The Great Whites Of Guadalupe
The island of Guadalupe is becoming a world renown great white shark diving venue, served by several boats of different size and quality, is not only accessible to certified scuba divers but to non-divers too.
We had already been out on the Nautilus Bell Amie (which had proved itself to be an exceptional boat) the previous April and on the sail back we were offered a “by one get one free” to visit Guadalupe later in the year and fortunately, as we had planned to be in America in the August this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.
The Nautilus Belle Amie is a 135 foot wide beam boat that was purpose built with divers in mind, it will accommodate up to 32 guests at any one time and has the dive deck and space to make it comfortable for all. However on the Guadalupe trip, most of the scuba equipment is cleared away to make room for the two wrangling platforms and the five large stainless steel cages that are used to view the sharks throughout the trip.
The Nautilus Belle Amie is unusual though, as three of the shark cages are submerged down to around 8m giving a completely different view of the sharks underwater. These cages are only accessible by certified divers. They operate on a roster system allowing all divers the opportunity to experience a 45 minute dive in all three cages at different times of the day, whilst the other two remain as surface cages freely available to be used from dusk until dawn without the need to book.
We met some of the Guadalupe team and the other guests at the Best Western Palms hospitality suite in San Diego and travelled through to Ensenada on the “Shark express”, a nice air conditioned coach. Having to get off and walk through the border into Mexico, clearing customs and then had to wait until our coach had done the same. This was an easier experience than anticipated and was all over quickly allowing us to travel on to meet the boat and crew.
This time we were back on the boat in a little greater style, as there were no lower deck state rooms available we had booked one of the upper deck superior suites instead (considerably more expensive, but made easier by the buy one get one free deal). We were in the Cuervo suite, a great, spacious suite, with private shower room, double bed and a large window ocean view, almost too much room for us. We were also surprised as friends of ours had been on the boat the week before and had arranged with the crew to decorate our rooms with shark mobiles and greetings from them, a great touch to start our trip.
The sail out to Guadalupe Island is the typically mundane overnight and next day crossing. We arrived at the island around dinner time the following day, but the cages were not going to be opened until the following morning as the crew had to assemble the wrangling platforms and had to get the cages readied and in to the water. That evening there was a briefing about the operation of the cages, safety, what we were likely to see and given our groups and timings for the following day in the cage.
Next morning we were up early and I was on deck at around 6:15 in anticipation of the surface cages being opened at 6:30. On deck I found the captain slicing a large frozen tuna up in to chunky pieces with an electric chain saw ready to be dangled into the water to attract some sharks (chumming the water is banned in Guadalupe, but boats are allowed to use larger chunks attached to line). The the crew attached pieces to line and started to wrangle (basically throwing the bait into the water assisted by a float, allowing it to run with the current and then snatching it out of the way of a shark just before they get it) from specially angled platforms off the back of the boat and in between the cages.
As the cages opened I was first in the water, desperate to see my first great white and I was not disappointed. Within a few moments of getting into the water you could see a large silhouette swimming in the distance, as it was early so light levels were low and the visibility not to great (about 20m) so the shark was not too clear, however as it’s confidence grew it came closer to the bait and the cage, finally coming close enough to give me a clear view of my first great white….wow! Now we are both experienced divers that have dived some spectacular places with many different species of shark, but nothing even comes close to these magnificent giants. You can immediately understand with their immense size, mouth full of razor sharp teeth and cold look in their eyes why somewhat misguidedly they have always been labelled a man eater.
I spent about an hour in the surface cage, only coming out to give me enough time to grab a bit of breakfast and a cup of tea before my allotted time in the submersible cage. With the water around 21 degrees celsius you could feel the chill even in a 5mm wet suit. The submersible cages were equipped for three people, all the regs were supplied with air direct from the boat with an emergency cylinder fastened into the top of the cage. We were invited into the cages one by one and finally a dive master would perch him or herself on top of the cage, half in and half out the opening presumably to stop you getting out whilst under water (not sure why you would want to do that?) and then you were lowered slowly down to a depth of around 8m (to the bottom of the cage) for the duration of your dive, around 40 minutes or so depending on how long it took you to kit up and get in in the first place as your slot was for 45 minutes including your loading up time.
The submersible cage was a slightly different experience than the surface cages, any shark that was about that was a little more timid than the others would tend to cruise around the lower cages a little more, circling farther out and then slowly coming in a little closer as they got inquisitive about the bait or cages. On occasion the sharks would come so close to the cages you felt like you could reach out and touch them. The submersible cages give you a more realistic experience of the shark in its own environment and also gave you an insight into how these creatures can suddenly make an appearance from the deeper water. The submersible cages also gave you the chance to see multiple sharks at once being lower in the water and having a 360 degree view, we had a maximum of four sharks together. The surface cages offered you a closer view of the sharks generally as the sharks passed close by after the bait and on a couple of occasions the sharks made a wild lunge for the baited line and then crashed into the surface cages giving the occupants the scare of their lives (and a great photo moment).
Each day was pretty much the same routine, up early, in and out of the water observing the sharks with both the surface and submersible cages only being interrupted by a meal or a drink served to you by the crew.
The evening entertainment varied from a valuable shark id exercise, cocktail hour, the inevitable Jaws movie or Taco night. In the Shark identification divers were encouraged to share their photos of the sharks they had captured each day and then all the guests and crew would get together with the current identified shark information to see if they could match them up to already identified sharks. This information is then shared at the end of each season with the shark trust to extend their understanding and research around the great whites of Guadalupe. On different days we identified up to around 10 sharks, which was remarkably easy using their unique tail fin and body marking pattering.
The final days shark spotting comes to an end at 5:00pm to give the crew time to remove all of the cages and platforms allowing for the long overnight sail back to Ensenada. Arriving back around 2:00pm and with the typically expected expert efficiency you have come to expect form the Nautilus staff you are soon back through Mexican customs and boarded the shark express back to San Diego and the real world.
It is at this point I’d like to say that the whole experience is worthwhile, exhilarating and completely worth the money, however for the best will in the world I can’t. Whilst meeting these majestic creatures face to face and appreciating their vast size up close, it was still through bars! Myself and Tracey consider ourselves experienced divers, we have dived all over the world and with many different species of shark large and small and there is nothing quite like a 5 meter tiger shark gliding by knowing the only thing keeping you alive is that minuscule amount of mutual respect (or mutual fear, I’m not sure). Its like comparing a visit to the zoo with a holiday out on safari. I know they are wild sharks and we are the ones in the cages, but it just didn’t feel right, and Id go so far as to say after the fist day it became a little boring and repetitive, but maybe thats just us?
I’d also like to point out that this was no fault of the Nautilus crew that did their upmost to make sure our trip was the best it could be, fantastic accommodation, superb food, friendly and professional staff and a completely smooth ride from pick up to drop of and if its one of those things you have on your bucket list then go do it!
Please take the time to watch a few of my YouTube videos below, I came back with over 250 video clips and have shared a few on YouTube
