A Deep Dive Into the Surreal World of Swimming With Sharks

Want to take your Shark Week celebration to a new level this summer?

How about getting circled by 7-to-10-foot-long sand tiger sharks while trapped in an underwater cage? Well, look no further than the truly immersive shark dive expedition at the Long Island Aquarium.

“Some life experiences are priceless,” the marine exhibit’s Executive Director Bryan DeLuca said. “Diving with sharks in a cage gets you up close in their environment, and it’s unique in many ways. Guests enjoy the deep silence of the water and the ominous look of the sharks in a safe and controlled way.”

I had the opportunity to go eye-to-eye with these magnificent creatures that play such an important role in our ecosystem.

Bertha, Bumps, Drummer and Shred Fin — caught off the coast of Jones Beach as pups nearly 25 years ago — were staring me down with beady eyes and a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth while I admired and even filmed them. The truth is, sharks have gotten quite the bad rap over the last several decades, being portrayed in movies and on television as cold-blooded killing machines that want nothing more than to tear you apart. Sharks are actually very peaceful creatures, and more interested in eating seals and fish, which is also important for the health of our oceans.

And don’t worry: These four creatures in the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Habitat in Riverhead are well-nourished, each being pole-fed three times a week a total of seven pounds of bluefish, squid, herring and mackerel, Education Department Assistant Director and Shark Dive Coordinator Jean Brown said. And all feedings are documented to keep track of their health.

As I took the plunge, there were still some nerves as I glanced first at the Atlantis backdrop in front of me, then to the crowd that had gathered around, before my gaze shifted to the water now just below my feet — seeing the shifting dark patches as the sharks moved out of our way. I wiggled my jaw from side to side like Hampton Dive Center instructor Sharon Sanchez told me to avoid any change in pressure, and tried to manage the fear and excitement that gripped me while keeping the cardinal rule of scuba diving at the forefront of my mind: “Don’t hold your breath.”

Once fully submerged approximately 10 feet — nearly double my height ­— into the 120,000-gallon tank that is 12 feet deep and 40 feet wide, my eyes lit up with wonder and disbelief as the sharks began circling the enclosure I was in with Sanchez and Dix Hills resident Bill Gallo. The first noise I heard sounded like I was being cornered by a herd of velociraptors, and then, there was nothing: pure bliss.

I quickly pointed my GoPro left and right, still wide-eyed as they raced around us. I also marveled over a colorful cast of Queensland grouper, emperor snapper, striped bass, Garibaldi and porkfish. Bottom-dwelling nurse sharks, which only surface when it’s time to eat, and gaping moray eels also call this gigantic fishbowl home.

“The nurse sharks in the habitat were gifted from private owners and aquariums that downsized,” Brown said. “There really isn’t a ‘usual’ way of acquiring our inhabitants. Everyone has a story.”

If you look down, which proved difficult because I could not shift my eyes in any one direction for too long to soak up as much as I could over the 20-minute dive, you could see hundreds of teeth. Our lecturer, Jake Guyer, a Stony Brook University marine biology major who took us on a tour of all things shark before guiding us through the entire underwater experience, told us that sharks lose 30,000 to 60,000 teeth during their lifetime, and fossilization, noted by a tooth’s dark black color, takes hundreds of millions of years — which is why we can confidently (and safely) confirm that megalodon are in fact extinct.

“I can’t speak for you guys, but I’m thankful for that,” Guyer joked, adding that the 60-foot sharks that weighed between 50,000 and 150,000 pounds ended up getting out-competed by their little cousin, the great white.

One shark, curiously, swam counterclockwise to the other three, and another had attached to it a remora that was recently donated to the aquarium. This small fish can be buddies with any of the sharks at a given time, but the pair have a sort of symbiotic relationship. The remora cleans the shark of dead skin cells and algae, and the shark leaves behind leftovers from dinner, while also protecting its fish friend from other predators — it’s a win-win.

While Guyer educated us throughout our journey down under, he also took us to several other spots inside the aquarium before dropping our group off at its final destination.

First was to Ray Bay, the touch tank at the main lobby where giant shovelnose rays, or giant guitarfish — intermediate between sharks and rays — swim with white-spotted bamboo sharks and three different species of stingrays. Here, you get to feel the smooth, slippery backs of southern, cownose and Atlantic stingrays, and compare that to the rough ones of the bamboo sharks, whose markings help them camouflage in their natural bamboo-filled environment. Also in the pool are baby tiger sharks, found off the coast of Australia, that grow to about 8 feet long and will most likely, Guyer said, enter the shark habitat when they get to that length.

Next stop was the Lagoon Habitat, over the bridge on the walk toward the aquarium tanks. Did you know everything there is native to Long Island? Sandbar sharks, which grow to 7 or 8 feet long, share shallow waters with local stingrays, eels and blackfish.

“I saw a few sandbar sharks this past summer out in our ocean, like 50 yards off Cupsogue Beach,” Guyer told us. “They’re very fast swimmers, but slow growers.”

The ones in this habitat are just 3 feet long, having grown only half a foot since Guyer began working for the aquarium.

This reporter was then the proud guesser of the length of the great white shark replica — the first on-the-nose answer in two years! Construction of this model hanging from the ceiling was based off a great white caught three or four decades ago off the coast of South Africa. Want to know the length? You’ll have to take the tour to find out. But I can tell you it’s much larger than the largest tiger shark I swam with, Bertha — who is over 9-and-a-half feet long and weighs 400 pounds.

Last stop before the Lost City of Atlantis was the megalodon jaw bone, and then a quick viewing of our exhibit from inside a tunnel, before we made our way to the top of the tank, where we were greeted by our expert diver.

Sanchez, a Cancun, Mexico, native, learned to scuba dive when she began her job filming tourists in 2004. After moving to Long Island in 2007, she became a certified instructor with the Hampton Dive Center in Riverhead. The aquarium works with the business, which sends trainers over to accompany those of us celebrating a birthday or milestone, or just looking to cross swimming with sharks off their bucket list.

Sanchez said she’s done over 100 dives at the aquarium, averaging 20 to 30 a year.

“The first time I did it, I was freaking out, because the mask is really heavy and so different from what we wear when scuba diving,” she said. “You try to control your breathing, and hearing it, you start to freak out.”

Sanchez led us through all of the safety basics, and helped us suit up — probably the most difficult part. She also warned, besides fighting the urge to pet the sharks, to keep GoPros inside the cage. While a shark will not look to bite it, they are attracted to shiny objects.

“Also, if you feel moving, don’t freak out, it’s me, not the shark,” Sanchez joked, adding that pounds may be added to the weighted jackets we wear to help hold us down.

After the first group went, Gallo and I watched his sons Billy and Daniel take the plunge, as we went in groups of two. Gallo was supposed to dive with Billy, his now 15-year-old son, for his 12th birthday, but it didn’t happen because of the COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdown. The fact that they waited as long as they did meant that Billy’s younger brother, Daniel, now 13, was able to go with him. The youngest a diver can be is 12 years old.

“There were a lot of fish, and they all came pretty close,” Billy said once he resurfaced, adding that watching Bertha circle around the cage was his favorite part. “I forgot about going a couple of times, but it’s really nice to be here.”

Gallo said he hoped the plunge would inspire his sons to get scuba-certified, and while Billy said he’d definitely consider it, Daniel was not as motivated to.

“I was really cold,” he said — the tank being kept between 65 and 68 degrees, which Brown said is a comfortable mid-range for the many species that inhabit different oceans around the world.

“Seeing all of the sharks close up was so cool,” Daniel said. “I was a little nervous, but it was really fun.”

These breathtaking creatures typically painted as ruthless did not terrify me as much as I’d thought they would, either, and as time wrapped up for Daniel’s father and me — Guyer alerted us that we would be called back up to the surface shortly — I soaked in my last few moments, gazing attentively at the mystifying little green-gray eyes that fixated on me while swarming, then out at the expanse of blue tranquility before being pulled back to reality.

“Everyone always has a really great time doing this, and I hate telling people that their time is up down there,” said Guyer, who added he hasn’t taken the dive yet, but hopes to this summer. “Sharks are my favorite sea creatures, and I love educating people on them, explaining how they’re misunderstood and helping people overcome their fear.”

Sanchez said she revels in the elation seen in her mostly novice pupils as they step back on land.

“Seeing them realize they can do it and they can enjoy it is the best,” she said. “They feel accomplished, and that makes me happy. It’s really gratifying seeing their faces light up.”

I, myself, was exuding confidence. The thrill of my accomplishment, and beauty the inside of the Lost City of Atlantis bestowed is something I’ll never forget. Though, I will admit, I can’t wait to do it again.

Shark dives are currently conducted at the Long Island Aquarium at 11 a.m., Thursday through Sunday, with reservations and a liability waiver to be completed before the big day. The excursion costs about $193.10 plus tax for members, which includes aquarium admission. For nonmembers, the cost is $215, plus tax and those guests will also need to purchase an entrance ticket. All swimmers receive a souvenir beach towel, a shark tooth from the Lost City of Atlantis Shark Exhibit and an emailed photograph. Use of a GoPro and an SD card, which you get to keep to remember your dive by, is an additional $34. For more information or to book your excursion, visit longislandaquarium.com or call 631-208-9200, extension 426.