A shark

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Private
adventure yachting is the “end all be all” for discriminating travelers. It is
a world that is continuously in transition as new global destinations and
adventure possibilities are discovered. We’ll take you inside the luxury world
of cage diving with Great White sharks and show you how to plan your personal National Geographic-style adventure in
comfort aboard your own private yacht.

A new era of exploration

Until
ten years ago, high-end travelers had limited options for satisfying their
adventure bug.

Now
well-heeled explorers have expanding opportunities to climb Mount Everest for
$100,000 or rent their own private
game preserve in Kenya.
According to the World Tourism Organization, an agency of the United Nations, “eco-tourism
and nature tourism are growing three times faster than the tourism industry in
general.”[1]
Today’s active vacationers want unique far flung experiences with nature and
they’re willing to pay for them. As a result, the two vacationing styles have
merged, forming a new trend known as “high-end eco-tourism” that has become
more popular than ever.

This
was the realization of Patric Douglas, CEO of Absolute Adventures-Shark Diver (www.sharkdivers.com). Douglas is best
known for taking clients Great White Shark cage diving at Isla de Guadalupe, Mexico.
His operation is based out of San
Diego, California.

“More
and more of my clients are seeking the experience of a lifetime, and something
truly extraordinary that stands out from all their other vacations. Shark
diving gives them a thrilling way to be closer to a rare and fascinating predatory
species.”

Growth and allure of shark
diving

Once
relegated to the world of extreme thrill seekers and scientists, shark diving has
grown in popularity as an eco-friendly alternative to other adrenaline
adventures such as private heli-skiing
and guided rock climbing. However unlike other extreme sports, cage diving with
sharks is quite safe. Despite the fact that the movie Jaws kept us out of the ocean long after its debut, more people die
from bee stings than shark attacks.

Great
White Sharks remain one of nature’s most beautiful yet misunderstood creatures.
They are really shy and slow moving animals.
Viewing them under water is more than just an adrenaline rush. It is
poetry in motion. Most people emerge from the cage with a sense of calmness and
a newfound respect for the species.

Unfortunately
the Great White Shark and other shark species are rapidly become extinct.
According to the World Wildlife Federation “a rising demand for shark skins,
fins, meat and other parts has led to a worldwide boom in shark fishing. And as
sharks are at the top of the food chain, the slaughter of 100 million a year
has severe repercussions for the whole marine ecosystem.”[2]
This is one reason why so many people are signing up for cage diving trips.
There is no better time than the present to see these incredible creatures in
their environment.

Shark Diving Charter-Industry Inside Tips

There
are two ways to cage dive with Great White Sharks: book or build. If you want
to book, Douglas introduces CEOs and private
clients to shark diving adventures aboard the M/Y Kayana. This 120-foot yacht was
designed by renowned European ship craftsman Jon Bannenberg to cross the Atlantic on her own hull. Owned and operated by CEO
Expeditions (www.ceoexpeditions.com),
the Kayana is capable of taking passengers anywhere in the world in the
lifestyle to which they are
accustomed. Her shared interior spaces
are warm, open, and exquisitely furnished. You'll find plenty of room on
the upper deck for sunning, enjoying the view, or perhaps a soak in the hot
tub. The extraordinary aft deck is
beautifully appointed with teak decks and furnishings. The main salon features
madrona paneling and plenty of comfortable seating, where you can spend time
relaxing, playing games, reading, or watching your personal shark diving movie with
family and friends. The dining area can seat ten and showcases a unique,
beautiful stamped copper table. Accommodations fit ten guests in five luxurious
double staterooms, including the full beam master stateroom located midship.
Each stateroom is comfortably furnished and equipped with its own entertainment
system complete with satellite television.

The private staff aboard the Kayana also take the
finest care of you, from personalized dive masters that see to your cage diving
needs, to bait wranglers that bring the sharks towards the cages for close-up
viewing, to a private videographer who will document your adventure from topside
and cage side vantage points. To further enhance guests’ experience, the master chef uses the
freshest ingredients available to create mouth watering specialties - even
cooking the day’s local catch upon request. Each meal is a culinary masterpiece.
For one four-course finale dinner in, the chef on the Kayana served tomatoes
stuffed with wild greens in a beet vinaigrette with balsamic syrup, followed by
seared ahi in a soy glaze with pickled ginger and seaweed salad, followed by a
roasted pillar of beef and lobster tail with gorgonzola mashed potato, mushroom
sauce, and roasted asparagus, followed by a chocolate tuile (a thin, crisp, cup-shape
cookie) with vanilla ice cream and blueberries inside a spun-sugar cage. Guests can also sample wines from the owner’s own
personal collection, one of the finest private cellars in the Northwest, along
with their meal.

“Shark
diving has never been attempted on this scale before,” says Douglas.
“It’s a perfect marriage of luxury and high adventure.”

Alternatively,
a few private yacht owners and
eco-adventurers build their own shark diving cages to offer a lifetime
experience to their onboard guests. In fact, Douglas and his team designed and
built custom cages for one client who took his family Salmon Shark diving off
the waters in Gravina Bay, Alaska aboard their 160-foot Delta yacht. On that
trip, the owner hired Douglas to guide the
boat crew through the lessons of safer shark diving.

Offering Your Own Cage
Diving

If
you decide to offer Great White shark cage diving aboard your own private
vessel, ensure you hire an expert and extra crew to join you on your trip. Here
is a brief description of how cage diving works.

Unlike scuba diving, cage diving requires wearing
only a scuba suit, mask, boots, gloves (optional), and weight belts. Cages are
typically built from one-inch anodized aluminum pipe, welded at the seams, with
horizontal bars across the sides, and flotation tanks attached a few feet below
the top. Out of water, it resembles a large public phone booth. Submerged in
the water, three-quarters of the cage rests below the surface and one quarter
bobs about the surface. This free space gives divers a chance to clear their
masks or communicate with the Dive Master on the boat. Depending on the size of
the cage, four to six divers can comfortably fit during one full rotation. Air
is supplied to divers by huge tanks which are located on the boat. Individual regulators
are attached to the tanks using long hookah-style hoses. Lastly, the cage is always
attached to the stern of the boat.

Divers first enter the cage from the open stern of
their boat, through a hatch at the top. After each diver is settled into the
cage and ensures their regulators are working properly, then the hatch is
closed and the fun begins. Divers can also wear an underwater 2-way radio
communications system to remain in constant contact with the boat. The amount of time spent in the cage depends
on water conditions, weather, and quality of shark activity. For the most
part, divers can stay submerged in the cage for up to one hour without getting
too cold.

When and Where to Shark
Dive

Before
planning your cage diving trip, take into account the best seasons and
locations for shark diving. In the U.S.
from September through November, Great White Sharks congregate in the waters
around the Farallon
Islands, a protected national marine
sanctuary located 26 miles outside of San Francisco Bay.
In the early 1980s, researchers discovered that these islands attracted huge
populations of adult Great Whites that returned year after year to feed on the
resident California Sea Lions and Elephant Seal populations. Off the coast,
water temperatures average about 50°F and visibility only extends
20 feet, which makes it the least desirable place for larger yachts to cage
dive.

In the late 1990s, shark aficionados tracked the
Great White Shark population migration from September through November to a
small barren island situated 200 miles off Mexico’s coast called Isla de
Guadalupe. Here, the warmer 65 to 80°F water temperatures and 100 foot
visibility make Isla de Guadalupe an ideal spot for cage diving with Great
White sharks for both U.S.
and Mexican visitors.

Internationally, a few coastal towns in South Africa including Protea Banks, Gansbaai, and Cape Town offer cage diving from
April through September. In these waters temperatures range from 55° to 65°F and visibility
extends to 50 feet. The best known spot in South Africa is Dyer Channel
(otherwise known as "shark alley"), a 20 feet deep body of water that
lies between Dyer and Geyser islands. At this location, Great Whites come to dine
on the resident population of 30,000 to 45,000 Cape Fur seals.

Lastly
Southern Australia and popular spots, such as "Scuba Zoo" on Flinders
Reef in the Coral Sea and the Neptune Islands off Adelaide,
boasts large populations of Great White sharks. In this region, diving with
Great White Sharks best occurs from April to September when water temperatures
are their coolest. Because of the 60-70°F temperatures and clearer visibility,
shark photographers prefer shooting footage here more than any other place in
the world.

While
there are hundreds of eco-adventures available in the world today, shark diving
gives people a rare and thrilling opportunity to see predatory creatures in
their natural habitat, as long as they remain on this planet. If you cage dive
with Great White sharks aboard a luxury chartered vessel or your own private
yacht , you will enjoy a safe and unique of witnessing the rare grace and
beauty of these species with the luxury of Four Seasons accommodations. It’s an
experience that 99 percent of the world will only watch on TV.

“It’s
really the cutting edge of adventure,” says Douglas
with a smile. “No pun intended.”

Rebekah
Mitchell is a freelance writer who lives in San Francisco.

Sidebars

About Great White Sharks

The scientific name for Great White Sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, comes
from the Greek words carcharos meaning “ragged” and odon
for “tooth”
Great Whites grow to
an average length of 10-24 feet and weigh between 2500-5000 lbs.
The Great
White Shark is the only Apex Predator to not be tamed or
kept in captivity long term; it has few ocean predators
Seals and sea lions, collectively known as pinnipeds, are their preferred
food
However, the Great White’s biggest threat is man. Around 100 million
sharks are killed every year for their fins because shark fin soup is an
oriental delicacy

Sources: www.greatwhite.org
and www.bite-back.com

Risks and precautions

Did
you know that more people are struck by lightening each year than attacked by
sharks? The truth is that cage diving with Great Whites can be a safe, provided
that divers take the following precautions:

Only cage dive in
cages made from 100% steel or anodized aluminum pipe that feature an
escape hatch through the top, should a shark breach the cage
Ensure all divers are
certified, and have basic training on breathing and clearing their mask
Keep hands and arms
inside the cage at all times; do not prod the sharks with poles, spears or
other devices
Stay inside the cage
or stay on the boat – but don’t stand on the swim platform or on top of
the cage. Sharks can swim blindingly fast in pursuit of what they think
could be a seal, when it’s only you in a wetsuit