Great White Sharks, Dolphins and a "Sea Monster"

We just finished another awesome expedition to Guadalupe Island. After 14 years of diving there, it never ceases to amaze me, that we keep encountering new things. We had a pleasant trip down to the Island, with mostly calm waters and were accompanied by a pod of pilot whales that stayed with us for a while.

On our first day of diving, we had "Herman", a good sized adult male white shark, swim by our cages, just as 2 adult bottle nose dolphins and their baby showed up. As soon as he saw them, he took off like a top fuel race car at the 1/4 mile track. Score one for the dolphins! (unfortunately we don't have any pictures of this)

At the end of our second day, the local researchers came by with a "sea monster" they found floating on the surface. I had no idea that these things existed in our waters. Anyone knows what species this is?

Our "Sea Monster"

We encountered a total of 16 different sharks on our trip and some, like "Legend" and "Herman", really put on a show, swimming by the cages and looking our divers straight into the eyes. Another sea turtle checked out our divers and showed us that they are not afraid to swim with great white sharks.

 

The trip home was again flat calm, a fact that was greatly appreciated by our diver. We are leaving again in a few hours for another exciting expedition to Guadalupe Island. What will we be seeing this time?

Let's go shark diving!

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO 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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

What is it like to come face to face with a Great White Shark?

Allan Davey and his son were part of our first Great White Shark expedition to Guadalupe Island this season. He has documented his experience in his blog, A Truly Great White Shark Adventure.

He writes:
 

"Gunther" nibbling on cage. Photo Allan Davey.

We had sharks visit on every session in the cage which apparently isn’t always the case. There was a lot more action on our trip then on previous trips. ( This has continued on trips after ours ). Two of the larger sharks exhibited unusual behaviour which prompted discussions amongst the crew. They were repeatedly gnawing on the cage and one would get under it and knock it from below. They weren’t trying to attack but they were being aggressive. At one point while one of the sharks was biting the cage, a tooth dislodged and started to flutter down. My cage mate went to grab it then realized what he was doing as he started to reach towards the gaping jaws and quickly and fortunately realized that would be unwise. Made for some great personal experiences but made me ponder what is happening to these sharks and their environment that might explain this behaviour. Then again our Dive Master Martin Graf said that as soon as you think you know something about white sharks they do something unexpected and everything goes out the window.

It was very unusual that during our first 2 trips, some sharks that have been around our cages for years, "Gunther" and "Drogin" were repeatedly nibbling on our cages. There was no food by the cages and they did it in slow motion, with their eyes open and not rolled back. I have never observed that kind of behavior before.

We also saw some great interaction between sea lions and sharks that Allan has documented with these awesome pictures.

Well, hello there! How are you today?

Hey, wanna go play?

You can read Allan's blog here. Along with a lot of awesome pictures, he also has some great info and tips for photographers. Thanks Allen!

Here are some more samples of his pictures!

Check out the blue eyes!

If you would like to experience these shark up close and personal yourself, call us at 619.887.4275 or email staff@sharkdiver.com. You can find our expedition schedule at http://www.sharkdiver.com/dive-packages/great-white-shark-diving/

Let's go shark diving!

Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO 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 staff@sharkdiver.com.

What's the best place to dive with Great White Sharks?

And the answer is........ drum roll please!..... Guadalupe Island!

According to champion free-diver and ocean conservationist William Winram, "Guadalupe Island, 260km off the coast of Mexico is the best place on the planet to see great whites."  He goes on to say "It has the best visibility, and the most animals of all great white diving spots,"

The fact that the article also mentions Shark Diver as the operator to take you there, is a nice compliment! We love our sharks and are always excited to take our divers to visit our toothy friends at Guadalupe Island.

Check out this article that shows him diving with our Great White Sharks a few years ago.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

855.987.4275 or 619.987.4275

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 staff@sharkdiver.com.