Swim with Whale Sharks

On our first day off after completing our Marine Conservation Project, Charissa & I decided to swim with Whale Sharks. After visiting several dive shops and speaking to a few people to get a sense of the experience we decided to book with an Eco Tour Group who emphasized conservation and protection of these beautiful creatures.

Swimming with Whale Sharks has been a dream of mine for many years and this was the first time I have been in the right place at the right time to see them. I quickly learned that I had timed it perfectly. Yesterday they saw 20 sharks!

Whale Sharks congregate here during May to September to filter feed on plankton and other small marine creatures. Swimming with them was a major business in and around the Caribbean. When I heard at first that there was going to be 50 boats a day visiting the sharks I was concerned that it was a huge invasion of their behavior and felt bad about my decision to do it. I also knew that in some countries they have them in aquariums, which I believe is a disgusting abuse of this magnificent animal. It reminded me that seeing them in their natural state was far better than seeing them in an aquarium.

We arrived in Cancun to the boat that would take us 1-hour north. There were 10 of us plus 2 dive leaders in the boat. We were briefed on the rules for the day which included only 2 people at a time would swim with the shark, not touching the shark, staying 2 metres from the sharks head and 4 metres from the sharks tail. I was happy to adhere to these rules. Even though these are gentle giants, they could certainly inflict some damage if you were too close to the tail, or the head, however they don’t really have teeth that would cause much damage. We were also given a short lecture about the Whale Shark explaining their anatomy, diet, behavior and habitats.

After only 20 minutes in the boat, other operators in the area had passed on coordinates via the radio. We were not far away. It was only minutes and we slowed the boat to 1 or 2 knots. It was then we started to see evidence of the sharks by their dorsal fin and tail swimming the waters surface. We soon realised that there was probably at least 50 sharks here, perhaps more. The boats were very spread out, kilometers apart, and there were sharks without boats next to them. Happy Days! I didn’t feel so bad about invading their territory.

Our first encounter was an extreme close-up look at one shark came alongside our boat and proceeded to go directly underneath the bow. Incredible!

My first swim, I decided to just go solo, leaving the camera behind so I could just enjoy the experience. I found myself quickly next to the shark and swimming at a furious pace in order to keep up. Adrenaline was pumping hard from excitement! Swimming with this creature was surreal. At least 5 times the length of my body, a head as wide as I am tall, and whose tail is taller than I am, this enormous animal swam with such grace and elegance. I had a good 5-minute swim before I was completely exhausted and stopped so the boat could pick me up.

The second swim, I decided to take my camera and try out the new housing I bought for the occasion. We got in the water and swam furiously towards the shark, but this one was too fast for us to catch up with and we never got more than 4 meters from the tail.

Our 3rd and final swim was by far the best and longest. A whole seven and a half minutes right alongside a huge slow swimming male. I got so close I could have touched and at one point I was only centimeters away when he changed course I was just above his pectoral fin. I kept up with his head for a time, then allowed myself to drop back alongside and went behind the tail, then came up on the other side and up to the head again. I watched him as he swam mouth agape scooping up plankton and fish roe off the surface of the water. He even had a few small fish riding the bow in front of his enormous mouth. Underneath him were a few remoras enjoying the ride.

What an experience! At the very end of the swim, I dropped back to wait for Charissa to join me so we could get back on the boat. She pointed to something in the water. A marlin was following the shark. What a bonus!

On the return trip we spoke to the dive leader and he estimated that there was probably over a 100 sharks there that day. AMAZING!!

Watch my video here...
Whale Shark encounter in Mexico

See more pictures here...
Bridgette’s Flickr Photostream – Whale Shark Swim