I’ll get straight to the point. I knocked “swimming with sharks” off my bucket list as part of my adventures in Hawaii. And I went without a cage. Let me tell you, there’s nothing that will get your adrenaline going quite like shark diving at an ocean depth of 2,000 feet at 7 in the morning. I’m about to try to convince you that you need to go:) Here’s the story:
Let me set the scene…
At this point in my Hawaii adventures I’d been living with my college roommate. We’d done a lot of snorkeling, hiking, and hammocking, and It seemed like a good time to level up our game. If I know anything about my roommate, it’s that she’s always down for an adventure. So, when I casually brought up the idea of cage-free shark diving, I wasn’t in the least surprised when she practically shouted “yes.” We signed up later that day.
We booked our shark dive with a really small company and it was perfect
Generally when it comes to experiences that are a little more risky, I would want to book with a big, well known company so I could be sure it was reputable and safe. When I went skydiving you already KNOW I didn’t try to cut corners on that experience. In this case though, we kind of took the opposite approach and it ended up being exactly what we wanted! We booked with Cageless Shark Diving Oahu North Shore, located in Haleiwa. A mouthful, I know. They gave our small group such a perfect, personalized experience. If I shark dive again, they can take my money. I loved it.
Given that it was a shark dive tour I would have expected the guides to act more like drill sergeants as they tried to keep everyone safe. But they were so chill about everything that I was immediately put at ease. They provided us with fins and snorkels and gave us the option of paying for GoPro footage or professional photographs. I didn’t opt for them, but the photographs I saw were really amazing so I would recommend spending a little bit extra and getting them. The pictures attached to this post were taken on an iPhone we brought in the water with a waterproof case and it shows. I guess we “lived on the edge” in every sense that morning.
Don’t worry, you WILL see sharks.
I didn’t understand how they could guarantee shark sightings until we got to the location. One of the guides explained to us that the area we stopped the boat in was frequented by fishermen, who would routinely throw out scraps of fish on their way in to the harbor. The wild sharks had become conditioned to think that the sound of a boat motor meant chum. That made me feel just, SUPER confident getting in. But I figured it would be hard to make a business out of something that routinely got people eaten, so I tried not to think too hard about it.
The guide told us that we would likely see between 1 and 10 sharks. She also said we were most likely to see Galapagos sharks, but that Tiger sharks came occasionally and every once in awhile, Hammerheads.
The morning of:
The night before Shark Diving we parked our van in the Haleiwa boat harbor so that we could sleep in until the very last minute (Perks of vanlife). Check-in was at 6:30am, not so bright and early except we stayed up LATE watching Lilo and Stitch. I’d never seen it before and we felt like it was an important part of my Hawaii experience. So we made it a priority. That’s besides the point. We woke up the morning of the tour feeling like the most hardcore people ever to walk planet earth.
It honestly could not have been a more beautiful day. It made it a bit easier to distract myself from the concept of jumping into an ocean full of sharks. Was I nervous? To be honest, not really. But swimming with sharks is one of those things that you can’t think too long about or you can MAKE yourself nervous if you know what I mean.
Jumping in
Getting in the water was the scariest part. Our guides waited until we could see sharks SWIMMING AROUND, and then they had us slip off the back of the boat. Right in with them. It was a crazy feeling. We were surrounded by ocean, dusty blue as far down as we could see. It was hard not to imagine scenes from “The Meg” and “Jaws.” Specifically scenes where sharks seemingly materialized out of empty ocean just in time to swallow someone.
Only two sharks joined our group that day. They swam in circles, just curious enough to stick around. Through the whole experience I only felt a tiny moment of fear: one of the sharks was bent on getting a reaction I guess. It swam right up to me until it was only a foot away and I had just enough time to imagine a dramatic outcome before it changed course last minute. They were Galapagos sharks, both about six feet in length if I had to guess.
It became a proper shark dive the second we got a little more brave. Swimming right beside a shark, close enough to touch easily, and not feeling fear was so empowering. They acted indifferent, unphased by us and our proximity, so we swam as close as we dared. Honestly, I’ve never thought sharks were beautiful before. But there’s something awe inspiring about seeing them up close that MAKES them beautiful.
Was it worth it?
On a real note, this whole trip has been a series of trial and error. Oahu is expensive, and unless you’ve got money (I’m a college student, need I say more?) you have to weigh the pros and cons of each experience. Some are worth it, some aren’t. That being said, I’d shark dive again in a heartbeat. No questions asked. It was probably the coolest thing I did in all my time on that island. The whole experience was 90$. Worth it. There’s nothing more surreal than swimming with sharks, surrounded by nothing but vast ocean.
If you’re ever in the position to do a cageless shark dive, GO. Just go. The guides know what they’re doing. You WILL be safe. Swimming with them made me realize: sharks are so much more docile then we give them credit for. Unless you’re diving with a more aggressive species of shark, the cage is unnecessary and takes away the most gratifying part of the experience: the surreal feeling of trusting yourself enough to plunge into a moment that reminds you that you’re ALIVE. For two hours on a Wednesday morning I saw the ocean from a sharks perspective, right there by it’s side. And it was so, so cool:)
I 10/10 recommend.
