Daily Blog: 18 November 2024
Today, we were treated to warm, calm weather out at sea, making for a fantastic day!
- Water Temperature: 16.2’C + 16.1’C + 15.9’C
- Depth: 8 m + 9 m + 8 m
- Visibility: 3 m + 2 m + 1.5 m
- White Sharks Seen: 3 + 4 + 4
- Conditions: A stunning day to be on the sea with little to no swell, a light breeze, and some sunshine.
The day began with the sun rising behind the mountains, giving us a beautiful sunrise as we ventured out to sea. We were hopeful for what the day would bring us after having consistent white shark sightings for several weeks. We were lucky to be visited by a bronze whaler shark within minutes of anchoring, however we wanted to see the super star that everyone came to see- our white sharks. Our patience was tested as we waited and waited and waited for a white shark to arrive. After an hour of shark facts and questions, success! A beautiful large 4.5 meter white shark approached the boat, causing everyone’s jaws to drop. It was quickly follow by a 1.8 meter juvenile female that we’ve been seeing around a bit recently. We also had an amazing visit from a 4.0 meter female white shark who is missing the top of her tail. While she may not have been the biggest shark, she was the star of the show. She made dozens of passes directly in front of the cage, doing immediate turns to pass in front of the cage time after time. We also got to see 2 short tailed stingrays and a box jelly! It was a superb way to end our trip before heading back in to Gansbaai Harbour. Our next trip began with a journey from Gansbaai Harbour, around Danger Point with a great view of the lighthouse, off into the shallows where our dive would begin.
This trip didn’t have to wait too long before a white shark appeared. It was the juvenile female white shark from our first trip, and she was a bit shy, staying a few meters from the boat, never coming into very close. Fortunately a short while later we had a larger 2.8 meter white shark cruise up to the cage, making some beautiful passes that everyone was able to see. This shark spent a little bit of time with us, before disappearing. We were hopeful that one of the first sharks would return, but they didn’t, and we soon discovered why. A stunning 4.5 meter white shark cruised up to the boat, slowly passing the cage and began to investigate the seal decoy. We were so lucky to see such a large animal that nearly dwarfed our 5 meter long cage! This shark had been through some adventures as it was missing the tip of the top of its tail and was covered in various scars. It’s massive size had everyone awestruck and we were thrilled we could end the trip with such a stunning white shark. The third and final trip of the day practiced great patience with a 30 minute wait for our first shark to appear, this animal kept deep, not breaking the surface of the water but giving some nice passes before disappearing. The second and third sightings for the trip took the form of larger females, the 4.0m plus female with a hook in the left side of her jaw and the 3.4m female covered from head to tail in darkly pigmented scars. These two were the more active sightings of the afternoon, breaking the surface with quick attempts at the bait or decoy line. To finish of the day we were visited by one of our little juveniles, small and shy it kept it's distance.
