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| Sarah Fuller gets her close up shark moment, yes she was in a cage, we hope! |
Over the past decade in the shark business we have noticed the rise of solo female Shark Divers. Women like Sarah who will travel 210 miles into the middle of the Pacific not knowing a single soul to dive with Great White sharks.
Women like Sarah are not your mothers adventure seekers, they are the new generation of traveling cool:
In
the summer of 1975, my parents took me to the drive-in movie theater to
see Jaws. I was three and a half years old. And we were spending the
summer at Cape Cod. Fortunately, what could have been a major
childhood trauma, instead launched a summer of fun at the beach as we
all played Jaws, swimming in the ocean and grabbing each other by the
ankles.
This
Labor Day weekend, after more than a year of planning, with the help of
Shark Diver, I got to meet the magnificent sharks I'd been fascinated
with for most of my life.
The
trip started out a bit rocky for me. Thinking, "I like boats and I
won't get seasick," I waited until I was on the boat to put on the
seasickness
patch and take my Bonine. Big mistake. I basically threw up all the
way to the island. Mark in the galley took good care of me, offering
crackers and even finding me a can of ginger ale. And after about 24
hours, I finally managed to keep down a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich.
But
as soon as we got to Isla Guadalupe, I felt great. The cages went in
the water as soon as we arrived and I went in on the second rotation.
Dive Master Martin took time to help each of us get used to breathing
through the regulator and to make sure we felt comfortable in the
water. From the first dive, safety was the focus and we knew that
people were watching from above and making sure we were
OK. I didn't see any sharks on my first dive, or nothing I can be sure
was a shark, there were some shadows moving well below us. But on the
second dive, Pablo Escobar and his distinctive white nose arrived at the
cages. We saw five sharks on our first
day and nine on the second. Shredder was a group favorite, spending
lots of time with us throughout the trip. We also got to spend some
quality time with Bite Face. An unknown shark tried to get a little
frisky and take a nibble on the cage, but he was
gently guided away with a big stick.
While
the sharks were the headliners of the trip, it would not have been the
fantastic experience it was without the truly amazing crew. They were
very attentive (almost too much sometimes, I can get up and get my own
water you know, I don't need to be waited on hand and foot). Captain
Cary worked so hard the whole trip to make sure the boat was running
safely. Little Kyle had boundless energy and was
completely fearless, especially when he got on top of the cages to try
and get some photos of a new shark (something I am certain none of the
passengers would have been allowed to try). Nick had a great self
deprecating sense of humor and constantly positive
attitude and he looks pretty fantastic without a shirt (he doesn't wear
one often). Captain Kyle was part Julie McCoy and part Merrill
Stubing, all for fun, within reason. Most importantly, every member of
the crew seemed to be there because they love the
sharks and love what they do. They made sure we had almost as much fun
out of the cages as in them. A really interesting group of people
with great stories to tell. And they play a mean game of charades.
The
island, for being a rocky, inhospitable place, also turned out to have
amazing beauty to offer. The sunset's are nice, but it's the sunrise
that has the real wow factor. You just have to get up at 5:30AM to see
it. And the night skies are just as impressive. If you can stay up
until about 1:00AM and watch the moon set behind the mountain, you're
rewarded with more stars than you ever thought
possible.
I'm
looking forward to going back to Isla Guadalupe with Shark Diver in
2012 to see my shark friends Pablo Escobar and Shredder and Bite Face,
and
to make some new ones, both below and above the water.
Sarah Fuller
Los Angeles, CA
