Not the Mossad after all

There have been many theories as to why there have been so many shark incidents in Sharm El-Sheikh, there were even stories that the Mossad had been training / introducing sharks close to the tourist resorts.

Turns out that sheep carcasses has been the cause of sharks coming in closer...

Complete story here.

Red Sea and the Shark "Experts"

I am sure that by now you have all heard about the unfortunate shark incidents in Egypt (Red Sea).  The shark species responsible for the death of a German tourist has yet to be identified and so a team of shark "experts" have been summoned to join forces - think of the fantastic four.

The real conversation needs to be around the operators that are enabling these interactions...

Mike and Patric have been covering the subject in detail - recommend to give their posts a read here and here.

Freediving in 1981

I was looking through some files and came across this video (that we actually converted from SUPER 8 - have a lot of footage) of my father and myself freediving in Sharm el-Sheikh, Israel. In those days I was still not able or willing to use a snorkel and my movements were anything but relaxing, talking about being shark bait...nevertheless, I was already in love with the Sea...

First shark...

Believe it or not I clearly remember the first time I ever saw a shark in the ocean. It was 1981 and my father and I were diving in the Red Sea (Israel). In those days I had not mastered how to use a snorkel yet - so I had to pop my head out of the water every few seconds. I also used my dad as a floating device - always wishing that he would come up fast (while he was filming) so that I could climb on his back.

On one of his submersion's I noticed he was following something larger than usual...I could not believe it, a white tip shark. It was HUGE - at least to me (being small and all). Not having a snorkel and completely exciting I started swallowing water as I tried to get my head underwater as fast as possible. The shark swam by completely, un-phased by our presence. I think my dad was just as excited, little did he know that 20 years later he would be photography these beautiful animals. What seemed like an eternity - was actually just a matter of a few seconds - but enough to find a permanent place in my head. See video below - that was my first shark experience.

Click To Play

First shark I ever saw capture on a Super 8 by my dad in the Red Sea (Israel)

My father had a Super 8 and I have been able to digitize most of his films - talk about tedious editing compared to what we can do on computers these days.