Day 1

We departed Ensenada at about 2pm and after only an hour of cruising we spotted the largest animal in the planet. Not only is there size monstrous but the sound their blow hole makes is unimaginable. We had stumbled upon 8 blue whales feeding in the nutrient rich waters of Ensenada. These massive pelagic mammals were hard to photograph, even with their 30 meter body they always kept a distance from our boat. A definite surprise and bonus for the beginning of our trip, now came the 16 hour waiting game all the way to Guadalupe Island.

Day 2

We reached Guadalupe at around 9 am after a long crossing filled with 15 foot swells and 20 knot winds, at this point we were all eager to reach the shark infested island. As soon as we arrived a pod of six bottle nose dolphins surfed the bow waves, we all raced outside filmed and photographed the dolphins and then stared at the dramatic contour of the deserted island. Sharp cliffs rise to 1000 meters making an ideal bay protected from the hard northern weather.  After a short dive briefing we all geared up and prepared the first round of shark cage diving. The chumming consisted on constantly throwing oily fish parts and leaving two large baits on either side of the boat. The first time we jumped in we had a meager 15 feet of visibility and a single shark passing for an entire hour. After having stressing mental debates about whether or not we had choose the right dates, live aboard, location and any factor that could influence our shark sightings the current slowly began lifting the milky layer off the surface and gradually delivered clear blue water. The visibility was now 60-80 feet and with it came the sharks. The great white sharks started sniffing around the baits, circled our boat, and make extremely close passes to the cages. Everyone began to get excited, there was about five different sharks in the area and it wasn’t difficult to see three at the same time. All of the sudden the cages where full, and we began witnessing pelagic nature at its fullest.

Day 3

We spent the entire day shark diving, from 7 AM to 7 PM the crew of Sol Mar V and Shark Diving International performed a solid shark operation with eight divers on the surface cages and two divers on the submersible cage. A lot of stuff was going on, and these guys pulled the operation off very smoothly.  From early in the morning we had clear skies and a stunning 100-120 feet of visibility, with 7 different great white sharks, a photographers/videographers wet dream come true. The only limits to diving with these great white sharks was hunger, bladder size, and cold (water temperature was 17*C/62*F). Besides the constant passing of great whites in front of you, the sharks made half body breaches and persistent attacks on the baits the entire day, thus making excellent photo opportunities. Our best performer was Zapata, a 5 meter male with a dominant personality and deadly scars. When this guy came around both the divers and the rest of the sharks knew he was coming.

Besides the sharks there was plenty of activity around the boat, in several instances we saw schools of 40+ yellow fin tuna swimming by, they used the sharks body to cleanse themselves of parasites. Several of us got to see six to ten tuna or kingfish rubbing against the sharks body, the ultimate pelagic cleaning station and a weird predator prey relationship. In the afternoon a Guadalupe sea lion, endemic to the island, joined the activity and tried to get the bait as well, another unusual sight to see three great whites circling an adult sea lion, everyone hoped for the worst but unfortunately the sea lion had no difficulties swimming around his natural predator. Late in the afternoon a pair of dolphins also came near the boat while the sharks where around, it was impossible to get a shot of the dolphins and the sharks together considering they always kept a safe distance from the sharks. Nevertheless it was extremely odd to see them simultaneously. At night we celebrated Pelagic Life Photographer Rodrigo Fricione’s birthday, not a bad way to celebrate your birthday after an epic day of shark diving.

Day 4

On our last day we decided to take the panga tour to see the sea lion and elephant seal colonies. We got up close with the sharks natural prey, they behaved playfully and were not afraid of the boat or the cameras. When we came back we returned to our shark diving extravaganza. Most of us had acquired the shots we wanted, but on our last day we became extremely picky. Some of us would only take a picture if the great white was opening its mouth, we had the sun behind us, and if he was at least a meter away. We were spoiled. Nevertheless the submersible cage was still everyone’s favorite activity. The submersible platform (not cage) is has a steal floor and four steel bars at each end to hold it together, yet I mention this is not a cage because if a shark wanted to pass right through the platform there would be nothing there to stop him. This submersible platform sits at 30 feet and gives everyone the mobility necessary to get any angle possible. The sharks will pass close to the platform and some of us got nervous knowing that if the shark wanted to take a bite at us he could. Yet like every other shark, great white shark behavior is quite elegant. They usually make slow passes, they are curious but extremely shy, and sometimes they will surprise you from behind. They know we pose no threat to them and they know we are not food.  All of us had dived at least three dives on the platform, every time we came out we were blown away by. A truly unique characteristic of the Sol Mar V and Shark Diving International operation.

On the way back we all shared photos and video, we all laughed at the exciting moments of our trip and we all kept saying how our expectations had been overly met. Lawrence Groth from Shark Diving International has been on 142 Guadalupe Great White Shark Trips, he placed this trip on his top five.  We were really lucky!