Where we go....South Africa - Great White Shark Diving


Knock, knock.

"Hey, you guys, you have to get going now if you want to make the shark dive," summoned Joe as she knocked on our hostel room door.  Joe was one of the girls who worked in Hermanus Backpackers hostel where Ana and I were staying in Hermanus, South Africa, the whale watching capital of the country.....and great white shark territory!

We quickly gathered our gear, locked the room, jumped in our rental car (actually "car" is generous - it was more like a tomato can with wheels, called a "Chico") and we began our short journey to a neighbouring town called Gansbaai.  After forty minutes of splendid coastline driving we arrived.  The instructions from Joe were, "drive to Gansbaai, take the exit to Kleinbaai Harbour, then look for a lady named Christine who should be wandering around waving her arms".  Sure enough, just as we had parked our little Chico in the harbour parking lot, this lady walked over to us waving her arms.

"Are you Christine," asked Ana.

"That's me.  You're here for the shark diving?" countered Christine

"Yup," I replied.

"Great!  Go over to the Carcharias shack and get your waver forms filled out."   Hmmmmmm.

As soon as we reached the shack and joined the rest of the people who had arrived before us, a white form on a clipboard was passed around for our careful review, which was greeted by most with the standard backpackers blank hungover stare and a "Look, just where do I sign?".  That done, we were given the safety briefing by Christine.

"Morning folks!  Glad to see you all here and welcome to the Great White Shark Cage Diving Adventure!  You will be going with Captain Brian McFarlane and his divemaster Ughhh."

"Sorry, what's his name," somebody asked.

"Ughhh", she repeated.

To the uninitiated, this would have either sounded like nonsense or perhaps some sort of Neanderthal greeting.  But, knowing that the local language Afrikaans is very similar to Dutch, and having spent a considerable amount of time in the Netherlands surrounded by cloggies making bizarre gutteral barking noises to each other, I reckoned the guy had an Afrikaan name that the English language just couldn't handle.

Christine continued, "The most dangerous part of your day is going to be leaving and returning to the harbour as the weather and winds in this area are very unpredictable.  Captain Brian is a professional shark handler and you have absolutely nothing to fear from the sharks.  If any of you do happen to get seasick while on the boat, just remember that if you are able to heave it over the side into the water, that will help with the chumming effort and Captain Brian will offer you a 5% discount on the trip.  Okay, you're all set."

Thus began our adventure.  Ana and I and the other eight people walked down to the the dock and climbed aboard "Predator", the shark diving boat.  It was not difficult to find as there was a huge steel mesh cage hanging from a large beam and pulley mechanism on the back of the boat.  Captain Brian was waiting for us and helped each of us on board.  He was a tall, solidly built, sea-worthy looking fellow whose smile lines surely held a thousand tales.

"Welcome aboard the Predator!  My name is Brian McFarlane and this is my divemaster Ughhh.  Everybody find yourselves a seat and we'll be off shortly."  Divemaster Ughhh was somewhat shorter than the captain with a slightly darker complexion.  He didn't speak much, but when he did it was with a very thick Afrikaans accent.  He looked like he knew a lot of jokes.

Once everybody was seated Captain Brian hit the switch and the engines roared to life and we were off to sea.  And what a beautiful day it was!  The sun was bright, only a few clouds to the west, and hardly a breath of wind.  "This is the most beautiful day you can hope for," said the captain, "We're going to see a lot of sharks today."  After about twenty minutes we arrived to an underwater reef where several other shark dive boats were anchored.  The captain continued past these boats with the expectation that the sharks would be off the reef in the morning, so he found the spot he wanted, anchored the boat, dropped the cage, and started preparing the bait.  As he reeled out several metre long strips of strange brown gut chunks, he explained to us that shark livers were the key to attracting the great whites.  He packed these livers into a burlap-like bag, sealed it then threw it into the floating cage.  He repeated this process but instead stuffed the bag with various chunks of mako sharks then threw it into the cage.  He then told us that it would take up to half an hour for the scents to work their way out into the ocean and begin attracting the sharks so instead of waiting, he would release the cage, attach it to the anchor rope, and we would make a quick side trip to Dyer Island, home to a colony of 60,000 Cape Seals.

Captain Brian cranked up the engine again and off we sped towards the islands in the distance.  As we approached the island a horrible smell came over the boat.  I thought perhaps it was the pail of chum at the back of the boat boiling in the sun but the intensity of the odour increased the closer we came to the island.  "What do you guys think of the smell of seal shit?" laughed Captain Brian, which explained the mystery.  It was easy to see how the shit could accumulate, considering the small rocky island were were just reaching was blanketed with barking, coughing, howling and obviously shitting, brown Cape seals.  The noise of the creatures was incredible!  Besides the seals on the island were hundreds, no, thousands of them swimming and diving through the waters on all sides of the boat.  Some were small babies, others were large cows, but all appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely as they leaped out of the water then dove deep only to return again to the surface, rear their heads out of the water and bark "Hello!" to these idiotic tourists hanging off the edge of the boat gawking at the show before them.  Captain piloted the boat slowly down the length of the islands so we could see the immense number of seals on this little island.  He explained that during the winter months you would not see a single seal in the water since during that season the great whites would cruise up and down the island looking for seals to eat.  During the current season all the sharks had moved to the reef area to breed and therefore the seals were safe and they knew it.  But even when the sharks are around the island the seals still need to visit the sea to find fish to eat, and that is when the great whites got lucky.  "One day," he said, "I was here with a boatload of tourists and we saw twelve seals taken by great whites."  I hoped to myself that there had been a few Greenpeace loonies on that trip.

We could have quite easily stayed there for hours watching the playful seals but we had sharks to find!  So Captain Brian turned the boat around and we cruised back towards the anchored cage.  Approximately half way back, first mate Ughhh jumped to the bow of the boat pointing to the starboard side hollering, "Whales!  Whales!"  Two hundred metres from the boat were two Southern Right Whales with their backs protruding out of the water.  South Africa law does not allow powerboats to come within 300 metres but since we were already well within that range Captain Brian cut the motors and we drifted forwards until we came to a halt.  The whales must have decided to come investigate because they turned toward the boat, dropped just below the surface and moved directly towards us.  Seeing a whale from shore can give you an idea of how huge they are, especially if you are fortunate enough to see them breaching, but when two fully grown whales swim directly beneath your boat you get a new appreciation for their size.  They were probably twice the length of the boat and even their tail width was half the length of the boat.  The "ooohs", "ahhhs", and camera shutter clicks came from all the thrilled passengers aboard.  As they passed beneath us Captain Brian said, "If they decide to surface now, we could be in a bit of trouble."  Luckily, once they were well clear of the boat the whales surfaced and played on top of the water.  At that point we could have gone straight back to shore and I would have been very happy with the tour.  But our host said that it was time to go see the sharks so off we raced to the main course.

We reached the cage and Ughhh tied the anchor rope back onto the boat then repositioned the cage directly beside the boat.  Captain Brian pulled out "Gladys", a rubbery seal imitation tied to a string and threw it out into the water.  "The great whites will see Gladys all the way from the bottom and think it's a seal," he explained, "and when they surface we'll lure them towards the boat with a piece of shark meat tied to the end of another rope."  He also threw another pail of chum into the water...and we waited anxiously.  Fifteen minutes past.  Thirty minutes past.  Captain Brian pulled out a mobile phone and called one of the other shark boats anchored near the reef.  They had seen no sharks yet.  An hour passed.  Two hours passed.  Captain Brian would call the other boats every fifteen minutes for an update.  One of them had seen a couple sharks, but they had disappeared after seeing the boat.  Luckily, it was a warm day so most of the others on our boat were just sitting back enjoying the sunshine.  "Don't worry guys, they will come.  We just have to wait," said the Captain reassuringly.

Ughhh finally piped up, "If anybody wants to do a few laps around the boat, feel free as the sharks really like that.  And if the girls do it naked, they get the trip for free!".  Strangely, there were no takers.

Captain Brian decided that we would have lunch and give the sharks thirty minutes more before we tried a different location.  So the sandwiches were handed out and eaten promptly by the hungry and increasingly anxious guests.  As the thirty minutes passed, our trusty Captain made another couple calls and found out that two of the other boats by the reef had some "players", which is the word they use to describe great whites that aggressively go for the bait and stay around the boat for a long time, giving the cage diving tourists the show they were waiting for.  "I can't believe it!" he said in an irritated manner, "I'm always the first guy to get sharks around here!  I don't know what's going on."  Ughhh pulled up the anchor and the dive cage and Captain Brian moved the boat over to the reef where the other boats were.  With anchor and cage back into the water, they laced the water with a a couple more pails of chum and we waited.  And waited.  Thirty minutes passed.  I noticed the wind starting to pick up.  A few more phone calls, only to find that one of the other boats had three sharks circling it!  "Jesus, I can't believe this!" said Captain Brian, exasperated, "I'm always the one who's inviting the other boats to join me after I've found the sharks!  If we don't see anything soon we'll go and anchor beside that other boat and share their sharks.  That guy owes me.  I must have called him over to share my sharks a dozen times this season!"

After a few more minutes with no action our devoted Captain threw in the great white towel, pulled up the anchor and cage and powered us over next to the other shark boat interestingly called "The Shark Lady".  By now the wind had not just picked up, it was really starting to howl and the seas were getting choppy.  Anchor down, cage down, more chum, and we waited hard.  I was standing on the viewing platform which was a small second level over the cabin when I saw a very dark shadow approaching the boat.  "Here comes one!!" announced Captain Brian gleefully as he launched the piece of shark meat over the side.  The shark approached from the port side with the dorsal fin slicing through the waves.  And in all his infamous grey splendor surfaced the first great white shark I had ever seen in my life, luckily from the safety of a viewing platform!  The shark went for the bait but Captain Brian pulled it away just as the shark's eyes were rolling back and his huge mouth opening.  "Oh yeah!!!!" somebody from the boat shouted.

"Can we get the wetsuits on now to go in the cage?" asked a skinny Englishman.

"Yep, you two get those suits on," he directed towards the Englishman and a Dane who was standing next to him, "and make it quick as this is a nasty wind blowing up."  The wind had gone from a howl to a near gale and the sea was starting to foam.  The "Predator" was rocking wildly with the cage bashing up against it.  I was still on the viewing platform holding tightly to the railing with one hand and my hat with the other when I saw another dark shadow approaching, except that this one was surely a small whale...or something, as it was much too big to be a great white.  The shadow came up from the depths and towards the surface and I realised that it was no whale.  It was a great white shark.  And it was massive.

"Holy shit!" bellowed Ughhh, which grabbed everyone's attention as he radiated all characteristics of a seaman salty with experience and not easily impressed.  Captain Brian saw the beast and threw the bait in its direction.  As it hit the water the shark's huge jaws broke the surface and his eyes rolled back, expecting to consume this little morsel.  The Captain pulled the bait away...but not fast enough.  The shark clamped down on the meat and began a tugging match with our fearless captain.  Somehow, Captain Brian managed to yank the bait, or at least most of it, from the jaws of the monster and it dove back down into the ocean then resurfaced and circled around at the back of the boat trying to figure out what happened to the rest of its meal.  Several other sharks appeared and the captain continued throwing the bait out and tempting the sharks to bite.  Sometimes they would surface and go for the bait while other times they followed the bait for a few seconds then shied away.  I was quite surprised at how slow the sharks were moving.  They appeared more to be pushing water like a barge rather than gliding through it.  But I was to soon found out just how fast they could move it they wanted to.

A medium sized shark was lured into the bait and went for it.  The Captain pulled the bait away but the shark carried on toward the boat until it was directly beside us.  A huge gust of wind pushed the boat right into the shark which obviously scared the hell out of it.  It gave a powerful thrust of its tail and soaked everybody on the lower deck, but principally Ana who was the closest to it, and shot off into the ocean.

By now the wind was screaming in my ears, the temperature had plummeted and huge waves were rocking the boat.  All the other boats had reeled in their cages and anchors and were heading back to shore before things got worse.  In a space of thirty minutes the day had gone from dead calm to 80 kilometer per hour winds, something I had never experienced before.  Captain Brian was still bravely firing the bait out and luring sharks in, but the water was so foamy from the smashing waves that the sharks could hardly be seen.  Just then the two jokers in wetsuits came out from the cabin and were motioning for Ughhh to open the cage so they could jump in.  They must have either been blind or completely suicidal as the wind was causing the cage to swing around wildly and bash into the boat.  "I don't think you guys want to try getting into that cage," suggested Ughhh, "You'll end up falling in the sea and I don't know how long you'll last with these players circling the boat.  I'm definitely not coming in after you."

At this point the captain said, "Well guys, I hate to say it, but I think we better pack up and get out of here before things get any worse.  I don't want to jeopardize your safety.  And since none of you were able to get into the cage, we'll give you a discount on the trip.  Is that okay with everybody?"

"YES!" was the group's reply.  I have spent enough time on the ocean to see that conditions were getting worse by the minute and I was starting to get a little nervous.  Unfortunately for Ughhh and Captain Brian, they had to reel up the cage and get the anchor clear.  Captain Brian started cranking the handle to pull up the cage while Ughhh attempted to steady it.  When they finally wrestled that in Captain Brian started retrieving Gladys, the plastic seal.  As he started his retrieve a big shark bolted through the water with jaws wide open and narrowly missed the seal, though did manage to bite the rope clean off.  "Goodbye Gladys!" said the Captain merrily.  I don't think it was the first time it had happened.

Captain Brian fired up the engines while Ughhh hauled himself to the front of the boat.  Most of us were cowering inside the cabin to keep out of the way and from there I could not even see Ughhh through the front window for the foamy sea spraying over the front deck.  He eventually somehow managed to pull the anchor in as the captain was attempting to stabilise the boat.  The two lads in wetsuits were attempting to remove them when the captain said, "You guys may as well leave those one, we're going to have a wet ride back!  Plus, great whites don't much like the taste of rubber."  They couldn't make up their minds whether to look relieved or scared witless so they just laughed nervously.

Ughhh appeared out of the foam and organised us inside the boat.  He shoved almost all of us into the small cabin and left the two frogmen in the exposed area in back of the boat.  The captain hit the throttle and we charged up our first wave...and down with a huge crash!  It was actually quite fun, but not after a dozen.  I could barely see out the window for the sea spray, but at one point I could make out a huge swell approaching.  As Captain Brian gunned the engine to make it up the wave he roared, "Hey, this is just like The Perfect Storm all over again.  Haarrrrr!!", which inspired confidence in us all.  Up the wave we surfed then down we crashed, this time extremely hard.  "I just want to let you guys know," voiced the Captain as he furiously grappled with the wheel, "that if this boat sinks into these shark infested waters...I GET THE CAGE!"  Good God.  Was this a man or a beast?  Then, to keep my eyes off the threatening waves and my mind off our impending doom, I started reading his operator's license which was pasted on the wall of the cabin.  The line which begged my attention was, "..licensed to operate this shark cage vessel in strictly calm and flat waters only".  Ahhhhhh, we're never going to make it back to shore!  Not wanting to spark a mutiny, I decided to keep this revelation to myself and therefore decided to just close my eyes and hope for the best.

Captain Brian's mobile phone rang.  It was a distress call from a dive boat in a nearby bay which had lost both engines and was being forced towards the rocks in the bay.  The captain of the boat could not get the engines started and was calling desperately for somebody to help save his vessel.  Looking back towards the bay, Captain Brian told the man that there was no way he could make it back there with a boat his size, especially with a load of guests.  Although we felt sorry for the guy, I think that if he had tried to turn the boat around to go back into the storm there really would have been a mutiny.  Instead, Captain Brian called a couple of the other larger boats he knew were on the way back into shore.  The decided amongst themselves that they would all first return to the harbour, drop off the guests, then head back out to try and help the distressed vessel.  He then tried to call the distressed vessel back but there was no answer.  That brought a wave of silence from all of us sitting on that boat.  "Don't worry too much about it guys," the captain said, "it was a dive boat so if they were getting too close to the rocks, they would have just put their tanks back on and bailed out and swam to shore.  They will be fine.  If anything, just the boat has been lost.  Or maybe he just dropped the phone overboard.  Don't worry."

By this time we were through the worst of it.  We soon reached the harbour and amidst the crashing waves and wind, Captain Brian and Ughhh got the boat to the dock easily and quickly.  Before allowing us off the boat the captain said, "Well, sorry about the disastrous day folks."  I was thinking, "Disastrous???  We saw thousands of seals playing in the sea, floated next to giant beautiful whales, saw lots of great white sharks, and survived a flash storm.  You call that disastrous??".  The captain continued, "How about I give you all half your money back since none of you were able to cage dive with the sharks?"  There were no objections, though I'm sure most of the people would have been happy to pay the full price for a day's full of adventure!

Once the guests were off the boat, Ughhh threw off the dock lines and Captain Brian maneuvered the "Predator" toward the angry sea.  And as the boat sped away they both turned back to wave good-bye.

 

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