Around 180 nautical miles west of mainland Baja lies the isolated volcanic island of Guadalupe. Rising from the depths of the Pacific ocean, surrounded by waters over 5000m deep, it is a well kept secret not many cruisers get to. Basically, to say this place is off the beaten track is an understatement in the same league as “the Welsh quite like rugby and singing”. Known as one of the best sport fishing areas for tuna in the world only recently has it's other secret been revealed...that it is home to some of the largest great white sharks on the planet and has the clearest water to see them in!
For as long as he can remember it has always been Johnny's dream to see great whites in the wild and Guadalupe is without question the best place on earth to do it. So the mission was on and from the first day aboard Indian Summer plans were being laid to get there. His first task to persuade Mike to sail his boat and his daughter nearly 200 miles into the open ocean on the chance of seeing a big fish with pointy teeth that eats people. Mike's initial reaction – “Ok then, when we get there, how will we see the sharks?”. A very good question to which Johnny went away and found 2 alternative solutions. The first was to contact the liveaboards that go out to Guadalupe doing the cage diving and see if it was possible to come aboard for a day. The second was a revolutionary home made aluminium cage designed from fencing material found at Home Depot and having faith that “if we build it they will come”. As it turned out he found a liveaboard who would have us on for $150 a day (instead of the $3000 they charge for the 3 day trip?!). The home made cage took a back seat. Mike was on-board and all systems were go. Now all that was required was to apply for the permits to enter the marine reserve and we were golden. After a very paperwork filled few days in Ensenada we were all stamped, approved and ready to go.
The Journey over was one of the best sails we've had so far. A steady 15 knot North-Westerly wind pushed Indian Summer towards Guadalupe virtually non stop for the 30 hour crossing getting us there basically for free! The freshly painted smooth hull slipping through the water at around 7 knots for most of the way. Once there our luck only got better and before bed we decided to go for a quick troll near our anchorage and after about 2 minutes Johnny caught his first big fish of the trip! A nice yellow tail that went very well sashimi and on the barbie. Not only that but a local fisherman came by and traded us 4 lobsters for 2 cans of beer (this being currency on Guadalupe)! A feast was had and the Indian Summer crew went to bed celebrating a pretty special day, with the best yet to come.
The next day we travelled 20 miles up the coast to the area where the shark boat, Sea Escape, was to meet us. On the way we managed to spot our usual fair share of wildlife including some unidentifiable whales (possibly melon headed whales), one of which was white and then later a brown/grey shadow that looked to us like a great white swimming on the surface. Signs were good that we were in for a show. On arriving in the Northern bay where Sea Escape was anchored we were excited to learn that they had seen 3 sharks that day and conditions were perfect. The plan was then to be picked up by their tender at 8am the next morning and ferried to the main boat for a day of cage diving – awesome! That night we anchored just off the beach where elephant seals congregate and were both pleased and saddened to see evidence of large great whites in the area, when we saw a 3m bull with 2 huge bites out of his sides. The poor thing was definitely not long for this world and had most of its insides hanging out!
The next morning riding on a wave of awesome good luck we were all geared up for the adventure of a lifetime. Unfortunately the Mexican government had different ideas and sent one of their inspection boats to prevent the shark boats from chumming and baiting! Unbelievable. The day was a bust. The trip coordinator with Sea Escape came and told us there was no point us coming over because the sharks wouldn't come with no bait in the water. He said this happens once a year with the government and that tomorrow they would be gone and the sharks would be back. What a nerve racking day and night wait. The next day would be our last and only chance to see the sharks as Sea Escape would leave for Ensenada that night. We consoled ourselves with a day of all you can eat lobster when another fisherman gave us 12 lobsters for 4 cans of beer.
Finally the day had come, we were on the shark boat, blood was in the water and the crew of Indian Summer were ready to come face to face with the apex predator of the ocean. What an experience. Firstly it was a nervy wait before the first shark was spotted. Visions of sailing back having come all that way for nothing were swirling in our heads. The gods were kind to us though and before we knew it we were the first ones in the cage with great whites all around us, it was amazing. Such clear water (25m visibilty) and such huge sharks (over 4m). We could see them coming for miles, sometimes 2 at a time. It was worth every effort to get here and it is something none of us will ever forget experiencing. The sharks stayed around for one and a half hours before disappearing to the deep leaving us to go back to Indian Summer and relive the thrill over yet more lobster :)
We left the next morning to avoid the strong winds that kicked up in the evening. Guadalupe's parting shot was to give Johnny a hook up on one of the biggest fish he's ever tried to pull in. Unfortunately the fish managed to unhook itself before we got it in but what an end to an amazing 4 days! Truly one of the adventures of a lifetime.
