It's a sort of underwater petting zoo at a depth of about 12 feet. You drop off the boat to the bottom, and rays eager for food swim by, over, around and under, looking for pieces of the squid you brought along. Stingrays, like other aquatic life, tend to shy away from people, but years of fishing boats cleaning their catch created a unique spot for scavengers to swim alongside people in return for food. Serious divers will map three or four dives per day, picking their spots with attention to variety and safety, always calculating very specific limits on time and depth. Dive operators will get a sense of the skill level of those aboard and divide them accordingly.
Experienced divers tend to be helpful.
There's an enthusiasm about the sport that makes them glad to welcome newcomers and answer questions about equipment, dive sites, identification of fish or other aquatic life.