Jawesome trip to Guadalupe Island 2012!

Another great trip to report for the 2012 white shark season. Smooth sailing down to Guadalupe Island and 12 different sharks on the first day with visits from Diablo, Thor, The Russian, Bite Face, Harvey, Mau and Chugey along with 2 new, unidentified sharks were among the sharks competing to be photographed by our divers.

The second day was a bit slower, but we had one new shark entertain our divers all day long with some fantastic passes close to the cage.

On our last day we had" Bullseye" show up and put on the best show of the season. He has not been seen since 2009 and was curious to check us out. He was investigating our cages, propellers and divers at extremely close range, this is what we call "Epic" shark diving. Our trip back was a smooth as it gets, with glassy ocean waters and no waves.

Are you on our next trip, we cannot wait to see you!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Dive Operations
M/V Horizon
Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Underwater Photography - Setting the Bar

For those who know him they know the underwater work he does is transformative.

We know him as freediver Fred Buyle and enjoyed his company at Isla Guadalupe back in 2009 for a stunning week with our white sharks. 

We're pretty sure the work he did with our whites will be featured in his new boook soon to hit store shelves on October 24th called  "Les 100 plus belles photos."

We're also pretty sure that this book will become the bar by which all underwater books featuring big charismatic megafauna will be set.

If you're lucky enough to meet Fred you'll also know him as one of the nicest guys in the industry, truly "wɪziwɪɡ," what you see is what you get.


Congratulations Fred on the new book we'll look forward to taking an adventure with you and your team through the pages in the coming weeks.

Shark Cage Diving - Guadalupe Island Trip Report 2011

Photo Jack Mears 2011 Guadalupe Island

When Jack Mears called us in early 2011 his energy, excitement, and love of sharks came through the phone lines from the U.K as clear as the line itself.

This was a guy who just had to go shark diving with the Whites of Guadalupe.

Jack is now an Official Shark Diver and sent us this trip report from August. We'll have Jack come back and join us anytime because hard core sharks fans like him are why we exist:

Jack Mears Trip Report 25-29 August 2011.

I booked my trip with Shark Diver after having previously been on 2 unsuccessful White shark diving trips in Australia (we did have an angry young Mako which helped but still..). 

I have to admit this made me slightly skeptical of the guarantee offered to see sharks on every trip but after a lot of web research and speaking to Patric the CEO at Shark Diver it definitely looked like the best opportunity/trip.

I boarded the boat late in the evening before the date of the trip, met everybody, got paired up with a bunk mate and then after a quick beer went to bed ready to clear customs in Mexico the following morning (which was a complete breeze). We then sailed out to Guadalupe – the boat does move around quite a lot it is an ocean after all but after knocking back a few sea sickness tablets I didn’t have any problems the whole way there (or back).

The first day started with us all being matched into groups for the cage rotations, 4 divers at a time in groups of 8 for the 2 cages. I can’t remember the exact time frame but I’m pretty sure a shark turned up within about ten minutes of being in the water. They then (as promised) turned up during nearly every dive nearly for the rest of the trip. I believe there was only one dive where a shark didn’t turn up but out of about 12/13 dives it seemed quite reasonable to let them have one off.

All in all we had about 10 known sharks I think but the largest, Jacques was around for a good few hours and circled the cages slowly and came very close again and again enabling everybody to get some really good photos and videos. Every time I thought I wouldn’t get a better opportunity to get another one, there he was again right next to us. Bearing in mind that was only one shark on one day of the whole trip, we still had plenty of other sharks to look at and (try to) photograph over the 2 and a half days diving.

After the last dive of the day it was then time to grab a beer or two and sit in the sun waiting for dinnertime as the sun went down. Every meal from start to finish was phenomenal, Mark and Alyssa in the galley did not disappoint on any meal over the whole trip it really was good. Combine the food with the people, the weather, the beer and obviously, the sharks and it was a very good trip.

I haven’t even mentioned the rest of the crew - Martin the divemaster was always helpful and friendly as were the rest of the crew who helped with everything from the chumming to our weights and getting us in and out of the cages whilst also running the boat at the same time. The Captains, Spencer and Kyle, helped out with the work and were more than happy to talk to us at any point as well as the deckhands, Nick and Kyle who were always doing something around the boat. There’s a crew member awake all night as well which helps if you can’t sleep or you have a particularly loud ‘snorer’ in your cabin.

Overall the trip exceeded my expectations, the crew were very good and all of the other divers on the boat helped to make it better than I thought it was going to be. The sea sickness was the only concern I had but I took enough pills and was fine the whole time.

I would highly recommend it to anyone and if I wasn’t already planning their Bahamas trip next year I would definitely be planning on going again.

Cheers,

Jack.

White Shark Cage Diving Guadalupe - 2011 Reviews

Morley Armstrong is one lucky Canadian. His wife called us in 2010 wanting to send her husband on an "Adventure of a Lifetime".

The trick was we had to keep this a secret from Morley until the last minute!

We happen to loves wives like Morley's.

They know their husbands, choose their shark diving companies wisely and deliver the goods.

Here's the email we got back from our newly minted Shark Diver Morley this week, and if we say so ourselves, she chose very wisely indeed:

Patric,

Having just returned from Guadalupe, I wanted to share my impressions of the expedition with you. In all aspects the trip was superb!

Most importantly, my cage buddies and I saw several different sharks each day. In accordance with SharkDiver.com and Horizon philosophy, it was incredible to see these amazing sharks demonstrating their natural behavior.

However, the highlight was when Shredder, arguably the most famous of the Guadalupe sharks, appeared on the second day; he did not disappoint!

For approximately an hour he exhilarated us all by getting close up and personal with the boat and cages. He provided some fantastic photos and video footage, both from within the cages and aboard the boat.

The crew of the Horizon was professional, safety conscious, accommodating, very knowledgeable about the sharks, and downright fun. It was reassuring to see the excellent relationship they have with the local research scientist, and the overall love and concern they have for all sharks.

Patric, the trip lived up to all my expectations; thanks!

Morley Armstrong
Ontario, Canada

White Shark Cage Diving Guadalupe - 2011 Reviews

When we tell our divers to prepare for weather on the long crossing over to Isla Guadalupe many are not sure what to expect.

This fall has been a challenge with tougher than normal crossings for the normally calm August month.

For DeGrey & Patty Phillips two newly certified Shark Divers, taking weather in stride meant the payoff of great white sharks and lots of them at Guadalupe, here's their report.

Trip report from DeGrey & Patty Phillips on their Aug. 25th. trip with Shark Diver:

We left Late the night of the 25th in heavy seas, stopping early the next morning in Encenada, Mexico to clear withe that country. After a very rough sea days jouney to Guadalupe we arrived safely. (although about half of our fellow guests were seasick).

Martin, our divemaster instructed us on all the safety and logistical aspects of our shark dive and we got in the cages and quickly saw our first white shark!

It was awesome and overall I believe we saw about 10 different sharks in the 3 days of diving.

My adrenaline would shoot up every time one of the crew yelled White Shark! Everyone not in the diving cage would dash to the rail to see and then pace waiting for their turn in the cage. The 1st day the water was quite clear with visibility of about 100" The next 2 days it was a bit murky, but we were still able to see the sharks well and get decent images.

The crew & captains were great, catering to any needs and the food was exceptional as Mark is an excellent chef. We particularly liked breakfast as Mark would make anything you could want to order!

The personal quarters were small, but you never spend much time in there so it's all one needs too sleep in relative comfort. The trip back was exceptionally calm and we saw sea turtles, whales and dolphins.

Getting through customs etc. was also a breeze. Hats off to Shark Diver for giving us a trip to remember for a lifetime. We are already looking at booking their Tiger shark adventure for next year!

Out of 5 stars we give it a 6!

How Shredder Got His Name - Guadalupe Island

Known by a few names, Shredder has lived up to the name the crew of SharkDiver.com gave him at the start of the 2003 shark diving season back in the day when we chummed with real beef blood and divers fished for, but rarely landed, whole tuna.

Our very first white shark encounter in 2003 was with a 12 foot male white shark complete with “shredded” dorsal fin and several deep bite marks on his head.

He came in fast from the left, our first sight was of his mangled dorsal fin slicing through the surface toward our hang baits (tuna), he hit the first one with an unexpected fury, then turned and zeroed in on the second hang bait missing it and disappearing into the blue distance. This was clearly a unique animal and at the end of the day we named him "Shredder," little did we know he would more than own that new name.

Shredder Takes a Bite

I was up in the wheelhouse with our boats captain (Greg) during the last dive of our last day at Isla Guadalupe. It had been an amazing expedition thus far and our shark cages were loaded for the last time with die hard shark divers. At the time three new sharks in the 10-13 foot class were entertaining them. Two divers not in cage rotation, Kevin and Matt, were fishing for “last chance” tuna on the bow of our 88-foot dive boat the Ocean Odyssey when our crew in the wheelhouse heard a large splash. Seconds later a startled voice called up to us, “Umm, hey, a shark just blasted up and severed the anchor cable from our boat,” that was Matt, one look into his face I knew he was speaking the truth.

Our ships captain was not so sure, saying “that’s a rated 20,000 pound poly-pro anchor cable, there’s no way a shark just bit through it.”. One of the ships crew was summoned forward to have a look and sure enough came up with the last 5 feet of cable ending in one very messy shredded fray. A 12 foot great white shark had just leapt up almost 10 feet clear out of the water and bit through our anchor cable, about the size of a mans wrist and designed to hold an 88 foot dive boat in place in even the roughest weather conditions!

We were now adrift with shark cages fully deployed, sharks in the water and one shark the (newly named Shredder) with a new taste for anchor cables. In the history of shark diving I doubt this has ever happened to another dive boat. Crew raced forward and aft, we had our shark divers calmly exit the cages (30 minutes early) pulling them from the water in record time. In exactly 20 minutes we had the ship squared away and ready to get under power. Once we had settled down our divers were thrilled. After all you cannot call it a "shark expedition” until a shark chews through your anchor cable!

That's how Shredder got his name. He's now much bigger in the 14-15 foot class and still an icon of Isla Guadalupe, Mexico. His sat tags have revealed he is a regular visitor to Hawaii's North Shore when he is not thrilling divers at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.

Shark Cage Diving Trip Report - Guadalupe Island 2010 "White Shark City"

When we got the phone call from Jan Millhauser this year, we knew we had a special mom on the phone.

She was interested in taking her 19 year old daughter shark diving.

What a mom!

Even rough seas could not keep this NY mother daughter pair down for too long when it came to meeting the "Man in the Grey Suit."

This is Jan's 2010 Shark Trip Report:

Ariel wanted to go dive with great white sharks for her graduation from high school. We researched for many of hours till we found “Shark Diver” and they were rated 5 out of five. I have to say the rating was accurate.

We flew on Jet Blue from JFK on an 8:30 am flight that got us to San Diego around 11:30am, after wrestling with local hotels and a mean front desk clerk and a quick trip to the Gaslamp district we got our ride to the dock where we were greeted by a friendly and kind “Horizon Charters” crew who were totally in control and knowledgeable. My fear of claustrophobia and not being able to get to the head (bathroom) in time in case the sea sick patches were not sea worthy was on my mind.
As we were walking to the “MV Horizon” (boat’s name) the crew Mark and Kyle were joking with Ariel and I making me feel like all was going to be just fine. This was the first time either of us had been diving, let alone 210 miles off the coast with white sharks!

The 84 foot Horizon had two very large cages on the deck. Upon boarding we met some of the other crew and passengers. Everyone was friendly and supportive. There were a few others with the same fears as I had.

There was Alec (whom I kept calling Eric, he took it in stride) and Lisa his wife from England, Marcus from Ireland, Mark from Canada, Jeff from Tennessee, Steve from Maryland, William from San Diego (who was originally from Panama until he moved to CA at 16; army brat), John from NY with his father Bob from Chicago and Ka-Hay from Hong Kong (best line “I was like what the f@!% is this shit?) That broke the ice for all.

Customs came on the boat went through all the official stuff and then took off for the 16 hour journey to the Guadalupe Islands. Mark and Beth the kitchen crew made us delicious pancakes for breakfast. On the way there we saw whales sprouting but we couldn’t find them so we continued on after a few minute detour whale watching. Spinner dolphins joined us for a while playing in the wake of the Horizon. Two more meals, diving lecture, getting fitted for our wet suits, a few laughs with the rest of our dive partners and of to bed.
We woke up with cages being put into the water and Mark and Beth were taking breakfast orders we had arrived after months of preparation to Isla Guadalupe.

All of a sudden we hear “White Shaaaark”(Ariel was the first person to spot the shark) everyone darted out onto the deck to watch a beautiful great white shark swimming around the boat. It took all the energy of the boat crew to keep all 12 of us from jumping in the water to swim with the shark. His movement in the water was so graceful it was like watching a ballerina dance at Lincoln center. We ate breakfast, lectured on safety rules of appropriate cage entry, exit, picture taking and NO hanging out of the cage for pictures which I must say only a few of the divers actually followed that rule (not Steve, Ariel or myself; we were a naughty shark cage team.)

Martin the Dive Master made a scheduled one hour in the cages one hour out with a half hour for lunch so we got in the cage several times on the first day.
We saw 14 different great white sharks over the 3 days of cage diving.

On my second dive a large great white was coming head in to me and I was just about to do the most “not allowed move” by kissing his snout when my regulator hose broke off my mouth piece and I had to get out of the cage till it was fixed. After I got out Kyle and I were on the side of the boat talking when two sharks had a fight and both breached right in front of us. Of course neither of us had a camera to get it on digital but it will be in our minds eye forever.

I had a few more really close encounters with a few white sharks but none close enough to actually kiss. Most of the sharks came within 1 – 2 inches from the cages.

We were allowed to get in the shark cages before our rotation if we got up early enough. There were a few seagulls swimming in front of our boat when a great white shark came up from underneath it and lifted the bird and its nose right out of the water that someone got video of!

Very cool.
We saw a few sharks 10 – 20 feet below our cages swimming around. We spent one dive where all we saw were mackerel while we prayed for a shark but none came. Steve our dive mate fixed our hoses when they got tangled; we took pictures of each other and played hand games while we waited in the cold water -down time after a hot shark first day. We ate dinner exchanged memory cards to see each other’s video and pictures. The camaraderie was at an all time high and no one refused to share their amazing shark pics.

I got up early to get into the into the cages early and got a wonderful show. A sea lion came up under the boat and to visit our cages. Then he got a visit from a young great white about 9 feet and the seal and shark where playing tag with the seal doing most of the chasing it was amazing. After my allotted time and the first rotation came in a second great white shark came to join the game and we saw a little bit of the play looking down into the water from the boat deck. On our rotations first dive we saw a few great whites not close up but not far either. The second dive we saw nothing and the third dive Ariel and I decided to shower and just watch from the deck, read and relax. It was a very smart move because some rough current was coming in and the cages plus boat started to rock.

Before we left Captain Spencer said we were going to be heading into rough waters. A few of us loaded up on the bonnine and other sea sick pills plus vied for position on the rear deck for a view of the horizon. When we left Captain Spencer drove by the shore so we could see the sea lions and elephant seals then headed back to Ensenada Mexico to go through customs.

Overall we had an indescribable experience that words cannot do justice to. Great white shark diving is an experience that must be done first hand to understand the feeling of euphoria.

Jan and Ariel 2010 Official Shark Divers!

Shark Diver - Once More to Isla Guadalupe 2010!

We say hello to 12 soon-to-be newly minted shark divers at the docks of H and M Landing tonight as they board the MV Horizon with Shark Diver for another white shark adventure to the island.

While some of the shark diving operators have finished for the season we're still going strong and our divers, many who booked last year at this time, cannot wait to get the adventure going.

We'll post more trip reports from shark divers as they come in. 2010 was a record text book season both in terms of sightings (double digit days) and operational safety and success.

Kudos to Martin Graf and his entire back deck team for many hours of hard work, and an amazing season so far, cannot wait until Novembers trips!

Guadalupe Island - "Mau" takes a a hit

One of Isla Guadalupes seasonal male sharks "Mau" is well know to the operators here.

As a younger male he's at risk of aggression by larger males on site and this week learned a valuable life lesson.

As shark diver Stephanie Seely shared with us in an email today, life for a Great White shark at the island can be harsh sometimes:

Ouch! Poor Mau!

I treated my husband and myself to a fun week of shark diving as a 40th birthday gift for him. We had an amazing time! The crew was fantastic…we could not have had better service!

The shark viewing was just as awesome. We saw about 10 different sharks and at one point, we had up to 5 sharks in the water at the same time! One of the sharks was badly injured and Martin (Horizon Dive Operations) thought it was Mau. From my perspective underwater, it looked like he had been bitten. From Martin’s perspective, above the water, it looked like a boat had gotten him…turns out it might be both. What a bad week for poor Mau!

Here are some photos of him and his injuries.

Although the wounds seemed extensive and relatively fresh, Mau appeared to be strong and I am sure he will survive his ordeal.

Thanks for an amazing trip!

Steph and Chris Seely

Isla Guadalupe - August 2009 - Shark City

The crew of Shark Diver have had a busy month. Most of our crew are at Guadalupe island with our divers, others are also at the island on "special projects" this year.

After a noticeably slow start to the 2009 shark season - the first in eight years out here - it would seem we're back in business with typical animal numbers and encounters each day.

When we get emails from divers like this one, we know 2009 is once again going to be a stellar year:

Good afternoon Guys,

I'd like to thank you for an incredible experience with Shark Diver. The Horizon staff were phenomenal and went above and beyond their duties to make me (all of of us I hope) feel safe and prepared for what was to come. Jeff "The Deckhand" and Mark "The Greenhorn" made the experience seem as if I grew up them and they were buddies of mine sharing another adventure with me.

Mark's choice of menu and skillful cooking kept my appetite more than satisfied and I can't even imagine what the trip would've been like without his help with my motion sickness. Martin's expertise in both water/scuba equipment and jokes let me know if anything unexpected happened, he was ready... and some. Spencer and Cary kept us company when they could and I'm grateful they were able to get us there and back safely.

I would like to be notified of other adventures Shark Diver provides in the future. Please keep me posted. Thanks again so much!!!

Sincerely,

Isidore Rodriguez
A Very Satisfied Customer

Guadalupe Island, T- Minus 5 Days

The most exciting white shark encounters on the planet begin in just 5 days for us here at Shark Diver.

For those of you who will be joining us this season here's a first person trip report from 2008 by Shark Diver Olivier:

Trip Report:

It has been about two weeks now since I got my first fix. The world then rocks for about 2 days which makes every simple task somewhat of a challenge. Then the rocking stops, but the static images flashbacks in my head have not stopped, if anything they increased.

Hi my name is Olivier and I am a great white sharkholic.

I work in an environment where I deal with sharks every day, mean ones too . And I do it without the safety of a cage. The TV business is full of them, one hungrier than the other. The hours are very long, the pace is at best hectic, the tension high and my imagination is always on demand but I love it all.

Every time Shark week hits the discovery channel, I hit that either live or with TiVo. "Cage diving with great whites, I really wanna do that!" My wife of 11 years, the woman who I love more than life itself looks at me with her beautiful blue eyes and in unison we start reciting a couple of line of jaws:" You go in the cage, the cage goes in the water, our shark is in the water too?" Yeah... I really wanna do that.

I asked her a few days ago if she really thought I would go through with it. "of course I did, I know you."

There is now a beautiful great white on my enormous computer monitor. Enormous, I'd say about a 17 footer. Powerful, majestic and I took that shot as it swam toward the cage to check me and the other sharkholics out.

Guadalupe Island is truly magical. It is a place of beauty. The perfect setting for this adventure. You forget why you are there, until the first fin appears, even then what a rush. The journey was pure and fantastic, I found myself for 5 days with people sharing the same interest or fascination. There is nothing like your first time they say. well I had my first time 5 or 6 hours a day every day for 3 days straight and every time I stepped in the cage my heart was pumping like my first dive. Not out of fear though which surprised even me. It is one thing to say you want to step in a cage where at times 3 or 4 great whites are swimming around the cage, it is something else to do it all together. The critters all have different names and personalities. Jacques, Bruce, Pablo, Lucy, Shredder among others, My favorite? "Jacques" of course. He came by quite a few times, seems he was as curious about me as I was about him. Now it is entirely possible he looked at me and saw lunch. Why not? I looked like a seal and he is the predator of all predators. Yet in the cage I was never afraid, always in awe, but never afraid. I can't even tell you how many times the soundtrack of jaws played in my head and I am willing to bet that every single diver who has stepped in a cage with a great white heard that soundtrack at least once if not 12 times. I am so glad I did this.

The Crew of the Horizon was perfect in every way. They know the animals and their behavior, they surely respect them all. They had great humor were very supportive and so helpful. On my trip there was a marine biologist who was nothing short than a shark encyclopedia . Perfect. Every question I had was answered. he was there to film, photographs the great white for a future documentary he is making. I gladly offered my services for any help he may require and I do hope he takes me on my offer.

Quite frankly I can't wait to go back and do it again And I will. I went from a sharkholic to a sharkaddict in one minute and I bet I am far from the only one. My beautiful wife got it and as much as she made sure every single part I was born with was still attached to my body when I got back, she seems to understand why I went even more than I do and for that I am and will be eternally grateful.

Olivier