Guest Comment: “Extremely informative, well organized, professional and truly life changing. Thanks very much!” -Maree
“Really amazing experience! Having a marine biologist onboard really added that extra bit. Loved it and can’t wait to do it again!”
15/12/2016
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.8’C + 15.4’C
Depth: 10.0 m + 8.41 m
Visibility: 1.0 m + 1.0-2.0 m
Number of Sharks: 6 + 7
Conditions: A gorgeous day to be at sea! Perfect sunshine, flat seas, and a light breeze.
It was a perfect day to be at sea. The sea was flat, the sun was shining, and the sharks were out and about!
Trip 1
Our first trip began with a short 30 minute wait full of fun shark facts before the first shark arrived. It was a 2.4 meter male white shark with a fresh wound above his right pelvic fin. This trip was dominated by the males, with 5 of the 6 being male white sharks. The second shark was a 2.8 meter male with an arrow shaped scar above its right pelvic fin. The second was a larger male at 3.8 meters long. He stuck around for a bit then was joined by a smaller 2.3 meter long male with notches in its dorsal fin and scuff marks across its face, left pectoral fin, and in front of its dorsal fin. The last 2 sharks were sharks that we know very well. First was the only female of this trip, “Paisley” a 3.5 meter female white shark who currently has an acoustic tag that was placed by the Dyer Island Conservation Trust. The second was “Pieter” a 3.3 meter male white shark with distinguishable marks- 2 black marks on the left side and 2 white ones on the right side. “Pieter” was part of the D.I.C.T. biopsy study and has also been previously tagged by the D.I.C.T.
Trip 2
Our second trip started out a bit sooner, with 2 sharks circling boat upon arrival. One was a young female white shark named “Gigi” who is 2.0 meters long. She was with a large 3.7 meter white shark who’s only distinguishable feature was blue marks on its snout. We had a few more juvenile sharks around, of which the third shark stuck around with us most of the trip. This was a 3.1 meter long white shark with a light patch on the top of its head, a white mark on its left pectoral fin, 2 white marks on the right side of the caudal peduncle, and a black line in front of its right eye. The next shark was a 2.5 meter white shark with a few white marks- on the leading edge of its dorsal, on its left side above the pelvic fin, and on the leading edge of the upper lobe of the tail. It played with the decoy a bit before taking off. We had a short period wondering if sharks would return, when suddenly 2 sharks appeared right in front of the cage, swimming parallel to each other. One was 2.3 meters long with a light mark on the top of its head, and the other was 2.4 meters long with no markings. They quickly scurried off and we knew a larger shark had to be near. Soon a 3.7 meter long male white shark appeared. It had a white mark below the right side of its dorsal fin, on the leading edge of its dorsal fin, and also along the top lobe of the tail. He gracefully maneuvered around the mullet swimming near the decoy, passing closely in front of the cage, giving everyone inside an amazing view of his beautifully evolved body. He was the perfect end to a perfect day!
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Shark Diving in Gansbaai, and more specifically with Marine Dynamics, is a once-in-a-lifetime experience you won’t want to miss. Book and pay online with us and get a free video of your encounter with the world’s apex predator.
