great white shark adventure - Midwest Scuba Diving Magazine

GREAT WHITE SHARK ADVENTURE
When Richard and I got married in October
of 2000 we never dreamed that we’d be
celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary in the
cold waters of the Pacific peering through the
bars of a shark cage at the silent and hauntingly
beautiful form of a great white shark.
It all came about when we joined an Incredible
Adventures’ trip to the Farallon Island Marine
Sanctuary aboard the sixty-five foot vessel
Tamalpais based in Tiburon, a picturesque
bay side town just a few miles north of San
Francisco. In the fall months, from September
through mid-November, great white sharks
congregate in the waters off the Farallones
attracted by the seals, sea lions and their
favorite food source, baby elephant seals that
are there in abundance at this time of year.
We arrived at the dock at 5:30 a.m. where Greg
Barron of Incredible Adventures, Inc. and dive
instructor Francesca Koe greeted us warmly.
The friendly and efficient crew quickly sized
us up for wetsuits and made sure that all the
gear we’d need for a dip in the cold Pacific
was brought aboard. We joined the other
Great White Shark
Adventure
passengers in the spacious and comfortable
main cabin where we were encouraged to help
ourselves to a delicious array of coffee cakes,
muffins, bagels, fruit and beverages.
After a brief orientation to the boat and
safety procedures, we were free to roam the
Tamalpais on our own and enjoyed exploring
the two decks where there was plenty of inside
and outside viewing and lounging space.
By 6:00 a.m. we were underway, motoring
through the dark morning fog toward the
Golden Gate and the open ocean. As we
passed under the bridge we all looked up and
were awed by the beauty of the soft diffused
lights flickering against the massive vertical
support structures which rose from the black
water and disappeared into a misty shroud.
The trip out to the islands took about two and a
half hours. Peter Winch, the highly informed
naturalist on board, generously answered
questions and shared interesting information
about the natural history of the place we were
about to visit. Along the way we slowed down
By Nan E. Temple Talaga
to watch humpback whales spouting and
surfacing nearby, and we saw seals leaping
happily along on their own journeys.
When we arrived at the Farallones, we
circumnavigated the jagged, ruggedly beautiful
islands textured by cormorants, murres, gulls
and other birds along with the velvety brown
log-like forms of hundreds of sea lions lying
in repose along the sea cliff walls. The fishy
smell of guano was nothing, we were told,
compared to the overpowering odor of the
spring bird breeding season when practically
every square inch of the islands are covered
with nesting birds and the researchers must
wear rain ponchos and hard hats to protect
themselves.
We anchored on the south, leeward side of the
island near Saddle Rock. The shark cage, which
can accommodate eight divers and is said to be
the world’s largest, was quickly lowered into
the water and secured along the port side. The
top of the cage was at the surface while the
bottom reached down to a depth of about eight
feet. Decoys made from carpeting, resembled
baby elephant seals, and were placed in the
water suspended by lines. They bobbed on the
surface of the water, designed to attract their
most formidable predators, the great white
sharks. Chumming (or baiting) the water with
real bait is not allowed in the Farallones in an
effort to keep the natural ecosystem intact.
While there is a good likelihood of seeing
white sharks at this time of year, at least on
the surface, it was explained to us that there
is no guarantee that you will see one. After
all, this is a wild, natural environment and the
sharks are free to do as they please.
People prepared to enter the shark cage were
quickly trained to use the hookah system
for breathing underwater through regulators
attached to long hoses through which
compressed air is pumped from onboard. The
crew assisted each diver into the cage and
constantly supervised. Divers could enter
and exit the shark cage whenever they wanted
throughout the day. Hot chocolate and soup
along with plenty of good food were provided
to warm up chilly bodies. Fresh towels were
plentiful.
In the afternoon, while Richard and I were
donning our wetsuits preparing for our first
entry into the cage, we heard someone scream
“Shark! Shark! Shark!” When I looked out
a port side window there was a flurry of bird
activity about a hundred yards or more away
from the boat, and I spotted two black fins
breaking through the surface in the midst
of a swath of water that was bright red with
blood. Eyewitnesses told us that a great white
had just breached the surface with a seal in its
jaws, followed by an explosive balloon of red
blood bursting into the air.
The captain carefully maneuvered the
Tamalpais closer to the attack area and set
the anchor. Richard and I, along with two
members of a news crew from Fresno and
another diver from New York, went into the
shark cage for the first time. I was wearing a
7mm wetsuit with an attached hood and heavy
gloves and boots. The water felt coldest on my
head and feet, and I found myself breathing
hard for the first few minutes until I became
accustomed to the cold and the water in my
suit had a chance to warm up a bit. At first we
saw only water, which was fairly clear with
about 30 to 40 feet of visibility. Large round
white moon jellies drifted by, clearly visible
against the green blue color of the seawater.
The thirty pounds of weight I was wearing
had made me negatively buoyant, and I found
myself bouncing on my tiptoes against the
bottom of the cage as it moved with the waves
in the water. Richard was next to me looking
over the side of the cage toward the bottom
when he suddenly held his hand against his
forehead in a signal indicating shark. By the
time I looked far enough down in the direction
he had pointed there was nothing. I continued
scanning the area in front and beneath the cage
when I saw Richard pointing down again.
This time I saw the shark. It was there, big
and slightly on its side so that you could see
the light white underbelly and the dark back
meeting along the side of its massive body as
it gently moved from left to right just about 15
to 20 feet below us. Its mouth was closed and
it looked completely at ease and in control.
And then it was gone. We waited for a while
but it never came back. I guess it had seen
enough of us.
Our shark sighting was the only one from the
cage that day. There were only four of us
who happened to see it. The fifth person in
the cage, who so desperately wanted to see a
shark, missed it and was deeply disappointed.
Had I not seen the shark that day, I don’t think
I would have minded. I got to see a wild place
where humans don’t really belong and felt the
power of the natural forces that exist there.
But there was something in that moment when
I saw the white shark and he saw me, too that
will live in me forever.
We left the Farallones at about 2:30 heading
back for harbor. The smell of freshly baked
chocolate chip cookies wafted through the main
cabin followed by the third excellent meal of
the day. The time passed quickly as Richard
and I stood on the bow of the Tamalpais full
of energy and the experience of our beautiful
day, a fitting celebration of seven wonderful
years of married life. We talked easily with
other passengers who shared the day’s voyage
and when we looked back we saw a margin
of shimmering golden light along the horizon
CD’s
7
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