Dive Another Day (18 images)

BY ARTHUR ST. ANTOINE

I've barely begun my descent into the Tanqueray-clear water, still equalizing my ears and fiddling with my dive computer, when a six-foot Caribbean reef shark glides into view a few yards away. The "man in a gray suit" doesn't seem interested in me, but my pulse is pounding anyway. Diving into the world of James Bond will do that do you.
Q Branch (this magazine) has sent me (agent double uh-oh) on a top-secret mission (don't tell anybody,...
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BY ARTHUR ST. ANTOINE

I've barely begun my descent into the Tanqueray-clear water, still equalizing my ears and fiddling with my dive computer, when a six-foot Caribbean reef shark glides into view a few yards away. The "man in a gray suit" doesn't seem interested in me, but my pulse is pounding anyway. Diving into the world of James Bond will do that do you.
Q Branch (this magazine) has sent me (agent double uh-oh) on a top-secret mission (don't tell anybody, okay?) to pry information from the shallow ocean reefs just off the coast of Nassau, Bahamas--code-name "Underwater Hollywood" and filming locale for several of Bond's most epic adventures. I've even got a "Felix" on the island to guide me: native Bahamian Stuart Cove, 45, owner of the largest scuba operation on New Providence and diving consultant on countless commercials and underwater movies (including three 007 flicks). When Hollywood directors need the perfect sub-sea location, a spectacular diving stunt, or--always a favorite--a school of hungry sharks, inevitably they come to Cove.
Just an hour ago, before leaving the dock on one of Cove's 40-foot dive boats, I'd asked him about the area's abundant sharks and what to do if they became aggressive. Cove's voice was serious: "Jab them in the nose with your stump." Then, noticing my pallid face, he burst out laughing. "Sorry. Old joke. Don't worry. The sharks won't pay any attention to you."
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