Location: Lighthouse Bay, Guadalupe Island, Mexico
Comments: Had another great day of cage diving with great white sharks today!! Sightings have remained very good with everyone getting all the cage time that they want. I think the folks on deck had an almost equally good time. There is nothing like standing a foot above the water on the back deck of the Nautilus and watching a giant great white shark swim back and forth 10 feet away with its dorsal fin and caudal fin cutting through the surface! Interesting to note that female white sharks are now showing up (our divemasters only saw male animals during the first two trips) and that – coincidentally? – the shark behaviour is toning down now. Sightings and behaviour are similar to previous years rather than the free-for-all and virtual circus that was reported on the first couple of trips. Hmm, interesting if male sharks calm down and or become more solitary when females are around.
The kids onboard continued to do an awesome job and spent a lot of time in the cages. I was immensely proud of Emily and Charlie. It was very touching to see them sitting on the steps on the back deck with Mary Anne and Mauricio (our favourite shark scientist), listening and watching intently as Mauricio went through our great white shark identification manual, explaining the differences between the different sharks. The cameras were rolling the whole time. Mary Anne, Mauricio and Emily then jumped into one of the cages wearing underwater communication gear and Mauricio kept up a running commentary as different sharks swam by. My heart swelled with pride as I watched my 7-year-old daughter comfortably standing on the bottom of the cage in her wetsuit, booties, hood, mask and regulator intently watching the sharks. Mary Anne actually had a bit of trouble getting Emmy to pull her head back in the cage as a white shark swam by 4 feet away!! And even more trouble getting Emily out of the water… turns out that my daughter appears to be a mermaid and was extremely reluctant to climb out of the cage! I couldn’t be prouder.
–Captain Mike
Weather: High scattered clouds, air temperature mid 70’s, gorgeous weather and scenery, light winds with just a bit of a chop
Water: Water temperature 70°F, visibility 100 feet (plus).
