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Swimming with blue sharks off the coast of Cornwall.
At the beginning of August 2018 a few of us from the dive club, we were limited by numbers allowed on the boat, headed down to Penzance in Cornwall for a very special day out.
We were on a large Rib with Charles Hood Shark adventures and we were lucky enough to have the man himself with us, a famous author and marine life advocate, it was a please to have his company and knowledge on this trip. Where were we going, I hear you ask? About 20 miles out to swim with blue sharks and boy1 were we in for a treat.
We had traveled down the night before to be fresh for the day’s activities and we all meet up at Penzance boat club to load our equipment and launch the RIB. The journey out only took around an hour, but it didn’t seem like it as we were joined along to way at different times by pods of dolphins either crossing our path or ride the bow waves as they love to do.
Once we had reached the spot the captain had decided would be best for blue shark activity, he started out the chum and “O my God” did it smell. I know that’s what is needed to attract the blue sharks, but it really doesn’t do your stomach any good. I was really glad I had taken the sea sickness tablets. The chum may have smell rank, but it did the job and within 5 minutes the first blue shark turned up and she was gorgeous, 5-foot-long at least and something I didn’t know about them is they have a gold tint to their noses and pectoral fins, which you could really make out the bright English summer sunlight.
After around 20 minutes of allowing the shark to get comfortable around the boat I was the first in, the captain said to get in the water gently which I planned to do but unfortunately, I lost my balance putting on a fin and landed in the water with a big enough splash to have scared anything away. I climbed back out and went to the back of the Que and waited for the blue shark to return. Fortunately, it did within a couple of minutes and Simon was next to jump in the water. You can water the video of Simon in the water by clicking the link below
Simon with the blue sharks.
With Simon in the water a second blue shark made an appearance, this one slightly bigger then the first and they both loved the smell coming from the rotting fish which slowly being released into the water. The second shark was a little more wary and kept her distance for a while.
After Simonhadstart to chill it was Sonia’s turn in the with the blue sharks. She was a little more cautious which is understandable when you are getting in the water with sharks given their portrayal in Films and Media but after a couple of minutes, she started to relax and really enjoy it. You can watch her video by clicking the link below.
Sonia in the water with blue sharks
Next, it was my turn and “wow” it was worth the wait and I had the added bonus of having the second shark come in close to the Rib while I was in the water. What an amazing experience and it is something I would suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to swim with these amazing fish you jump on it and it will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Click here to watch the video I took while in the water.
We rotated in and out of the water for the next couple of hours and the sharks stayed with us all day until it was time to head back to shore, all of us with beaming smiles, buzzing from such an amazing experience.
At the beginning of August 2018 a few of us from the dive club, we were limited by numbers allowed on the boat, headed down to Penzance in Cornwall for a very special day out.
We were on a large Rib with Charles Hood Shark adventures and we were lucky enough to have the man himself with us, a famous author and marine life advocate, it was a please to have his company and knowledge on this trip. Where were we going, I hear you ask? About 20 miles out to swim with blue sharks and boy1 were we in for a treat.
We had traveled down the night before to be fresh for the day’s activities and we all meet up at Penzance boat club to load our equipment and launch the RIB. The journey out only took around an hour, but it didn’t seem like it as we were joined along to way at different times by pods of dolphins either crossing our path or ride the bow waves as they love to do.
Once we had reached the spot the captain had decided would be best for blue shark activity, he started out the chum and “O my God” did it smell. I know that’s what is needed to attract the blue sharks, but it really doesn’t do your stomach any good. I was really glad I had taken the sea sickness tablets. The chum may have smell rank, but it did the job and within 5 minutes the first blue shark turned up and she was gorgeous, 5-foot-long at least and something I didn’t know about them is they have a gold tint to their noses and pectoral fins, which you could really make out the bright English summer sunlight.
After around 20 minutes of allowing the shark to get comfortable around the boat I was the first in, the captain said to get in the water gently which I planned to do but unfortunately, I lost my balance putting on a fin and landed in the water with a big enough splash to have scared anything away. I climbed back out and went to the back of the Que and waited for the blue shark to return. Fortunately, it did within a couple of minutes and Simon was next to jump in the water. You can water the video of Simon in the water by clicking the link below
Simon with the blue sharks.
With Simon in the water a second blue shark made an appearance, this one slightly bigger then the first and they both loved the smell coming from the rotting fish which slowly being released into the water. The second shark was a little more wary and kept her distance for a while.
After Simonhadstart to chill it was Sonia’s turn in the with the blue sharks. She was a little more cautious which is understandable when you are getting in the water with sharks given their portrayal in Films and Media but after a couple of minutes, she started to relax and really enjoy it. You can watch her video by clicking the link below.
Sonia in the water with blue sharks
Next, it was my turn and “wow” it was worth the wait and I had the added bonus of having the second shark come in close to the Rib while I was in the water. What an amazing experience and it is something I would suggest that if you ever have the opportunity to swim with these amazing fish you jump on it and it will stay with you for the rest of your life.
Click here to watch the video I took while in the water.
We rotated in and out of the water for the next couple of hours and the sharks stayed with us all day until it was time to head back to shore, all of us with beaming smiles, buzzing from such an amazing experience.