Shark Diving Pioneer Ron Taylor

The shark world will sorely miss one of the true pioneers, Ron Taylor, who passed away at the age of 78.  Ron, along with wife Valerie, were trailblazers in the world of underwater photography, videography, and shark science.  Their lifetime work includes countless documentaries and images that changed the diving world and set the stage for shark tourism boom.

Howard & Michele Hall with Norbert Wu

Trip Report
April 2012

We were excited to welcome Howard and Michele Hall, and Norbert Wu to Cat Island!


The Group: Joseph Burkhart, Howard Hall, Michele Hall, Norbert Wu, Debra Canabal, Joe Romeiro, Briana Darcy, Vincent Canabal, Emma Smith.

We had a perfect week of sharks and the encounters were amazing! One day we were surrounded by 7 large Oceanic Whitetips (only one was male), countless silky sharks, and a few dorado flashing by.







Norbert Wu capturing a few unique images.


The next day, we spent all day in the water. This time, it was all female Oceanics, as well as countless silky sharks. The action kept building!









 
In the middle of all the action, a Blue Marlin came flying out of the deep. First a loud sound, like tree limbs snapping. The Oceanics reacted immediately and dramatically, but we still had no idea what was happening. Suddenly from below, an enormous blue marlin blazed in. Our hearts were pouding to get the phots, but this guy was different. He stuck around us for several minutes, which is an eternity in marlin time! After giving the divers a show, he cruised to the surface and circled our boat quickly, several times. The people on the boat were just as amazed as the divers in the water.





Notice the oceanic in the background. This marlin was about 14' overall length! Impressive





We couldn't be happier after encountners like these! Everyone on the trip had an amazing time. Check out Norbert Wu's Review for more photos and information.


On the back of the Thresher!  -with Joe Romeiro, Howard Hall, Michele Hall, and Debra Canabal