One of our guests on board the Nautilus UnderSea, Ryan, has written some amazing blogs, including this one detailing his day with the juvenile sharks of Guadalupe! Be sure to check out his first dive day report and stay tuned for his third diving day report, due out tomorrow. Thank you for such wonderful blogs Ryan!
Day two can only be described with one phrase and an exclamatory one at that, “SURFACE ACTION!” From the first moment I walked onto the deck I heard “Shark.” Juvenile sharks (four males and one female, which is odd for this time of year) were in the area and they were hangry. Luca, a 10’ foot uniquely scarred male, bounced back and forth from one wrangler to the other like a possessed ping pong ball made of nothing but teeth and muscle. The display was fantastic, with water splashing onto the deck from his thrashing attacks. He stayed the alpha for several hours until, as if someone flipped a switch, he disappeared into the depths.
Divemaster Rodolfo told us that the big boys must be here now because the juvenile sharks gave up their hunting grounds, momentarily. He was so right. My group went down into the submersible cage and confirmed Rodolfo’s theory. At about 33’ we were surrounded by massive sharks, evolutionary perfection in the flesh. They weren’t aggressive, just curious, and they cruised around our cages giving us constant companionship.
We noticed that two males were usually travelling together, which we’d learn later in the Shark 101 brief meant that they were on the verge of transitioning from the juvenile stage to the adult stage and were sizing each other up for future alpha status. The other two sharks would appear from the depths, make a circle around the cage, and then swim off. It really seemed like they were constantly studying us as much as we were studying them. I started to wonder if they weren’t trying to figure out how to open the cages up to get to the prizes inside.
The afternoon surface action was less intense. Only two larger sharks, but what they lacked in numbers, they made up for in size and hunting skill! Those two demonstrated the typical white shark ambush hunting style with perfection. They circled at depth, probably about 40-50’ until they had completely evaluated their prey, the bait, and then in a flash, they were on target. The sharks came from below at near vertical angles striking and rarely missing. Their skill was impressive, and it made it easy to understand how they could grow so large when they hunted so efficiently.
As an aside to the shark action, once again Osayuki and Felipe made the day comfortable and delicious. The food here has been just amazing. My mouth is watering thinking of the thick cuts of steak we enjoyed for dinner last night! I mean this slab of meat was a good two inches thick, perfectly prepared as I had asked and smothered in a creamy mushroom sauce. It was complemented by garlic mashed potatoes and baby carrots, steamed to a perfect al dente consistency. I had no room for dessert but forced myself to at least try some of Felipe’s homemade cheesecake and it was a decision I did not regret. New York style and glazed with a honey strawberry sauce… I somehow found some additional room to store that ballast away. I hope that decision helps with my dive trim for tomorrow.
–Ryan Simonson
