Hawaii Recap - Day 3 - Part One
Day 3 was a big day for us. Shark Day!
We got up, had our breakfast of coffee, bagel, leftover pumpkin & banana bread, and headed out for our 10:30 appointment to go "swimming with sharks." Well, not quite "swimming" but we had signed up for a shark adventure through Hawaii Shark Encounters. Basically, they take you out on a boat off to the shore, put you in a shark cage, and throw bait in the water to attract the sharks. I was, needless to say, pretty anxious about this adventure. I had read great reviews about it, and how it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (yeah, I bet! Especially if you DIE from it!), and something everyone should do if they get the chance. When I told Max about it, he was really excited so I signed us up and braced myself. Unfortunately for me, after I had booked the shark adventure, I read about another company that offered "swimming with dolphins" and I thought, damn, how come I didn't see that first???!!!
I was pretty nervous that morning, especially because I knew we had to SNORKEL in the shark cage. Oh man.
So the boat took off from the North Shore area, specifically at the Haleiwa Boat Harbor. It was about a 45 minute scenic drive from Honolulu. On our way, we stopped to pick up another underwater camera, one with a flash so we could get pics of the sharks. Unfortunately, it didn't work!!! Boo.
When we finally got there, we had to fill out a 20 page waiver form, stating we wouldn't sue them if we got eaten by sharks, etc. Yikes. There were 10 other people with us on our small boat, which was manned by three employees. All really nice guys. For an extra $100, we could get a video of our adventure, but we decided to skip that. Here are a few pics of the boat and harbor area:
Our shark boat (took these pics AFTER we got back)
We were a bit confused at first, since we didn't actually see the cage attached to the boat when we first got there, but we learned that they had already taken the cage out in a previous tour and secured it somehow (anchors?) so we would be boating out to it. I think we were the last tour of the day, so the three guys towed the cage back to the harbor after we were done. You can see the cage here:
Not a very big cage, but big enough! Fits 6 people. There's plexiglass on two of the sides of the cage, but otherwise, you're just floating in there! One of the most important rules, they said, was not to stick your arms out. I had NO problems following that!
Before we got there, I had been nervous about a couple of things, which thankfully the website addressed. These were my exact questions (I've lifted it from the site)!
Can the cage sink?
No! Floats surround the cage on all sides and they keep it level in the water. The top of the cage is actually 2 feet above the surface. The cage is also tied to the boat with several lines.
Is the cage closed at the top?
There is no lid on the cage. You are not locked in and you can come up and enjoy the view from the surface and communicate with the crew at any time.
Can the sharks jump in?
No! The sides of the cage extend 2 feet above the surface of the water. The sharks would have to jump three feet clear out of the water with a forward trajectory and aim they simply don't have. They will occasionally lift their heads out of the water, but these sharks are not capable of leaving the water. Even if they wanted to. (and they really don't).
How do I get in the cage? Do I have to swim to it?
Of course not! You would have to pay us a lot extra to be allowed to swim even one moment outside the cage, with the sharks. The cage gets pulled right next to the boat and you step down a very solid ladder directly inside the cage.
How secure will I be inside the cage?
There are handrails to hold on to all around the cage. You can stabilize yourself while you float on the surface or you can pull yourself a little lower for a different view. None of your body parts will ever have to extend outside the bars.
Will the sharks attack the cage?
No! The sharks will come very close to the cage to investigate but they do not charge at the cage or try to bite the people inside. Human beings are not on the natural menu of these sharks, as is the case with most sharks.
Do I get an unobstructed view of the sharks?
Yes! There are two large (and very strong) pieces of Plexiglas installed on each short side of the cage. In the water they are almost invisible.
Now, the only thing left to worry about was my snorkeling ability.
Anyway, we got on the boat and experienced the world's most choppy 15 minute boat ride EVER. Oh god, Max and I, and pretty much everyone else except for the three employees totally suffered from motion sickness. I've never felt so awful on a boat before. But - wow - the color of the ocean out there, so far from the beach, was so gorgeous. Like a really deep blue sapphire. Just beautiful. We pulled up to the cage and the guys secured our boat next to it. Max and I were part of the first group to go in the cage. Man, I was nervous! But at this point, I have to say, I wasn't so much nervous about the sharks as I was nervous that I was going to throw up all over everyone!
They gave us snorkeling equipment (used of course - but I couldn't even be bothered to think about a new mouth piece - I just vaguely thought to myself that the anti-fog solution they were sitting in would probably disinfect all the germs - besides I was going to be eaten by sharks in a few minutes so the germs wouldn't kill me....since the sharks would) and then showed us how to get into the cage.
I am ashamed to say, although it won't be a surprise to anyone, that I kind of had a hard time getting in the cage, and had to be shown a few extra times. The problem was that it was SOOO choppy. Like these giant waves just kept crashing against the boat and the cage, and all of it would go flying upwards. And you had to step down and backwards into the cage, so it was all very difficult. For me at least. I kept thinking I'd slip and bash my head against something and my bleeding head would immediately attract the sharks and everyone would get eaten. Also, I had to deal with my mask, which was immediately fogging up so I couldn't see very well. I actually chickened out the first time I tried to get into the cage and hopped back on the boat. So embarrassing. On my third try, I made it. The captain actually had to tap the bar I was supposed to hold and said "Just follow the noise" because I was so paralyzed that I didn't know where I was supposed to grip the ladder. Plus, the foggy mask didn't help. How humiliating.
But once I got in, and was able to hold the bars, and reminded myself to breathe slowly, it was awesome! I saw lots and lots of sharks - big ones too! The average one was about 5 feet long, but there was a giant tiger shark that kept swimming around us that was at least 8 feet long. Amazing! I couldn't believe how close they were, and you really could just stick your arm out and touch them, that is, if you didn't care to have two arms.
I'm so disappointed that our camera didn't work, but if you go to this link, this was exactly what our experience was like.
We were given 30 minutes in the cage (of course I only spent 15 mins or so since I wasted all my time fiddling with my mask and TRYING to get into the cage), and then it was the other groups turn. After the high of seeing the sharks wore off, we were left to face our sea sickness again. And, I'm proud to say in this category, I did better than Max, WHO THREW UP OFF THE SIDE OF THE BOAT!! Haha. I know it's mean to laugh, but it was kind of funny. One of the boat guys was actually feeding the sharks directly off the boat, and a few would come to the surface, but neither of us could really see them because we wanted to stay far away from the fish chum bait stuff he was using, the smell of which did not help the sea sickness.
I am actually, as I'm typing and reliving the moment, feeling a bit nauseous.
Going to take a break - more later!
We got up, had our breakfast of coffee, bagel, leftover pumpkin & banana bread, and headed out for our 10:30 appointment to go "swimming with sharks." Well, not quite "swimming" but we had signed up for a shark adventure through Hawaii Shark Encounters. Basically, they take you out on a boat off to the shore, put you in a shark cage, and throw bait in the water to attract the sharks. I was, needless to say, pretty anxious about this adventure. I had read great reviews about it, and how it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (yeah, I bet! Especially if you DIE from it!), and something everyone should do if they get the chance. When I told Max about it, he was really excited so I signed us up and braced myself. Unfortunately for me, after I had booked the shark adventure, I read about another company that offered "swimming with dolphins" and I thought, damn, how come I didn't see that first???!!!
I was pretty nervous that morning, especially because I knew we had to SNORKEL in the shark cage. Oh man.
So the boat took off from the North Shore area, specifically at the Haleiwa Boat Harbor. It was about a 45 minute scenic drive from Honolulu. On our way, we stopped to pick up another underwater camera, one with a flash so we could get pics of the sharks. Unfortunately, it didn't work!!! Boo.
When we finally got there, we had to fill out a 20 page waiver form, stating we wouldn't sue them if we got eaten by sharks, etc. Yikes. There were 10 other people with us on our small boat, which was manned by three employees. All really nice guys. For an extra $100, we could get a video of our adventure, but we decided to skip that. Here are a few pics of the boat and harbor area:
Our shark boat (took these pics AFTER we got back)
We were a bit confused at first, since we didn't actually see the cage attached to the boat when we first got there, but we learned that they had already taken the cage out in a previous tour and secured it somehow (anchors?) so we would be boating out to it. I think we were the last tour of the day, so the three guys towed the cage back to the harbor after we were done. You can see the cage here:
Not a very big cage, but big enough! Fits 6 people. There's plexiglass on two of the sides of the cage, but otherwise, you're just floating in there! One of the most important rules, they said, was not to stick your arms out. I had NO problems following that!
Before we got there, I had been nervous about a couple of things, which thankfully the website addressed. These were my exact questions (I've lifted it from the site)!
Can the cage sink?
No! Floats surround the cage on all sides and they keep it level in the water. The top of the cage is actually 2 feet above the surface. The cage is also tied to the boat with several lines.
Is the cage closed at the top?
There is no lid on the cage. You are not locked in and you can come up and enjoy the view from the surface and communicate with the crew at any time.
Can the sharks jump in?
No! The sides of the cage extend 2 feet above the surface of the water. The sharks would have to jump three feet clear out of the water with a forward trajectory and aim they simply don't have. They will occasionally lift their heads out of the water, but these sharks are not capable of leaving the water. Even if they wanted to. (and they really don't).
How do I get in the cage? Do I have to swim to it?
Of course not! You would have to pay us a lot extra to be allowed to swim even one moment outside the cage, with the sharks. The cage gets pulled right next to the boat and you step down a very solid ladder directly inside the cage.
How secure will I be inside the cage?
There are handrails to hold on to all around the cage. You can stabilize yourself while you float on the surface or you can pull yourself a little lower for a different view. None of your body parts will ever have to extend outside the bars.
Will the sharks attack the cage?
No! The sharks will come very close to the cage to investigate but they do not charge at the cage or try to bite the people inside. Human beings are not on the natural menu of these sharks, as is the case with most sharks.
Do I get an unobstructed view of the sharks?
Yes! There are two large (and very strong) pieces of Plexiglas installed on each short side of the cage. In the water they are almost invisible.
Now, the only thing left to worry about was my snorkeling ability.
Anyway, we got on the boat and experienced the world's most choppy 15 minute boat ride EVER. Oh god, Max and I, and pretty much everyone else except for the three employees totally suffered from motion sickness. I've never felt so awful on a boat before. But - wow - the color of the ocean out there, so far from the beach, was so gorgeous. Like a really deep blue sapphire. Just beautiful. We pulled up to the cage and the guys secured our boat next to it. Max and I were part of the first group to go in the cage. Man, I was nervous! But at this point, I have to say, I wasn't so much nervous about the sharks as I was nervous that I was going to throw up all over everyone!
They gave us snorkeling equipment (used of course - but I couldn't even be bothered to think about a new mouth piece - I just vaguely thought to myself that the anti-fog solution they were sitting in would probably disinfect all the germs - besides I was going to be eaten by sharks in a few minutes so the germs wouldn't kill me....since the sharks would) and then showed us how to get into the cage.
I am ashamed to say, although it won't be a surprise to anyone, that I kind of had a hard time getting in the cage, and had to be shown a few extra times. The problem was that it was SOOO choppy. Like these giant waves just kept crashing against the boat and the cage, and all of it would go flying upwards. And you had to step down and backwards into the cage, so it was all very difficult. For me at least. I kept thinking I'd slip and bash my head against something and my bleeding head would immediately attract the sharks and everyone would get eaten. Also, I had to deal with my mask, which was immediately fogging up so I couldn't see very well. I actually chickened out the first time I tried to get into the cage and hopped back on the boat. So embarrassing. On my third try, I made it. The captain actually had to tap the bar I was supposed to hold and said "Just follow the noise" because I was so paralyzed that I didn't know where I was supposed to grip the ladder. Plus, the foggy mask didn't help. How humiliating.
But once I got in, and was able to hold the bars, and reminded myself to breathe slowly, it was awesome! I saw lots and lots of sharks - big ones too! The average one was about 5 feet long, but there was a giant tiger shark that kept swimming around us that was at least 8 feet long. Amazing! I couldn't believe how close they were, and you really could just stick your arm out and touch them, that is, if you didn't care to have two arms.
I'm so disappointed that our camera didn't work, but if you go to this link, this was exactly what our experience was like.
We were given 30 minutes in the cage (of course I only spent 15 mins or so since I wasted all my time fiddling with my mask and TRYING to get into the cage), and then it was the other groups turn. After the high of seeing the sharks wore off, we were left to face our sea sickness again. And, I'm proud to say in this category, I did better than Max, WHO THREW UP OFF THE SIDE OF THE BOAT!! Haha. I know it's mean to laugh, but it was kind of funny. One of the boat guys was actually feeding the sharks directly off the boat, and a few would come to the surface, but neither of us could really see them because we wanted to stay far away from the fish chum bait stuff he was using, the smell of which did not help the sea sickness.
I am actually, as I'm typing and reliving the moment, feeling a bit nauseous.
Going to take a break - more later!
posted by S at 12:08 PM
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