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Trip Report
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Guadalupe Island, MX, Great White Shark Expedition
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Date:
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September 12-17, 2005
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Location:
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Guadalupe Island, Mexico
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Objective:
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Photograph and observe great white sharks
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Weather:
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We had some very chilly mornings, but by the afternoon, the sun came out and the winds died down. Very hot and sunny afternoons
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Dive Conditions:
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Vis averaged 80 feet, with water temp averaging 68-70 degrees. 5-7 mil wetsuit or a drysuit recommended
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| Type of Dive: |
Shark Feed.
(fish scraps used to attract sharks)
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Trip Highlights:
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12 different white sharks; including a 16-17 footer, 2300 lb. male on our second day of diving. We had two breaches only 15 feet away from the cage
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Expedition Notes
Our September trip found us 200 miles away from land, in 68-degree water, seeking out the ultimate bad boys of the ocean, the great white shark. And found them we did. In fact, in our three days of diving we found 12 of them! On our first day, we had seven different white sharks show up to say hello. It was great! This was our third visit to Guadalupe Island, Mexico and the place still blows my mind. The diving here is unreal. The personal highlight of everyone on the trip who had the opportunity to witness it, was on day two. It was a dusk dive, There were several of us down in the surface cages and the action was intense. We had two white sharks zig-zagging back and forth, trying hard to steal the hang baits from our shark wranglers on the boat. The sharks were really worked up, making close passes by our cage. I was shooting away, trying hard to get the perfect picture. This was one of the most amazing dives I had ever had here. The sharks just kept making pass after pass, all of us were just shooting away. Legendary underwater photographer, Doug Perrine was down there with us and I know he had to have been getting some amazing stuff, the sharks were so close. Then just like that, nothing... the sharks left?
Many minutes passed and I was standing there watching water, looking for sharks. I looked over at the cage next to me to see if maybe the others had seen something, but their faces told me no. It was chilly and I was getting bored, well not too bored; we had music playing in the back ground for us, AC/DC! The theory is, that the sharks get REALLY worked up when hearing music, especially AC/DC. And maybe it's true, because during the song, "For those about to Rock," things got really nasty...
I was scanning for sharks, and I just happened to glance down when I saw a 12 foot shark swimming straight up from the depths, I tried picking up my camera, when BANG, the shark launched itself completely out of the water. A FULL breach, right on our hang baits. A mere 15 feet away! I looked at the others to see if what I saw really did happened, their faces confirmed that I was not dreaming it. I was on fire. It's rare for people to witness a breach, but it's EXTREMLY rare to witness one while underwater, it's almost unheard of.
I climbed out of the cage, just exhausted emotionally. No words could ever describe what I was feeling. I mean THAT moment, my life, this adventure, was just insane. That night as we all chatted up the days events, for some reason the beer tasted somewhat sweeter, the smiles from everyone looked so much bigger. I don't know for sure if everyone else who witnessed the event was feeling as good as I did, and maybe it was all in my head, but who cares, because damn it was a great day!
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For Additional Scrapebook pics from our trip, read our upcoming anniversary issue # 12.
Coming January 2006.
To learn more about traveling with Shark Diver Magazine to Guadalupe Island , Mexico to dive with Great Whites. Click Here |
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