If only the beautiful people frolicking on the private beaches of Boca Raton knew what the divers were doing as their boat ran slowly parallel to the shore. There was a stiff current that day - we couldn't anchor. Towing a box full of tuna bits and octopi parts, we veered toward a small coral ledge that rises 4 feet from the sand. This is a spot in the Atlantic Ocean where sharks have learned they can get a daily free meal, and the coral ledge offers divers some protective cover against the sharks who are sure to arrive. After settling on the bottom, our dive guide opened the bait box, took out a bloody fish head, stuck it on a long barbecue fork and waved it in the murky water.
Sharks are very sensitive to the smell of blood.
Barely minutes later, the sharks began arriving. Before long, they had snapped off hors d'oeuvres and gobbled them down, but not before an amazing flow of fish blood and body parts splurted into the water. Letting tuna bits float free is like ringing a dinner bell for the big boys. The flash's bright light didn't slow down the feeding. But when the unit began to recharge, the shark snapped her head in our direction, took a bead on the camera gear and went into attack mode.