Cage Diving


	DIVING IN SA


	Cage Diving: A Typical Day


	*CAGE DIVING : A TYPICAL DAY* After a leisurely breakfast we all assemble at the slip at Kleinbaai Harbour which is a small fishing harbour just outside the small fishing town of Gansbaai. Before our arrival the skipper and crew of the "White Shark" have already put her in the water and she is tied up at the quay waiting for us to board. The “White Shark” is a luxurious and powerful 30ft (10m) Dive Cat deep-sea cabin cruiser with two 200 hp Mariner outboard motors. The result is an enjoyable and fast ride out to the islands. The boat can carry twenty passenters. To enhance the overall experience for guests, only ten passengers per trip are accepted, thus reservations are absolutely essential. The latest navigation aids and systems are installed in the spacious bridge. There is a fully equipped head (toilet) and for passengers who succumb to sea-sickness, there are beds upon which to rest and recover from the rigours of sea-travel. After stowing our camera equipment and dive gear on board the deck hand casts off and the skipper slowly negotiates the diveboat through the shallow harbour entrance to the open sea. After a 20 minute ride (could take longer depending on the sea and wind conditions) the skipper rounds Dyer Island and approaches "Shark Alley" from the seaward side so as to avoid the large breakers that often protect "Shark Alley" from the landward entrance. "Shark Alley" is the narrow channel of water that separates Dyer Island from Geyser Rock. Its about 350 meters/1150 feet long, 250 meters/820 feet wide and about 6 to 10 meters/ 18 feet to 30 feet deep.

Dyer Island is approximately 5.2 nautical miles off the coast. It originally got its name from Samson Dyer, an American Negro who is reputed to have come to the Cape in 1806 and collected guano from the island. In 1809 the government decided to take over the off shore islands for their guano deposits and offered Dyer 4 morgen of ground for his guano rights on the Island. The island measures 200 meters/656 feet in width and 1 kilometre/0.62 miles in length.


	It falls under the protection of the Dept. of Nature Conservation and its only "human" resident is Tony, the island keeper. Tony is custodian to the large population of sea birds that nest on the island and part of his duties is to keep the Cape Fur Seals off the island as these mammals destroy the nests and sometimes kill the chicks. Dyer Island has been declared a Nature Reserve as well as a 500 meter/1650 feet radius surrounding the island. Boats may only access this area with a permit issued by Nature Conservation with the number of boats being limited at any one time so as to prevent overcrowding in the channel. The Dept. of Nature Conservation is shortly going to open the island to birdwatchers to enable them to observe the birds at close quarters as there are a number of endangered species such as the African Black Oystercatcher and the African Penguin breeding on the island along side the other residents such as the Swift Tern, and the 4 species of Cormorant namely the White Breasted, Crowned, Cape and Reed Cormorants. Geyser Rock, so called because the action of the waves breaking on the rock sends water high into the sky, much like a natural geyser would, is much smaller than Dyer Island and is home to between 30 000 and 60 000 Cape Fur Seals. The natural chum coming off this island attracts many Great Whites into "Shark Alley" to predate on the seals.


		On arrival in Shark Alley the skipper lets the boat drift for a while, whilst he assesses the wind and currents before dropping anchor. As soon as the anchor is dropped and the skipper is satisfied that the anchor is secure and is holding the “White Shark”into the current the deck hand begins "chumming". Chum can be likened to a "cocktail" of mashed sardines and fish oil and is used to attract the Great Whites to the boat. The Great Whites senses are so acute that they can detect one particle of blood in a million particles of water. Not long after the chumming has begun the skipper attaches the chunk of "bait" to a buoy which keeps the bait floating on the surface of the water, and this is, in turn, attached to a natural fibre rope, about 5 meters/16 feet in length, and this is secured to the boat and is left to float in the chum slick.

	Once the chum-slick has been started and the bait is out the divemaster, assisted by the deckhand then, gently lower the cage into the water and the waiting game begins. Sometimes, due to the sea and swell, it is not safe to drop the cage into the water as any diver in the cage would be battered to pieces against the sides of the cage due to the heavy motion of the chop and swell. In such conditions the divers must unfortunately be content to watch the proceedings from the deck without getting into the cage. The decision of whether it is safe to lower the cage or not rests purely with the skipper and divemaster. As soon as the first shark is spotted the skipper gives the order for the first two divers to kit-up and depending on the behaviour of the shark, the divers drop into the cage. The skipper has learned to "read" shark behaviour and sometimes the shark is only investigating the bait and is not going to hang around for any length of time. In such instances it is not advisable to get the divers into the cage as they will only get cold and see nothing. Only when the skipper is sure that the shark is interested in the bait and is going to hang around for a while is the order given for the divers to enter the cage. After a while the shark eventually homes in to the bait and the skipper with the rope in hand pulls the bait towards the cage giving the divers in the cage the adrenaline rush of a life time. In the mean time another two divers on board the boat are busy kitting up and waiting their chance to enter the cage.


	A shark can hang around the boat anything from 2 minutes , up to 10 minutes - depending on the shark, how interested he is in the bait and how hungry he is. The behaviour of the divers also influences the length of time a shark can hang around the cage. The action of divers entering and exiting the cage, the opening and closing of the lid on top of the cage, the flashing of underwater strobes all have an effect on the behaviour of the shark and could frighten them off. Whilst the divers are in the cage the people "topside" are constantly looking towards the bait floating in the chum-slick for signs of shark, or are watching the antiques of the hundreds of seals playing in the surf off Geyser Rock or are trying their luck at a bit of fishing. The crew are always keen to assist the novice by putting the bait onto the hook and if you are lucky taking the fish off the hook once you've landed him. As soon as a shark is spotted all activity ceases and the cameras are pointed at the bait waiting for that one in a million shot of the shark, open mouthed, taking the bait. The skipper tries to bring the shark past the cage, with the divers inside, up to the side of the boat by pulling the rope to which the bait is attached right up to the side of the boat. The activity topside is sometimes as exciting to watch as the activity from within the cage. A light lunch is supplied on board and there is a constant supply of hot coffee, fresh water and cooldrinks during the entire day. The amount of time a diver spends in the cage depends on the shark activity, the divers resistance to hypothermia and the impatience of his fellow divers, all of whom want to get into the cage. Depending on the shark activity the dive boat stays in the channel, or could move to a location outside the channel off the island, until about 15:30 when it returns to Kleinbaai harbour.


All contents Copyright © 2009 Dive the Big 5 \| PO Box 2209 \| White River \| 1240 \| South Africa \| Telephone: +27 (13) 750 1832 \| Fax: +27 (13) 750 0018 Problems with this site? Contact our Webmasters: Celestine Ventures cc • Date of entry: July 1997 • Tuesday, December 08, 2009