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Tiger Beach - Travel Day...The adventure Begins, again.

January 20 - The adventures continue. We are headed back to Tiger Beach for two weeks of tigers and great hammerheads. Winter season is such a great time to visit this dive site. This time of year always marks the return of all our big resident tigers, Hook, Emma, Princess, Freckles, New Girl, Maui, Dirty Girl, etc. It also means great hammerhead season around Bimini Island. 

I have been visiting this dive site since 2003. So there is a lot of history here and is one of my most favorite places to visit. (For those of you who want to know the true history of Tiger Beach, read my blog post from January 2014.) Its also my first challenge of documenting our journey this season. Because this is a liveaboard, I do not have access to internet out there, so I will not be able to post blogs on a daily basis. So the best way for me to handle this one, is to blog the week in one long-ish blog. Sorry about that. I will have a write up, along with a short video to share the day. The highlights, or sharks we encounter. Just things of note. The weather if it matters and what is going on with the sharks. I am looking forward to sharing this with you…see you in a week and I hope you enjoy.

Recorded in my workshop and yes, those are Star Wars helmets in the back ground. My geekiness has been exposed.

January 21 - Travel day. Well the day starts with a hiccup. I arrived at the airport at 6AM only to find out, that my 8AM flight was cancelled, and the next available flight was 12pm. Which means I would miss my flight to West Palm Beach. The boat was scheduled to leave at 10PM, but my new flight wouldn't land in West Palm until 12 midnight. So my scheduled screwed up our departure time. Thankfully they are going to wait for me, but I hate doing that to everyone. The blunders of the travel life, but, It is what it is. 

Airport blog...

Last Day in Norway...Mother Nature can be cruel.

January 9 - Final day. The weather has kicked us around this week. So far we have only been able to get out there 2 days. Today is our final day and I am hoping we get a weather window to make it happen? Thankfully our group is very understanding. And you have to be. Not much we can do when mother ocean is roaring and baring her teeth. I have been on trips where people have thrown fits because the ocean has not been kind to us. You feel awful for those people, but it is what it is. You can’t force her to share her magic, she has to want to. 

We have made the most of our time, exploring the landscape, photographing the Northern lights and the local pub. I think the one thing we all wish we would of been able to do was go dog sledding. That sounded like fun. Or at least photograph the dogs. That would of been great as well. But we didn't get a shot at it. Perhaps next season I will include it in the adventure? 

8:30AM - I just walked out to check the weather and it has started snowing, I have tried to stay positive and determined that today would be the day that we get out…but I just don’t know if it is going to happen. Camera gear is ready and we are on stand by if it does happen. We will see? 

9AM - We get the call! We are going to give it a try. A rush of gear madness begins and then we are off. We head out into the ocean. It is less wind, but its snowing. So crazy when you think about what we are doing. We are going out into freezing arctic waters to go swim with giant predatory dolphins. Crazy wild and I absolutely love it!

Sadly we did not find the orcas, we found a couple of feeding humpbacks and we were hoping the orcas would show up, they are often found feeding together. The reality is, the orcas were not here, the huge pods are late. They have been consistently here for the past 6 years. This season the herring were off their normal schedule. People are scratching their heads trying to figure out why? I’ll just keep watching the rest of the season to see how it ends. 

Thankfully we got to see the orcas, of course the encounters were not what we were all hoping for. But that is why you keep coming back out here, because you never know what and when the ocean will deliver her magic and I know what this place is like when it is happening. The encounters are some of the greatest you will ever experience. 

January 10 - It sounds like the weather is starting to let up and I wish I could stay longer, becuase this could be the week we were dreaming of…but sadly I can’t. My schedule is pushing me forward and I need to be in the Bahamas in a few days. So I reluctantly said goodbye to my friends here in Norway and our shark family who joined us and I am off. I have an over night layover in New York, going to stay at my buddy Jaime’s place. Jaime is part of our crazy shark family, so looking forward to seeing him and catching up. And in the morning I am heading home for a few days of family time and to prep for two weeks of tigers and great hammerheads. Thank you Norway, despite the craziness of the weather, you were amazing and I will see you again next season. Oh hell yes, we will be back!

Orcas...Finally! But damn the freaking weather.

January 7, 2017 - We finally made it out. On Jan. 5 and 6th, we were land locked due to gail force winds. A storm was blowing through and there was no way we were going out. We actually tried to get out on the 5th, but we were forced to turn around and return to port. It killed us to not be able to get out there and find orcas, but nature is nature and she is going to kick you around and make you earn your time out there. 

We were sitting around at breakfast trying to figure out what to do with our day. We wanted to go dog sledding, but they were booked, so that was out. While we were hanging around I got a call from Marten that there were orcas and humpbacks in the Fjord and we had a short window to get out there and try to swim with them. The catch was, we had to go like now. I ran and gathered the group and within minutes, our gear was grabbed and we were hauling ass to the dive shop to throw on our dry suits. 

We dressed fast and headed out to sea. The pressure to see orcas was high. This was our fourth day out here and we still had not seen any orcas, so I was stressing. Even though weather is to blame, I still hate not seeing the animals we were here to see. So the second we saw that first dorsal fin crack the surface, I breathed a little bit. BUT, just a little. We still need to accomplish our goal and get in the water with them.

The orcas were hunting. They were pretty spread out and we followed them around for a while. Things were starting to happen. They began swimming closer together and the birds were starting to gather. Which was a great sign that the baitball was forming and there might be a feeding. 

Sadly in the distance we could see clouds and wind heading our way. We tried to stay out as long as possible with the orcas, but the winds made us leave. As soon as we started heading back in, the storm caught us. We had snow and hail hitting us, along with 40 knot winds as we sped back to port. We knew we had a short window to try and make this happen and we tried. So close, yet so far… Damn arctic storms. 

We still have two days left…come on mother nature, give us a little break.

ARCTIC ORCAS GALLERY

First Day on the Water...DAMN!!!

January 4, 2017 - Our first day on the water was pretty dramatic. It was minus 13, so needless to say it was freaking cold. This was also our introduction to Arctic diving, which always takes a day to get used to. Sadly though, the orcas were a no show. It turns out the herring is late this year, which means the orcas are late. There was a pod in the area two days before, but where that pod is now, is everyone’s guess. We did have some great moments with sperm whales. Now that was exciting for me. I’ve never seen a sperm whale. We didn't try to get in the water, because by the time we found them, we were all frozen. So we enjoyed watching them come up for a few breathes before they would drop back down into the depths to feed. 

A quick video of the ice build up on our boat. Crazy cold.

We had one curious sperm whale that turned towards us, swam up to the boat and right underneath us. It was a massive male, what a privilege to see it up that close. I would of videoed it, but my cameras batteries all were frozen and useless. Need to figure that out. I am also kicking myself for not dunking my camera,Vera under to snap a photo. It probably would of come out like crap, but it was so close, you never know? 

I was able to snap a few topside pics with Tony’s camera. He was boat sick. So he lent me his camera to shoot. It was great, poor Tony had to throw up and didn't quite make it into the sea, so he ended up, chucking on the side of our inflatable. It instantly froze, so we had all these different colors spread out on the side of our boat. It looked like a Jackson Pollock painting. It was sooo pretty! lol

Sperm Whales

We finished the day with about 3-4 different sperm whales. Which was very cool. But sadly we were not there for sperm whales, we were there for orca bait balls. Don’t get me wrong, if we had gotten in the water with the sperm whales it would of been insanely amazing and what a privilege seeing them out there. But whale watching from a boat is not what we are here to do… Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. 

We capped off the evening with more Northern Lights. The show was just amazing. 

Northern Lights

Travel Day - Arrived In Andenes...finally!

Sorry this one is a day late guys...trying to balance writing/editing blogs and time with our friends. Is difficult. 

January 3, 2017 - The trip begins. We arrived in Andenes and talk about a shock to the senses. In Oslo, it was sunny, no snow and a beautiful 30 degrees. How quickly your perspective about what is beautiful weather changes. Once we jumped in that airplane and headed to Andenes, I quickly saw the color in the landscape change. The further we went, the whiter everything got. Well, so much for my 70 degree dream.

We landed in Bodo (which is a huge city, surprised the shit out of me.), for a quick layover before we headed to Andenes. There was some sort of snow flurry / or storm blowing through. I thought they were going to ground the airplanes, but nope! We took off in that shit. In Texas they would of closed down the whole airport. Here, this was just another day at the office. I guess thats just like me and my sharks, some people see craziness and chaos… I see a dance. The game within the game, I suppose?

I met up with half of our group in Bodo, which is always great seeing old friends and knowing they made the journey safely. We traveled together to Andenes. As I remembered from last year, the scenery as we flew to Andenes is the stuff that dreams are made of. It is so damn beautiful here. Everywhere you look is like a postcard, just breathtaking. Snowy mountains as far as the eye can see. 

Viewer discression...Don't think I am crazy because I laugh at myself in this clip. The weather is making me lose it. lol

We landed and drove to our hotel. It had just snowed the night before so there was fresh powder everywhere. The snow plows had already piled the snow up on the sides of the road. The town looks like something you would see in a christmas movie. You know the one; where no one believes the old man walking around is santa, except that one kid who everyone thinks is crazy as shit and in the end, they all praise the kid for not being crazy as shit. Well, Andenes would be the town the movie would be set in. Lol

We checked in and I met up with the rest of our group. Everyone except Tony had made it. His flight was not coming in till 10 in the evening. Anyway, we checked in with the dive shop, got the plans for the following morning. And well, we got good news and bad news.The good was that the orcas were seen and also humpbacks, fin whales and sperm whales. Which is great, but the bad news is the huge pods of orcas were late in arriving, AND the weather we were going to wake up to, for our first day in the water is one of the coldest they have had in a while, (minus 13 I think?) AND we have a couple days of shitty weather heading our way. Damn, “Welcome to the Arctic!”

We went out for dinner and then decided to check out a place, out of town where we could see the auroras without any light pollution. We took a taxi to a spot where the land owner allows people to shoot the auroras on his property, which is really great. A beautiful Fjord setting. We hiked though this wooded trail along with his big ass Rottweiler. It was pitch black and his bear sized dog was super excited running up and down the trail. The dog was friendly and cute, but the sound of him running at you in the dark sounded like a grizzly. Very unnerving. 

When we got there the auroras were kicking. The sky was dancing its dance and the colors were just swirling as the flew by. We all had a blast. It was a great way to kick off this trip. I am only hoping the weather and the animals will both cooperate tomorrow?

Northern Lights Gallery

Travel day - 23 hours of travel can kick your a@#!

January 2, 2017 - Sleep day. 23 hours of travel to get here from my home airport in Texas to Oslo, Norway - all I have done is sleep. I wanted to go around and film some of the local architecture around the airport here in Oslo, but I was wiped out. This past week has been nothing but late nights with family and friends (due to the holidays), and then I capped it with this marathon flight. My body just gave up the ghost and I crashed hard. Its 9:15pm here and 2:15pm back home. So there is a 7 hour difference that I need to adjust too as well.

Its all worth it though. Norway is beautiful. Its 30 degrees right now and there is no snow. So thats good I think? We will see how it is in Andenes, because that is a few hours (flight) away from here.

Hotel room vlog...sorry about the bed head. 

I spoke with the owner of the boats I chartered for this trip, Marten. He told me they already have orcas in the area. Which is good. That part always stresses me the hell out. But they are out there. Now we just need favorable conditions, and some baitballs. We have 6 days out there to try and make that happen. So we will see?

I will keep this write up short. I can see trying to keep a daily vlog/blog is going to be challenging. But I really want to share this world and the craziness (both highs and lows) of the Travel Life as a pro Shark Diver. It sounds wierd to me to say that, since I am out looking for orcas. But sharks are still my favorites and my career was built around the shark world.

I tried to upload this blog in my hotel room before I headed to the airport for Andenes, But ended up finishing it in the Bodo airport, Which is where we have our layover. It is a really nice airport. Small and cozy but plush as hell. There is also a snow storm blowing through here right now, so my dreams of no snow this week have been shot to hell. The adventures continue.
 

The cafe in the Bodo airport. My bro Thomas who has been on many adventures with, cleaning up cards for the orcas this week.

The cafe in the Bodo airport. My bro Thomas who has been on many adventures with, cleaning up cards for the orcas this week.

First trip of the 2017 Season...has begun!

January 1st 2017 - Travel day. Headed to Norway. This is going to be a long ass day of travel. I had a 5:30AM wake up. Which was not easy since we stayed up with family past midnight to ring in the new year. Oh yes…happy new year my friends! I want to wish all my friends and crazy shark family all the blessings in the world. 2017 is looking to be an amazing year filled with fun, love and kick ass adventures. 

6am snaps taken while at the airport. Told you guys some of this crap would be boring as hell.  Follow us on snapchat for more. Eli_sharkguy

Ok so back to travel day. Again I was up at 5:30am. Needed to be at the airport at 6AM for my 8am flight. Thankfully people are smart and stayed home for the 1st, my home airport was very empty. I am excited about getting to Norway, but torn as well. I have to leave my girls for this trip and that is always so hard. Despite living this life, that part never gets easy. But like always, the road and the ocean calls me and so a traveling we must go. 

Norway is going to be great…although I am nervous as hell. I know the orcas are in the area, because the activity has been really great. But until I see that first orca. I have trouble relaxing. And even though we see the orcas, it doesn't ease up the stress I will feel. We still need to find good bait ball activity. That is the main reason our guests are going out there with us. To experience that ocean madness and capture photos and video of the experience. My buddy Ernst, is joining us to do a story for Red Bulletin and Terra Mater magazine, so I know he is hoping (needing) for great encounters. Damn it…more pressure.

And I know there are zero guarantees when you are dealing with wild animals. But I cant help feeling pressure for my friends. They travel a long way and are hoping for the best experiences possible. I want to help them do that. That is what I live for. To see their soul’s on fire after having amazing encounters. 

Last season we had great bait balls. We had orcas everyday, but out of 6 days in/on the water, we only had two days where the orcas were feeding. The rest of the days they were hunting and running hard. However the magic from those two days was just insane. Here is a quick video from last season and the boys when they got out of the water after one of those days. I do love that shit!

So here we go. I still have another day of travel. My flight leaves JFK at 10:30PM and we do not arrive in Oslo, Norway till 11:30AM the following morning. Ill figure out the time difference later. 

I spend the night in Oslo, then catch a puddle jumper to Andenes where I will meet up with our guests. Its going to be great, I have traveled with them all before, so its going to be a nice reunion. Our first day in the water is January 4th. Cant wait to share the beauty of this place with you…and of course the conditions? How freaking cold will it be this year? Last year it was below zero on a few days so we will see what this year will be like. Hopefully, it will be 70 degrees and sunny with orcas feeding on bait balls everywhere…Hey, I can dream!

2017 Diving Season Begins! Well at least the prepping does.

Happy New Year my crazy Shark family! It all begins today for me. As promised I will be blogging our entire 2017 season for you guys. I really want to document the highs and lows of life as a professional Shark Diver and this amazing season we are about to experience. Its getting kind of wierd saying I am a professional Shark Diver Well, since we do dive with other big animals. But... down deep in my core I am still a Shark Diver...because it's all about the sharks. Always has been. Always will be! 

So anyway, I leave for Norway in two days and today is camera prep day. Batteries need to be charged. Cards need to be cleaned, o-rings need to be lubed, and the dome needs to be polished. (the camera dome port guys. lol)

So this year will be a mix of written and video blogs, because some stories are better told in their proper format. So here is a video I recorded live on Facebook earlier today.I am a bit rusty with live chats, but will get better at it, as time goes by. I also added some clips from last seasons trip so you guys can really see the conditions and the crazies I shared that adventure with. 

Hope you enjoy...

I have decided to document my journey throughout the entire 2017 diving season. The highs and lows of life as a professional Shark Diver. We kick off 2017 with a trip to Norway for orcas. I originally recorded this video live on Facebook, on our Shark Diver Magazine page.

2016 Was an Amazing Year...Thanks to all our Shark Family!

2016 season was an incredible season with great adventures, beautiful scenery, epic animal encounters and amazing people. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us out there. No words to truly share our gratitude for allowing us to share this world with you all. 

Guadalupe Island Expedition Sept.

Guadalupe Island Expedition Sept.

As I reflect back on our year, its pretty mind blowing realizing how fast the year flew by and how many miles we traveled to get to the places we visited. From orcas in Norway to belugas and polar bears in Churchill, Canada. Not to mention the countless hours we got to spend with my beloved sharks. 

2017 is shaping up to be a crazy great year with even more adventures. Me and 'Vera' are looking forward to kicking off the year. (Vera is my camera for those that didn't know.) But before I go crazy with that I am going to enjoy the end of this year and my home time with my family. The true sacrifices of living the travel life is missing out on precious family moments that I will never get back. Sadly and to my lasting regret, not ever.

I hate missing every moment with my family, more than anything. But the call of the ocean and the pull of the magic of this world is such a strong call and I I cant imagine not being out there. Such is the internal ying/yang of life. 

So for the 2017 season I decided to share this personal journey with you all...
I am going to be blogging, both written and video blogs of my entire 2017 season on the road. Something I have never done before. Its going to be difficult trying to balance it all, but this is a goal of mine that I have always wanted to do but I never disciplined myself to see through. I decided that 2017 is the year that I finally do it. 

It is going to be a look at the highs and lows of my life on the road. Might be completely boring sharing it all. For sure there will be many boring moments, but it will have amazing animals and great scenery for you all. Lots of animal behavior observations and definitely some very cool people that I get to share my time with. So that is the plan, it's going to be raw and real. Some locations may be difficult trying to document in real time, because I am out in/on the ocean with no signal. But for those trips I will be posting on the days when I get back. This is the dream I had when I originally planned out our documentary ‘Summer of the Sharks.’ I have always wanted to document the true experience.

When we made the film back in 2006, we didn't have the tools available to us like we do now. Lots of small cameras that are not invasive, So it just makes for a easier way to document the journey once we are out there. 

I will be starting with my prep for my orca expedition coming up January 1st and then it will be full bore from there. (No pun intended. Lol). 


So now that I made that announcement, back to 2016. Thank you again to everyone for sharing this journey with us. Wishing you all happy holidays and an amazing new year. Want to say thank you with a quick highlight video of our animal encounters from our 2016 season. Hope you enjoy…

Here is a quick highlight reel from our 2016 season, diving with sharks, whales dolphins and crocodiles. Thank you to all our extended Shark Family who joined us out there. You all have made this year special and amazing. Footage by Eli and Maritza Martinez, Kourosh Taie.

New Highlights Video Added...White Sharks.

So this is quick blog for you guys. I recently wrote a trip report on our Guadalupe expedition this past September for white sharks. What I didn't share was a highlights video from the trip. I have been so busy with our store and other projects that I never got around to editing a video for you guys. And one was over due. The only video I have shared of white sharks with you is the one I made years ago from our 2012 trip. Very outdated. Its still fun, but I wanted to do something new. 

So here you guys go. I have already added it to our white shark expedition page. But thought I would also share it here as well. Hope you enjoy.