It’s 3:00 am, the guests are all in their cabins sound asleep after an incredible day with the great white sharks, and the ship is gracefully coasting over the swells on our way back to Ensenada. As the Mate, It falls to me to stand the night watch from midnight to sunrise, keeping careful watch over the weather, traffic, and the ship’s instruments. And even though the hour is late, I can’t say I mind it much. I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting than out on the ocean at night. Without background light from streetlights, the stars don’t get any brighter than this. I never really knew what the Milky Way was until I saw it for the first time out here, like a shimmering cloud in the night sky. And it’s the same while we are anchored overnight off the shore of the dramatic and stunning Guadalupe Island. Not a street lamp in sight. No sound of traffic, just the distant cry of sea lions on the shore some 1000 feet away.
Today was one of those days that the guests who were here will talk about for the rest of their lives. Right from the start of the first day of diving, we had great white sharks come visit the cages, and the guests were thrilled. But today was like a grand finale, with sharks seemingly everywhere, circling the cages two and three at a time. Guests would come out of the water and be at a loss for words to describe their experience. At the end of the day I managed to slip into the five meter cage for a few minutes, and was witness to a very curious (what one guest described as friendly!) great white, who was swimming right next to the cages, as if trying to get a good look at us. So close you could reach out and touch it…if you dared! Unforgettable.
Chief mate – Bryden
The Nautilus Explorer is gracefully coasting over the swells on our way back to Ensenada
