Later, the crew lowered waterproof speakers into the sea and played some AC/DC songs including "Highway to Hell," saying the heavy metal vibrations help lure the toothy hunters.
OFF THE FARALLON ISLANDS, California (Reuters) - "Over there -- shark!"
After nearing the Farallon Islands, 26 nautical miles (48 km) west of San Francisco, the boat's captain shouts out. A slick of dark red seal blood spreads across an ocean surface slashed by the occasional bobbing of a great white shark fin.
For a small group of shark enthusiasts, the adventure was only beginning. It was time to don a wetsuit and enter a cage the size of an elevator to view one of nature's fiercest predators face to face.
"We never came to California before because we were afraid of earthquakes," said an enthusiastic David Fietz, 46, who owns some oil wells in Midland, Texas. "But I've always wanted to see a great white shark."
Every year, a few hundred adventurous tourists climb into a submerged cage off the remote Farallon Islands in hopes of encountering at least one of the 20 to 40 great white sharks that prowl the waters from September to November.
The last trip of the year takes place on Sunday, but new federal rules under discussion could limit future visits to one of the world's great concentrations of great whites.
FROM THE SUBMERGED CAGE
Divers put on thick wetsuits then climb into the frigid water and the cage moored at the back of the boat.
"This cage has never been hit head-on or bitten, but it has been touched when a shark was cruising sideways," said David Moskito, who was leading the dive for Great White Adventures.
A great white has never eaten anyone in a cage off the Farallons, although one well-known skin diver was seriously injured during an attack in 1962. But there are always a few seasick passengers on the choppy 12-hour tour, which costs $775 a person.
Moskito lowered into the water by rope seal-shaped decoy lures made of a carpet-like material.
Teams of four divers take 30-minute turns in the cage and spend much of the time gazing into the ever-swirling interaction of seawater and light in search of a shark.
On Friday, several divers saw nothing living, but by afternoon, a few sharks did slowly pass by, one apparently curious about the decoy but not hungry enough to bite.
"The cage wasn't what I expected, but just seeing a kill on the water was exciting enough," said Deema Ghosheh, a lawyer from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
From the surface, the group saw signs of another killing, probably of a sea lion. As blood rose to the surface, a shark bobbed along the surface and birds swooped, seeking scraps.
Across the water echoed the yelping of sea lions and elephant seals splayed on the rocks of the islands, whose sole human inhabitants are a few research scientists.
Later, the crew lowered waterproof speakers into the sea and played some AC/DC songs including "Highway to Hell," saying the heavy metal vibrations help lure the toothy hunters.
After nearing the Farallon Islands, 26 nautical miles (48 km) west of San Francisco, the boat's captain shouts out. A slick of dark red seal blood spreads across an ocean surface slashed by the occasional bobbing of a great white shark fin.
For a small group of shark enthusiasts, the adventure was only beginning. It was time to don a wetsuit and enter a cage the size of an elevator to view one of nature's fiercest predators face to face.
"We never came to California before because we were afraid of earthquakes," said an enthusiastic David Fietz, 46, who owns some oil wells in Midland, Texas. "But I've always wanted to see a great white shark."
Every year, a few hundred adventurous tourists climb into a submerged cage off the remote Farallon Islands in hopes of encountering at least one of the 20 to 40 great white sharks that prowl the waters from September to November.
The last trip of the year takes place on Sunday, but new federal rules under discussion could limit future visits to one of the world's great concentrations of great whites.
FROM THE SUBMERGED CAGE
Divers put on thick wetsuits then climb into the frigid water and the cage moored at the back of the boat.
"This cage has never been hit head-on or bitten, but it has been touched when a shark was cruising sideways," said David Moskito, who was leading the dive for Great White Adventures.
A great white has never eaten anyone in a cage off the Farallons, although one well-known skin diver was seriously injured during an attack in 1962. But there are always a few seasick passengers on the choppy 12-hour tour, which costs $775 a person.
Moskito lowered into the water by rope seal-shaped decoy lures made of a carpet-like material.
Teams of four divers take 30-minute turns in the cage and spend much of the time gazing into the ever-swirling interaction of seawater and light in search of a shark.
On Friday, several divers saw nothing living, but by afternoon, a few sharks did slowly pass by, one apparently curious about the decoy but not hungry enough to bite.
"The cage wasn't what I expected, but just seeing a kill on the water was exciting enough," said Deema Ghosheh, a lawyer from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
From the surface, the group saw signs of another killing, probably of a sea lion. As blood rose to the surface, a shark bobbed along the surface and birds swooped, seeking scraps.
Across the water echoed the yelping of sea lions and elephant seals splayed on the rocks of the islands, whose sole human inhabitants are a few research scientists.
Later, the crew lowered waterproof speakers into the sea and played some AC/DC songs including "Highway to Hell," saying the heavy metal vibrations help lure the toothy hunters.
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