Great White Shark Econuters

How it Started:

Our great white sharks trips to Guadalupe Island are an opportunity for anyone, divers and non-divers alike, to experience cage diving with these magnificent apex predators. You will get the full luxury liveaboard dive experience on the Nautilus Explorer from virtually unlimited dive times to air conditioned staterooms with private ensuite bathrooms to a sparkling clear hot tub, hot showers in the privacy of your stateroom whenever you want to the exceptional service levels that we are famous for right down to an extensive wine list and selection of microbrew and single malt scotches. We promise that this is an experience that you will never forget! Our first white shark expedition was in September, 2005 when Doc Anes of San Diego Shark Diving chartered the Nautilus Explorer to voyage down to Guadalupe Island. The Nautilus was custom built for just this sort of adventure and the experience was incredible and vastly exceeded our expectations. We anticipated long slicks of smelly blood and chum and with an occassional white shark showing up to bash against the cages before taking off into the blue again. Instead, a constant stream of animals appeared from the time the first cage went in the water until sunset. We sometimes even had 2 or 3 sharks off the back of the boat at one time and the longest that we went without seeing any sharks was 30 minutes. The sharks didn't bash the cages or attempt to bite the divers although these really, REALLY big sharks often examined our divers from extremely close up (something that is definitely a "life experience"). The photography opportunities were amazing and we experienced a real shift in perspective as it became clear that the white sharks are a highly intelligent, graceful, beautiful and curious species with each animal displaying it's own unique personality. Some of the white sharks would hang out with us for an entire morning while other animals (notably "Shredder", "Bruce", and "Chica") would come by to visit every day that we were on site. We are also amazed to find that it took less than 40kg of bait and "scent" (a delightful medley of chum, blood, sardines and tuna oil au jour) each day to bring the great white sharks in to the back of the Nautilus Explorer.

The Experience:

Diving with the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island is an extraordinary experience. Shark sightings are reliable and fairly predictable. When the surface conditions are calm (which is most of the time) the animals will start coming by sometime after dawn with a steady stream of visitors for most of the day. We see the most animals in the morning and then again shortly before sunset. We have noticed that visits are few and far between when it gets windy and there are whitecaps on the surface. Luckily our anchorage at Guadalupe Island is very protected with a total of only 7 windy and gusty days during our 2006 shark season. The water is always very "blue" and the visibility is usually at least 100 feet. This is not a place where you will find yourself banging around in a rocking cage peering out into the green water!! The conditions are almost always superb.

Divers use surface supplied air (hookah) rather than scuba which means you do not have to be an experienced scuba diver to get in the water with these great white sharks. Cage time will be virtually unlimited for most of your trip with the boat record currently at 31.5 hours in the water over 3 days! Non-divers and even supervised kids are welcome to join us - 5 year old Charlie Lever and 7 year old Emily Lever lobbied long and hard to get in the water with great white sharks and ended up having 3 fabulous days of diving with them in September 2007. Guests are accomodated in (4) cages with a maximum of 3 observers per cage. (2) of the cages are attached to the waterlevel swim platform at the stern of the Nautilus and are exceptionally easy to enter and exit. And the (2) 360&deg view cages trail from overside booms 15 feet off each side of the ship. Our cages were designed by a naval architect and built at a proper shipyard with your safety in mind. They are really comfortable and especially well suited for photography with wraparound viewing ports allowing an unobstructed view without annoying corner posts.


Itinerary:

DAY 1 - Arrive either San Diego, California or Tijuana, Mexico to being your adventure with great white sharks! We will have a hospitality suite available in both cities and available after 1pm. "Meet and greet" wiht one of our staffmembers in the late afternoon and transfer to the ship in Ensenada by chartered highway coach. The trip itinerary and transfer should be seamless - the driving time from San Diego to Tijuana is 1 hour and then it's another 75 minutes of driving time to our berth in Ensenada. Evening departure and overnight run to Guadalupe Island. The Nautilus Explorer is a heavy, steel, stabalized ship and the downhill run in open ocean should be quite comfortable.

DAY 2 - At sea. Welcome aboard safety briefing. Presentation on Guadalupe grea white sharks. Afternoon video and cocktail hour. Arrival at our sheltered anchorage at Guadalupe Island just before dinner time. We will put our shark cages in the water tonight and start the chum slick which will then be maintained for the next 3 days.

DAY 3 - Cages open for diving at 0630. Shoreline expeditions via inflatable at 0715 and 1500 to check out the local populations of elephant seals, Guadalupe fur seals, California sealions and even the odd feral cat! We will wrap the diving at sunset and finish the day with a crab feast on the hot-tub deck under the Mexican sky.

DAY 4 - Cages open for diving from 0630 until sunset. As Captain Mike always says "you can't see the sharks if you are not in the water". This isn't strictly true as the surface action with the white sharks can be almost as thrilling as being in the cages. Plus we will also have an underwater "shark cam" setup and constantly playing on the 42" plasma screen in the main salon.

DAY 5 - Our last dive day unfortunately. So sad. This is your last chance to beat the record of 31.5 hours of cage time over 3 dive days!! The diving will wrap at 5pm today and then it will be time to steam back to Ensenada. The seas will likely be an ocean swell of 6 feet or so which is relatively comfortable in a heavy, smooth riding ship like the Nautilus Explorer. Or course sometimes it will also be flat calm.

DAY 6 - Morning slideshow of the trip's highlights with copies for everyone to take home. Pre-breakfast, breakfast, snack and lunch (nobody ever goes hungry on the Nautilus Explorer!) arriving in Ensenada at approximately 1:30pm for port clearance and coach transfers back to Tijuana and San Diego.


What's Included:

On the Nautilus Explorer you get virtually unlimited diving on these trips (the boat record is 31.5 hours of cage time over 3 dive days), cozy staterooms with side-by-side beds, private heads with showers, and central air conditioning that delivers three air changes every hour. Lower deck cabins have their own portholes, while the larger hot tub deck executive suites have large windows and outside doors. We feature very high service levels from our friendly and enthusiastic staff, imaginative and fresh 4-star cuisine (our guests are pretty unanimous in raving about the food we serve) and a spotlessly clean ship maintained to the highest standards (Lloyds Register). Baked goods are always fresh from our ovens, there is always a snack basket, fruit bowl and bakery basket left out for nibbling on as wel as pop, non-alcoholic beverages and sterilized, chlorinated water. Not included with your trip fees are gift shop purchases, bar charges (we have a FANTASTIC ship's bar onboard with 36 different kinds of beer, 11 single malt scotches, more than 50 different wines to choose from, etc), crew gratuities (typically USD200 - 300 per person) and a cash port fee of USD65 payable at the end of your trip.

Price: 2,850.00 USD

To reserve your place: Deposit of 25% and the rest 90 days before departure.