In the cage...

So today I actually ventured into the cage. Unfortunately the visibility was a lot worse, but there were a good few sharks, and I got extremely close to them! They become a whole new animal when you get in the cage with them; graceful and beautiful creatures, gliding through the water. When they go for the bait or decoy, they seem like aquatic acrobats, not too dissimilar to dolphins. When they glide past the cage - it really does feel like they are looking at you, with an almost curious look on their face.

When the time came to get out of the cage, however, it began to get more scary. The sharks became excitable around the bait, and one was hurtling towards me with its mouth open. A formidable sight, its jaws projected forwards, I understood why some treat cage diving as an adrenaline sport! As a second shark went for the bait, its nose actually came into the cage in front of me, but at this point I had not got a mask on and wasn't submerged, which really got my heart racing!

Unfortunately I didn't manage to get any data due to heavy rain. If I had stood on the top deck where I'm supposed to stand (in accordance with my project's methodology), the recording sheet would have been absolutely soaked. 'Cheating' and standing downstairs was also not an option due to the amount of people crowding around the shark cage. I can't really ask them to move as they are paying guests, so I couldn't see a thing! Never mind, I've got more data than I expected to have by this point anyway, I just hope there aren't too many more no sea days/rainy days.

I can't wait to go into the cage again! Hopefully I'll manage to catch a day where the visibility is even better.

Amazing Visibility!

This morning, whilst doing the washing up, I managed to impale my hand on an upturned knife in the drying rack... blood everywhere! Luckily it didn't hurt too much, and I eventually stemmed the blood to put a plaster on, which soon was also soaked. Whoops!

Another early trip, and the sun was shining lovely. As we pulled up to the diving spot, I could once again see the bottom. Absolutely stunning, and we were at a depth of 10m. This kind of visibility is amazing for the divers and for observing the sharks, but it seems to make them aggregate more. This means when you try to follow one or two individuals, you end up getting really lost and it is almost impossible to follow some of them who don't have distinctive marks on them!

I'm currently sat out in the sun with a hot chocolate talking to a girl called Ingrid from Cape Town, she's going to be with us for a while as she's on her Uni holidays doing some work for Michelle, one of the main researchers here at Marine Dynamics. In about an hour, we'll all be going out whale watching! Hopefully we'll see some nice ones, as I didn't actually spot any this morning.

Tomorrow I'm planning on going in the cage, diving with the sharks! I wish I had an underwater camera, but never mind. Hoping the visibility will be just as amazing as it was today!

Whale of a time!

Excuse the awful pun, but today I saw a total of 3 southern white whales, and one humpback! A wonderful start to the whale season! Sharks are very active and impressive, but I love how beautiful whales are, and how slowly they seem to move. I really wish I had my camera with me!

The first trip was very early, and absolutely freezing, although the sun soon came up and made for another wonderful day. I managed to get some good data on a couple of returning sharks; one with a strange lump on its side, most possibly a badly healed wound, and another shark with a large hook in its mouth, trailing a fisherman's lure to the side of it. Visibility in the water was lovely, and Amy got some lovely footage on her go-pro camera (an underwater video recorder).

After two trips, I was absolutely exhausted, and went home, had tea then went straight to bed at about 7.30pm! Mostly because I was absolutely freezing and this was the best way to warm up.

Dissolved Face!

So Prometheus wasn't as good as we thought, although it was visually stunning. Despite not being particularly enthralled by the film, I was amazed about was the sizes and prices of the food and drink! I ordered a medium popcorn and drink £3 total! The drink was of expected size, but the popcorn was far bigger than I imagined! Unfortunately they only do salted popcorn, which isn't my favourite, but they do have different flavoured powder that you sprinkle on! I chose salt and vinegar - lovely tasting, but after a while of eating, powdered acetic acid tends to start dissolving your lips and tongue, which is painful.

ANOTHER no sail day, which is disappointing, although apparently tomorrow there are two trips lined up. The weather has picked up today, and the rain is holding off in favour of the sun. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get some good data!

Prometheus

No sail days are quite boring, so it is nice to have something to look forward to this afternoon when we head over to Cape Town to watch Prometheus, the prequel to Alien. Alien was very good and I'm surprised I haven't seen it before now; it's a lot  less scary than I thought it would be!

I'm currently trying to write an entry for Marine Dynamics' blog, about my background and the work I'm doing here. I'm not sure how much detail to go in to really, so I might try to catch Michelle later (the person 'in charge' of the blog). In the mean time, whilst there isn't much happening to fill out this blog, I'll post some pictures I took in the last couple of days.

Above is the view from the boat towards the houses on the sea front. Our holiday home is just behind one of the houses towards the left hand side of this picture. You can see how close we are to the shoreline!

Here is the view from the patio out onto the sea! This is just before sunset at about 6pm.

And finally, one of the Great Whites I'm studying! I'm yet to get the perfect shot, but this is a taster of what it's like to get near one of these wonderful creatures! This one is probably about four meters long.

Blustery Day

It's a non-sail day due to high winds. So unfortunately most of today is going to be laptop work based. I've had a second meeting to check I am on track, and I appear to be doing well, especially considering I've only been here for one week. My methods look like they will work, I've just got to get as much data as possible! We're not going out until Sunday though, so I won't have much to do between then and now.

I think tonight we're going to order some sushi and watch Alien (as we'll be heading to the cinema in a few days to watch Prometheus, the prequel). Apart from the weather and work, not much is going on today I'm afraid!

Penguins Ahoy!

It was a 6am start this morning and it was hard to get out of bed. Once I had made it to the Great White House (the building where Marine Dynamics is based), I felt much more awake and ready to start the day.

We anchored in 'shark alley' due to bad sea conditions, as this is in between Dyer Island and a large rocky outcrop inhabited by cape fur seals (which is really a misnomer, as they are more like sealions than seals in morphology). Despite this 'shelter', the boat was very rocky and a great many guests became sea-sick, which wasn't a pleasant sight. One guest was even violently sick in the diving cage, much to the amusement of some of us on board (including me), as other divers in the cage were unable to escape the floating vomit!

I managed to follow a large male shark with a notch in the top of its caudal fin (tail), and managed to jot down a lot of his behaviour. A smaller female shark was also around the boat for a good deal of time, and I managed to collect a lot of data on her as well. Overall a good day data-wise.

On the way back from the trip, we slowed to watch three penguins swimming about in front of our boat. African penguins are also endangered, and these were the first wild penguins I've ever seen! They were very cute and inquisitive.

Now I'm back and sat out in the sun to warm up from the cold wind of the trip. About to head back to the flat for a warm shower, then might make an attempt at getting on to Skype later if the internet connection allows it!