Guest Comment: “Awesome to see the sharks so close! Well organized and well worth the trip!” – Caroline
“Lively marine biologist! Awesome crew! Great trip!” -Patrick
“Loved it! Will hopefully be back again in the future!” -Austin
01/08/2016
Location: Geldsteen
Water Temperature: 15.1’C + 15.4’C + 15.4’C
Depth:12.0 m + 17.0 m + 21.1 m
Visibility: 3 m + 3 m + 4 m
Number of Sharks: 9 + 5 + 10
Conditions: Another spring like winter day with beautiful sunshine.
Trip 1
As we launched out of Gansbaai harbor this morning, due to low tides, we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise as the sun peaked out from behind Gansbaai mountain. A beautiful orange glow reflected off the water and we knew it was going to be another great day at sea. On our first trip we only had a 15 minute wait before the first shark arrived. They kept coming after that. Within the first 20 minutes of our divers getting into the water we had 4 different sharks around the boat! One of these sharks was a small male, roughly 2.5 meters in length with very distinct bite marks and scars on its sides. It was highly active and made several quick and consecutive passes at the seal decoy and bait line. This shark spent most of the trip with us, however whenever it would leave, a few larger sharks would appear. One of these sharks was a shark we’ve seen around a few times this past week that we call “Sellendillon.” He tends to be a bit slow when he first arrives, just checking out all of the divers, but it doesn’t take him long to start coming up from the depths and making attempts at the decoy. His size and activity makes him a crowd favorite.
Trip 2
Our second trip of the day was an exclusive trip with a lovely couple from France. We were fortunate to have a shark around the boat upon arrival at our dive location. While this was a young shark, it had a lot of spunk. It didn’t take long for a shark that we call “Mandy” to arrive. She’s a juvenile female with unique markings that make her easy to spot. She has a small notch missing from the from of her dorsal fin, and 2 large scars on each side of her body. She was accompanied by a slightly larger shark that had several scars as well. Within one hour we saw 5 different sharks!
Trip 3
Our final trip of the day was fortunate to have very calm seas. The water had a slight chop but no swell which was very nice for those who are prone to sea sickness. (Please ensure that you take motion sickness tablets before you get on to Slash Fin. Our boat remains anchored for the duration of the trip and this can cause motion sickness. Most tablets recommend to take one at least one hour in advance of departure.) On arrival we had a 3.0 meter shark with 2 wounds on its caudal. The caudal is the part of the body where the body connects to the caudal fin or tail. It didn’t take long for other sharks to begin to arrive. A highly active 2.2 meter male arrived after only 20 minutes and put on quite a show for our divers. 10 minutes later, “Sellendillon” had returned and he had brought one of my favorite sharks with him. This shark is “Mini-Nemo!” He’s a juvenile male white shark with a large portion of his right pectoral fin missing. This could likely be from a boat propeller. He watched as “Sellendillon” made a few passes, then he made a fast attempt for the bait. As soon as he realized that “Sellendillon” was returning (a much larger male shark), he took off as fast as possible. You could see his tail move quickly, propelling him through the water with such speed and force that myself and a few others on board got drenched by the splash, leaving us all laughing at how frightened he got. All in all it was another fin-tactic day at sea!
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.
