Experience cage diving Gansbaai?

[Mikeburg]

Hi,

Has anyone ever did a cage dive in the end of May at Gansbaai?

I've booked a trip with Marine Dynamics the 20t. and was wondering if anyone has experience with them and what would the average visibilty be around that time of the year?

Thanks for your reply.

Rgds

Mike

 

[AndyT]

Hi Mike

Welcome to the board !!!

I dived with them in Nov last year and had a good experience . Andre Hartman is a pretty knowlegeble guy and is always happy to share info and answer questions .They normally take about 10 - 12 people on the boat so it isn't too crowded . I seem to recall him saying May was a good month in terms of viz - 10 m is usually good enough to see the sharks .

Where are you travelling from ?

Safe Diving

Andrew

 

[Mikeburg]

Hi Mike

Welcome to the board !!!

I dived with them in Nov last year and had a good experience . Andre Hartman is a pretty knowlegeble guy and is always happy to share info and answer questions .They normally take about 10 - 12 people on the boat so it isn't too crowded . I seem to recall him saying May was a good month in terms of viz - 10 m is usually good enough to see the sharks .

Where are you travelling from ?

Safe Diving

Andrew

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply, I've just discovered scubaboard and I think it's fantastic for information etc.

I'm flying in from the Netherlands, and really looking forward to this experience.
I was especially interested in the viz as I bought a new camera and was hoping to hear the figure of approx 10M what you just mentioned to have those greate pics.

Have you also dived in Sodwana? I was there November last year and really enjoyed that too!

Best regards

Mike

 

[ScubaWim]

Mike, We did Andre Hartmann's cagedive last september. It was quite an experience. We liked Andre as a guide because he can be very informative. We weren't provided with scubagear. So train your "freediving" skills. If you look in the photogallery of Scubaboard you may find some pics I made of the great white.

If you have time and funds do visit Aliwal Shoal (south of Durban). Although the time of year you are going is not very goor for spotting raggies you may find this dive exciting. It can be quite thrilling do dive there because of the sometimes very strong current and swells.

Another option is Protea Banks. Deep (30-40 metres) and strong current but famous for shark encounters. We didn't do this dive but will probably come back to SA for it.

Happy diving!

 

[ShakaZulu]

Keep this up guys, there is a reason the number of Great White attacks are on the increase.......go figure. Was it Pavloff who demonstrated the power of association???

 

[ScubaWim]

You may be right Shakazulu but seeing these magnificent creatures may also contribute to their protection. There are always two sides to a story. The sharks we saw, at least 5 different ones didn't pay any attention to us in the cage. The link between the chum and human beings is therefore not very likely.

As long as people know that the sea is not their habitat but the habitat of sharks etc. we should not respond to a shark attack by slaughtering them. People who think such a slaughter would be the only solution are obviously indifferent to the species and should maybe learn more about sharks...

 

[ShakaZulu]

You may be right Shakazulu but seeing these magnificent creatures may also contribute to their protection. There are always two sides to a story. The sharks we saw, at least 5 different ones didn't pay any attention to us in the cage. The link between the chum and human beings is therefore not very likely.

As long as people know that the sea is not their habitat but the habitat of sharks etc. we should not respond to a shark attack by slaughtering them. People who think such a slaughter would be the only solution are obviously indifferent to the species and should maybe learn more about sharks...

I'm going down there to KiteBoard at the end of this year......will let you know how dangerous it is. If I don't, you know what happened.

 

[ScubaWim]

So you will also let dangerous animals into your habitat? Maybe you should find a location without any chance of encountering sharks. This should be not that difficult since may shark species are rapidly on their way to extinction because humans thinh they are either tastfull or threathening...

 

[sbloomer]

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your reply, I've just discovered scubaboard and I think it's fantastic for information etc.

I'm flying in from the Netherlands, and really looking forward to this experience.
I was especially interested in the viz as I bought a new camera and was hoping to hear the figure of approx 10M what you just mentioned to have those greate pics.

Have you also dived in Sodwana? I was there November last year and really enjoyed that too!

Best regards

Mike

Mike

I dived Gansbaai in the second week of June last year and it was fantastic. The vis was around 25m (in fact you could see the bottom). We saw about 60 sightings of allegedy 12 different sharks. Some boats have more luck than others, but a lot depends on the day.

ShakaZulu - it wasn't Pavloff, but Ivan PavloV who came up with the idea. Anyway, there are numerous theories about the increasing incidence of shark attack and the associative is one that's been deemed to be the least credible. Anyway, simple statistics will show - more people in the water = more sttacks. Same as more cars on the road - more accidents.