Guest comment: “Amazing trip, saw a Southern Right whale and a Copper shark! Staff very knowledgeable and accommodation. Thank you so much for a great experience!” – Xander
“Amazing to see the Copper sharks so close, seals and the bonus whale! The crew and company were great. Nice waves. Thank you!” – The Holyoake Family
“Had an amazing experience in the cage seeing Copper sharks and a whale in the distance. Will definitely come back to see the Great Whites!” – Amanda
03/08/2017
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 15.2’C + 15.3’C
Depth: 10.2m + 9.8m
Visibility: 1.0m + 1.0m
Number of White Sharks: 0 + 0
Conditions: Clear skies, light breeze and slight swell rolling through.
Nothing like a bit of vitamin sea after two days off the water! It was a lovely day to be out on sea with conditions settling down from the previous days with just a slight swell still present.
We had a very successful morning out on board Slashfin, and whilst it was not in the conventional sense, with again no White sharks being sighted. The bay is in fact an area that many different species of sharks visit and one of those paid the boat a visit today, the Bronze whaler, also known as the Copper or Narrow-toothed shark.
This approaching shadow had hearts racing as it glided in from afar and those on deck raised the warning with cries of shark! However, as the shadow cruised closer and closer it became apparent that this was not in fact the shark we have been looking for, but at the end of the day a shark is a shark and the sighting of one was very much welcome! The Copper shark differs from the White shark in many ways, the physical characteristics of these sharks allow us to identify them quite easily once close. The White shark is known for the pointed shape of its’ snout, highly defined pigmentation line and near symmetrical shape of its caudal fin or tail whereas the Copper shark has a very rounded, blunt snout, light bronze in colour and an elongated upper lobe to the caudal fin.
It appears that two different Copper sharks made an appearance this morning, with a large female sporting fresh bite marks on her head and light scarring behind her dorsal fin the first to show up, followed later by a smaller shark with no markings.
The group was also treated to the view of a Southern Right whale moving through the Shallows, only about 100m away from where we were anchored and of course the ever-present Cape Fur seals of Geyser rock ended a beautiful morning on the water.
The second trip of the day launched with a family of ten visiting from Mexico and staying locally with the hopes of seeing some sharks. Well the sharks were around, with the Copper sharks appearing again for this trip.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Diving in South Africa, 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.
