Guest comments: “Great experience! Lots of fun seeing the sharks up close!” Tanvi + Ishan
“Wonderful experience! Keep up the conservation efforts. We couldn’t ask for more. Thanks!” – Derek + Christine
“Unforgettable experience! Apex predator, it’s so wonderful!!!!” Roy + Candy
25/07/2018
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 15.1°C + 15.1°C + 15.3°C
Depth: 10.3 m + 10.0m + 11.3m
Visibility: 5.0 m + 5.0m + 4.0m
White Sharks Seen: 4 + 1 + 4
Conditions: Cloudy with a light drizzle in the morning that dissipated during our first trip. Minimal swell.
Our first trip of the day launched with the sunrise and a bit of sprinkling. Fortunately, despite the imperfect sky conditions, our visibility was outstanding and we didn’t have to wait long for our first shark. We had all familiar faces around, with the first shark a 3 meter male with 2 scratches along his left side. He stayed with us throughout most of the trip, giving all of our divers some stunning views. He only left for a bit when new sharks arrived. Clampo, the 3 meter male, was back again today but didn’t seem his usual self. He made a few attempts at the bait then disappeared into the deep. Perhaps he woke up on the wrong side of the current today! After his disappearance, our divers waited patiently, dreaming that they were in the Bahamas in some very warm tropical waters. Thankfully it didn’t take long before a female we knew snuck up under the seal decoy. She’s a 4 meter female with scars on her dorsal fin much like Clampos. She did a few nice passes then left. A little while later we had a new white shark approach, this one about 1.8 meters long with an abrasion on its left side. People often want to see the big sharks, but this little guy stole the show, lunging completely out of the water as he made attempts at the bait line. He was a great way to end a great morning! The second trip of the day was for high school sports team visiting from the United Kingdom. The team were excited as the boys boarded Dream Catcher in the hopes of continuing on from the success of the previous trip. The wait for the first shark to arrive was just a little under an hour however it was worth the wait as a 4.0m plus female finally appeared. This is one of the big females in the bay at the moment, easily identified through it’s dorsal, whilst the trailing edge of the dorsal fin is one of the White sharks unique features it is the fact that her fin has sustained damage at some point leading the a collapse in the tip that makes her easy to pick out amongst any other sharks in the area at the moment. She stuck around for all cages allowing each guest a good look at her. The final trip of the day launched and after a quick anchor change we had our first shark, a small but feisty juvenile which appeared as if out of no where and then disappeared just as fast. Perhaps it was because of the larger shark that made its’ presence known only moments later that this little shark had made a quick getaway! By the end of this trip we had four different shark sightings including the first, the smallest of the day, estimated at a maximum length of only 2.0m, two sharks, a female and male approximately 3.0m in length and the star of the afternoon a 4.0m female we have had in the bay the last few days and was well known in the area at the start of the year.
If you are looking to get up close and personal with the great white shark then Great White Shark Cage 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.
