After anchoring, the chumming began and almost immediately, the great white appeared! It was so exciting and we all rushed to get our wet suits on. There was only 1 surface cage going at that time, 4 people to a cage. I got in the cage with the second group. The cage is in the water off the back of the boat and you have to sit down on the platform and drop yourself in. I was freaking out while sitting on the platform because the waves were big and coming up to my stomach and I kept thinking that the great white shark could come up in a wave and grab me so I got in the frigid water as fast as possible.
We were in the cage just scanning the depths, seeing nothing but schools of fish. And then, out of the deep blue came a large shape. And there it was, in real life-a great white! Rodney Fox told Ben and me that we need to write 1 or 2 sentences to describe how it felt at that moment so we'll always be able to go back and read them and feel those feelings again. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to put those feelings into words, but I'll try my best. It was surreal to be just inches away from the greatest predator on earth. I felt no fear at all, only a sense of awe and wonder as I watched the 15 foot shark slowly glide past the cage. I couldn't move or even think. I was transfixed. It was and always will be the most beautiful creature I've ever seen and I will never forget how it looked up close.
The shark disappeared into the depths and stayed away for a while. A few curious bronze whalers came in to chase the bait:
As suddenly as the bronzies had appeared, they vanished. The great white was back! (We learned that great whites eat bronze whalers so they don't stick around of a great white is nearby). It was just as exciting to see the second time around. It swam near the cage, then turned and swam past the way it came. There was a big tuna head in the water and he wanted it. He chased it as they pulled the rope in and he came at it with his jaws open. Amazing! And those teeth are MUCH bigger in real life than on the Discovery Channel. His white belly took up my entire view, it was so massive! After the bait was gone, the shark flipped around and swam off.
We all got out of the cage smiling and cheering. I think we can all agree that seeing the great white shark is one of the top moments of our lives, if not the top (it is for me!). Seeing that shark changed everything. I've seen all the Discovery Channel shows about them (many, many times. If there's a great white, I'll watch it, even if I've seen the same show 9 times). I know that they aren't just mindless killing machines, but there was still a little part of me that thought they'd be aggressive and trying to eat us through the cage. But it seemed more curious than anything, just swimming around, eying us as we did the same to him. He moved so slowly, every movement controlled, very efficient. The bronzies are much quicker, less calculating and more impulsive. They're hyper sharks while the great white seemed very relaxed. But I guess when you're at the top of the food chain you probably don't move too fast if you don't have to. Although, we also learned that June-October are the best months for seeing great whites because that's their mating season. While the males tend to be passive, the females can get very up close and personal and are extremely aggressive. That's why I'm planning to go back, I have to see the girls!
After the shark dive, I had some lunch then went upstairs to the back of the boat-my favorite place. There's a little wicker couch at the edge and the rubber dinghy was behind that. The Canadian family was up there so I laid out in the dinghy and we had a nice chat until it was time for their submersible dive.
For dinner we had steak, potatoes, and carrots. After dinner, Andrew gave a talk about the sharks they've encountered and then did a scientific talk about great whites and when that was finished we all headed off to bed.
