First breach of the season

Oh my word, I cant believe its been so long since our last blog post.

The end of Feb saw the start of our shark trips to Seal Island. We did our first film shoot of the year with the travel channel and Redline productions and since then we have done about 8 shark trips. All but 1 trip we got sharks, which is very good for the intermediate season which can have a 50-70% sightings rate.

We finally fitted  our booking shop in Simon's town. at the beginning of March, much to my relief, however  I have had a frustrating two weeks interviewing potential candidates Some don't pitch or pitch the next day at there own leisure, don't phone to say they will be late, etc etc. However, yesterday I think I finally found the right person. Lets wait and see what progresses. 

We went to sea yesterday, and we saw our first breach of the season. It was a decent sized shark of around 4m. As Wellington put the seal decoy in the water, the shark leaped out of the water in a spectacular explosion.

We took our new guide to sea today. Shoena is a qualified marine biologist and zoologist and is very excited to  be spending shark season with us.

Today is the Argus Cycle race. Its blowing a gale outside and I am very glad to not be on a bike in this wind. It does mean we are stuck in our house the entire day, which is really frustrating for the kids, but I am going to take them down to the park just now. They have been really naughty, and last night I found them painting Adams little scooter with some paint that we had used to paint the shop. I had taken it out of the car a few hours before and the kids eye's must have lit up as if they had found the jack pot. Adam had a paint filled roller in one hand and was wielding it like a sword.

Best I take them for a walk as my locusts have just destroyed the bathroom.............

A trip to Seal Island False Bay

 It was such a gorgeous day yesterday, that we decided to take an improptu trip out in False Bay. We headed off to

Seal Island. The Island was very full, and there where plenty of Bull seals and a lot of mating going on. We also spotted a few dead seal pups in the water.

We then did a little tour hugging the coast and returned back to Simon stown. It was very nice to be out on the water.

Shark Cage diving with African Shark Eco-Charters

I have just learnt how to link words to websites, so bear with me as I play " link link"

Shark Cage diving info

Great White Shark diving

Watch great white shark hunt seal at False Bay Seal Island.

Shark spotters enjoyed their trip with us

Up close and personal with sharks

By Thandanani Mhlanga

The sea is quiet and still and it is almost hard to believe that great whites inhabit these calm waters.

On an unusually hot winter's day in the peninsula, and even more so in Simon's Town, a group of 10 shark spotters will get their first up-close encounter with the predator they've observed for so long.

Their excitement is palpable as the cage descends into the water.

At first, there are no sharks, but within minutes the boat to which the cage is attached is encircled by at least half a dozen.

After about 40 minutes, shark spotters Monwabisi Si-kweyiya and Patrick "Rasta" Davids are lifted out of the shark-diving cage.

"It was that close! Did you see it?" shouted Sikweyiya.

Davids responded: "Do you believe me now? There's nothing to be afraid of?"

The group was invited by African Shark Eco-Charters to get a close-up view of the sharks they keep a lookout for.

"There are more dangerous two-legged sharks on land," said Davids, a veteran of the shark spotting trade.

Davids started out as a car guard at a Muizenerg beach until a 16-year-old teenager lost a leg to a great white. His livelihood was subsequently threatened as the beach saw fewer visitors.

This led him to train as a shark spotter.

"The local trek fishermen taught me how to look for weather conditions, wind patters, visibility in the water. I was the first shark spotter in Muizenberg."

That was seven years ago, and shark spotting has since grown to encompass this group of youngsters from all walks of life who were given the opportunity yesterday to encounter the great whites.

Rob Lawrence, owner and host of African Shark Eco-Charters, sponsored the group.

"These guys do such a good job but only get to see the sharks from the mountains," said Lawrence.

Alison Kock, a shark re-searcher with the Save our Seas Foundation, said they were grateful to Lawrence for sponsoring the trip as the experience had lifted the shark spotters' spirits.

"Getting to see sharks in their natural environment, up closer than they ever have before, can teach them more in a few hours than years of studying sharks from books or films," said Kock.

Also in the shark spotter group are four women.

Ethel Thsandu said that, as a shark spotter, she had learned how to connect with nature.

"You get to learn about nature, how to become connected to nature," she said.

The other women said the best part of their job was meeting tourists from all over the world.

A great shark dive

Rob and the crew,

I cannot thank you enough for the dive this morning. I am so thrilled with every bit of how it went, all of the photographs that I was able to get, and even some great video! I wanted to share the photos and video with you - nowhere near as incredible as Rob's and Chris's, but some good shots all the same.

I will remember the dive forever, and can now cross it off my "MUST DO" list. That said, I'm sure that I need to do this a few more times, so I'll be back at some point. Thanks for making a long time dream come true.

photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sanders5

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnckIjmkvuU

Jenna Sanders, RN, BSN

Volunteer post available

Dear Ultimate Animal lovers,

Each year Rob and I host one to join us as a crew member for our shark season.
Normally this is a marine biology student who needs practical training experience, or someone who is passionate about sharks and the ocean, and wants to volunteer their time.
Boating experience is essential, and they must be a confident and comfortable interacting with tourists on a daily basis.
They must also be available for about 5 months and financially self sufficient.
Should you wish to apply, please feel free to send us your CV.
We look forward to hearing from you!

Rob and Karen Lawrence
www.ultimate-animals.com

Media Hype around shark incident

I have a google alert for tags on Great White Sharks and Shark cage diving. In the last two weeks, I have had about 50 alerts to a year old shark incident off Guadalupe Island, so I thought I would have my say as well.
Having seen the video footage, it is clear to me that there are two reasons why this incident occured.
Problem no 1. The Cage.-The viewing ports on that cage was too big for a normal commercial operation, where you have the average diver involved. Where you have a film crew involved and there is specialised filming equipment, yes, the ports are larger than normal, but those ports where far to large and thus the saftey of the diver was compromised.

Problem no 2. The bait handler. The bait handler has one of the most important jobs on the boat. His job is to use the bait to attract the shark to the cage, yet make sure the diver in the cage is safe.The bait should never be allowed to dangle in front of the cage unattended. The handler dragged the bait directly towards the cage, and the shark went straight for it and ended up with his whole body in the cage. ( The shark did not breach as reported. A breach is when a shark propels itself from the water).

Having dived in Guadalupe myself, there are some differences between our operations in False Bay, South Africa and theirs. One is the visibility. Guadalupe has excellent viz and so you should be able to see the shark from far off and thus handle your bait accordingly. We have sometimes only a few metres of vis and so our bait handlers must be quick on the mark, our aim is not feed them our baits. This takes skill and is not as easy as it looks,when it is done properly.

Saying all this,my post is not to have a dig at another operator. Merely to look at an incident and comment on it.

I had a great time in Guadalupe and was very happy with our operator. Rob

What urkes me is the way the media has portrayed this. Again as a "jaws hype". This sensationalism irritates me, using words like "man eater", "great white rips cage apart", and other such nonsense. Sensationalism does nothing to portray sharks in a positive light! Karen

Trying to get boat maintenance done.

Well after a few weeks away and a long shark season we have got down to boat repairs, painting the deck,checking the wiring and other general repairs. However,it looks like Wellington and myself will have a few days off as a very big Southerly storm is blowing into Cape Town.
So I think I will take this opportunity over the next few days to do some editing of footage I shot during the season.(Note to self:I actually need to get a new computer especially for my footage).

We did one very successful Pelagic trip last week where we had 15 Blue sharks and 1 Mako around the boat. The water viz was not that great, but it was nice to be back in the water and to see sharks again. ROB

Mooove Over

On our way back from the mouth we had to wait for a herd of cows to moooove out the way. The kids just loved the little black calf.

Its hard travelling with little kids, but I think we have little outdoor enthusiasts. Adam thought it was such fun as our vehicle negotiated the sandy roads. He sat in his little car seat being bumped around as if he was on a dodgem car. The harder the bump the more he laughed. Jordan just loved everything she saw, especially the kids. There where an incredible amount of schools everywhere, all in the middle of no where, which is mind boggling. One would think that they would all be at the nearest town or village, not scattered around.

Great pic and planning a holiday.

This is a great pic of an attempted predation. This was taken in July by a friend, Ian Kloppers. It sums up the perfect cat and mouse chase between the shark and the seal. I never get tired of seeing tpics like this.

The last week or so has been great for me, as for the last 6 months we both have worked flat out, and I really have been needing a break. So with no trips, I have had time to catch up with friends and Rob has started to do the off season stuff, like repainting the boat.

As the weather is still very much winter here, except for the odd day which we get blessed with sunshine and no wind, I have said to Rob that I want to go away some where that it is warm. My criteria is warmth, no rain and I want a beach thrown it the mix, (with warm water!) and the usual 4x4 type of holiday that we both love. So with much delving onto the internet, Rob has come up with Kozi Bay, (on the SA/Mozambican border). This is much to my delight, as I have been there before and its one of the most beautiful, pristine places on the earth.
Just one small problem, and that is travelling there from Cape Town, in our SUV with a 13 month baby and a very bouncy three year old. We are just in time for turtle season and If i get to witness these little turtle hatchings racing the odds to get as fast as possible to the ocean, it will be such a thrill for me.
I am going to be looking over Robs itinery just now, and then I can fill you all in on the details. I am getting excited already!

Low season for the Great White Sharks

The sharks have begun to move from Seal Island, and our sightings are down to about 50%. We have had bad weather on and off for the whole of September and it does affect the shark activity. On Friday we did not go to sea, and the trips on Saturday where slow. We had 2 kills in the early morning, but no sharks around our boat. Our colleuges had 3 sharks that day, and so this is the way it goes. Our Saturday afternoon trip was a complete no-show and we will not be doing any more afternoon trips.
We have had some really good whale and dolfin sightings. Yesterday we saw about 50 Southern Right whales, so you could almost say we did a whale watching trip yesterday.

Today has suprised us. I have just phoned Rob to find out how the sharks have been and they are having an excellent day. We have had a shark called "Round Fin", stick around the boat from 9 am and is still there and everyone on the boat has managed to cage dive. Round Fin, is called that for his particularly round dorsal fin. He is a small shark, around 2.5m and we have been seeing him on and off for the past month.
The trip has also seen about 100 dolphins or more, and lots of whales, and even had one whale filter feeding in the harbour this morning.

So it is very much a luck of the draw at the moment.

This month will be the last real shark month for us. We are coming to the end of our season, which brings me to a whole new blog about what we do in off season.

A bad day at the office....ha ha

Here is a typical picture of Rob on the boat, looking some what like a hill-billy. We get some awesome winter days in False Bay, when the sea is calm and flat and the skies blue and sunny.

Yesterday was an awesome sunny day and fickle mother nature was really playing games with all of us. The shark trip was enjoyable with 4 sharks around the boat, a kill in the morning and we did a bit of cage diving as well. When Rob came home, we had a braai (which I think no one can do quiet like South Africans) and the kids were running and playing in the garden.
Today is another no sea day for us, and I for one am wondering where spring is, or has it forgotten us? Its cold, wet and stormy and our two dogs have curled up in the entrance hall, and haven't moved an inch all day which is a jolly good indication of the state of Cape Town today.

Our first Post

Howdy

Our first post, well where do we start?
Firstly we, Rob and myself, Karen own and Run ASEC ( African Shark Eco-Charters). Rob does all the operational side, and I am the one that greases the "cogs", so to speak.
We love sharks and I think the best way for me to explain is to say, check out our website. www.ultimate-animals.com

We are very different from other companies, as our focus is not on the adrenaline-thrill of shark cage diving. It is on showing our guests sharks in their natural environment in the wild and treating these animals with respect. ( We say- Sharks first and not tourists!!).We do not chum for great whites, and we are very big on conservation.

I guess the aim of this blog, is not a marketing ploy, but just to share our passion with you!

Well, that wasnt to bad for my first post!!

Cheers
Karen

What to do when trips are cancelled

Well we have had a rough week with the sharks. The lousy weather last week end caused this weeks trips to be really disappointing. Only yesterday did we have a good trip, with five sharks around the boat, two nice predations in the morning and we even managed to do some diving. We also saw Southern right whales and Common Dolphins and so it was a great well rounded trip.

Another cold front came in last night, and so today and tomorrow is another no sea day. During the season Rob and I spend very little time together and so with him being home, I dragged him to the shops. We needed a new vaccum cleaner, as our old stinky vaccum was blowing out more dirt and dust than it was cleaning.
We also have pets, and so even though they are only allowed in our scullery and entrance hall,pet hairs manage to get everywhere, and so I wanted a vaccum that actually cleaned and then blew clean filtered air out, instead of having me sneezing after each use.

So off to Makro we go, and return brandishing Karen's new toy with a picture of a dog and "HEPA filter" written boldly on the box. We start in the lounge, which only has wooden floors and one large rug. How much dirt can one rug hold I think? Well, after 5 minutes, with this brush that resembles a mini combine harvester combing away, my eyes nearly popped out of my head and my mild obsessive-compulsive trait started blinking red lights rapidly in my brain.
I think, if that what a rug holds, I am petriefied to think what our bedrooms look like. So off to the rooms I go with a wild look in my eyes and Rob retreats to the newly spring cleaned lounge with a beer in his hand and a bemused look on his face.
Well, after Rob cleaning the filters and see-through "no bag" container, even he was sold on the vaccum.

So, now I am chilling with a glass of red wine, our toddler and the baby are merrily eating rice cakes on my clean rug and Rob is watching Rugby highlights.....not a bad end to a no sea day Sunday.