Shark Diving!
Our first attempt at shark diving was niched by the weather. After some rearranging, we get it rescheduled for 3 days later. It is with a different company and in a different bay. We are just as excited, but the bay tends to draw smaller sharks and as a small population we have been told. Researching the company online several people have complained they did not see sharks and only receive a voucher for 1 year, compared to the other company guaranteeing sharks or I think they return your money.
Originally, we were to dive with Marine Dynamics in Gansbaai which has a large “seal island”. We found out the size and population of sharks in the area depend on the bays’ “seal island”. Many of the South Africa’s bays have “seal islands” which simple is an island that supports that bay’s seal population. The “Seal Island” we often her on TV and is in False Bay. False Bay only draws sharks between February and October. It is supposed to have spectacular shark sightings and the Great White breaches. Gansbaai has the largest population of Great Whites and often there year around. Gansbaai has a large seal island the supports 40000 seals. We original selected Gansbaai over False Bay because the greater number of sharks and they allowed children as young as 7 in their cages.
The night before we get ready to head to Gansbaai to dive we received an email cancelling the dive, because of weather. We worked with our area travel agent to reschedule diving in Mossel Bay. Mossel Bay has a smaller “seal island” it supports only about 2500 seals. What this means is there a small population of Great Whites and the Great Whites in the area tend to be younger juveniles. Once the shark gets between 12-14 feet it will move down to Gansbaai or False Bay where there is a much larger seal population. We were a bit disappointed, but we were going shark diving and we were on our way.
The day finally arrived. We arrived at the dive shop a bit early and got our first disappointing news. Well, it was a relief to Brooklyn and a disappointment to Kaleigh that there were not old enough to get into the cage, they had to be twelve with this company. However, the skipper let us know that they can make exceptions on the boat depending on several things. So, there was still a possibility for the girls get in. As we waited another group showed up to join us. The group was a group of veterinary students from University of Missouri.
The boat ride to the seal island was about 10-15 minutes. Our guides informed us that the sharks were always in the water around the island so they did not have to bait to bring sharks in. This fact was immediately clear as we saw the first shark minutes after the boat anchored. However, sharks quickly lose interest in the boat and the cage so they do place chum in the water in use a large tuna head to bring the sharks in from the cage.
The cage was lowered in the water and the sharks started coming in. We were having a great time on top of the boat. After the second group got out of the water it was our turn. Kaleigh still had high hopes, she ran over to see if she could get in a wetsuit, unfortunately it was a no. So, Kaleigh and Brooklyn stayed a top as Elizabeth and I get in the cage. I think this was the scariest part now. Once we got in the cage the sharks came in. It was really cool. At one point a shark tested, with his mouth, the side of cage right in front of me. He was about 4 inches from my hand and about a foot from my face. Shark diving is definitely excitement!
Some of the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmS4SIibKtE
I will get some more video up shortly!
