Watermen freediving with White Sharks

William Winram with White Shark - Photo by Fred Buyle

Over a year ago I met freedivers Fred Buyle, William Winram, and Pierre Frolla - all very different personalities but sharing one passion - in South Africa while freediving with tiger sharks.  We have remained in touch on and off and know that together they have been working on some fabulous things.


Most recently I came across Ocean Encounters and a post by William about freediving with Great White Sharks - somewhere in the Pacific, three watermen broke a myth:


Says William: "After reviewing the footage filmed during the expedition, the Ocean Encounters team is hopeful that these images will impact the world to change its perception of the great white sharks. Commonly thought as the most voracious man-eating creatures of the seas, these creatures are IN FACT shy and fragile." - read the complete post here


Sounds very much like what my dad has been saying without having the long and intense experience the three watermen had...cannot wait to see the footage for their ongoing documentary.

I miss 'them' sorely ....

.... that is all I can say while going through a rigid 3 months chemo and radiation protocol. Once I am done with it, I will be back at Tiger Beach.





Here are two photographs of a pro interacting with a "Ella", a stunningly responsive and most gentle 4 m tiger shark lady of Aliwal Shoal. The diver is Pierre Frolla, four times freediving world champion.

I believe these images transmit what I call harmonious and respectful shark-diver interaction.

I have taken the pics in April 2008. I am not sure whether "Ella" is still around - I am afraid she might have been a victim of the infamous Natal Sharks Board shark nets....

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!

Pierre Frolla - the Michael Schumacher of Freediving

Pierre flirting with "Ella"

Photo: Wolfgang Leander (2008)

Click on image

Pierre Frolla was not seven times world champion, only four. That in itself is most remarkable as competitive freediving has got to be one of the toughest disciplines, and largely depends on exceptional physical and mental fitness.

We met Pierre and his buddies (Fred Buyle, William Winram, Jerome Espla and his wife, and Christophe Vyncke) in South Africa recently where they were doing a documentary for the French TV.

I loved being around these guys, very down to earth, very refreshing, very European. Pierre has no inhibitions innocently exhibiting his loulou (= family jewels) in front of girls - I did that, too, in my prime years.... The young man is gregarious and loves to entertain large groups of people, he likes to rigoler, and is just 'foen' to be with.

'Foen'? Well, that is how Pierre, and all Frenchmen, pronounce 'fun'. Now you know how it sounds when Pierre uses the very common and widely known English four letter word --- hahahaha!

Pierre fell in love with the tigers right away, as did all the others. Un coup de foudre - love at first sight. Verry passionate and ssedoective seesse Frrench loevers, just as they are supposed to be. Just look how graceful Pierre moves in front of Ella, our huge tiger Lady, as if to tempt her...

Indeed, Pierre impressed Ella so much that she let him hold on to her dorsal fin once long enough to take him down to 32 m.

Another world record!! Incredible!!! A breath-hold diver reaches a depth of 32 m attached to the fin of a 4,5 m Tiger shark!!

I have seen it - well, not all the trip as in about 15 m Ella and Pierre disappeared into the murky abyss of Aliwal Shoal.

I know that tiger sharks don't eat people - still, I was kinda relieved to see Pierre surfacing after about a minute or so.... :-)

New friends...

...and they are not just the Tiger and black tip sharks. As of yesterday I had the pleasure to meet and dive with a diverse and interesting group of people including professional freedivers William Winram (more on him later - amazing story to tell), Fred Buyle (excellent photographer and freediving world record holder), and Pierre Frolla (also holds several freediving world records, loves to tell jokes at the dinner table and loves to be on film). Then there is James Newell (former Special Forces turned watchmaker - owns Riedenschild in Germany - more on this later as well).

As far as the diving goes, it has been outstanding and the interaction with the tiger sharks above standard (definitely not sub-standard). On the second day I felt much more comfortable, though I have to admit that I still had the butterflies right before jumping into the water. So far I have over one hour of footage - obviously needs a lot of editing, but there are definitely some good shots among the material.

Tomorrow we will obviously go out again and meet up with our friends (both humans and sharks).