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Published: December 17th 2009
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Greetings
We don’t usually blog just one event but the day we went cage diving with GREAT WHITE SHARKS was so amazing it deserves a blog to itself
The day started early in Hermanus at 6am we were heading 30km’s down the coast to the shark capital of the world Gansbaai. We met up with the captain and the shark wranglers, had a quick safety talk which basically consisted of if you stick any limbs out of the cage you will get them bitten off and we were all set. The boat was a specially designed boat that allows you to fit a cage onto the side of it that you lower into the water. We were heading out 15km to Dyer island that has around 40,000 cape furs seals breading on it (which the great white hunts). We had been delayed in Hermanus for a couple of days as the weather had been too rough to dive in as the waves were to big and the visibility meant you would not see the sharks until they were too close.
Fortunately the weather was perfect, a bit overcast but flat as a pond when we anchored in shark
alley. We had barely stopped the engines when the first shark cruised past us, it was about 4m long and circled the boat a few times as the crew got the cage into position. The cage is anchored to the side of the boat to stop it drifting away but also so that the sharks cannot blind side you when you are in the cage and take you from behind!
The cage takes 5 people in it and floats on the surface, when you are in position they close the top on it and you are set to go. You don’t use scuba gear as the sharks don’t like the bubbles so you snorkel instead. The shark wranglers are busy chumming the water full of fish guts and blood and they also have a huge chunk of rotten fish which they throw out on a line to lure the sharks in close to the cage pulling it towards the cage then yanking it out the water at the last minute (although a couple of times the sharks were to quick and they caught the bait and then yanked the fish clean of the line with a few death rolls
which is quite a sight).
Louise went in first with the underwater camera whilst I took photos from the top platform of the boat. At this stage there were a couple of great whites circling the boat that were around 4m long. Louise got in the cage and was sealed in, the wranglers were throwing guts and the lure out and the sharks were swimming so close to the cage after the lure that they would brush against it. The wranglers knew their business and were getting the sharks to come in head on to the cage only veering away at the last minute when the lure was yanked out of the water.
Whilst I was taking photos and Louise was in the cage the captain who was stood next to me exclaimed Jesus that’s one big mother!!! I turn to the right and saw the biggest shark we saw that day, it was a shade over 6m and about as big as they get. The surprising thing about it was how chunky they are, they are not just long but really wide as well. The shark cruised past the cage and from where I was standing you
could see that it was much bigger that the cage, it was a real jaws moment where I thought we are going to need a bigger boat!!!
All the other sharks disappeared whilst this one cruised around but it was a clever old shark and once the bait had been yanked away a few times it disappeared. Louise had been in the cage about 20mins and the water is freezing and we swapped over and I got in. It truly is an amazing experience seeing a great white cruise past you so close that they brush up against the cage and you end up retreating to the other side making sure all your limbs are inside. We both had 2 turns in the cage Louise’s last one was for half an hour and she got out blue and her teeth didn’t stop chattering until we were back on shore, but she ensures me that it was well worth it.
We were out for around 2 hours in shark alley and the whole time there was at least one shark cruising round the boat. The skipper thought that we saw around 10 different sharks that day and I must
admit when I went swimming the next day at cape point I didn’t really go to far out of my depth……..
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lol and mum
non-member comment
What a gentleman sending Louise first!!! Then sending her back again until she turned blue, you know she is a delicate flower. The photos are amazing and the expereince sounds terrific. In days to come when you have had a few too many and gone to bed you might be rudley awakened with the thought of a shark devouring you. Anyway Adam was a very brave 'soldier' going into the water with a wounded leg, or was that the plan? Miss you both, snowing and very cold here, can't wait until end of Jan 2010. Save journey across the desert. Los of love. How many weeks in Oz does this grant me?