ANIMAL ENCOUNTERS: THE REAL JAWS

What it really feels like to come eye-to-eye with a Great White shark.

Photo Credit: (c) T J Allen Art

Great.    White.    Shark.
Three small words.    
One big misinterpretation.
 
As I lowered myself into the water for the first time, carefully walking down the steps of the cage tied to the back of the boat, it struck me that I was initially paying more attention to what my new world inside the cage was like rather than what was swimming beyond it. Yet, once in my new watery viewing room, I was more eager than ever to get eye-to-eye with the apex ocean predator most people fear.
 
Having cage dived in South Africa in 2008, I am no virgin when it comes to sharing the water with great white sharks but Guadalupe Island, off the west coast of Mexico, is without a doubt the mecca for encounters; and boy, was it well worth my 11-year wait!
 
The Surprise Factor

The first sighting is almost guaranteed to be a surprise. It is astonishing how these big, solid animals have an uncanny talent for appearing out of nowhere. Whilst my ability to predict behaviours improved and my eyes gradually adjusted to spot the shadowy outlines amongst the indigo depths, there was still an element of awe and excitement every time a shark materialised in my peripheral vision. My focus was never on the so-called ‘big, scary, teeth’ and ‘powerful and dangerous jaws’.  In fact, I never once felt scared or had any thought enter my head about being bitten or eaten alive.

The experience honestly felt like a privilege. 
 
Dur-dur, duuur-dur, duuuuur-dur

So what is it really like, I hear you cry? Well, without the cliché theme tune music to cloud your judgement(!), the sharks were arguably graceful . . . majestic . . . an image of perfectly designed beauty. I can hear the guffaws at those sentiments but at least I am speaking from experience! Simply watching the sharks glide by with barely a flick of their tail, or barrelling down to depths in a powerful nose-dive was fascinating to observe. At times, there was only one shark that would appear very intermittently and circle at a distance; other occasions, there were about four, five or six sharks all appearing from different directions, depths and angles. It was exhilarating.
 
From Bad Reputation To Badly Informed?

One perceived common thought that I feel compelled to address is the description of great whites being ‘mindless killing machines’. With two bait lines thrown off the back of the boat, you may be intrigued to discover that sometimes the sharks showed no interest in the big chunks of tuna dangling at the surface like a tempting free meal ticket. Needless to say, when lunch was on the agenda, the live-action, front-row seats were the best in town. It was captivating to observe the clearly decided and intentional behavioural changes when the sharks went for the bait. There was an obvious and distinct transition from effortless, slow swimming to the moment the shark locked eyes on the bait. The strength and power from the tail that wriggled up the body, propelling it with speed to the surface was incredible.

Whilst the bait lines act predominantly as visual interest for the sharks rather than a feeding device, I admit I did silently cheer in my head during the odd few times when the crew were too slow to react and the shark got the prize. Shark 1 – 0 Humans.
 
Seductive Encounters

During the dives, I was conscious of my desire for the sharks to come forever closer … and I’m talking about big, breeding females that dwarfed the length of the 8-foot cages I was in. Their size and dominance was simply alluring. I had a couple of separate encounters with a female and a male shark moving pretty close to the cage. It was almost as if they put their ‘slow-mo’ button on as they attentively and voyeuristically observed me in the cage. I hasten to add, there appeared to be no ulterior motive on their behalf other than sheer interest and intrigue.

I will never forget the connected moment of looking a great white shark in the eye; me watching her and her watching me. Her deep blue iris (yep, it is not a soulless, black hole) clearly tracked me as she passed and I felt touched with both respect and gratitude for that shared experience.
 
Shake-Off Old Perceptions

Since returning from the trip, I received the same repeated comments; ‘were you scared?’, ‘rather you than me!’, ‘have you heard about that guy who recently had his foot bitten off …?’. Great Whites are likely to continue being marred by the character burdened upon them from the film ‘Jaws’ but sometimes fear goes hand-in-hand with fascination. I would like to hope that more people have an opportunity to challenge themselves to see these sharks in real life and alter their perception to the positive.
 
Go on, I dare you!

Me living my life-long dream with a magnificent Great White!

Photo Credit: (c) Henley Spiers
https://www.henleyspiers.com/​

​Photo Credit: (c) T J Allen Art

​Photo Credit: (c) T J Allen Art

My trip was booked with Pelagic Fleet travelling on board the luxurious liveaboard, the 'Socorro Vortex'.
https://pelagicfleet.com/
https://vortexliveaboard.com/
https://vortexliveaboard.com/diving-in-guadalupe