Marine Dynamics Blog

We were forced to launch our boat in the afternoon rather than the morning today; this was due to the low tide forcing us to do so. Nevertheless the sharks were waiting for us when we arrived and the first shark was a massive 4.1 meter male shark, not a bad way to start the trip:)! The weather has been a bit cloudy the last couple of days, hence the reason we all have gained a deeper appreciation for sunny days like today. It was an awesome family day on the boat, with one family being the most people from one family that I have had on board! 14 people ranging from very young towards not so young, it is great to see that shark cage diving has become an experience for the entire family. When you kids grow up, you can bring your children to Marine Dynamics :)...

Even though it wasn’t a flat day on the sea, we still had some awesome sunny conditions! The voyage towards our dive sight and back was very entertaining for most of the guests on board, however some did mention that their bums were not equipped to handle all of the bumps :)! The dive site itself offered the perfect protection from the swell and wind conditions, well done to the crew! It was great that the waiting time was virtually zero until the sharks arrived; our visibility today was very variable. At times we had visibility all the way down to the sea bed (5 meters) and other times it turned more murky, unfortunately there are always factors beyond our control. The sharks were giving some lovely passes by the cage, but they were reluctant to come up and pose for my camera today, hence the limited number of shark pics today! I’ll get you next time sharkies...PS. the skate on the last pic was released unharmed.
 

The weather today was an added bonus to the phenomenal shark viewing! I am pretty sure that everyone left the boat with a tan today. We had some great sightings of other animals today, there was a hagfish at the back of the boat and it did venture into the cage at times! Giving some of our guests quite a fright :)! The highlight of today’s trip must have been “Kevin”, a small Cape Cormorant who thought he was a super hero! This bird had absolutely no fear of the massive 4.5 meter sharks that were around the cage today, he made a game of chasing the sharks around the boat! This bird also came into the cage on several occasions in order to see what our guests were doing, a truly fascinating individual. A White morph Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus) was spotted on the horizon and it was noted that the bird was injured. We promptly dispatched our sister company Dyer Island Cruises to the area and they were able to save the bird! We had two very large sharks today of which “Slash fin” was one of them; he however did not come close to the cage today but rather remained at a distance. A real entertaining day...

Today started off with a light drizzle and therefore we decided to get everyone into their wetsuits prior to going down to the boat! We did not want everyone to get their clothes wet so that was the best alternative. We made it easier for everyone by taking them down to the boat with our busses, comfort and safety is what makes us a first class company! We were very surprised to see “Slash Fin” make an appearance today, we all believed that he had wondered off to greener pastures! It would seem that this large 4.2 meter shark just enjoys our company, but no one knows for how long! It’s always great to be anchored in Shark Alley, because it is just so beautiful and full of life. This is Africa, is all I can say...

It was a fabulous sunny day in South Africa with awesome people and amazing sharks! Even though the sharks had kept us waiting for a bit, which they haven’t done in a while, they eventually arrived in their full splendour! We had the same six sharks for the majority of the trip, however half way through their buddies started to arrive on the scene. Before we knew it there were heaps of sharks in the water. Even the Australians on board had to admit that our sharks, as well as our Rugby, are just better than down under :)! Today saw the arrival of some of our new volunteer recruits, they look very eager to lend a helping hand in order to make every guests time on board our boat a pleasure! Well done guys and welcome...

Hi everyone, please excuse the delay in my latest blog postings! We have been having some technical difficulties with our computers; the matter should be resolved by tomorrow. Watch this space for future Marine Dynamics Blog postings, they will be appearing in due time! Thanks for reading...