Marine Dynamics Blog

Today was one of the busiest in Marine Dynamics history! We hosted over 200 guests from across the globe and all attendees of the International Aquarium Congress (IAC) in Cape Town. 3 whale watching and 5 cage diving trips were launched and events ran through the day. Aboard Slashfin we had two of the trips and we were blessed with some amazing shark sightings.

We had quite an early start to our trip today, with all our clients needing to get up very early in order to meet us for our trip. It was well worth it, because the sharks put on a very nice show for all on board. Even though the wind was prevalent today it was still enjoyable out at sea, even for those who felt a bit green. We ended our dive with a visit to Dyer Island and on route we spotted a Southern Right Whale just cruising around the Island, quite spectacular! We had another sighting of our prop scar shark today; I hope to still see it every day. Get well soon my friend...

15th September

Location: Joubertsdam

Conditions: Swell, No wind

Visibility:3m

Water temp:16 Celcius

No Sharks:12

The water temperature is warmer than it has been in quite a while; this made it easier for everyone in the cage. Our first shark today was an acoustically tagged shark and it was big, around the 4 meter margin. This shark was followed by several smaller individuals and it was at this time that a Cape Fur seal took a chance to make an appearance! I would be lying if I said that everyone on board wasn’t hoping to see some action take place :)! It was very special to see how the seal chased the fish and the sharks on their turn chased the seal and so the circle of life continues. All in one trip, awesome...

The whale sightings are definitely giving the shark sightings a run for their money! It was incredible to see two Southern Right Whales so close to our boat and the fact that they loved to pose for photos made it even better. This was also at the very beginning of our trip and therefore laid the path for things to come. The sharks were equally as impressive with sightings of two tagged sharks; one acoustically and the other satellite. The largest shark was well over the 4 meter marker and the smallest was about 1.7 meters, a nice variation amongst individuals. Another great day in Kleinbaai...

We almost had the entire Marine Big 5 today: Sharks, whales, seals, dolphins and almost a penguin. Even though we are here to see the Great White Shark in action, it’s always great to be able to appreciate the immense diversity that we find in this area. I think the only major complaint from everyone was that their battery life on their cameras was dying or that their memory cards were filling up to fast :)! The sharks did keep us waiting for a while today, but when they showed up it was spectacular. A little patience is always needed...