Great White Shark Cage Diving – The Adventure of a Lifetime! Part II…

Shark Cage Diving

There were six of us and we could all fit in the cage. It rested next to the boat and was three – fourths submerged. We were told to stand on a bar near the bottom of the cage that allowed our heads to remain above water.

We crawled in the cage as the sharks circled. The crew stayed on the boat – I hoped they knew what they were doing… The water bit into us quickly but the wet suits did their job. I was so excited about the sharks that I did not notice the frigid water (at first!). The crew closed the top of the cage and we bobbed on the surface – feeling like sardines in a wire can…

The crew yelled “go under” so we held our breath, dipped our heads below the surface, and peered through the cage with our goggles. The shark passed by the cage – just inches from us. When I surfaced I saw the shark break out of the water, jaws wide open, just two feet away as it lunged at the bait. I wished I was on the boat to photograph it but this was an “experience” adventure…

Then the shark disappeared and went wherever sharks go. We were left in the cold, frigid waters and waited…and waited…and waited. The crew continued to chum but the sharks did not cooperate. The chum reek was nauseating as ever but at least the shark cage did not move the way the boat did. I looked at the horizon and over Seal Island but there was no call for sharks.

I felt completely safe in the cage but was glad I did not read Theo’s book until the next day. On page 94 he writes:

“When a shark is swimming around the cage, it knows that there is something alive inside. It can see movement, smell us, and detect our respiration and heart beat, but can it distinguish between the cage and the contents of the cage? I believe that the sharks see the cage and human in it as one object and when they come to investigate, they taste the inedible steel of the cage and back off. Is there any reason why they should think that the diver inside would taste any better than the cage?”

The cold was bearable so our main problem was boredom. We bobbed in the shark cage for (it seems) another hour. Suddenly the crew shouted “shark, go under”. We all dove down and watched in fascination as the shark came even closer than before. It turned sideways and dwarfed the length of the cage. Then it turned toward the bait and rammed the cage with a huge “blam”! The cage shook like a car hit it – spectacular! We all came out of the water yelling with excitement when the command to dive was given again. Again the shark torpedoed after the bait and collided with the cage – it was a rush! Sharks do not attack cages or boats – that is a myth. But they do run into them in their excitement to eat, and that provides an unforgettable experience.

We sat in the water for another extended period until the crew told us to get out – we could only stay in for a certain amount of time (well over an hour). We took our wet suits off and the boat headed back to shore. We got a close up view of the seals on the way back – shark food ala carte…

It was an amazing afternoon and I learned and experienced a lot. The crew said we know very little about Great White Sharks – for every question that is answered a hundred more are raised. God put some amazing creatures on this earth and the Great White Shark ranks in the top list!

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Fyi, here is a link to Theo Feffeira’s book “Shark Man: My Obsession with the Great White Shark – from Hunter to Protector” – it is an excellent book.

What do you think? Please click on the link above to leave your comments (Great White Shark Cage Diving – The Adventure…”)

Raymond Pechacek lives in the U.S. and is married to a wonderful South African lady (BG!). He writes about the people, customs, wildlife, and places of South Africa, runs a consulting firm to help companies improve their global trade processes, and imports products into the U.S. - with an emphasis on supporting South Africa!