Monday, May 19, 2008

Shark Diving - "Up Close and Personal"

Steven Benjamin, Marine Biologist and Shark Guide at Blue Wilderness, South Africa

Pierre Frolla, four times Freediving World Champion.


If that is what you want then you should freedive / snorkel. Just look at the photographs - need I say more?

Most sharks will come up to the surface. Sure, you have to use bait to attract them, so what? Baiting does not hurt the sharks, and if you have been told that it makes them more aggressive toward divers as they would associate food with people - don't believe it. It's a myth, to put it nicely.

Sharks go after food, not after divers - but they come closer to you when there is some food in the water. The good thing is that YOU won't smell the stinky carcasses that lure in the sharks... :-)

Years ago I felt that as a freediver I didn't belong into today's high-tech diving world anymore. If people decide to take up diving lessons, it would not even occur to them to become freedivers. However, I find it gratifying to see that more and more ocean lovers discover the joy of freediving - the purest way to dive.

I have met more freedivers than scubadivers in South Africa recently, and the few scubadivers like Georgia Hayes and Julie Andersen who were with us freedivers quickly discovered that that there really is no diving like freediving, especially when it comes to shark diving.

So, gals 'n guys, forget the tanks, and trust the power of your lungs!

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