Shark Encounter: Cross It Off Hubby's Bucket List

Yesterday I shared how Hubby and I made Hawaii Bucket Lists. A shark encounter was on his list. Only two companies on the island offer shark encounters in the open water, off of Oahu's North Shore. He was pining for this adventure! Hubby has been scuba diving for over sixteen years in different countries, and has never seen a shark. He missed the shark at Molikini Crater that the rest of his group saw, and was bummed. This shark adventure was totally for him.

Hubby and a couple of guys drove to Haleiwa Harbor on the North Shore where this company launches their boat. The boat traveled three miles and 30 feet off shore. A Hawaiian law states that feeding sharks within three miles of shore is prohibited. The boat pulled along side the shark cage, tied to a buoy. As the boat slowed. they could see sharks circling around and around the boat. These sharks were hungry! The water was clear, and nearly 500 feet deep.

The guide hand fed the sharks mahi mahi pieces, heads and tails. The company gets free scrap pieces from the local fish markets, to avoid filling our brimming landfills. This is a huge problem, particularly on an island with limited space. Hawaii is very environmentally conscious.

Hubby claims the sharks were like dogs on hind legs, begging for fish. Their heads shot up two or three feet out of the water. Their breath was aggressive and shallow as they gasped for air. He compared the way the sharks chewed on fish pieces like a dog chews on a chew toy. The guide assured the group the sharks were perfectly safe. Once a deck hand was feeding the sharks, and was covered in shark pieces, when he accidentally fell in the open water with the sharks. Even though the sharks had a wild feeding frenzy with all of the fish pieces, they completely ignored the man who fell in. The man was cut up from the sharks banging into him. Shark skin is covered in tiny teeth material, so they are very rough animals. The company has also tried to feed chickens to the sharks, but they neglected the chickens and favored the fish pieces. The sharks are accustomed to the boat motor sound, and grasped that the boat symbolized free fish, an effortless appetizer.

The boat guide asked for a group of six that wanted in the cage. Hubs and his guys volunteered first. The cage is made of steel bars. It is plumb surrounded by floats on all sides at the surface. It is 10 feet deep by 8 feet long and 8 feet wide. The bars stand two feet out of the water. The cage is fully open on top. No one is locked in, and sharks cannot swim in. The bars are four inches apart, and the folks were told not to put their hands through the bars. Two viewing areas in the cage are made of thick plexiglass instead of steel bars. Once Hubby's group was in the cage, the guide started to chum the waters. You know what that means, right? He hurled gallons and gallons of fish into the water to attract sharks! Hubby counted at least twelve sharks. His group snorkeled and eyed the sharks for twenty minutes. Hubby dove down with his snorkel and mask to get deeper views. Here are a few of his pictures:

These were Galapagos sharks. They are known for being aggressive and dangerous. The company thinks that is an exaggeration. They think the sharks are bold and curious. They commonly press their bodies up against the cage's plexiglass to peer at the folks inside. The sharks that day were about ten feet long and 400 pounds.

A teeny tiny part of me wishes I would have done it. The water's depth gave me more heebie jeebies than the sharks. I scuba dove once to 100 feet and I found no enjoyment in a deep dive. I dislike heights and I certainly dislike deep depths. I adore shallow reef dives under 60 feet. The pictures below from the company's website are fascinating. They show the shark cage and the circling sharks. How about you? Would YOU have tried a shark encounter?