Sunday, December 02, 2007
SHARK!! Back at it in Gansbaai
Back in May when I went shark cage diving with Mackenzie Horner, I didn't get into the cage because Kenz was sick and I was keeping an eye on her. I managed to go back out with the same company when I was in Cape Town a few weeks ago. It was AMAZING!!! The cage itself is attached onto the side of the boat and five people get in at a time, lined up shoulder to shoulder. They use tuna heads attached to rope lines that they continuously throw out and pull back in toward the boat as bait, and also keep "chumming" the water with fish blood and guts. Yummmm...NOT. Anyway, it does the trick and we had just gotten out to the area we were going to anchor and a shark swam by. We were on the upper deck of the boat and had a great view of the sharks. (Click to enlarge)
I also had an underwater disposible camera. The crazy thing is that there was so much going on, I forgot to put my eye to the view finder. I was busy trying to stay upright while floating, take a deep breath and dive under in time to see the sharks going by. So I didn't get *great* pictures but you get the idea. (Click to enlarge image)
The experience was absolutely the coolest ever. I went back in a second time and was in the cage a long time until it was time to go. I was on the right outside edge of the cage. The guy running the bait was just behind me and slightly to the right up on the deck of the boat. When the shark would come for the bait, he yanks on the rope to get the shark to break water and sort of jump. Being on the right, when he did that, the shark would come right at me. There was one time that the shark came straight at us and banged into the cage and swam off and another time he was right next to me, banging into the cage trying to get the bait, and that went on for quite a few seconds. Totally freaked me out while at the same time being very cool. And I guess I had my foot out of the cage a little bit too far another time because the guy next to me said "Oh my gosh, he totally almost got your foot!!!" Wow, I had no idea! Overall, extreme event, man!
I also had an underwater disposible camera. The crazy thing is that there was so much going on, I forgot to put my eye to the view finder. I was busy trying to stay upright while floating, take a deep breath and dive under in time to see the sharks going by. So I didn't get *great* pictures but you get the idea. (Click to enlarge image)
The experience was absolutely the coolest ever. I went back in a second time and was in the cage a long time until it was time to go. I was on the right outside edge of the cage. The guy running the bait was just behind me and slightly to the right up on the deck of the boat. When the shark would come for the bait, he yanks on the rope to get the shark to break water and sort of jump. Being on the right, when he did that, the shark would come right at me. There was one time that the shark came straight at us and banged into the cage and swam off and another time he was right next to me, banging into the cage trying to get the bait, and that went on for quite a few seconds. Totally freaked me out while at the same time being very cool. And I guess I had my foot out of the cage a little bit too far another time because the guy next to me said "Oh my gosh, he totally almost got your foot!!!" Wow, I had no idea! Overall, extreme event, man!
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