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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