Shark Freediving . . Again

Me & Scuba "Shark Whisperer"

Last week Friday saw me spending more time underwater with my big fishy friends at their home of Aliwal Shoal. This time I'd talked a friend into joining me. Slowly they will see there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

My friends at theBOMBsurf are running a slideshow.

Surflines Shark Month - WK3

Surflines Shark Month Feature

The third installment of Surflines Shark Month feature is now live on their website. Frame 13 of 18 is an image from my first free dive with the sharks of Aliwal Shoal. The photo is of a beautiful Tiger Shark who circled numerous times coming in for belly rubs and touches and on a few occasions let me hold onto her dorsal fin lightly for a swim along.

Friday I visit the toothy friends once again.

Surflines Shark Month - WK2

Surflines Shark Month Feature

The second installment of Surflines Shark Month feature is now live. Frame 10 of 18 is from my first free diving session with the wonderful sharks of Aliwal Shoal.

Yesterdays Encounter

Friendly Black Tip Sharks

Yesterday a friend and I decided it was time for a "Backline Diaries" surf session. Backline Diaries are were we can talk about matters of the heart in a manly environment while performing a manly activity. The spot chosen for the surf being Cave Rock. We had dilly dallied a fair bit so by the time we arrived the wind was kicking into third gear and the tide was dropping. We lolly gagged some more so by the time the inconsistent good looking waves convinced me it was time to get wet the wind had shifted another gear and I had to use all powers of persuasion to get my friend in the water. All tales of look its fun, you wont hit the rocks, there are no sharks, only a 40 minute session. I even offered to buy him a Green Dolphin mega toasted sandwich, considering my beyond stretched budget at the moment that was a big call. Luckily he declined stating "I want healthy food".

Suited up and negotiating the rocks next to the tidal pool I start hearing his screams. "This is scary" followed by screams of panic and fear as the white wash swept him off the rocks and into a tiny gully which was to his benefit in the end as we paddled out in two minutes. And then I broke it to him, "now I will tell you about going back in. The tide is dropping and you cannot just ride a wave in, you can only go so far and then you have to walk back in over the rocks".

Now I don't want to taint his 'Redemption & Justice' reputation so I will admit that when the waves get beyond 8ft and into the sketchy realm he is one of the very few who do not develop and acute case of tennis elbow or repetitive strain syndrome. He does have back issues but forgets them for a taste of the punchier action and then goes home and doesn't walk for two days with a legitimate excuse.

Not 10 minutes into our session he states "what is that" while pointing to a swell bump. It was a chip packet. But what I didn't say was what else I had seen. Whilst land lubbing and lolly gagging I had seen a pod of dolphins folicking 30 minutes before but they were a good distance from what I had seen. For fear of causing a stampede and missing out on the few good waves on offer I felt the obligation to investigate the shadow once or twice more. Okay decision made it's a shark. It didn't buzz us circle us or even try give us a fright, it was further than spitting distance. But still I knew if my friend saw it his reaction would be the least desirable one, so I paddle over and calmly say "don't want to panic you but go in". He says what and again I say as calm as if it were a sunrise "just go in". Thats all I needed to say. Before I even considered a wave in he had beached himself on the sand with little regard for his board which is now missing a fin and has a new hole all while I wanted to stay out and get closer but figured I best not upset the visitor so calmly turned and went it riding the wave all while looking back wishing I was still out there.

I can't tell you what species of shark it was but I can say it was not a Great White. Had it actually popped up right next to us I would like to say my reaction would have been the same. I love the sharks and hopefully they will continue to love me.

Surflines Shark Month - WK1

Surflines Shark Month Feature

Surfline has proclaimed June as Shark Month and will be using photos and video from my free diving with the sharks of Aliwal Shoal trips.

Every week there will be a new installation, the first becoming active this week. Follow the link and go directly to frame 13 of 16 to see my photo and video.

Sharks . . they are big toothy friends who mean no harm.

Here Fishy Fishy Fishy

I'd waited a long, very long, 50 days for this and I was not going to let a little sinus issue stop me. Last night a friend told me chocolate was bad for sinus infections so the slab of Rum & Raisin I was so looking forward to chomping sat next to my bed untouched. Well not really untouched, I sampled three squares and it was as good as I'd expected. I still don't understand how a dairy product can affect your sinus, something for me to google one day. Along with purchasing said slab of chocolate I stocked up on SinuClear and Texa 10. One is a decongestant while the other is for allergies but also dries up your nose.

Self medicating is something one should never be. Last night I took the SinuClear and while it made my nose dribble I was decongested. This morning I figured I didn't want a runny nose inside my mask so I took the Texa 10 and that dried me up to the point I couldn't blow my nose with the resulted sinus implosion bothering me on the drive down south. Aliwal Shoal is on the South Coast and takes approximately an hour to get there, less without morning traffic.



Heeeere Fishy Fishy Fishy Hanli Prinsloo is up in Durban and once again my aquatic guide. Hanli is amazing, she will jump in the water and with one breath fill her five million lungs and swim to the depths. Be it 5 meters, 15 meters or even a scantly 30 meters down she goes no worries in the world. Perfect example being today, one of the ladies going out to meet our toothy friends got a little over excited upon seeing dolphins and asked if we could swim with them. Being the ever accommodating people we are the boat was stopped and we all jumped in. Hanli, mono-fin attached, was straight off and down before I could even adjust my mask or blow my nose and my nose was not happy. Five meters down and it felt like Neptune had reached into my ear canal for his morning workout wearing a boxing glove. Straight up and straight on the boat thank you very much but that was ok as the dolphins were not up for our company and left.



It wasn't quite the dive as my first but can anything ever top a virgin experience? There were no Tiger Sharks and not as many Black Tips, the visibility was not what it could have been but I loved every second in the water and we spent thousands of them without even realising the time. The boys from Blue Wilderness know their stuff and took great care of our needs. Despite some serious intermittent sinus issues were at times Neptune again had a fist in my ear canal and I could hear the bubbles zinging through my skull I went deeper than before, I stayed down till diaphragm contractions and I got the shark photos. I also got video, these days with my 7D and its HD Video I get torn between video or stills. We even named one of the Black Tips, her name is Tracey after the fishing trace hooked in her mouth. It was also very sad to see one with what I can only describe as a lasso around its head. Just like a horse bit in its mouth and wrapped around the top this misfortunate shark was cruising around scavenging like they do. We devised ways of helping it with my theory being really sharp blade in one hand, grip the rope with other and slice simultaneously without cutting yourself spreading blood and thus causing damage with a self induced feeding frenzy.



There is an addition to shark encounter bucket of stories. Todays being the Black Tip body slam. James on the boat finds it hilarious to throw sardine bits around you and your head causing a little feeding frenzy. If this is not enough to convince you sharks are not interested in eating you then I'm not sure what will. On one such occasion I found myself in the middle of around ten sharks going a little bananas and one swam into me full body slam style from my shoulder to my thigh. While a little scary it was exhilarating. On another occasion one got a little too close so I dropped my shoulder again and fended it off. Those weren't the only times I was brave enough to touch the personal space challenged Black Tips. Generally they are jittery and don't like to be touched but there were a few who let you feel there slightly slimy yet silky smooth skin without a fuss in the world.

It was another fantastic day and I hope I don't need to wait another 50 days. June is dive time.

Slideshows, Websites & Snotty Noses

There is a slideshow on theBOMBsurf website with photos from my day in Cape Town for the Pierre Du Plessis paddle out and O'Neill RAW Courage Awards. All the photos are frame grabs from video I was doing with my Go PRO HD. The quality of footage from this little gadget is amazing and I cannot rave about it enough.



The new found mojo from getting this blog up and running again has spilled into the website pool which has been lying empty skated by the wheels of procrastination. Last night I sat down and commenced the daunting task of sifting through literally thousands of photographs with hundreds each excellent in their own right. How does one choose 20 photographs to showcase ones work? Photography is a matter of subjectivity, you cannot please everyone, stay true to the line you draw and when you are planning on showcasing more than one subject one can get carried away. Just for the surfing gallery alone I spent hours choosing photos only to end up whittling them down to twenty.



Tomorrow I am meant to be free diving with the big toothy friends again but the liters of snot clogging up my sinuses have other ideas. I've been diving before with a snotty head and it is not pleasant no matter how much equalising you do. Hanlii says I MUST go, my joy of swimming with a feared predator says the same but the pack of slimy frogs drumming to the tune of my heartbeat have a different idea. Tomorrow we shall find out.