LIVING THE DREAM

After 150 trips to Isla Guadalupe over the last eight years, you might think that I might be getting tired of it. Well I am not. Hell NO! Deep down I still love it all and I am still thrilled each and every day that I am out there. I am indeed grateful to be “Living the dream”.

However there have been days when I wondered WTF am I doing this for, and those days are pretty much in the past now. With the Navy issue out of the way for the time being and most probably for good (but you never know when working in Mexico), now there are just little annoyances occasionally but with the 2010 season pretty much in the history books, the little things just don’t seem to matter much anymore. There still is lots of work to be done and battles to be fought, but the tide of the war has definitely turned in our favor and we now have the upper hand on things.  Most people just have no idea what goes on behind the scenes with permit issues and having to deal with inept officials that make ridiculous decisions based on rumors and hear say. It is extremely difficult working in a third world country and the bureaucracy is absolutely stifling at times. People have no idea how many hoops we must jump through to keep this whole thing running or even in existence for that matter.  But we do it and we will keep up the fight and we will never quit.

Having had this amazing opportunity to share these incredible animals with so many people over the years has been very rewarding for me on a personal level.

It still makes my day when I am able to coax a first time diver into the water and watch them blow their first bubbles. That is something that I truly enjoy. Those little things are what makes it all worth it. Seeing the smiles on the faces of divers coming out of the cage after their first encounter with white sharks is still priceless to me.  What is really cool is that on most trips nearly half of our guests are repeat clients, some of which have made the journey with us several times. We have created a unique and special relationship with our guests and we have all become one big extended family. We share a bond that is hard to explain. It is so wonderful to have met so many different people from all walks of life who share a passion and common interest in such a special animal. To many the experience has been life changing and that is what keeps us going.

I truly am honored to have had the opportunity to work with the Solmar V and her awesome crew. It has been such a pleasure and we have all become close like brothers over the years. We are hands down the best White Shark diving operation in the world and I am very proud and confident in making that statement. No one else has the amount of experience as we have or the amount of success that we have had.  We are so successful because we work very well together and we keep an open mind about every aspect of our operation. Every season and every trip we learn something new and we take what we have learned and we make improvements and that keeps our operation fresh and leaves our competition in the dust. We continue to lead the way as we always have with new technology and new techniques and that is what makes us the best white shark diving operation in the world.

Thank you to all of our “Shark Fans”. We are looking forward to the next 150 trips.

Stay tuned for some very exciting news! We will be making an important announcement in the very near future.

Thank you Dean Karr for these recent and most precious images.

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8 years and 149 trips to Isla Guadalupe and still 100%

I am approaching another milestone in my career as a shark diving operator. I am departing shortly for my 150th expedition to Isla Guadalupe.  It has been a long and rewarding adventure for me. I have many fine people and friends to thank for supporting me. It is impossible to show the gratitude that I feel towards so many of my friends and family here in this blog but.
One person in particular that I need to thank the most is Kat Fisher.
 Thank you Kat for the many years of support and your patience.


I must thank James Moskito my partner for being the honorable, dependable and trustworthy man that he is.  James you ROCK!


I also wish to thank Art Taylor for the seven wonderful seasons we had on the Searcher and for giving us the opportunity to get Guadalupe on the map as the best white shark diving location on the planet.

I want to thank Jose Luis Sanchez and his lovely wife Leslie and the entire Solmar V organization specially the boat crew for 6 awesome seasons so far and still going strong.

Thank you to all of our "Shark Fans" that keep coming back and also for spreading the good word for sharks and the company.

MUCHAS GRACIAS AMIGOS!

May the sharks be with you all always.

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence


Here is a kiss from Cal Ripfin   MUAH!

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Shark Diving International Hosts Mega Yacht APOGEE at Guadalupe

We received a phone call last July from the Captain of a mega yacht that had been hearing cool stories about the white sharks at Guadalupe. He stated that he had asked around for the best operator with the best reputation and everyone he spoke to recommended us as the hands down best operator in North America. Thank you to all of our Shark Fans once again!

So now we are 

Apogee's first-class amenities turn even the most remote destination into a five-star resort. This yacht offers a complete range of watersport activities, including water skiing, fishing, snorkeling, and even scuba diving. Rich mahogany warms the main salon, setting the tone for Apogee's classic elegance. In addition to its sweeping circular staircase, the main foyer includes an elevator that links all five decks. Much larger than ordinary skylounge and completely outfitted in magnificently crafted mahogany, burl mahogany and rosewood the bridge-deck saloon is a leisure destination unto itself. It features a 22-foot-long backlit onyx-topped bar modeled after Monaco's Cafe de Paris and Miami's Delano Hotel, a Wurlitzer jukebox and a spacious adjacent aft terrace complete the package. A crew of 17 awaits - one of the highest crew-to-guest ratios in the industry.

COMMUNICATIONS
Sat B, Fleet 77, Mini-M, GSM, High speed internet access

AUDIO VISUAL EQUIPMENT & DECK FACILITIES
Plasma & LCD TV/DVD/VCR throughout yacht, SatT.V., Bose Surround Sound, Wurlitzer Jukebox, Karaoke

Apogee is a beautiful vessel with a great crew who were a pleasure to work with and dive with. It was pretty funny seeing these boys get an opportunity to dive with whitey when the guests were having lunch. 

Thanks for the good times Flash, Chris and Bert! aka "Ray Charles".

We were able to make tis happen on very short  notice which was a feet in itself when permits usually take months to prepare but it all worked out and the guests and crew had the time of their lives and hope to return again someday. Thanks to our own Bobby and Don for helping out.

We are heading out again today with one of our all time favorite Shark Fans DEAN KARR.

So we know it is going to be an awesome trip with some really fun and cool peeps.

May the sharks be with you all!

Yours in sharks,

Lawrence 

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SHARKS ALL DAY EVERYDAY

The 2010 White Shark Season has been just incredible so far!
We have been out at Guadalupe on the Solmar V for 8 trips this season so far and they just keep getting better. The action has been nonstop and the sharks very cooperative. The Shark Fans have been outstanding and we have been enjoying a stellar season with some fantastic people.

Here is a little note from some of our newest family members.

Hi!

I just wanted to send an extra "Thank You!" to Lawrence, Kat, the Solmar V crew, James and anyone else who had a part in making our trip to Guadalupe Island from Sept. 6-10 so wonderful.

This trip was so much more than I ever expected!  Lawrence and Kat made sure everything went as planned.  The crew made us feel so at home.  And James made sure we had our dive gear on time from Dive California.

This was a true "once in a lifetime" experience.  I have always had a passion and fascination with sharks, especially white sharks.  So, I was going to be satisfied if we only saw one shark  the entire trip.  Little did I know that we would see multiple sharks all day every day!!  It was absolutely exhilarating!!  

Thank you all again for making this trip (and our anniversary) such a wonderful experience!!!  We are already researching other trips with you all.

Best regards,

Christy and Chris Cole
Birmingham, AL






You are quite welcome you two love birds! :)


With all the sharky action and cool shark fans like these fine folks who could ask for anything more?

The weather has been very cooperative with relatively smooth crossings and sunny days at the island.

The sharks are plentiful and still very hungry. But there is still plenty of shark food at the island, there are hundreds of fur seal pups all around the island and the tuna are thick and seen from the cages nearly everyday. The Elephant seals numbers are increasing steadily as well. YUM!

Photos by Erick Higuera (Somar V )




Thank you! to all of our friends for making this an epic year for us and we look forward to having you back again soon!


I wish I had more time to write but I have to get ready for the next departure in a few hours.


May the sharks be with you all!


Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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Battle Ground Great White The Combat Has Begun

Every year these incredible animals amaze me with not only their power but their resilience. The combat has begun at Isla Guadalupe. The arrival of another female white shark (possibly a brand new female) seems to have touched off a war between several male sharks at the island. On Monday Jacque a rather large male GWS was fine at 12:30 and he showed back up at the boat at 13:30 with some fresh nasty bite marks on his back.
 Then a few minutes later two other males arrived at the boat with fresh bleeding wounds. Somewhere below a bloody battle had occurred. We have been documenting these wounds on the male white sharks every August and early September for the last several years (photos/video coming soon). Some of these bite marks look to be very severe but the sharks still swim normally and seem to be unaffected by them in fact they seem to be even more energetic and hungry. What is the most amazing thing is that how fast they heal. Most of the bites that we have seen in the past are healed in just a few weeks and some have completely disappeared leaving no scars at all.

The rest of the day was nothing less than EPIC!

The action was intense!

These BAD BOYS were hungry!

We had 2 full body breaches at the bow of the boat where there was NO cameras of course but those who saw them were just blown away and some even got wet :)

Images By Crew Solmar V crew member  Francisco "Poncho" Garciglia

So we are off once again, departing Ensenada for trip #6 in a few hours to return to the combat zone.
This season is going to be one for the record books I am sure. So stay tuned, things are starting to get interesting!

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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Isla Guadalupe Shark Season in FULL SWING!

With trips #3 and #4 now complete, I can say that we are now in FULL SWING and the action has been non stop. With the arrival of Zapata (Bruce) on trip #4 everything just got crazy!

Zapata is definitely hands down one of the Tres Grandes Tiburones at Isla Guadalupe.

Zapata is a legendary player and favorite to many of us at the island. Even being so large and healthy, I'm sure he must have had an unfortunate encounter with a shark bigger than almost put him out of the game. Zapata is 14 feet long and my best guess would be that the shark that bit him twice from below and across his throat must have been considerably larger possibly 18 to 20 feet long. The wound extends from his right side lower gill area all the way across to his left jaw line. Although the wound looks horrible and must be painful we have seen wounds like this before on other sharks and they heal amazingly fast. I am sure he will be just fine in a few weeks.

These wounds on the larger males are results from epic battles with other huge mature white sharks.
This male on male combat would be just incredible to see and has never been documented.. YET!

However Zapata has also had a run in with the "Expedition Great White" Tag Team and has a transmitter bolted on his dorsal fin. He even has an acoustic tag on his lower left dorsal area.

So we are off once again and I have to go. I wish I had more time to write.

I will be back in 5 days and will try to give a more detailed report then.

We had 15 sharks over the 3 days at IG and we had our first breach!
May the Sharks Be With You!

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence and Erick

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2010 Trip #2 Another Awesome Expedition #140 and still 100%

Just back in from trip #2 of 14 for the 2010 season and our 140th to Guadalupe Island.

CAL RIPFIN was once again the star of the show. Cal has to be the coolest White Shark ever!
This handsome brute is the most cooperative white shark I have ever seen, and I know quite a few.
Cal just loves to hang around and pose for photos and video. He is always calm, cool and easy going.
He and 14 of his buddies (all males still) enjoyed the clear blue water and bright sunshine with us for 3 full days.

Jacque was also there the entire trip. Jacque named by our dear friend Eric Cheng is also a real player and kept the divers busy going through flash cards, video tape and batteries the entire stay at the island. However Jacque apparently had the misfortune of encountering the "Expedition Great White" (EGW) crew last winter and is now sporting a heavy SPOT tag on his dorsal fin. Poor Jacque already has had multiple PAT tags over the years and has a great deal of marine growth on the leaders left behind from those tags. I think that is a crime to put these incredible animals through this time and time again in the name of research. How many times do these same animals need to be tagged??? We also noticed that Jacque has suffered an injury to his left eye. I can't help but suspect that it most probably occurred when he was Hooked, towed for miles, and "After His Will was Broken" lifted out of the water by the EGW crew and 4 holes drilled and had the SPOT tag bolted on. WTF!! Poor Jacque......

We are heading back out shortly so I have to run. Ill be back in 5 days with the next report.

Word from ABC4, was that they have found a dead whale near KZN and will be towing it out to sea and watch what happens. Sounds pretty stinky but should be pretty cool! Good luck buddy!

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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2010 Isla Guadalupe White Shark Season Begins

Greetings Shark Fans
Sorry for my prolonged absence as I have been litteraly on the move for the last 6 weeks.
I am currently in port in Ensenada on board the Solmar V preparing to depart for Isla Guadalupe for the second of 14 trips.

Our first trip to Guadalupe was nothing short of EPIC! We had 12 individual white sharks over the 3 days at the island. That would be a record for the first trip of the season. All males as expected and they were very active throughout the trip. The first shark arrived only 20 minutes after arriving at the island and Cal Ripfin arrived after only 2 hours. Cal did not show up until late September last year and had us all worried.

Cal looks GREAT! He is still gaining weight and appears to be in excellent condition. For those who have not had the priviledge of meeting Cal Ripfin (aka Shredder) he is one of the most famous white sharks in the world. I met Cal Ripfin back in 2002 and have seen him at the island every season for the last 9 seasons now. He is truly one of the greatest "Players" in the shark world. He hangs around the boat for hours at a time and loves to swim close to the cages and he even swings by the submersible cage and HI 5"S the dive masters. He is the Coolest Shark in the World! Sorry Emma.... (Jimmy's fav Tiger shark)

The weather was fantastic providing us with a very smooth crossing. At the island, morning clouds cleared to bright warm sunshine and we enjoyed just a slight breeze to keep us comfortable. August can be blistering hot at Isla Guadalupe. The water conditions were ideal with a temperature of 65-67 and 80' of visibility.

We were boarded twice by the Mexican Navy and all of our documentation were inspected and approved.

Never a dull moment down there!

I will be back in 5 days to bring you another Shark Action Report.

Photos by Kat Fisher

Team update:
ABC4 just arrived back in Cape Town SA. Congrats to ABC4  for scoring #5 of ALL TIME, Shark Week Show with his "Into the Shark Bite" show. He also just signed a new contract with NAT GEO! Keep it up Bro!

Mary O'Malley is currently also in S Africa finishing up a extended Sardine Run Expedition

Bobby Mc Nerney is preparing for an expedition to Tonga and will be joining us back at Guadalupe soon.

Erick Higuera is on board the Solmar V


STAY TUNED!

May the Sharks be with you!

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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Isla Guadalupe Abulon Cooperativa Hyperbaric Chamber Project

This is such a huge story I will just try to sum it up briefly and post updates as they develop.  

Isla Guadalupe Mexico is now known as one of, if not the best place in the world to dive with white sharks.

What most people do not know is that Isla Guadalupe is also home to a small group of artisan fishermen and divers: The Isla Guadalupe Abulon Cooperativa.  The Cooperativa consists of several families of divers, their boat (panga) crews and many other support personnel that harvest and process abalone and lobster from the islands rich ocean waters. These families have been living and working on the island for generations.

Ever since my earliest trips to the island back in 2001-02 I have been developing a friendly working  relationship with these local fishermen and divers. As a commercial diver myself I had a sort of kinship with these local divers. I have become very good friends with quite a few of these characters over the years. I have spent many hours communicating with and supporting them in any way I could. 
From the very beginning they had told me of the harsh conditions that they were used to working in. 
These guys are hardcore divers.

                                    Luis Padrin, Diver and Secretary of the Abulon Cooprativa 




Even though they work in one of the sharkiest places on earth and they often observe white sharks during their daily dives, not one of them has ever been bitten or attacked by a white shark. However, all of them have a story about having a close encounter or two with white sharks. They have developed  a great respect for the white shark and they also are very aware of how important the white shark is to the ecosystem that they depend on for their livelihood.
More than fearing the sharks, they actually have greater concern about the physiological hazards of the frequent deep diving that they do to harvest abalone. 

There are approximately 8 panga crews that consist of a diver, panga operator and a tender that go out each day from mid-January until mid-June. Each panga has a sector or zone around the island that they are assigned to work. The panga crews go and dive to collect abalone from depths as deep as 90 feet.  The diver is supported by the topside crew. The tender minds the diver's hose and keeps the compressor running. The panga operator keeps the panga above the diver by following his bubbles. The diver stays down as long as an hour and sends baskets of abalone up to the panga crew. This method of harvesting has been practiced all over the world for many years.


The problem is that the divers are not using any type of dive computer and basically they "feel" their way through the decompression phase of the dive. They try to ascend slowly and they try not to stay down too long.  But sometimes they do, and then inevitably suffer from decompression sickness (DCS) or the "Bends". Some serious accidents have occurred leaving some of the divers permanently disabled and unable to provide for their families. When a diver is afflicted with DCS they must treat themselves in water which means the diver must return to the water and dive down to 160 feet and then ascend very slowly. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not. In any event the in-water treatment scenario is very cold and very dangerous. These DCS events are infrequent, but when they do happen it is devastating to the victim and their families. 


I have been working on a solution to this problem for years. The Isla Guadalupe Abulon Cooperativa divers need a Hyperbaric Chamber. 


In fact, I did indeed deliver a hyperbaric chamber to the Cooperativa back in August 2006. 
I actually purchased a working chamber from Harbor Offshore Inc. in Ventura, CA. I had just completed a huge diving project for Harbor Offshore up in San Francisco Bay. I knew that Harbor Offshore had an old double lock chamber that would work perfectly for the Cooperativa. I had used this particular chamber on the Richmond San Rafael Bridge project and I knew the chamber was back in storage in Ventura. I called my friend John Ventress, the owner of Harbor Offshore, and asked him if I could purchase the chamber for the Cooperativa. He agreed and sold me the chamber for $8,000.00. 

That was the easy part. After delivering the chamber which weighs over 4000 lbs. to the Cooperativa in Ensenada the Cooperativa representatives took the chamber to the Mexican Navy base in Ensenada and asked them to transport the chamber to Guadalupe on one of the Navy boats that visits the island once a month. The Navy accepted the chamber and put it in storage awaiting a resupply mission to Guadalupe. Then the Navy claimed that the chamber was too heavy to be transported to the island.
They kept the chamber there in storage on the base for 4 years. WTF!


Last September a special ship was going to Guadalupe to remove some scrap metal from the island. 
The Cooperativa was able to recover the chamber from the Navy and put it on this scrap metal ship prior to its departure to the island. This scrap metal ship was actually a type of landing craft equipped with a ramp that could be lowered onto the beach at the shore to deploy a tractor. The ship transported the chamber to Guadalupe and delivered it onto the island.




I was recently granted a permit issued by CONAPP (the authority that governs and maintains the Isla Guadalupe Biosphere Reserve) to visit the island regularly to work with the Cooperativa on getting the chamber up and running and provide training for the divers in Hyperbaric chamber operations and diver training and safety.
This past Tuesday I flew out to Guadalupe to see the chamber and assess its condition. I was also invited  to meet with the Cooperativa divers about plans to construct a new Hyperbaric Medical facility to house the chamber and provide training for operating the chamber. 


                  The funny thing was that the flight I was on was actually a "MILK RUN" literally!

                                                                        Cessna 402

                               Forward cargo compartment filled with 12 gallons of Leche (milk)

                                                                   Fresh produce: 
25 kilos of Avocados, 25 kilos of tomatoes and another 100 kilos of various other fresh goodies.

                                 The flight was very exciting and the weather was PERFECT!

The trip from the airstrip on top of the island to the Fisherman's camp was grueling but the scenery was simply stunning. The island is absolutely beautiful this time of year and there is actually lots of green vegetation all over the island this time of year.

                              Offloading supplies at the company store at the Fisherman's Camp. 

Surprisingly Isla Guadalupe is home to approximately 150 inhabitants. 


The whole town turned up to welcome me and they were incredibly gracious and hospitable. I was given the total VIP treatment. They provided me and the pilot our own little beach house and it was really quite comfortable. Then came the fresh Abalone for lunch which was absolutely delicious! Then a guided tour of the whole town.

                                                                     Mi Casa

                                                            The view from mi casa

                              Powerhouse. (diesel generators provide electricity for the whole town).

                                                   Notice the little red satellite dishes on every house.

School grounds. (K through 8th grade)

                                                                         

                            After school most kids like to play soccer or go swimming in the ocean.

                                            The future Abalone divers of Isla Guadalupe.


I was very glad to find the chamber in reasonably good shape after languishing at the Naval base in Ensenada for 4 years and being hauled across 200 miles of ocean and then dragged up off of the beach it is actually and surprisingly in good working order. With a little cleaning and painting it will be in great shape.
The divers placed the chamber on a good sized concrete pad close to where the pangas are loaded and offloaded. The location and placement of the chamber is important so that it is easily accessible in emergencies. Where it is now is the perfect spot! 

Soon we will begin construction of a new structure to house the chamber protecting it from the harsh marine environment. We will also be installing a high pressure air compressor to charge large air cylinders to provide pressurized air for both the chamber and to fill "bailout" cylinders for the divers to wear in case they experience a loss of air supply of their surface supplied air. 


I am very glad to finally be making progress in this very important endeavor. I look forward to spending more time with my friends of the Abulon Cooperativa and spending more time on this beautiful island that I care so much about. 
Most importantly I am glad that I am able to finally provide the divers of the Cooperativa a measure of safety for there work so they can continue to provide for there families for generations to come.


STAY TUNED!


Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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Oceans the Movie on Earth Day

I celebrated Earth Day by going to see Oceans the new release from Disney Nature. 

This 90 minute documentary is incredible. Directed by Jacques Perrin and Jaques Cluzaud the film takes you around the globe from pole to pole. I personally recognized many of the shooting locations in the film such as Cocos, Galapagos and of course Isla Guadalupe. However I also realized that some of the footage was shot in an aquarium. (Lionfish, Manta shrimp vs. Crab sequence). But that is cool. I think they more than made up for that with some really epic open water sequences.

So I will have to give it a score of 8.5 for its amazing footage and the positive message that is brought into the story albeit a little late in the film. Any "Save Our Oceans" message is welcome and needed, hopefully our society will take notice. 

I would have to say the the cetacean footage definitely surpassed any that I have ever seen on the BIG screen. With the Humpback whales in perfect visibility and one literally soaring across the sandy bottom of some beautiful spot in Tonga. That was simply stunning. Magic! The Blue whale footage was really impressive as well  with some eye-popping close ups in a cloud of krill. That cameraman must have some serious cajones getting in there with a 100' Blue whale in a cloud of krill/food. That scene was pretty impressive.

Now as for the great white shark footage I would say they did an OK job. They certainly did not vilify the sharks, in fact they attempted to show the animals as quite docile and almost friendly. The diver swimming along side a rather large female (could be either Gill Raker or Kimmmel) is sure to impress the masses. I noticed her gaping and signaling that she really did not like the little french dude getting that close. Obviously she tolerated the whole situation and cooperated with them long enough to give the world an awesome glimpse of what Isla Guadalupe is all about.

There are some other very impressive scenes such as a million Spider Crabs massing together stacked 3 deep as far as you could see. The Cuttle fish scenes were staged and there was definitely some feeding going on here and there. The editing was actually pretty rough and the film losses continuity several times. They did a great job and I know that it is very difficult to take 5 or 6 years of hard work and cram it into 90 minutes. It is a great film for school aged kids as well as the whole family.

So go out and see it! Write us back and tell us what you think!

Yours in sharks,
Lawrence

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