We are trying something new. On Social Media, we try to share an image every day of our travels and adventures. It is an excellent tool for sharing our world and getting people interested in our experiences. However, sometimes it is limiting when sharing an image or a story because the pictures are compressed down and not as visually stimulating, or the stories are too short. So I decided to add a photo of the day to our website as well. Trying it out, I may not be able to do this all the time due to limited wifi, but while I have it, I will attempt to do this as well.
Today’s Image - Getting Really Close!
One exciting thing about cage diving with white sharks is those up-close encounters with this sexy shark species. Having a shark brush up against the cage is always a thrill. But when they get so close that their pectoral fins slide inside the bars, you see divers lose their minds with excitement. It is the thrill of wanting to be outside the cage swimming side by side with these massive animals within touching distance. But the reality is we can’t. Not that we can’t, we are just not allowed.
That is a question I am often asked.. “why are we not allowed to swim with white sharks outside of a cage.” The answer is, we can. We are just not allowed to do it at white shark hot spots like Guadalupe or Australia. There are protection laws set in place that discourages outside the cage diving with these sharks. Operators will lose their permits if they allow it.
Every so often, a white shark shows up somewhere, and lucky divers are gifted with the opportunity to swim with them without a cage. My buddy John Dickenson has had two encounters with white sharks off the coast of Jupiter, Florida, while on a dive, and our buddies Juan Oliphant and Ocean Ramsey have encountered a massive white off of Hawaii. So those encounters can and do happen, even though they are few and far between.
The main reason that cage diving is a law is to protect divers from these very dangerous apex predators, and I agree with that logic. But I also think the cages protect the sharks from us divers. Imagine if every boat was allowed to swim with white sharks without cages. You would have divers chasing away every white shark that showed up to the dive boats. And because 'outside the cage' diving is the ultimate in shark diving, there would be tens of thousands of divers trying to be there every year to do this activity. Humans tend to ruin everything and it would be chaos.
It does not mean I do not wish more people could dive outside the cage with whites, it is the ultimate. I love it, but I know it would be bad for the sharks. So knowing this, I am content with the thrill of seeing them through the bars of the cage, always hoping for that super close pass.
