Shark Breaching and Cage Diving

False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa

The Great Whites of Seal island, False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa are now world famous for their highly athletic breaches that they make in pursuit of Cape Fur seals which they hunt in the area.

© Chris Fallows Apexpredators.comThe main focus of our tour is on a natural interaction with the sharks and we make our very best efforts to treat these animals with the respect they deserve and at the same time try to share our passion for these animals with you, our guest.

The high season for great white sharks at Seal Island False Bay is May to the middle of September (with June, July and August being the best three months.)
During the high season you should have a great opportunity of seeing the white sharks breach out of the water to hunt seals, as well as have excellent close-up views of them when we attract the sharks to the boat for closer viewing as well as diving.
Bookings are essential as space is limited!

Trip 1 Predation and Breaching: The Morning at Sea

Meeting in Simons Town or Gordon’s Bay harbour at approx 06h00 in the morning, and launching soon thereafter , arriving on location at first light.

Seal Island in False Bay is the top location in the world for seeing White Shark breaching behaviour. A Seal colony of between 20 000 and 50 000 seals inhabit the island , and in the early morning it is quite common to see White Sharks hunting seals, with successful predation events 50% of the time.

The bird life is always very interesting, with sea gulls , Cormorants , Gannets , Terns, Petrels and Albatross often seen.

From time to time we encounter Dolphins, and from July onwards , it is not unusual to see Southern Right whales.

The first hour or so is spent observing the .seals, without any interference , and more often than not natural hunting of sharks on seals can be seen.

When the light quality is good enough, usually soon after 8 am , we start towing a decoy , cut out to resemble the shape of a seal.

Towing the decoy at slow speeds (3 - 4 knots), the sharks will do a very spectacular flying attack on the decoy - AIR JAWS!

The chance of seeing a White Shark Breaching on any given trip within season is better than 80%. However , it has to be noted that we are dealing with wild animals and raw nature out there , so breaching behavior can never be guaranteed.

After 10 am the sharks stop hunting, and breaching behavior stops. At 10.30 am we head back to the harbour.
Coffee , tea , bottled water and snacks are served on the boat.

There are fine restaurants in both Gordon’s Bay and Simons Town harbours, where hearty meals can be enjoyed after the early morning at sea.

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Trip2: Combination Predation, Breaching and Cage Diving

The first part of the trip is exactly the same as described above, except that after 10.30 the boat does not return to the harbour. Instead, we anchor and start "chumming", attracting the sharks to the boat.

The cage goes into the water, and divers get the opportunity to start diving, taking turns going into the 2 man cage.

Cage diving and surface viewing of the sharks continue for 3 hours and at 1 pm, anchor is lifted, and we head back to harbour, arriving there at about 2 pm..

Boat, Cage and Diving Equipment

The vessels that we use are custom built high powered catamarans, licensed for 12 guests. The engines are very quiet and completely smoke free, making low speed trawling a pleasure. The boat has a spacious cabin, toilet and upper viewing deck with great working space at the back.
We specialize in small groups to ensure a personalized and uncramped experience. Weather during our high season, which is April-September is usually fine as Seal Island lies deep in False Bay and unlike other shark localities on our coast it is not exposed to the open ocean and bumpy seas.
Divers use surface supplied air, which is simply a normal scuba diving regulator on a very long hose going to the diving cylinders which are on board.

We provide all diving equipment and have a range of standard sized wetsuits. Should you have any special requirements regarding wetsuits, drysuits or other diving equipment, please let us know so that arrangements can be made.

The price of the trip includes the use of our standard diving equipment. Equipment for special requirements can be rented as needed.

What to bring :

Towel, warm weather proof clothing, sunscreen and hat, camera and binoculars, sea-sick tablets and dive card.

ENQUIRE HERE FOR RATES AND DIVE SPECIALS

EXCLUSIVE CHARTERS ALSO AVAILABLE

Booking and cancellation Policies

Trips are offered subject to availability and are also subject to weather.
In the event of a trip cancelled due to weather alternative dates will be offered or a full refund will be given excluding any accommodation costs.

Confirmation of bookings is subject to a 25% deposit.
Cancellations within 60 days of departure date will receive a 95% refund.
Cancellations between 30-60 days will receive a 50% refund.
No refund will be offered for bookings cancelled within 30 days.

Recommendations and requirements.

Guests suffering from nausea or motion sickness are advised to take precautionary measures prior to each days scheduled departure.

Warm waterproof clothing is recommended and during summer and autumn months sunscreen and a hat are advised. Any persons wishing to cage dive with white sharks need to have entry level scuba qualifications and any persons wishing to dive with mako and other pelagic sharks are required to be experienced and comfortable in the water and diving will be done at the dive masters discretion.
All divers free diving will be accompanied by qualified staff members.

	Or email us info@scubasouthafrica.co.za