It was hard to leave the Miami DEMA show early but the lure of clear water and diving with sharks called. So with some reluctance I concluded my activities at DEMA and left Miami on Friday afternoon for Ft. Lauderdale to meet my daughter Janie. It was going to be my fifth trip to Walkers and Janies second. Why do we go back... quite simply...it is the sharks. While the food is great, the service excellent, the dive boats are adequate, and the rooms are fine....it is still a kick to be in the water with dozens of sharks.

Walkers uses Chalk airlines for the transportation to the island. It is an old well respected carrier in the Bahamas. Sometimes they take you over on a seaplane. Not today. Instead Janie and I joined two other travelers heading to Walkers. Knowing what to expect, I made sure that I was on the left side of the plane going east across the Banama banks. This places the sun at your back. There are several things of interest on the trip over you should not miss. The first is to look for the planes shadow on a cloud. When you see the shadow, it is circled by one or more circular rainbows. If you look closely at this picture, you can see three rainbows.

This effect was first reported by mountain climbers in the Alps although I am sure that natives of Peru also saw the marvel. It really works on these flights as the plane flies low on the way to Walkers.



The next treat is when you get to the Bahama banks. If the water is clear as it was on our trip, you can see the underwater landscape through the water. This is an amazing surreal view of the ocean floor complete with corals, sand hills and gullys. A polarizing filter helps with photography of this scene. Be sure to take your pictures quickly as this view only lasts about ten minutes or less.

If you miss these on the way to Walkers get on the right hand side of the plane on the way back and sit in a window seat. If you get on the sun side of the plane, the glare off the scratches and spots on the windows make pictures almost impossible.



At the end of the 50 minute flight Walkers Cay comes into sight. The airstrip dominates the 100 acre island. Again, the advantage of a good position on the plane helps get a good shot. You can also see the yacht basin, the hotel and the surrounding reef structure. I always look but never see any of the waiting sharks.

I was hot to get into the water...Janie was a bit more relaxed. That afternoon I was the only one on the boat...Yes that is right... I was the only customer on the boat. The dive master was Tony. I've known Tony for about nine years...first meeting him when he was just starting to work on the boats. He is a really great guy and has turned into a great divemaster. Snoopy is still driving the boats with the ease of an old hand.

Over the next couple of days we went to the areas where the sharks are fed. Nowdays they feed the sharks every other day. I actually enjoy the dives where they do not feed the sharks better as the sharks are not hyped up and easier to photograph.



The following are a number of the pictures I took during the trip. One thing I wanted to try was my rebreather around the sharks of Walkers. The only other rebreathers that had been there were with a National Geographic crew. It was quite evident that the sharks treated me differently when I had the rebreather. They came closer and were a bit curious about me. However they were not any more agressive. Other fishes allowed me to get much closer than with OC as has been my experience on other reefs.

On the first dive, I found one of the most dangerous things I would see all week.	The top of the reefs are covered with living corals.
	Looks like lunch, one of the best meals on the island is cracked conch. My lunch each day on the trip.
Cuda on the cleaning station.	Janie with healthy elkhorn coral.
My Rebreather on the reef	Janie watches the sharks
Photo teamwork. The chumcyicle comes down. (right)
	Reluctantly leaving the water
A few shots of around the island.

A hungry shark waiting
for our next visit.