SCUBA DIVING WITH SHARKS IN CAPE TOWN - INTRODUCTION
Diving with sharks in Cape Town is not for the faint hearted, but for those who love the adrenaline rush, this experience is sure not to disappoint. We go out by boat to about 40 km’s south of the Cape Peninsula, where we go and lure the Blue and Mako Sharks out to come and play.
Our groups comprise of maximum 10 divers. On these dive trips our primary goal is to find the Blue Sharks. If we are lucky, we might encounter the Mako as well.
Pelagic sharks are not always easy to find and this activity does involve some chumming to draw the them to the diving location. They can be very skittish and the encounters are often short.
There are no cages on these dives, so it is important that you are comfortable with up close encounters with a bold animal, as well as swimming in the open ocean. Drift lines will be put out in case of surface currents. Blue sharks are very curious animals and like the Mako can come up very close to you, sometimes bumping into cameras. It is not unusual to see Blue Sharks up to 3 meters long.
The Mako is one of the fastest fish in the world. Bursts of up to 74km/h have been recorded and it is reckoned that they can jump as high as 9 meters out of the water!
You do not need to be a certified diver to dive with sharks, but you must be in good physical condition. Swimming and snorkelling skills are important, as you will be snorkelling if you are not a certified scuba diver.
The diving activities will be watched over and coordinated by one of our able scuba dive masters.
SCUBA DIVING WITH SHARKS IN CAPE TOWN – QUICK OVERVIEW
- Diving with Blue and Mako Sharks is a whole day experience
- We meet in the morning at Into the Blue Scuba dive Centre in Cape Town (typically at 5h30am, but this time will be confirmed with you), where we kit you out with any snorkelling or scuba gear that you might need.
- From here we drive to Simonstown in Cape Town, where the boat is launched. Divers should be comfortable on the open ocean, as this involves a long boat ride.
- Boat launches at 7am and you are back in Cape Town around 5pm
- 40km boat trip to find the sharks
- Food and snacks are provided
SCUBA DIVING WITH BLUE AND MAKO SHARKS IN CAPE TOWN - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- Is it dangerous?
Yes. There is definitely an element of danger to this dive – you are diving so far from land that you cannot see it, and you are diving in the ocean without a cage while the water is being chummed (blood is being thrown into the water to attract the sharks). This dive is not for everyone, but is one of the best diving experiences that there is out there. If you are using scuba, good buoyancy control is a must, as the ocean is about 1km deep at this point. - What are diving conditions like out there?
Visibility is generally quite good – between 15m and 30m. The water is about 16 degrees. There can be a strong current, in which case a drift line might be thrown out for divers to hold onto. - Where do we dive?
The boat launches in Simonstown, and from here we go to about 40km south of Cape Point.
A current with tuna flows here which attracts them. - How long does it take?
Launch times are early (typically 7am), and you should be back in Cape Town by around 5pm.
