I’d been thinking about this for a long time, but it wasn’t until my boy and I saw pictures of great whites at an exhibit in the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum that I finally got rolling. The shots there were all taken at Guadalupe Island. I have friends who fish for tuna there and had heard about the sharks and amazing water visibility.

That was it! My birthday was coming up, and I wanted to make it special. I started looking online and found Horizon Charters and soon was talking with Patric. What a great guy. He was friendly, funny, personable and walked me through the process. He also gave my boy Danny and I lots of great advice. With his recommendation I had the faceplate on my mask ground to my eye prescription. That was a good move!

We met the crew and other divers in San Diego (much better than getting down to Ensenada). And away we went. The weather gods were kind to us and soon we were in the water with the most beautiful animals I had ever seen. The crew was amazing, and the food was delicious and plentiful. All the crew were friendly, professional, funny and took care of anything we needed. They’ve been running these trips for a long time. Next season is their twentieth year of doing these charters. Everything ran like a well-oiled machine.

We were made familiar the boat – which included the safety issues and the dos and don’ts of living offshore. The other divers, who were from all over the US and beyond, were wonderful and soon we were one big happy family. Danny and I made a lot of friends. A bonus on this trip was having presentations by Dr. Chris Lowe from Long Beach State on his shark studies; and from the Shark Allies and their concern with the shark fin trade. And Captain Cary told us about the history, geology, botany and ecological issues of Guadalupe Island. Those people really added another facet to this already incredible experience. Plus we had three amazing people from the Discovery Channel. What a great life they lead!

Twenty-five different white sharks were identified – some were tagged ‘old friends’ and some were new. I came away with a whole new perspective on white sharks. They are so graceful. Lalo (the shark whisperer) told me that the larger females (15-17 feet) arrive at Guadalupe later in October and November.

I’m thinking about seeing them next year. Horizon already has the 2020 schedule online. Time to book the trip. It’s an experience you need to have!

Many thanks to Spencer, Cary, Patrick, Will, Lalo, Laura and Shea!!
Tom and Danny