Location: Enroute Isla Guadalupe from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
Comments: Captain Mike here, back at the helm and loving it! I’ve been on days off, with Captain Dave doing an excellent job of covering things, but it is really nice to be back onboard. Even better, this is the start of our long-awaited “Family trip,” and we have five kids onboard (including my 7-year-old daughter, Emily, and 5-year-old son, Charlie) chomping at the bit to see great white sharks!! The rest of our passenger list includes journalists, two film crews, Mauricio Hoyos (our favourite shark scientist) and some greatly appreciated ‘regular’ guests.
I have taken quite a bit of flack for the idea of putting kids in cages with great white sharks but was determined to move ahead with this trip. The way in which we are wiping out the various shark populations is crazy and quite sickening. I don’t understand why the sharks’ impending extinction does not seem to bother very many people. I hope that by putting kids in our cages to see the white sharks for themselves – and to hopefully see them as cool and beautiful and not at all scary – will be one small step towards changing the crazy attitude that sharks are mean and remorseless killers. The only mean thing that I see with sharks is the fishermen who cut off their fins and throw the live animals back into the water.
Our crossing to Guadalupe has been a bit on the rough side with three out of the five kids seasick. We put electronic anti-seasickness bracelets on the kids and that seems to be making a big difference. Despite my enthusiasm for this project, I do not want any of the kids to feel any pressure to get in the water. I guess we will see what happens tomorrow morning!
–Captain Mike
Weather: Sunny, winds from the west at 15 knots, 6ft rollers on the beam with some motion on the boat (but not bad with our stabilization system taking much of the rollout). Air temperature mid 70’s.
Water: Visibility unknown but very blue. Temperature 70 degrees.
