We went out with ASEC for an AIRJAWS dive in mid-June and it was absolutely the highlight of our 3 week trip in South Africa. Captain Rob and his crew are passionate, enthusiastic and highly knowledgeable about the Great Whites and they will do everything in their powers to ensure the best possible experience for your dive trip.
Weather can be a problem in False Bay and cause trip cancelations, so I would suggest scheduling your dive trip early on in your stay so if necessary, you could go another day. Two days before our scheduled trip I got an email letting us know the conditions were not looking good for our trip and ASEC would know for sure the following day. The next day I got a call from Tamsyn who works in the office and our trip was in fact canceled. She went over the rescheduling or canceling options with us, and was also very honest in letting us know that shark sightings had not been too good recently. Tamsyn’s honesty was appreciated; however, we were still hopeful and rescheduled our trip for the next day.
ASEC offers transfers from Cape Town but we chose to drive ourselves as we had a rental car. We arrived right on time for our 7 am departure and Captain Rob, the crew and the other divers were ready to go. I did a lot of research on different dive companies both in Simon’s Town and Gaansbai and some of the things that really stood out with ASEC from the others was the focus on small groups (max 12 people), only 2 divers in the cage at a time, and most importantly, ASEC uses regulator breathing so you don’t have to pop up and down in the cage to catch your breath.
We had a small group of divers, only 5 and everyone got at least one turn in the cage and more if they desired (I went in 3 times!). We had 5 different sharks up to the boat; I couldn’t believe how lucky we were. During my last turn in the cage, I had quite the thrill when a Great White seemingly came out of nowhere and gave the cage a good head-butt. To be able to observe and learn about these fascinating creatures was a dream come true, and a memory I will treasure forever. Thank you Rob and the entire crew for sharing your knowledge and passion for the Great Whites, we hope to see you again whenever we are able to return to South Africa.
Join us on one of our “Airjaws” shark breaching trips to witness this spectacular breachingbehaviour of the Great White Sharks. This is certainly something that you do not want to miss!
Here is some further information on our Great White Shark breaching trips.
We would consider our high season to be from May to end of August and the best months for the predation and breaching activity is during June, July and August. September is in between high and intermediate season. February and March is too early for breaching. Here our trips focus on the shark cage diving and surface viewing.
Transfers: Optional: Return transfers from designated pickup points in Cape Town
Duration: Approx 5.5 hours. The trip departs from Simon’s town at 7am sharp and returns at 12h30.
Here are some very important questions to ask when choosing a great white shark operator. Sadly many people don’t ask and then regret it later.
How many passengers on your boat? 12. We focus on smaller groups to ensure that everyone has a personal experience with the great white sharks.
How many divers in the shark cage? 2 maximum. Many operators take 5-8 guests at a time.
Do you offer scuba? Yes. All diving equipment is supplied. No diving experience is necessary however you are welcome to snorkel as well. Most operators only allow you to hold your breath, seriously!
Does using scuba affect the sharks coming to the boat? No.If it did we would not do it! Working in False Bay since 1996, we have found that the bubbles or scuba noise have no effect on the great white sharks. Most operators don’t like to work with scuba as re-filling tanks is a bother and they don’t want to do it.
Do you use shark liver to attract sharks? No
What to bring on your shark breaching AIRJAWS trip
Rain/wind jacket
Sun block and Hat
Camera (we sell disposable underwater camera’s)
Take sea sick tablets
Please Note: We have a very high success rate, however with all wild animals, shark sightings, activity, predation events and shark breaching can vary from day to day. Even during peak season there may be days when we do not see any great white shark breaching or predatory events.
Please be aware of this, so you do not arrive with unrealistic expectations. Rather come hoping to see these natural events, than expecting. No refunds will be made for non-sightings. We will however offer you a voucher for another trip.
We hope to see you join one of our spectacular AIRJAWS trips!
Shark expert Rob Lawrence, together with his wife Karen and their dedicated team in Simon’s Town, Cape Town. Rob, also known as shark legend Rob or Captain Rob has been working with great white sharks for the last 20 years and has dedicated his life to the great white shark.
SHARK CAGE DIVING BLOG
We love sharing our news, which is why we have created our blog. Here you can read about our shark cage diving and breaching trips, the film shoots we do, guests we meet, what we are up to, what’s happening in our ocean, and of course the Great White Sharks.
