Shark Cage Diving in Shark Alley

I can count on one hand the number of times I have peed in the ocean. For whatever reason (actually, I can pinpoint it to an Animal Planet show I watched on some Amazonian river parasite that was attracted to urine), I get really pee-shy doing this. It turns into some deeply meditative experience where I have to forget that I’m in a massive body of water. Yet, a few days ago I thought it would happen shockingly easily.

I’ll rewind a bit…

I have always been fairly terrified of sharks. I absolutely love the ocean and being in water; yet I feel uneasy being there for too long as if I’m marinating for some massive creature (= a shark) to come eat me. As a result, I have learned a lot about these creatures: their feeding schedules, migratory patterns, preferred diet, strengths, weaknesses, favorite colors, etc.  

So when I booked my flight to South Africa, the land (rather, sea) of the world’s highest concentration of the largest sharks, it only made sense to sign up for shark cage diving to conquer my fear.

Gansbaai (pronounced Hans-bye) is located about a two and a half hour drive from Cape Town. It is known as “Shark Alley” due to its dense population of great white sharks. (Insert “Go Big or Go Home” quotes.)

Gansbaai docking area...that boat is not Slashfin

Marine Dynamics, the company that I booked the diving with, promotes eco-tourism and education on the “true” great white shark (not the one depicted in Jaws). Once we arrived in Gansbaai, these were some important tidbits they told us prior to going out to sea:

• Female great whites can get up to 6 meters (about 20 feet) in length
• They have multiple rows of serrated teeth
• Preferred prey are fur seals and sea lions (not humans)
• They will only open their mouths toward the surface of the water when they are attacking prey
• These sharks have awful eyesight and rely on electromagnetic field detection and smell as their primary senses
• Great whites are very solitary, but curious, creatures
• There are only about 5-10 human deaths per year from sharks around the world (…you are more likely to die from a toaster)
• There is still a lot we do not know about them

Of course, I already knew most of this from my past research. Consequently, when the accompanying Marine Biologist asked us if we were ready, I confidently but nervously replied yes.

All 40 of us, equipped with our lifejackets and orange fishermen coats, boarded our boat, cleverly named Slashfin. The 15-minute ride to our anchor location was anything but calm. I clung to my camera as we rode the roller coaster through four-meter swells and 35-knot winds.

Our barrier between the sharks

We arrived at the anchor site and the crew began to put the cage and bait (not us) in the water.  The cage, which holds ten people, attaches to the side of the boat and people only enter when we sight a shark (otherwise that’s a lot of chilly down time). There are no snorkels or air tanks as the cage always remains partially above water.

In the meantime, 40 people scattered about, majorly struggling to put on our full-length wetsuits amidst a rocky boat, bitter temperatures, and strong winds blowing the clothes we removed away.

Then we waited.

                              And waited.

                                                     And waited some more.

Until finally there was movement.

Unfortunately, that movement was in 35 people’s stomachs. See, when you are anchored at sea with four-meter swells, 35-knot winds, and tight wetsuits bad things start to happen.

Miraculously, I was one of the five people who were not seasick. I attribute it to my incessant chewing of the distributed ginger chews and because I had larger things on my mind.

While everyone was throwing up, I got to talk to the crew. I found out that these sharks have had unpredictable migratory patterns in Gansbaai over the past year and a half, that the viral YouTube video of the shark getting into a cage was because of improper baiting techniques, and that we ran out of barf bags.

And once we ran out of puke receptacles (if you were to throw up over the side of the boat, it would have blown back in your face), it was really time to head back to land. This rejoiced about 35 people, but I was left a little bummed. I still wanted to get over this fear. 

Luckily, Marine Dynamics wanted us to see sharks, too. So, when there are no shark sightings, they either give you a partial refund or you get to go again.

I had no hesitation. I moved my plans around for take two.

Three days later I woke up at 2:55 am and went back out to sea. I showed up with my own ginger chews, enthusiastically greeted the crew (who I now knew fairly well), and found a good seat on Slashfin where I could comfortably maneuver into my wetsuit.

Downside of baiting the water: tons of seagulls flock to the boat

Once we anchored, they placed the cage in the water, distributed the bait and seal decoys, and we began the process of waiting again.

This time, though, we waited even longer. The seas were WAY calmer, the wind was only a breeze, and a mere two people were queasy at the front of the boat. But, the only dark figure we saw in the water was a stingray playing with our seal decoy. While it surely amused us, it still wasn’t what we were looking for.

Eventually, it was time to turn the boat around. Of course, we all wanted to see sharks, but this is nature after all. And most of the time, it is unpredictable. I gave myself a virtual pat on the back for trying (twice) to get as safely close to a shark as I could, and sat down to enjoy the ride back to shore.

But as the boat bounced through waves back to shore, the Marine Biologist spotted a spray of water. Slashfin slowed, we all turned, and what do we see but something even bigger than a shark: Two orcas making their way through Shark Alley.

The initial sighting: We discovered that there were two orcas 

Then it all made sense (to our Marine Biologist, at least): these apex predators likely intimidated our “little” great white sharks. As odd as it sounds, great white sharks suddenly seemed kind of cute. Really, I should be more afraid of orcas, not sharks!  

I didn’t get to completely overcome my fear of sharks—and potentially pee in the water—ironically because the sharks were scared themselves. While I may have to wait awhile to go a third time, it’s still on (and now even higher up) the bucket list. And at least now I know to bring ginger chews.