Guest comment: “Dream come true! Luckily we saw some sharks. Service is much better than I expected. Would do it again!” – Basil
“Amazing experience! Thank you, fantastic trip. Bucket list…check!” – Lauren + Jonah
“10/10. Thank you!” – Peter, Raegan + Molly
18/06/2017
Location: Joubertsdam
Water Temperature: 14.8’C + 14.8’C + 14.5’C
Depth: 11.0m + 9.1m + 9.3m
Visibility: 0.5m – 1.0m
Number of Sharks: 6 + 6 + 5
Conditions: Clear skies, slight changing wind and a bit of swell
What a stunning Sunday to be out on the sea! Yes, there was a chill in the air and a slight, rolling swell coming through but from our early launch for the first trip till the ride home in the afternoon with our third and final trip we had fantastic sightings and a great time on board.
The first trip saw a short wait before a small juvenile White shark made a surprise arrival from the deep. This little shark got things started with our second shark arriving soon after and with more to come we saw an action filled morning! The sharks this trip ranged from approximately 2.4m to 4.0m in length, both males and females present and varying behaviours. The stand outs of the trip would surely be the larger three, a 4.0m female that had the speed and agility of a shark much smaller and kept us all on our toes and with hands ready at our cameras and the two males similar in size, approximately 3.5m in length, known to us as “Clarence” and “PJ”. It was great to see “PJ” around as he is one of Marine Dynamics and Dyer Island Conservation Trusts study animals, with a tissue sample being taken in 2015 as part of collaborative studies with Stellenbosch University, the University of Cape Town and Sussex University in the United Kingdom and may be used for works in genetics, behavioural and toxicology research. For the bird-lovers on board the morning proved successful with two beautiful pelagic species around, a Giant Petrel and Shy Albatross.
The second trip of the day got into things quickly with “Clarence” turning up only 5 minutes after we had arrived back in the Shallows. Most of the sharks from the first trip reappeared for this one apart from the 4.0m female who unfortunately eluded us this time but with the addition of another female approximately 3.0m in length sporting three very distinguishable notches to that unique trailing edge of the dorsal fin.
The third trip followed in similar fashion to the previous two with not too much time waiting for the first sighting and some great activity. No new sharks were documented for the day during this trip with all the sharks seen being ones from earlier on in the day as the days favourites, the 4.0m female, “Clarence” and “PJ” all turning up to finish off a successful day out on the water.
Wishing a JAWsome 11th Birthday to Alex who joined us this morning. We hope the White sharks of Gansbaai made this an unforgettable day for you!
