuart Cove’s PADI Distinctive Shark Awareness Speciality

Where we’re at: I’m recapping my two-country, three-island trip to the Caribbean in December 2023. This was my mid-way stop in Nassau, Bahamas!

Want to squeeze in one last diving trip with Wander Women Retreats in 2024? Stay tuned for a big announcement on Women’s Dive Day, July 20th!

“So what brings you to Nassau?”

I was irritated to be in the back of an overpriced cab and not my rental car, but that wasn’t my driver’s fault. So I summoned as many good spirits as I could muster after a hilariously error-filled travel day and replied, “swimming with sharks!”

“You’re brave. Or you’re crazy. After that lady got eaten by a shark today!” He mused, shaking his head.

My attention fully captivated, I turned to Google, but it was too soon — only later would I found out he was right, there was indeed a fatal shark encounter between a stand up paddling vacationer from Boston and a shark on the north of the island the very day my flight landed at Lynden Pindling International Airport.

Gulp.

Why Nassau, Why Now?

Yes, I know all the facts — shark attacks are incredibly rare, shark attacks are generally a case of mistaken identity, shark attacks rarely occur involving scuba divers as they are most common at the surface, sharks are the real victims in this relationship, etc. — but still, hearing that story (which did, granted, involve quite out-of-character behavior by the shark) activated a deep childhood fear.

Ironically, the thing that once terrified me and kept me out of the water, now has started drawing me into it.

In the world of shark diving, Stuart Cove’s in the Bahamas is one of the OG’s. Shark diving with them has always been swimming around somewhere in my travel bucket list. So when I had a few days window between a wedding trip in the Cayman Islands and a work campaign in Staniel Cay, Bahamas that required at least a night’s stopover in Nassau, Bahamas due to flight schedule constraints, I thought — is this my moment? Stuart Cove’s is on the Southwest tip of Nassau, about 45 mins from the famous Paradise Island and Atlantis destinations — which prompted, for my third visit, a new type of adventure.

I enlisted my girl Lindsay, who many around here know as the founder of Bite, a frequent Wander Women Retreats collaborator — the name of which I am just now seeing the irony of for this trip! — to join me. Lindsay and I met in Thailand, where I talked her into a new dive certification, and later went on to travel to French Polynesia to swim with whales together. Sharks seemed like a natural next progression.

I’m no stranger to shark diving at this point. I’ve descended with thresher sharks in Malapascua; ogled bull sharks in Playa Del Carmen; swam around in an aquarium with sand tigers in Tampa; and went on some wild dives with lemon, sandbar, silky and dusky sharks in West Palm Beach on a Wander Women Retreat! And those are just the ones folks think are scary. I’ve been lucky to swim alongside whale sharks in Thailand, Philippines, Mexico, Honduras, and Panama — that I can remember.

And now, it was time to add some caribbean sharks to the list, silky sharks and potentially even tiger sharks right here in the Bahamas. Though frankly, after reading the news, I wasn’t going to be devastated if we skipped out on the latter.

Easing In With Reefs + Wrecks

We had two full days in Nassau and were scheduled the dive the morning after our evening arrival. Before a big bucket-list dive I think it’s great to just be back in the water and suss out your gear and cameras and the dive operator. So, we signed up for a morning wreck and reef trip before our Shark Adventure. At $184.84, it’s a standard price for a two tank dive in a high-end Caribbean destination.

Due the the drama with our rental car, we missed the morning boat, though we were seamlessly swapped over to the afternoon. I appreciated the flexibility, though my one bit of feedback for Stuart Cove’s was that the arrival time at the shop and the departure time of the boat were a little unclear and inconsistent in their communications — if, like us, you’re self-driving rather than taking advantage of their free transfers, it’s worth following up with a call or email to make sure you’re totally looped in!

Still, all was right with the world as soon as we made our way back — at the correct time — for the afternoon dive. Few dive shops around the world have the name recognition of Stuart Cove’s, an iconic PADI Five Star Dive Center! They are pioneers in the industry of recreational shark diving, underwater production, and spearheading legislation to protect sharks all around the world.

It’s worth showing up a bit early to your dive! Not only is there a snack bar — and an actual bar, should you want to cheers to your incredible experience after-the-fact — there’s also some fun nods to the historic company’s interesting past, too. Stuart himself certified Sean Connery and Kim Bassigner and worked on several 007 films. Many productions still flock here to film underwater or shark scenes. Famously one of their shark cages was custom-built for Shaq, which you can still find on the dock today!

Even more exciting to me than underwater celebrity paraphernalia was the retro bright pink branding on their tanks and around the dive shop; a total 80’s throwback. May it never ever be updated!

We had an epic Bahamian dive master, John, who also turned out to be a huge world traveler — and an incredible photographer! — and a gorgeous glassy day. As in most dive operations around the world, our dive sites were chosen based on conditions, and I was super happy with where we ended up — Twin Sisters and DC2.

Twin Sisters is a chill wreck dive consisting of two small tankers donated by Shell to be used as artificial reefs for diving in 2000. The first wreck lies about thirteen meters deep and the second wreck, thirty meters, perfect for recreational diving. Curious reef sharks emerged from the blue, adding a bit of thrill and getting us comfortable with our ocean neighbors in preparation for the following big day.

The next dive, DC2, consisted of a classic Caribbean reef with a dash of Hollywood glamour — perfect for the Bahamas. If you’ve seen the adventure movie Into The Blue, which we just so happened to screen on the first Wander Women Maldives — personally, I voted for Moana, but Wander Women is a democracy — you’ve also laid eyes on the drug runner prop plane we circled. 

In 2005, when Paul Walker and Jessica Alba were in the southwestern end of New Providence shooting the treasure-hunting, drug-smuggling blockbuster, this very 1932 DC3 airplane was used as the sub-aquatic set for several high-adrenaline scenes. When filming wrapped, the plane was left behind, and relocated to its current final resting place — while it has been deteriorated greatly over the years, it’s still a fun find for a movie buff or travel addict.

Speaking of the art of storytelling, I also played around with my new-ish strobe, which is a true love/hate story in my underwater photography journey. My Canon G7X, however, which I shot all the photos in this post with, above and below the surface, is one of the longest relationships I’ve had,

I highly recommend, if you can, booking a two tank dive the day before your shark dive. You’ll get to see more of what makes the Bahamas so special, and get super comfortable with your surroundings ahead of the big moment.

Diving Tip: Don’t forget to tip your divemaster! $10 per tank per dive is industry standard for tipping.

Shark Diving with Stuart Cove’s

Shark Adventure

There are a few options for shark diving at Stuart Cove’s — Shark Adventure is their signature two tank shark dive program. At $242USD per person, it’s not exactly a bargain — but also not really a budget buster either, when it comes to bucket list dives! These are completely out-of-cage wild sharks, interacting with you in their home. For this experience, you’ll dive either the combination of “Shark Wall” and “The Arena” or the combination of “Shark Wall North” and “The Runway” — we did the former, which I can only assume is always a weather and water conditions-dependent decision.

The prerequisites are a little more relaxed for this dive than they are for other shark dives I’ve done; but I don’t think that’s because Stuart Cove’s is a lax or irresponsible. It’s simply, in technical terms, quite a chilled out dive, and this operation is a well-oiled machine. So, all you need to do this dive is to be a certified Open Water diver — and if you haven’t logged a dive within the last three years you also have to complete a refresher program first (at some shops, they make you do so after just six months!)

Surprisingly, this experience doesn’t run every day — just Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, all in the afternoon, so plan your trip accordingly!

Shark Adventure + Speciality Course

Want to upgrade to something a little more comprehensive? The Shark Adventure + Specialty Course includes a PADI Shark Awareness Diver Distinctive Specialty — which counts towards becoming a Master Scuba Diver, by the way, if that’s something you might ever wish to pursue! Distinctive Specialities are unique because they are written by dive experts all over the world and are unique to specific locations and teachers and to instructors who write the curriculum and submit it to PADI for course approval. I could apply to write one about Underwater Yoga, for example (well now, if that isn’t an idea…)

Being an enthusiastic certification card collector myself, and always wanting to do the deepest dive on a subject (pun intended!), this one was a no-brainer for me. At $324USD per person, it’s a slight price increase over Shark Adventure, but I thought it was worth the extra $82 to make it a more comprehensive experience. 

The course consists of a video, brief written coursework, and a knowledge review quiz. We watched the video together in our cute little rental cottage, read the coursework on the beach, and completed the knowledge reviews on the dock before going over them with our instructor. The academics covered proper behavior for diving with sharks, how to identify different types of sharks, how to understand some of their behaviors, and why this animal is so important to the overall oceanic ecosystems. The in-water portion of the course is the Shark Adventure dives, and at the end, ta da, you’re the proud awardee of a brand new speciality certification. 

And Beyond!

Want to be the one on the other side of the bait stick? Stuart Cove’s Shark Feeder Program is a cool $3,180 — but in just two days you’ll progress from spectator to ringleader and learn how to feed sharks! Rather be behind the lens? The one day Shark Shooter Program is a comparative bargain at $2,550, and is a deep dive (tee hee) on taking portraits of, as one of the shark feeders called them, the Bahamas’ underwater puppies.

Our Big Jaws Moment

The next day, we were back in the water for the big moment that brought us to the Bahamas! This two tank trip is structured wisely — the first dive is a reef dive surrounding the shark dive site; where you get comfortable in the area and see sharks in their natural environment. For the second, the feeder dons a chainmail suit, and it’s time to party.

We descended for our first dive with eyes darting all over the place. A few curious nurse sharks circled below, but I soon eased into this magnificent wall dive where sharks were the free-swimming special guests, left and right. The sharks on this dive are curious, wondering when the dinner bell will ring, and it’s a super natural-feeling encounter divers everywhere are familiar with on lucky dives.

After a brief surface interval and another briefing back on the boat, we were back in the water for our feeding dive. Our feeder was great at putting everyone at ease with humor, confidence, and a clear passion for sharks!

Upon descending, we were placed carefully kneeling in a semi-circle at the sandy bottom around 12 meters deep. Our BCDs were totally deflated, and we were ever-so-slightly overweighted, allowing us to relax and focus on the show. Soon, the professional feeder entered with the bait box — right away, the biggest nurse sharks I’ve ever seen in my life were all over him, eager for an appetizer. Once the feeder was settled in the middle of the circle, he began feeding the six feet Caribbean reef sharks that started to approach from the tip of a pole spear. 

Truly, my expectations were high for this dive — and they were exceeded! I think the combination of feeling so at ease with the setup and the organizers and also being so insanely close to these absolute apex predators was just unbeatable. It was an insane adrenaline rush without feeling chaotic or stressful, if you know what I mean!

Experienced feeders have the ability to really guide the shark directly in front of you or your camera lens. But still, these are wild animals, and while there is strictly no touching of the sharks allowed, clearly the sharks did not get the same briefing — and we were bumped and jostled a few times which was an insane thrill and really allowed you to feel their incredible strength. It was wild!

I had a lot of fun playing with my camera for this dive, though also spent plenty of time just putting it down and soaking it all in through my eyes instead of through a screen. Lindsay and I opted to do the photo and video package with Fin’s Photo, Stuart Cove’s photo division.

At $165 it was a little steeper than I expected, though if you are with a friend or group you can always split that between you! I was glad I both brought my own camera and did the package, because I was a bit disappointed the package was shot on a GoPro only. While the quality of photos was low, it was worth it to be in some shots… including a few that had us laughing out loud. 

This was an absolutely epic experience! Forget swim-up bars and casinos, on this trip we hiked ancient forests and dove prehistoric reefs. Duty free souvenirs? How about a PADI Distinctive Shark Awareness Speciality instead! You know I love a resort vacation, but it was pretty epic to see that there’s an off-the-beaten path and more nature-focused, hidden-gem side of Nassau! 

Tip: Stuart Cove’s Packing List! Even if, like me, you rent most of your gear, recently I don’t leave for a dive trip without my own weight belt (the rental belts at Stuart Cove’s were huge, and this one you can trim to your size), my own mask defog (diluted dive shop versions and sadly, the most sustainable option of spit, never seem to work for me!), and a customized mouthpiece for a rental reg (you can customize at home with nothing but a microwave!). 

The underwater dress code, like the prerequisites, are a little more relaxed for this dive than they are for other shark dives I’ve done. Gear — outside tanks, weights and weight belts — isn’t included, but you have a lot more leeway in what gear you can wear than at other shark dives I’ve been to. (Personally, I like to err on the side of conservative when diving with nature’s great apex predator, so I stuck to the all-black, full coverage gear and wetsuit some operators recommend! Allegedly, some sharks can get agitated by bright colors.) In the summer, you can get away with no wetsuit for reef dives, while in the winter, opt for anything up to a 5mm.

And while no meals or snacks are included, there is drinking water and a big cooler full of ice, so pack yourself something refreshing!

While I was posting about this trip on Instagram, I got many DMs from followers curious if I’d heard about the recent slate of shark attacks in the Bahamas. Shark attacks, while rare given the amount of humans in the ocean every day, are always tragic and my heart so goes out to the loved ones of the victims, and I hope we learn something from each of them about how to better share our delicate, precious oceans between species. I can’t pretend the proximity, timing and out-of character shark behavior didn’t freak me out a little, but I believe in the integrity and safety of this particular experience and the importance of shark tourism to conservation in general.

This was a bucket-list dive that truly humbled me with awe for our oceans and the species we are so blessed to share it with. I can’t wait to get back in the water. 

Have you been shark diving? Would you?