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She almost fed me to the sharks!
Saturday, June 28 After having a whale of a good time yesterday, we ventured to the town of Gansbaai for a quick romp with the Great Whites. Birkenhead sounded the alarm at 7:00AM for our departure to this city that has waters infested with what are called “shy” creatures. Migrating in huge numbers this time of year, the great whites hang near seal island looking for a tourist or two to fall off their boats (actually looking for young seals just a few months old that also spend time with around 400,000 other seals in the area) A bit late to the van, our fellow divers weren’t too thrilled with us, but were barely awake themselves. The one hour journey to Gansbaai seemed to go by fast as we were full of excitement and anticipation, and we’re sure a bit of stupidity. We weren’t sure the day earlier if conditions would be safe. Only 3 weeks prior, one of the diving boats capsized in poor conditions given a large swell and a few passengers unfortunately did not survive - but not as a result of the sharks. We found
it odd that our guides started our tour with a full selection of breakfast, danishes, and other concoction (we’ll get the that in a bit), but heartily ate until our stomachs were bursting. After a brief video on shark conservation and a brief 25 page life release form, we got into our lifevests and rainjackets and made our way to the boats. Over a dozen shark diving boats from many different companies were represented that day. As we walked to the launch ramp (more of a dirt beach), we noticed tens of groups of other divers congregating in what looked like local’s front yards doing the same type of orientation we did at a dive shop. Making our way to the boat, we tried to make sure we were the first on, as only 6 people could stay in the tower, and the other 12 or so divers needed to stay at the lower deck. With massive swells we set sail in the Atlantic / Indian Ocean. A brilliant half circle and radiant rainbow greeted us on the way to the dive site. It began raining at a few points on the way out and reminded me somewhat of the
movie “Perfect Storm”. It reminded Tabitha of “Open Water”. Finding our dive location was easy - it seemed that our guides found the spot where other dive companies were already nested and dropped anchor - of course it took them a few tries and more than a few minutes to get this anchor lodged well - (but in hindsight they did pretty well considering last time in Havasu it not only took us longer to drop anchor than it took the company, but we also drove away with it still attached - needless to say we need a new anchor). First group of 5 divers was called and the crew began throwing barrels of fish oil, bait, and a seal decoy around the cage. A large metal container, it resembles a small balcony fashioned after a birdcage. We opted NOT to go first - something inside us told us that we’d wait for the sharks to get interested before we entered the freezing water. Our first shark encounter was incredible. The shark attacked the bait and the decoy and was only inches from the cage and divers inside. It wrenched and wrought and looked like it could have just as
easily made its way on board with a sudden jerk of its tail. With the guides screaming “To your left, to your right, underneath, down in front”, it seemed quite chaotic. All this with huge swells rocking our little boat and banging it against the cage attached. The next set of divers were called in and we were “On deck” to go last. Spending a little too much time in the cabin gearing up with my wetsuit, and trying to help Tabitha and some other poor fellow find a wetsuit in a cabin closet made me feel a bit ill. I took outside, began salvitating madly, and knew that my days of sea worthiness were numbered. Out came the conconcoctions, eggs, and Danishes - I think I even saw some of my special K - good thing was that there were plenty of small fish around to eat my fish food. I pushed on, finished getting on my wetsuit and Tabitha and I were ready to take the plunge. The cage was rocky and entrance into it was not inviting. Tabitha and I slammed into the cage in front, the boat behind, and each other to the sides. Instantly a
shark was in front of us. Huge teeth, ominous eyes, and tranquil tail swimming as if it was just any other fish. We were in the cage without any tanks and needed to come up for air. Under the water, a serene environment, with the sharks swimming about and small fish paling around. When we needed air, an entire different world erupted. Above water the waves would crash on us, make it difficult to catch a deep breath, all the while we needed to get back down to serenity and to see the big fishes. Tabitha swallowed more water than a 10 gallon fish tank and was shaking violently from the extreme cold. Apparently she loved every minute of it. At one point my snazzy camera got snared by the cage and me along with it. I managed to untie my neckstrap from the cage and wasn’t in any danger, but it was quite a hectic moment. The pics will speak for themselves - we truly hope you enjoy them because we both enjoyed this experience completely. On a side note, the first diver group was surprised to see a Barracuda in the water - apparently so were our guides!
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Joe LeVecke
non-member comment
Wow!!!
Sean and Tabitha, What an amazing trip you guys are having!!! Regina and I are really enjoying keeping track of your activities. The White Shark dive is incredible. Sean...you have mucho grande cajones. Tabitha...you are a saint for keeping track of our boy. Continue to have fun and we look forward to seeing you soon. Joe and Reg