SARASOTA, Fla. — Swimming nose to nose with great white sharks.
Most people would never even think about doing it. But Daniel DeLaTorre, Eric Tobin, and Elizabeth Jeffrey aren’t like most people. They’re professional divers with SCUBA Quest — a dive shop in Sarasota — and have serious knack for adventure.
“I guess if you’re implying that we’re all bad****s, that is true,” Jeffrey laughed.
Days ago, they took turns swimming alongside the famous ocean predators about 15 to 20 miles offshore Sarasota County.
“Chance of a lifetime,” said Tobin, SCUBA Quest’s manager. “I’ve never heard of anything like this in the Gulf.”
The heart-racing experience was made possible by what happened a few days prior.
On Mar. 10, a 50-foot sperm whale beached itself off the coast of Venice and later died.
After officials studied the remains, they towed the whale’s carcass about 15 miles offshore so hungry sharks and other marine predators could make sure nothing went to waste.
“Honestly, I thought it was just a beautiful representation of life, that, you know, even in death, life proliferates,” said Jeffrey, a divemaster. “You know, this whale is feeding millions [of organisms] as it dies.”
The phenomenon also gave them the chance to see and swim with the white sharks.
“There was a little butterfly, but it wasn’t hesitation,” said DeLaTorre, an assistant dive instructor with SCUBA Quest. “Like, I was like, ‘Are we getting in or not?’”
They got in along with a few others with no cages or weapons. Instead, they were armed with GoPros and captured video that has since gone viral.
“The whole time you’re just thinking like, ‘Wow,’ and ‘Oh my God, it’s looking right at me!’” said Jeffrey.
When they got out of the water, they left the Gulf of Mexico with a couple of things.
For one, the stench of what the sharks were eating.
“Like some really, really bad cologne that you put on,” Tobin smiled. “Disgusting.”
They also left with an even greater appreciation of the ocean’s top predator — one that they say is too often villainized by TV shows and movies.
“I think they’re definitely misunderstood,” Tobin said. “People have to remember that more people die every year from fallen coconuts than shark attacks.”
Now, they’re left with just one question: how will they ever top that experience?
“That’s a great question,” Jeffrey said with a laugh. “I have no idea!”
