Jumping the Shark

We got picked up from Reezan's house in downtown Cape Town at 5:20am. With sleep still in our eyes, we were whisked two hours east of the city and briefed about 'Shark Alley,' the natural channel to the east of 'Seal Island.' It could expected that these waters would be teeming with shark activity since 60,000 seals--yes sixty thousand-- take up residence on the jagged offshore crags. At around 830am, the anchor dropped and we had the first real briefing with our captain and guide.

Up until this briefing, I had grown increasingly nervous. Being in the water with the sharks didn't seem so bad, but I had never used diving equipment before and didn't know how I would fare on open choppy water. My fears were soon relieved. The dive cage would be attached to the boat and the only equipment required was a scuba mask and a wet suit. Even as the guide laid on his thickest jokes about how he had never seen someone lose both arms in one day, but it was only his second day, I was most relieved to know that I wouldn't need to watch my air meter or worry about severing my own breathing tubes. The cage had metal crossbars the could be used to dunk to the bottom of the cage and remain until the shark had passed or breathe had run out. Seven people entered the cage at once while one person on the top deck of the boat called out approaching sharks and instructed the caged to dunk. The only two serious danger warnings were to abide by the calls to dunk and to keep toes and fingers away from the outer portions of the cage. The warning to dunk on command was due to the unique great whites in south Africa that would actually breach out of the water. The diving as well as the breaching watched from the deck was truly awesome. The whole experience was exhilarating and well worth it. I fired up the go pro and should eventually have some footage once I get a reasonable internet connection.