Seeing as how 2020 is, well, 2020, I figured I’d try and take advantage of having some extra time and do something I’ve wanted to do for years: a shark dive. 

I’m not sure how I lived as a diver in Florida for so many years and never did one of these trips. Seeing a shark in the past wasn’t super unusual. But having them hanging around and cruising by, occasionally bumping me and the front of my lens, was a different experience. It was diving with underwater fighter jets which occasionally buzzed the tower. 

A big thanks to Calypso Dive Charters for the trip out and to Lauren for leading the dive.

Even as a fisherman, it saddened me to see the number of sharks with metal leaders trailing from their mouths. I’m not sure there’s a way to prevent that, as the equipment is required to catch fish such as wahoo, kingfish and dolphin, with the sharks often being hooked as bycatch.