Great White Shark Tours - Summary of the trip

Brian McFarlane, owner of Great White Shark Tours, is a professional diver and skipper who has spent a lifetime at sea, as a Perlemoen (Abalone) diver, commercial fisherman, wreck diver and diamond diver. He is also a dive master and level 3 medic. Brian as many other divers in these waters, has had many encounters with the great whites and many other types of shark. During the time when fishing for great white sharks was allowed, Brian caught 33 great whites, some of them weighing more than 1 ton. Today he sorely regrets killing them and now pours his time and efforts into finding the sharks with his tours in order to observe and photograph them at close range.

The trip normally begins at 10h00 in the morning from Kleinbaai, which is 2 km along the coast from the village of Gansbaai. 
After a continental breakfast, payments and a safety briefing by Brian, you board our shark-chaser, Apex Predator for the 5 mile voyage to Dyer Island. 
After dropping anchor, we all begin attracting Great Whites with a specially-formulated 'Chum' mixture, made from completely legal ingredients, which has taken Brian years to perfect, and is a highly-guarded trade secret. Sharks are seen 99.9% of our trips!

Once the Great Whites arrive, you will have the opportunity to photograph these awe-inspiring animals feeding at the surface, right alongside the boat. This is when you enter the cage! 
It is recommended that you book well in advance and allow at least 2 days diving in case of adverse weather conditions. Passengers are exposed to the open sea while travelling to and from the islands. At the islands the boat is anchored off the lee sides and protected bays. 
Vinyl side curtains give additional protection from the wind and water spray. 

Included

• Return transfers from Cape Town (Optional extra R300)
• Breakfast on arrival 
• Drinks & Snacks on board
• Coffee & Cookies after the trip (Soup in the winter)
• All gear inclusive - Mask, Booties, Hoodie, 7mm wetsuits
• Towels
• Hot showers
• DVD of the day (Optional extra)

Excluded

• Alcoholic Beverages - Not permitted on any of the Shark Cage Diving Boats

Itinerary of the day

Please note that this is just a rough guideline and that the times are confirmed each day before the dive. On busy days there will be 2 or possibly 3 trips depending on operator.

Morning Trip

5:30 - Pick up from Cape Town Address (If shuttle from Cape Town is booked)

8:00 - Meet at Shark Diving crew house in Kleinbaai – Breakfast & Briefing

9:00 - Launch from Kleinbaai harbour – 15 minute boat ride to site

9:15 - Estimated 3-4 hours at sea for the shark dive tour (All gear included and drinks & snacks on the boat

13:00 - Return to harbour and up to the crew house

13:15 - Light lunch whilst watching video of the day.(Option to purchase DVD @ R350 per copy)

14:00 - Finished at the crew house & Return to Cape Town

16:30 - Return to Cape Town

Afternoon Trip (Only if there are enough clients to run 2 trips)

9:00 - Pick up from Cape Town Address (If shuttle from Cape Town is booked)

11:30 - Meet at Shark Diving crew house in Kleinbaai – Breakfast & Briefing

12:30 - Launch from Kleinbaai harbour – 15 minute boat ride to site

12:45 - Estimated 3-4 hours at sea for the shark dive tour (All gear included and drinks & snacks on the boat

14:30 - Return to harbour and up to the crew house

16:45 - Light lunch whilst watching video of the day.(Option to purchase DVD @ R350 per copy)

17:30 - Finished at the crew house & Return to Cape Town

20:00 - Return to Cape Town

The Boat - Apex Predator

Apex Predator is a fantastic purpose built boat for shark viewing and cage diving. It has been the number 1 boat for a few years and offers plenty of space to move around and enjoy the sharks from the lower deck and upper deck. The boat is very wide and it's center of gravity is low making it very stable on the sea thus reducing the chances of seasickness. 

Some of the features of the new boat include: 

Length: 13m 

Width: 5.1m this gives maximum stability whilst on anchor at sea. 

Engines: 4 x 200HP Suzuki 4 strokes for safety, reliability and power when required 

Viewing platform: Spacious upper level viewing platform 

Seating: Comfortable padded seats with back rests 

Storage space: Individual lockers for customer bag storage 

Toilet Facilities: Men's and Ladies with Latest flush technology 

Change rooms: Spacious areas to change into and out of wetsuits 

Water: Fresh running water [hot shower available] 

Safety Equipment: Two 25 man Life rafts 

Spray covers: Vinyl roll down sides to keep wind spray off passengers 

Wet suits: New 7mm easy to change into 

Electronic equipment: GPS/radios/depth echo sounder/Natsav 

Fuel tanks: Stainless steel tanks built to highest ISO Standards 

Smoking: No smoking allowed on boat (ISO standard) 

The boat was designed to easily accommodate the 40 passengers she can carry.

The Cage

No experience is required if you want to go down in the cage. Sometimes the water will be extremely rough or far too murky to use the cage; viewing from the boat is still an awesome experience, with excellent photo opportunities. 

The cage is custom-made with 12mm galvanized steel mesh. The sharks cannot get inside, and they don't try. The cage is attached to the boat at all times and is easy to access, so you can climb out at any time.

The cage can accommodate 7 divers comfortably and there is plenty of space and opportunity to dive multiple times on the trip. There is plenty of clear viewing space around the cage due to the positioning of the floats giving you exceptional cage diving viewing of the sharks on the surface as well as under water.    

Great White Shark Tours - The Company