Sunday, December 13, 2009

Pelagic dive....a must for all ocean addicts



The Pelagic trips we offer are certainly one of the most exciting experiences for ocean lovers. 30 Miles out at sea, the ocean doesn't get much "wilder" than this. It's like opening a lucky packet every time we head out and past Cape point. Whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, fish, birds, and "BLUE WATER"!



We managed to get out to the "blue's" five times in the last month. Two of the days will never be forgotten. The pictures don't do it justice!



Unfortunately blue sharks and mako sharks are of the most heavily fished shark species in our oceans, and what makes this worst is the fact that we just don't have enough information about these sharks to guarantee their survival in the future.



Hopefully more people will get to experience this awesome diving so that we can raise more awareness for these beautiful animals....and hopefully eliminate the thought of "out of sight, out of mind".

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Seven gill sharks in numbers


We have been spending many days this year diving with the seven gill’s. Over the last 4 weeks we have been seeing an increase in the number of sharks in the area.


At the moment we are recording between 20 and 30 different sharks on a single dive! On our last dive we had one of the largest sevengill’s we have ever dived with, measuring in at about 3meters and weighing in at around 500pounds...she looked pregnant!


We also had a record 7 different shark species on a single dive! This is one of my favourite dives at the moment – the kelp forests and beautiful reef structures makes this a very rewarding experience.


The seals are always a hit and we often find ourselves amongst these playful animals when we dive this location.

Into the blue


The tuna season is in full swing and with it comes blue sharks and mako sharks. We did a trip out there on the 24th October to see what we could find.


The weather was good, the water was warm and the wildlife certainly didn’t disappoint us!


We had giant yellow fin tuna, sharks, dolphins and at least 8 different pelagic bird species (of which 3 were albatross).


The season lasts till the end December and sometimes even into January. The weather has to be good before we head out 30miles from land, but what an experience!

Borderhop – Mozambique 2009


Mozambique is a very special place with some incredible diving opportunities. We took on the road early October for a short 8-day-dive-as-much-as-u-can-expedition. We travelled 4500km in 8 days and got to dive 4 days on two different locations.


The first location was Sodwana bay. We joined Digger from blue juice for some sub tropical diving. On our first dive we ran into a Manta and a Ragged tooth shark! As we are sharky people, this was just what we were hoping for.


Our plan was to dive Sodwana and then go up to Ponta da ouro to dive the pinnacles and possibly run into some bull sharks, hammerheads and whale sharks.


Unfortunately the weather didn’t play in our favour and we had green, cold water with loads of jellyfish....but no sharks! The currents along the east coast can be very unforgiving. We still had a great time diving and surfing in Mozambique. We are already planning our next trip!

A busy year behind the camera


From Bassas to Cape town, from dusk till dawn, from white sharks to bull sharks, from 60minutes to Animal planet, from Anderson Cooper to Jeff Corwin....it doesn’t get much better than this!


2009 has been a challenging year for me behind the camera, but a very rewarding one indeed. I was lucky enough to be contracted as underwater cameraman on four high-end film productions about sharks.


White sharks were on the top of the shotlists and we (Mike Rutzen and myself) spent over 30hrs in the water with them this season. I can’t say much right now....but stay tuned for updates on the screening of these groundbreaking films. NOT TO BE MISSED!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Blue water adventures...

Thirty miles out at sea with no land in sight, hundreds of meters deep with endless visibility, blue sharks and mako sharks amongst giant schools of yellow and long fin tuna....a life changing experience indeed!



Diving amongst pelagic sharks is an adventure not many divers get to experience. We head out at first light and after a long journey by boat we reach our destination marked by loads of bird activity and commercial fishing boats taking advantage of the seasonal abundance of fish.


Blue sharks are very curious animals and they often swim right up to the divers for a closer look. They are the most beautiful shades of blue you can possibly imagine and pictures don’t do them justice.


This year the mako sharks were a little scarce with very few gracing us with their presence. But everyday out there is different and you just never know what to expect – its adventurous diver’s dream come true! The giant yellow fin tuna can weigh in at over 200 pounds and are extremely fast swimmers. We often get to jump in amongst tunas and sharks which make this dive just so much more rewarding.