PHOTO GALLERY: BAHAMAS ADVENTURE

For Kim Yarbrough, a black scuba diver from Atlanta, swimming with sharks in the deep waters of the Bahamas was an experience she'll not soon forget.     
 
“I loved the shark dive!” said Yarbrough, a pharmaceutical sales manager.  “There are really few words to describe the feeling of having Caribbean Reef sharks buzzing by your head in open water. Not only do you observe these huge animals in their natural environment, but you get to touch them as well.”
 
Yarbrough was among the group of adventurous African American scuba divers who came face-to-face with about 20 sharks -- the ocean’s most feared predators – 50 feet beneath the sea.
 
Zig-zagging from the shadows off Grand Bahama Island, sharks circled overhead and swam within inches of the divers, which also included this writer. There were no cages, no glass-bottom boats, no walls to separate sharks from people.
 
The exhilarating one-hour shark dive was arranged by the Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO) in Freeport, Bahamas and coincided with the 19th annual summit of The National Association of Black Scuba Divers (NABS) in November.
 
The dives were designed to educate NABS members about sharks and dispel the notion that all sharks are man-eating monsters. A professional shark handler wearing a stainless-steel suit fed the sharks fresh fish and even rubbed their snouts while divers watched in amazement on the sandy ocean floor.

“The experience of being in close proximity with these large and graceful animals never ceases to awaken a sense of awe and amazement in me,” said Bill Murrain, an Atlanta lawyer and a former NABS president who was recently inducted into the NABS Hall of Fame.
 
Francine Whittington, a scuba diver from Phoenix, said the dive was somewhat therapeutic.
 
“The shark dive was a more than just a dive for me - it was a way for me to conquer my fear of sharks,” said Whittington, a procurement manager for the State of Arizona, who reluctantly signed up for the dive. 
 
“This experience was very positive and gave me a new understanding of sharks,” Whittington said. “And that I got to share it with my NABS family made it even more special.”
 
The National Association of Black Scuba Divers was founded in January 1991 and has been a catalyst for promoting scuba diving throughout the African-American community. Women now make up half of NABS’ membership.   NABSdivers.org  

The NABS 2009 Summit was held in November on Grand Bahama Island, -- also known as Freeport -- a relaxed, tropical destination an hour from Miami with beautiful white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, great seafood, an excellent 18-hole golf course and a Vegas-style casino.    Bahamas.com             
 
"While tight travel budgets are a necessity of these difficult times, the NABS Summit presents the opportunity for African-American divers from both the United States and other parts of the world to have access to each other,” said Zel Head, President of NABS and an attorney based in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
“Attendees not only engage each other socially, but often address issues such as the marine environment, economic opportunities and dive safety. Many of these matters are discussed from an African-American perspective," Head said.
One of NABS’ most cherished projects is an underwater archeology class that teaches members how to identify sunken slave ships like the Henrietta Marie, that sank off the coast of Florida in 1700.  The Henrietta Marie is the only sunken slave ship in the world where more than 20,000 artifacts were recovered, .....

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