Anybody want to chip in with some experiences???

Shane Visser wrote:

When I went cage diving in Gansbaai, the largest female in the group (we had 14 great whites circling the boat) took a liking to me. I was the first in the cage, so I was squashed up right against the left of the cage, with only a small plastic buoy keeping my body from being pressed up against the bars. We spent about 35min in the cage, and towards the end the ignored the bait twice and came straight for me. Her eye was 30cm from mine, and she was biting the cage and hanging on. After the initial shock, I had to fight the urge not to reach out and touch her. She was so beautiful.

The second time, she hung on for quite a while, and was rocking the cage back and forth. I swear she was looking straight at me. When you see them in documentaries, their eyes are black and lifeless. That is not the case when you are close enough to see what they had for breakfast. You can see that there is some intelligence and alot of determination behind those eyes. It is awe inspiring.

It was about this time that they told us to get out, so that the next group could get in. A petite young woman took my place. The big female circled a few times, and then made a bee line straight for the left hand side of the cage, but this time she rammed her snout into the viewing pane. The woman on the left panicked, grabbed the nose of the shark, and used it to wedge herself up against the back of the cage. That shark made the water around the cage look like a frothy cappucino it was thrashing so hard. Even the boat was rocking quite a bit, and some of the more fragile passengers were getting really worried the boat might capsize. When the shark gave up and moved on, they got the people out of the cage at once. That poor girl was shell shocked. She couldn't speak for a few minutes. I think she should have paid extra for that experience. LOL!

Anyway, just thought I'd share that. Truly a life altering experience. I hope to do it again soon.

I want to hear more about your experience Scarab.

Well I got two stories, not as wonderful as diving with sharks, But on holiday in Mozanbique, Vilanculos we went to the island of Iiha Majarugue, on a old style sail boat, used by the local fisher men,
We did some local fishing with gut and a hook caught a couple of awesome looking fish.
then Did some snorkeling on the ref and while we wore snorkeling, out the blue two sharks pitched up,swimming on the bottom, they stayed in the area for about 20mins.


My aunt them stay in Richards bay one summer visiting them, I decided to do some thing I tried to do a couple of times but never got it right, so I went and bought bait at the harbor bait shop, then went to the lagune ,
Walked in about waste deep close to the bridge and started feeding the sting rays that often swim around there, in 5 mins there wore about 20 odd sting rays swimming around me, what a rush, but when I got out I got crapped out by the life Guard on Duty.

WOW. I want to do that too. Mainly because I am so *%$£ scared of sharks.

But I hear it is quit expensive?... What did you pay for the 30mins in the water?

Some while back, I was part of the Great White Research unit based at the V&A Waterfront. We did quite a bit of diving, but always in a cage. The focus of the unit was to tag sharks and try monitor migratory patterns. I was just a deck hand at the time, but I also had my own boat and skippers license, so I knew my way around open water.

During the latter part of 1993 (if I recall correctly), National Geographic and the BBC approached the unit and enlisted their services for a documentary on Great Whites. This was to be filmed at Struisbaai and Gansbaai. Needless to say, I was enrolled as a skipper of one of the boats carrying some of the film crew members.

We had to errect a platform between Dyer Island and Bird Rock to serve as a vantage point for Doug Allen , one of the worlds most respected wildlife cameramen. The platform had to be secured to the bottom with sand bags, which I volunteered to do. I was not afforded the luxury of SCUBA. While working on this, taking sand bags down to the bottom and securing them to the base of the platform, some moments were slightly unnerving. The activities was closely monitored by a few curious sharks, to such an extent that I had to spiral to the surface each time my work on the bottom was done. During those days, I had a comfortable one minute bottom time while working at about seven meters. I must honestly say that I NEVER felt threatened in any way. On numerous occasions, I lingered on the bottom just to see them come closer, then drift out of sight. Something that I will always remember about them is the silence with which they appear from seemingly nowhere, and their majestic effortless gliding away into the distance.

The black eye you are referring to is so full of life, it scares you. There is no feeling in the world that comes close to being face to face with a six meter Great White, that permanent grin unmistakable. Many divers have asked me "how would you know that the shark you encounter is actually a Great White?" There is only one reply... YOU WILL KNOW. It's like soiling yourself, there can NEVER be doubt.

I encountered a 4 meter female once while diving for crayfish off Vermont near Hermanus. When I saw her, I slowly swam in her direction. Disappointingly, she rapidly sped off when she noticed me.

During this past December, I took my kids for a cage dive in Mossel Bay. It was humbling to see so many sharks after so many years. The absolute awe in their eyes convinced me that they are hooked, and I know they will forever respect these awe enspiring animals. More importantly, they will NEVER harm a shark, no matter the species. That in itself for me is mission accomplished.

I would have loved to take my wife with, but she is so heavily gravid at the moment, there is no cage big enough. :lol:

This might explain the "salty sea dog" look you had about you. :laugh: I'm just f#cking with you.

Reading that story of yours, I was reminded of some of the characters portrayed in Wilbur Smith novels. You really have done it all. I don't think I would have the stomach to do what you did. You do realise, that what you did is just a little crazy, right?