Page 248 - The Virgin Islands

The Great White Shark
B ecause of the bad rap they got from the
media and movies, these sharks were
feared by most. As more people tried it and
came back with all their limbs and stories of
face-to-face encounters, more wanted to do
it. Today the shark diving adventure is open
to just about everyone. You don’t even need
to be a scuba diver to do it, Making a trip to time to get up close and personal to the ulti-
Guadalupe Island is now a luxury live-aboard
experience on the 112’ Solmar V. There are
only a few places in the world where pre-
dictable shark encounters can be found.
Guadalupe Island, off the west coast of the
Baja peninsula, is by far the most popular in
North America. With up to 100’ visibility and
water temperatures between 67° to 72° F,
shark diving at Guadalupe Island has quick-
ly found it’s way to many adventure-seekers
“bucket list”. It wasn’t long ago that the fish- Shark pups are around five feet long at
ermen around Guadalupe Island complained
of large sharks stealing their catch before
they could reel it in. The reports happened
consistently year after year. Now the months
of August, September and October are prime
mate apex predator...the great white shark.
T he great white shark is a solitary preda-
tor that can grow to over 20 foot in
length, but averages 12-16 feet and weighs
about 4,000 pounds. Larger great whites
have been recorded up to 23 feet and other
evidence shows they could grow as large as
26 feet in some parts of the world. As with
most sharks, females are larger than males.
birth. The heavy body is shaped like a tor-
pedo. Most of the shark is gray with a white
underbelly. When hunting, the great white
usually strikes from below. Its grayish top
coloration blends in with the dark water,
allowing it to approach the prey undetect-
ed. This shark has five gill slits, a crescent-
shaped tail, no fin spines, an anal fin, a dor-
sal fin and two pectoral fins. The dorsal fin is
the one that breaks the surface of the water.
For as large and heavy as this shark is, the
great white shark is a streamlined swimmer,
striking it’s prey with a tremendous force.