Location: Guadalupe Island, Baja California, Mexico
Dive Day 2
Another picture perfect morning. The beautiful red light of sunrise reflected against the volcanic cliffs created an intense glow in the bay. With such great light, a group of photographers jumped into the zodiac to photograph the Guadalupe Fur Seals and Northern Elephant Seals illuminated by the early light. Meanwhile, our early morning shark spotters signalled the alarm… we have sharks under the boat! This created a flurry of activity and soon it was time for the submersible cages to take their first run. The large female affectionately nicknamed “Cindy Crawford”, due to the perfectly positioned ‘beauty remora’ she carried on her upper lip, reappeared from the depths. She circled closer and closer to the cages till on one pass she rubbed her belly fully against the bottom bar of the cage. I have never seen so much interaction from a shark before. Repeatedly, she came in so close to the cages, you could almost reach out and touch her. Throughout the day, several other sharks came and went, but this one female stayed all day. She even came up to the surface to check out the stern cages and swam right between the two. The water was alive with mackerel, tuna, sea lions, and sharks. Each time “Cindy” swam between the cages, it looked as if the paparazzi were there, strobes flashing on rapid fire. This is a special trip as professional photographers Andy Sallmon and Mark Strickland are hosting a photographic workshop. With such a good model, there are many excellent photos coming on board after each dive. All day, the conditions stayed near perfect and the shark action was unsurpassed. The crew all agreed that these past two days have been the best sharking of the season. The day seemed to fly by as group after group of divers came out of the water full of smiles and their cameras full of great images. Towards the end of the day we unfortunately received a massage from the head office that the weather report which called for 25′ seas the following day which led to the decision to pull up anchor and head in a day early for the safety of everyone. Having had two days of the best sharking of the season, the guests were torn between the sadness of leaving early and the joy of what they had already experienced. That night at happy hour, everyone was excitedly downloading their images and remembering the action filled day. Tonight we played the 50/50 game for donations and cash prizes. We were able to raise a good amount of money for the Guadalupe and Socorro Fund. After dinner, Mark gave an interesting lecture on photo composition and shared with us some of his great photographs. Reluctantly, but with safety in mind, we brought up the anchor and headed towards Ensenada. We will all talk about the great shark action these past couple of days for a long time to come.
Weather: Sky sunny warm, Wind calm, Temperature 80-85 F, Seas Calm
Water: Visibility +150′, Temperature 67 F, Swell calm
Eye to eye with a White Shark
