Whale sharks 2014

[Ralph Capeling]

​LOTS OF WHALE SHARKS Today, April 18 we had three boats in the whale shark zone and all saw whale sharks. Princess Taia divers saw a 25 to 30 foot whale shark on surface. Mantaray divers saw a 25 footer deep in the am and 3 more in the afternoon with one of them 30 to 35 feet long. The third boat saw one close to surface - at about 10 to 20 feet. They also saw a blue marlin at 60 feet that came within 5 feet of the divers!!!!!

---------- Post added April 19th, 2014 at 05:54 PM ----------

Saturday April 19 All our boats saw whale sharks again! One boat saw a 20 footer on surface and also saw an old friend who comes every year (easily recognized due missing part of a fin) and always seems to hang with the divers for an extended time. Another boat full of very excited divers saw a small one one on surface, had one 40 footer hang with them at depth for almost the whole dive and saw spawning jacks, snappers and ocean trigger fish. The last boat to come in saw 3 whale sharks and two of them were big swimming below them at 90 to 100 feet. S special bonus was a dozen dolphins swimming close to the surface and within about 5 feet of the divers! Another great whale shark diving day!
Regards
Ralph

 

[dlofting]

Just wanted to say thanks to Splash Dive for some great dives on our recent trip to Placencia. We missed the whale sharks by a couple of days, but did get to see the huge schools of snapper and jacks. Patty and Ralph run a first class operation with some wonderful, competent people as divemasters, boat captains, cooks and office "organizers".....would highly recommend Splash and Placencia if you're planning a trip to Belize.

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Just wanted to say thanks to Splash Dive for some great dives on our recent trip to Placencia. We missed the whale sharks by a couple of days, but did get to see the huge schools of snapper and jacks. Patty and Ralph run a first class operation with some wonderful, competent people as divemasters, boat captains, cooks and office "organizers".....would highly recommend Splash and Placencia if you're planning a trip to Belize.

Thank you very much for the endorsement! Feedback like like this makes my day! Patty and I and our crew will continue to do our best for all who come to dive and snorkel with us.
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 12:12 PM ----------

Sunday April 20th Divers on the first of our dive boats saw one whale shark in the morning and three in the afternoon! The snorklers saw a 20 footer that came so close that it the view finder on one snorkelers view finder was too small!!!!! A second dive boat saw a 25 footer that hung around for a long time and kept returning to the divers and a second one pased about 10 feet or so below the divers. On Princess Taia divers saw 2 on the second dive but they were deep at about 120 feet but they saw a reef shark, lots of horse eye jacks and an "estimated" 7000 dog snapper!
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added April 21st, 2014 at 05:08 PM ----------

Today, Easter Monday April 21st, we had two boats in the whale shark zone but found no whale sharks. Saw lots of snapper but they were down at 100 feet or more. Besides a great lunch, the highlight of the day was the snorkel inside the reef. This is a very nice area for snorkelling and not often visited other than at whale shark time as there is no caye to barbecue on.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Tuesday April 22nd we had one boat in the whale shark zone and found no whale sharks. Snapper are still there. Are the whale sharks still there? We are taking 4 die hard customers out today to find out.
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added April 24th, 2014 at 07:15 AM ----------

Yesterday, Wednesday April 23rd Splash had one boat out in the whale shark zone. One whale shark spotted but it was very deep. We have a boat going out again today - we have some very die hard whale shark enthusiasts visiting us here in Belize!
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Thursday April 24 we had one dive boat to the whale shark zone. No whale sharks spotted. Next whale shark moon starts May 14.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Today May 13th we tested the waters for whale sharks and had some very happy guests. In addition to seeing a 30 foot whale shark they got to snorkel with dolphins, saw 3 mating turtles and spotted eagle rays! Great start for the May whale shark moon!
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Today, May 15th we had 3 boats in the whale shark zone - this was the start of our scheduled whale shark dives although we had one boat out for one dive yesterday on a charter basis and saw a whale shark. Today all three Splash boats saw whale sharks. The first boat saw a 25 foot whale shark on surface on the second dive. They reported the culbera snapper at 60 feet on the first dive and deeper on the second plus saw a bull shark and a large school of jacks. The second boat saw whale sharks on both dives with a whale shark coming to surface on the first dive and at about 40 feet to near surface on the second plus saw a huge ramora. Only one guest on the third boat (snorkelers) saw a whale shark but the guests swam with dolphins during the surface interval and saw a large turtle.
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

May 16th, all four Splash boats saw whale sharks. Princess Ailsa was a good example and saw whale sharks both dives, spotting a small one (10 to 12 feet) on the surface on first dive. On the second dive, they found the snapper with the fish finder and gathered in a tight group at depth to concentrate the bubbles to attract the whale sharks. The saw three although they stayed fairly deep. They also saw a bull shark and a scalloped hammer head.
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added May 17th, 2014 at 08:44 PM ----------

WOW!!!!! Today May 17 was a very special day for whale sharks! All four boats saw whale sharks,some right on the surface, and some saw lots of snaper, jacks, a silky shark, a bull shark, a lemon shark, two turtles that seemed very amorous (with each other, not with the divers). But the best goes to Princess Ailsa which was our first Splash Dive boat and which continues to be a favourite with divers - they saw seven whale sharks! Talk about excited guests. It was the classical situation where the divers close ranks to concentrate the bubbles. One guest had the whale shark come right to his head so he tipped his head back so the bubbles were above him and that diverted the whale shark from feeding on the bubbles right out of his reg!!!! If you go on our website and look at the video, you will see a similar thing from a few years ago - whale shark right in the divers face!!!! If divers touch the whale sharks they get a big fine. In this case, the whale shark will have to pay the fine!!! This is really great stuff and and guest experiences like this really makes it rewarding to be in this diving business!!!
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Sunday May 18th - no day off for the whale sharks or their fans! Whale sharks spotted again with some deep but a couple of close encounters where the classical find the snapper with the fish finder and put the divers in the water over the snapper in a tight group to concentrate bubbles to lure the whale sharks to the divers. It is a real rush to see one of those giants rise from the deep and come directly toward you! Divers also saw a sailfish and during the surface interval snorkel saw 2 dolphins. Another great day in the whale shark zone!
Regards
Ralph

 

[Ralph Capeling]

Monday May 19th was another excellent whale shark day with 3 or 4 spotted by most boats. One 30 footer and the others about 20 feet. Princess Madison which is the smallest Splash boat out had a very good encounter with the whale shark on surface for 20 to 25 minutes! One of our chartered boats only saw whale sharks deep but had a visit by a curious bull shark that kept circling them during their safety stop. During the lunch/snorkel/surface interval inside the reef one diver reported on the snorkeling "saw a sting ray, a great big hermit crab and lots of cool stuff" - time well wasted!
Regards
Ralph

---------- Post added May 21st, 2014 at 06:13 AM ----------

Monday May 20th - no whale sharks sighted by any boats :depressed:
Trying again today
Regards
Ralph