The thought of shark cage diving is extremely thrilling, but not exactly for the faint hearted.We decided to take one Sunday and put it aside to join the Extreme Scene team on the Big Blue.The build up to this day was something on its own! When we arrived in Gaansbaai we were welcomed by the crew, registered and then sat down for lunch. The briefing started shortly after, the crew were very helpful and made us feel comfortable; they also explain what amazing predators Sharks are and how desperately the ocean needs these creatures. The briefing was very interesting and once they were done we pretty much couldn't wait to swim with the fish.We finally headed out towards the boat, and once we got about 5 miles out at sea we dropped anchor. Just when you think your adrenalin had disappeared, they handed out wetsuits and we started suiting up!The way it works is; we are separated into groups of 7 to go into the cage at once, each group stays in the cage for roughly 20-30 minutes depending on how much shark activity there is they then alternate. The way they lure the sharks are by using a technique called chumming. The chum line (fish extracts) is layer which surrounds the boat at all times during your dive. The Chum line will not affect your visibility it is literally used to attract the sharks toward the boat. On the one side of the cage is a lure of fish heads attached to a line and on the other side is a wooden seal dummy.The crew then try and attract the sharks using these methods, once they spot a Great White Shark on either side they instructed us to go under water and look either right or left. This we extremely nerve racking!! I was not 100% sure of what I was about to see. On this specific day the visibility was not that great so we were very lucky to see 4 Great White Sharks.These are such amazing creatures and I highly recommended this experience, it is truly great that we are able to visit these predators in the natural environment.For more info on Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai contact Gavin at Extreme Scene.Nox Rentals guests get 10% off.
Posted on 2/20/2012
Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai
The thought of shark cage diving is extremely thrilling, but not exactly for the faint hearted.We decided to take one Sunday and put it aside to join the Extreme Scene team on the Big Blue.The build up to this day was something on its own! When we arrived in Gaansbaai we were welcomed by the crew, registered and then sat down for lunch. The briefing started shortly after, the crew were very helpful and made us feel comfortable; they also explain what amazing predators Sharks are and how desperately the ocean needs these creatures. The briefing was very interesting and once they were done we pretty much couldn't wait to swim with the fish.We finally headed out towards the boat, and once we got about 5 miles out at sea we dropped anchor. Just when you think your adrenalin had disappeared, they handed out wetsuits and we started suiting up!The way it works is; we are separated into groups of 7 to go into the cage at once, each group stays in the cage for roughly 20-30 minutes depending on how much shark activity there is they then alternate. The way they lure the sharks are by using a technique called chumming. The chum line (fish extracts) is layer which surrounds the boat at all times during your dive. The Chum line will not affect your visibility it is literally used to attract the sharks toward the boat. On the one side of the cage is a lure of fish heads attached to a line and on the other side is a wooden seal dummy.The crew then try and attract the sharks using these methods, once they spot a Great White Shark on either side they instructed us to go under water and look either right or left. This we extremely nerve racking!! I was not 100% sure of what I was about to see. On this specific day the visibility was not that great so we were very lucky to see 4 Great White Sharks.These are such amazing creatures and I highly recommended this experience, it is truly great that we are able to visit these predators in the natural environment.For more info on Shark Cage Diving in Gansbaai contact Gavin at Extreme Scene.Nox Rentals guests get 10% off.