How would I go about diving with great whites?

[Scubalaslo]

This is Great White Adventures in action 2007, they claim it was an "accident". This is not the first video of this kind from them. If anyone thinks what happened to this shark is cool, they need to check their heads.

YouTube - Great White Shark Accident

 

[drbill]

I've had two friends on two separate trips to Guadalupe have GWS's go right through the cage. One filmed it in HDV, the other with a still camera. Don't remember which operator they were there with.

 

[mselenaous]

There are 6 vessels permited by the Mexican Govt. to take cage divers to see the Great White Sharks of Guadalupe. My name is Elena and I am the dive instructor aboard the B/M Andrea Lynn, the largest liveaboard in Mexico. The Andrea Lynn has just completed 9 spectacular shark trips working with San Diego Shark Diving. The other vessels are SolMarV (also Mexican), Nautilus Explorer (Canadian), and Islander, Searcher, & Horizon (all smaller San Diego boats booking through the other shark operators some mentioned above). In 2008 all vessels will be required to depart from Ensenada, MX. The CONANP regulatory permits to do these trips are fairly explicit and restrictive so all of the operations are similar. The differences then are in the durations of the trips, the boat's accomodations and staffing.

I would like to address some of the previous posts.

All boats use similar cages; all with hookah lines. There are no "bottom" cages as the anchorage (there are only a few permitted anchorage areas) at Guadalupe is 150 - 250+ ft deep. The Andrea Lynn does have an extra cage off a crane arm that is dropped to about 15 ft. deep. It also has a hookah line with emergency tanks with regulators. An awesome experience to hang out there in blue water watching these impressive creatures.

You do NOT have to be certified to cage dive on a hookah line. However we require divers to be certified with a minimum of 25 dives if they want to get in the outside deep cage. In case of an emergency, a certified diver may need to rely on scuba skills in that cage.

The post of the video where the GWS entered the cage. That incident occurred recently on the Searcher. Although there are some permit specifics on cage construction (size of openings, etc.) that has not been well regulated until now. CONANP will probably now be stricter in enforcing those details for next season.

"The Devil's Teeth" by Susan Casey is about the GWS at Farallon Is. in CA. We had the priveledge of having Susan aboard diving with us this season as well as plethora of well known professional underwater photographers and videographers from around the world. From what I've been told, the water clarity & visibility of 80+ feet at Guadalupe Island is a big attraction compared to South Africa, California, or other shark hang-outs.

The Great White Shark season at Guadalupe is mid-August through late November, so plan your 2008 trip early as they are do sell out .

Previous posts included links to two other Shark operators so I will add ours:
San Diego Shark Diving Expeditions
Sea Of Cortez Diving

I have been fortunate to experience one of the ocean's most phenomenal diving experiences and hope you each get a chance to do so in the future. The Great White Sharks of Guadalupe are massive stealth curious creatures with personalities and names. Everyone aboard this season has been awstruck with their magnificence. Come see them for yourself.

 

[grassyknoll]

mselanaous, do the boats at Guadalup rely on chummig to atract the whites? I have taken two trips out to the Farallons now and not seen a single shark, I chalk this up to there inability to chum within the marine sanctuary.

 

[mselenaous]

Primarily we rely on getting a great anchorage spot close to the seal & sea lion colonies. In order to recieve our permits, we had to have an environmental impact study done on the bait as well as the chum. Yes The CONANP permits allow baiting and chumming but restricts it to fish contents only (so none of the old cow blood methods). Seal decoys are no longer allowed. The boats at Guadalupe do chum with a "chopped mackeral or sardine soup" as well as tossing bait (usually 1/2 of a 20lb tuna) on a line. It is hard work for the shark wranglers to reel in those half tunas and toss them out again every few minutes to tease the sharks.

We go to see the great whites in their natural environment where we can neither control the environment nor the sharks. Many days we have good luck seeing them, some days are spectacular and occasionally a few are just ok. But we did see sharks every trip. If anyone wants a guarantee to see Great Whites they should visit an aquarium.

Grassyknoll, don't give up trying to see your great white sharks. Try Guadalupe.

 

[grassyknoll]

Yes The CONANP permits allow baiting and chumming but restricts it to fish contents only (so none of the old cow blood methods). Seal decoys are no longer allowed.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, at the Farallones they use the decoys although they showed no interest. I wonder what the rational is behind these decisions. I'm sure it is all about minimizing impact on behavior but it seems there's no consesus.

 

[mselenaous]

Yes The CONANP permits allow baiting and chumming but restricts it to fish contents only (so none of the old cow blood methods). Seal decoys are no longer allowed.[/QUOTE]

Interesting, at the Farallones they use the decoys although they showed no interest. I wonder what the rational is behind these decisions. I'm sure it is all about minimizing impact on behavior but it seems there's no consesus.

Yes it is interesting that different agencies take different positions. We recently had Kevin Wong aboard on one trip. He had recently complete his PhD on the great whites at the Farallons and just started at the Univ. of Hawaii. Also on each trip we had a visit from Maurico Hoyos who is about to complete his PhD on the great whites at Guadalupe. Each had quite interesting stories and opinions as well as choice comments about the different agencies. "Consensus" does not seem to be a word in either English or Spanish regulations. However "No" is universal. :no

 

[incrediblesharks]

Incredible Adventures offers great white shark dives to San Francisco's Farallon Islands. Dives take place inside a shark cage that floats at the surface. You don't have to be dive certified because all the diving is "hookah style" so you breathe from an air supply on the boat. Shark season in California is September through November. You can find more info at cagediver.com

 

[sstriano]

A seal costume and a rebreather. That will get you close.

 

[Garrobo]

Can I take out a policy on you before you leave?