A few weeks ago, my friend Cary did a shark dive in the Farallon Islands. He did an amusing write-up about the experience. If you don't mind a few four-letter words, it's a very enjoyable read.
Please note: this isn't an endorsement of shark diving / feeding. In fact, the onus for this trip was a book called Devil's Teeth which presents a fairly negative view of shark dive experiences.
3 comments:
Oct 28, 2008
well, for those who do not know....THEY DO NOT CHUM!!!! that would pretty much guarntee a sighting, but they are not permitted to in that area. so, you are taking a chance with this trip. You have to know it upfront. from what i can see, most people dont see anything though they advertise 80% success rate. I highly doubt it. the other factor is weather conditions. Oct in SF...expect rain and storms. they will cancel your trip if that happens.
If it isnt too bad, you still go, but the chancxes of seeing a shark have just dropped from slim to none. basically you are paying $800 for a few hours on a boat, a cup of coffee and an apple.
Viewing the Farrollon Isles was worth is for my wife and I. we did get into the cage and enjoyed that....but the water was so murky and visibility was horrible.
If you really want to see great whites...look into galapagos islands or capetown S Africa.
If in hawaii (oahu), you can view other species (cage dive) for like $100 .
My wife and I will return to SF, but will not take this tour again.
Oct 20, 2008
I do not recommend this trip to anyone with a serious interest in viewing wildlife (especially sharks). A few highlights:
1) The boat was small, dingy and disorganized. We had 13 guests and our stuff was crammed in and under seats leaving little area to sit comfortably (for 12 hours I might add)
2) Lack of preparation or professionalism. The crew was friendly but ill informed. They did not offer many unique facts about sharks, talked mainly about the "myths" and dramatized the supposed sightings they had in the past
3) Food was average to poor. Homeade pasta, soup and a few snacks from Costco. They ran out of hot water and coffee 2 hours into our trip. Cups, utensils and sweetener were non-existent.
4) The ocean water has literally 5-10ft visibilty. You can see bubbles, the boat propeller and perhaps a jelly. I doubt anyone could ever see a shark under water unless it accidentally bumped the cage.
5) No truth in advertising. They are not allowed to chum/tow decoys or approach research vessels that are. (Which is where the sharks are attracted). No chance of really seeing anything unless you were extremely lucky.
Overall, I had to give it one star because your money would have been better spent going on a far less expensive whale watching trip in the bay. You will be much more comfortable and will not have to be stuck on a cold dingy boat for 12 hours.
Do yourself a favor and stay in the City, eat a nice dinner, take a cruise and save up for better dive at Cocos Island/Fiji/Galapagos.
While I agree with the murkiness comments, the "no-chumming" and the bit about the chances of seeing a shark being slim, my experience differed from the two above.
Yes, it was expensive and no, we didn't have a bevy of shark sightings, but we did have a good adventure. We all enjoyed the day. Our group was fun and the crew and captain were all very knowledgable about sharks, the history of the islands themselves and just diving in general.
I wouldn't recommend the trip to people wanting to see sharks for sure, but I wouldn't NOT recommend it based on the crew or the boat. Just know what you're getting into if you decide to go.
That's what we did and we had a great day and have lots of stories to tell now... and really, that's what it's about.
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