Hammerhead Site (South Bimini)

This is a shark encounter rather than a swim around a site. There is no structure here: the boat sets up over open sand outside Bimini harbour at an approximate depth of 20 feet, about 6 m, and the exact spot shifts a little with the tides, the visibility and the boat traffic. The group goes down together, stays low on the bottom and the crew runs the encounter from there.

What you are waiting for is the great hammerhead. The season runs approximately from December to March and sightings inside that window are close to guaranteed. Bull sharks, reef sharks and tiger sharks have been filmed in the same shark sanctuary, so more than one species can turn up in a session, and the Bimini Biological Field Station has captured and recorded 13 species of shark in the shallow water around the islands.

The Bahamas is a national shark sanctuary, which is part of why the animals are here in these numbers and why the encounter is managed rather than chased. Expect a briefing before you get in, expect to follow the crew's instructions on where to stay, and expect to spend more of the dive waiting than watching. What makes it demanding is holding position through a long, largely stationary session in winter water, not the depth. For photographers that shallow sand is the point: the light reaches the bottom and the animals pass at the level of the group.