Kelp forest and pelagic diving

Last week we did a kelp forest and a pelagic dive (28 & 29 October). Here is a short video that I shot and edited that shows just how underrated Diving in Cape town is. The water was 17degrees Celsius with loads of sharks. Special thanks to Leila and Jeroen for joining us on this dive expedition! Hope you enjoy it!

Shark Explorers 2010/10/28&29 from Shark Xplorers on Vimeo.

Whale carcass vs White sharks

On 9 September 2010 a whale carcass washed into the False bay. Chris Fallows and the SA Navy towed the carcass to Seal Island where for 9 days we witnessed over 30 White sharks feast on it.

For a detailed report read my wife's blog at :

http://saveourseas.com/projects/whitesharks_za/recycling_life_dead_whale_a_giant_magnet_for_sharks

Sardine Run Fever!

Probably the most spectacular natural event that I have ever witnessed!! They don't call this the "Wild Coast" for nothing!! Brocq and myself spent 3 weeks filming dolphins, sharks, whales and birds as they masterfully herded and dissected massive sardine bait ball's.



The Sardine run takes place in June/July each year. Cold water currents push up against the coast and with it comes millions of sardines. And awaiting them a impressive array of predators : Bottle nose dolphins, common dolphins, gannets, brydes whales, dusky sharks, black tip sharks, bull sharks, bronze whaler sharks, sail fish and more.



Sometimes it feels like you are in a war zone! Dolphins communicating, birds falling from the sky sounding like cannon fire as they hit the water, whales bursting through the middle with there mouths wide open, sharks snapping at the sardines! Chaos in the best possible sense!



We are going back in 2011 and am inviting nature enthusiasts to join in. If you think you can handle such a mind blowing experience please contact me for further details.

Shark Explorers - film and productions

This year got off to a busy start and at the moment we are busy on 6 productions. One production focusing on the Kelp forests and it's bio diversity, one on the tigers, raggies and black tips in Aliwal shaol, 2 productions on the Sardine run, and 2 productions on white sharks. Stay posted for more info as it's made available.






Here are a few productions that have made it big "on screen", winning numerous awards!

2005: Beyond Fear – National Geographic


2007: Sharkman – Discovery Channel


2008: Great White Shark, A Living Legend – BBC Natural World


2009: 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper – CNN, CBS

Watch CBS News Videos Online

2010: Shark Nights – Discovery Channel and French TV

Shark Explorers launches "Shark Explorer

We are proud to announce the launch of our new dive boat, "Shark Explorer"! Originally used for deep sea tuna fishing, we had to redesign the deck layout to cater for divers, photographers and film makers. This vessel is designed with comfort and practicality in mind. We cater for 6 clients only and have all the necessary space and equipment for any job at hand. This is NOT your average dive boat!

Pelagic season a success!

The Pelagic season has been awesome! We spent 12 days out in the "deep" with tons of blue sharks, mako sharks, yellow fin tuna, long fin tuna and many more animals that call this deep blue water there home.



Our best trip of the season was on the 2nd of June 2010. The first two sharks that arrived to our boat was Mako's, after that the blue's arrived and then some more Mako's! By the time I got out of the water we had 15 blue sharks and 4 Mako sharks around us at the same time. I actually needed to dive through the blue sharks just to get a picture of a Mako.....






We also had some incredible dives with the giant Tuna's. Some of these fish weight in at over 100kg and are lighting fast in the water.




Visibility ranges from 10m-50m and the water can get incredibly blue out there. Here are a few pictures taken in the cleanest water of the season!

ORCA'S in False Bay

On 17th April 2010 we received word that a pod of Orca's were chasing down a huge pod of dolphins, so we rushed to the boat and went looking for them. What happened next was a truly humbling experience that I've never witnessed before.



The Orca's tracked down the pod of dolphins and predated on one. With a full breach out of the water and knocking the dolphin miles into the air, before making turns to feed on the carcass.




After consuming everything but the head and internal organs, the Orca's made a run for it again to catch the dolphins. We followed them for about two hours before we were forced to turn around as we just had enough fuel to make it back to base.



This is the fourth time the Orca's came into the bay in the last year and we hope to see this soon again!