Freediving with Trevor Hutton & cowsharks

Wanting to learn to freedive has been a goal of mine for the past 13 years. It started one sunny South African day in False Bay when I snorkeled down and sat on the sand glancing up at the beautiful kelp forest that surrounded me while practicing to hold my breath. At that time there were no freediving teachers in Cape Town so I bought the only book I could find on the subject and started to teach myself. A mere month later and after only a few sessions in the ocean unexpected events prevented me from pursuing it any further.

Many years later, and while on SCUBA, I would often watch those freedivers who joined me on shark dives around the world with awe. They looked so graceful, flowing through the water with the sharks around them, while I felt weighed down by my SCUBA gear. I was envious of their skill and felt compelled to explore a new dimension to diving.

I’m one of those people that believes in learning only from the best and good friend Jeff Ayliffe told me about Trevor Hutton, a South African freediving champion and the only South African to have broken official world records. Jeff had done Trevor’s freediving course and raved about it. So in 2008 I got hold of Trevor, went for my dive medical and planned to do his next course. Unfortunately work pressures at the shark centre I had just created got in the way and I had to cancel. It was only when I got to the Bahamas in 2011 that I reawakened my desire and need to learn to freedive competently.

It was clear to me while freediving with the sharks and the gregarious spotted dolphins of the Bahamas that I needed help. With improved technique I knew I would be able to stay down longer, and feel more confident in the water, and in particular amongst the sharks. I would also be able to get shots of the animals in a way I had not been able to, them coming curiously much closer to me without the interference of bubbles.

In the meanwhile, and since my first attempt to do Trevor’s course, I had heard that Trevor, being who he is, taught many already competent freedivers. Since I was a mere beginner I felt intimidated so I explored the possibility of doing a course with other instructors whose professional portfolios were far less overwhelming to me. But while their courses seemed to focus on breath hold, what Trevor promised to teach me was far more appealing: techniques that would make me a better diver, one that could handle things if they went wrong, one that was in tune with her environment, confident and capable in the water. This is exactly what I wanted to learn, especially given the animals I mostly dive with and the local, often challenging sea conditions. Three years later I gave Trevor a call again, and a few weeks later I was on his next course.

Nervous at first, I braced myself for what I thought would be a tough course. But not only did Trevor turn out to be the most patient and thorough instructor, who offered a top class course, but he was able to judge my abilities and pushed me only as far he knew I could go – often a lot further than I knew I could go myself. The course included theory lessons, pool sessions and Blue Rock sessions where skills were honed, and then, what I had done it all for, ocean sessions! Soon I found myself stretching my lungs and holding my breath till they burned to stay down with the cowsharks of False Bay – heaven! Returning to the Bahamas remains my dream to really practice my new skills…

Do I now consider myself a freediver? No, it takes a lot more than what I have done to wear that label, plus I have equalizing challenges to overcome. Besides I’ll always be first and foremost a SCUBA diver, needing bottom time to support my private obsession, underwater photography. In addition, getting to know Trevor and meeting and diving with other freedivers, including Trevor’s friend, Herbert Nitsch, I recognize them to be in a class of their own. But for certain I have learned skills and a new way of the water which I feel driven to improve upon further – there truly is nothing comparable to only a breath of air in my lungs, the precious water against my skin, the stillness, and the sharks and fish fearlessly close – it is then in that silence that I really get to hear the Ocean and feel at one with Her. 

With the records he holds and his years of experience, which surpasses any other South African freediving instructor, and the fact that he is also an awesome person, I highly recommend Trevor's course – contact him via his website to find out when he is running the next one http://www.trevorhutton.co.za/

Thanks to Coral Wetsuits for my awesome red Shark Warrior wetsuit!

Watch my space!

Goodbye 2011!

The Year in General: Though we at AfriOceans were fortunate to have one of our most successful years to date, 2011 was a tough year for many as a result of the economic climate, which some are saying is heading similarly to the 1930 Great Depression. It has caused a turmoil of despair and uncertainty worldwide. In addition, environmental catastrophes played havoc during the year and increasing environmental challenges remain on the increase. The outcomes of COP17 held in Durban, South Africa, which I went to, did little to ease our environmental concerns. Though a plan to cut emissions, which includes action by all major countries of the world, is planned, it is said to be nowhere near what is needed to avoid drastic catastrophes throughout this century and beyond. 

Though we appear to have reached our sell-by-date for avoiding living in a microwave, there were many positive outcomes throughout 2011, in particular for sharks, driven by non-profits and activists, like ourselves.

Victory for Sharks Worldwide: In summary, there has been fantastic global success in the movement to ban the shark fin trade and increase shark protection in the USA, Canada, Taiwan, Chile, the Bahamas, the Marshall Islands, among other places, while China has proposed a shark fin ban in March.

Shame on South Africa: In comparison and back at home, however, despite our efforts through our WANTED! DEAD or ALIVE? campaign, and that South Africa became leaders of shark conservation when we were the first to fully protect the white shark, we are lagging pathetically behind. Our government continues to embarrass us when anglers make a mockery of the white shark protection and continue to catch and kill them, without being prosecuted. We, as marine and shark conservationists, lose all faith in our government to fulfill their mandate to protect our marine resources, and our shark population when our correspondence addressed to our Minister, offering our legal help, free of charge, to increase protection for numerous shark species, and our demands that perpetrators be prosecuted for breaking the law, are blatantly ignored.

They leave us no choice, and together with non-profits worldwide, and prominent shark conservationists, we will be launching a call to action that will shame our government in the eyes of the world. Do look out for it and please support it.

The AfriOceans Warriors: With our lobbying brewing in the background, amongst many other projects, we have kept our focus on making a difference through our AfriOceans Warriors Programme, funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund of South Africa. Our Environmental Education department, led by Terry Corr, has had an incredibly successful year during which we directly reached over 2000 learners and thousands more indirectly.

Awareness Campaigning: This is one of our fortes and this year saw further development of our Rethink the Predator campaign, as well as a new PSA which we will launch in the New Year. In addition, we move forward, albeit slower than I would like due to other overflowing NPO work, with a new campaign, as well as new documentary productions, which are still under wraps, and which I look forward to sharing with you in the New Year.

Thank you! Finally, nothing I do can be achieved without the help of many and for which I am filled with gratitude. When compiling this list I felt so blessed to be able to thank so many people for helping AfriOceans and me during 201l - THANK YOU! Beginning with our primary sponsor, the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund of South Africa who has made it possible for us to do the most amazing environmental educational work in the country through our AfriOceans Warriors Programme.

There's also all those individual memberships and donations made to AfriOceans, thanks to all that made a contribution and to my many supporters for your ongoing emails and messages of support and help in various ways. Thanks to our in-kind sponsors such as Coral Wetsuits and Reef for my great dive suits, ScubaPro for my amazing dive gear, Divesite, Divestyle and African Diver magazines for free advertising, Roundbox for our website support and hosting, African Watersports for all those amazing boat trips with the sharks and sardine run trips, Marine Dynamics and White Shark Diving Co. for our white shark cage diving vouchers, and Pisces Divers for my local diving support and boat trips. Then there's our partners such as the Two Oceans Aquarium and the City of Cape Town and our longstanding and ongoing partnerships, and other NPOs and groups we have teamed up with this year such as WESSA, Surfing South Africa, Surf Rider Foundation, ECO-UNESCO, Whale of a Heritage, GEESE, I AM SOMEBODY, Footprints, SRI, and our recent sponsorship from Mini South Africa, thanks to all!

Then a big thanks to all those conservationists I have worked with from all over the world -  thank you for the collaboration and all your efforts and support. Last but most definately not least, to my wonderful, dedicated core team, Terry Corr, Charmaine Rochat, Adam Carnegie, and Bas van Tongeren, and a special thanks to Leonard Compagno - we've made a difference and next year will bring greater success, just watch us!

Wishing all a wonderful festive season and an even more wonderful 2012 with more love, respect and care for our beautiful oceans and sharks.

Watch my space!

Rethink the Fish Hoek 'Shark Attack'

Let me begin by saying I am truly sorry that a shark harmed a man recently in my home village, Fish Hoek. I feel for the man, his family, and for the sharks. After reading the facts of the incident I am left with one big question: If someone warned you repeatedly that there was a lion in a park and if you walked about, there was a good chance you’d be attacked, would you still do it? No, you wouldn’t!

There’s one thing to be bitten by a shark without any warnings that it might be around, but to be warned that a shark is present and still choose to enter the water and then get bitten, well now that's plain foolish. This is exactly what happened in all three cases at Fish Hoek Beach. Why did these people do it? Their behaviour appears to be totally irresponsible, irresponsible toward their families, toward the local Fish Hoek small business community eking out a living and tourism plummeting as a result, and irresponsible toward these majestic animals that are teetering on the edge of extinction, and which they have helped to brand as man-eaters.

In the case of Lloyd Skinner, which took place in Jan 2010, I heard that he had emailed his mother that day to say he would see her later but not before he went for a swim at Fish Hoek Beach, AND he added, he had read the warnings of the high frequency of shark sightings in the area and was concerned, and yet he still went for his fatal swim, apparently close to a shoal of fish.

This latest case was another act of irresponsibility – Michael Cohen, apparently a frequent swimmer of the bay and apparently also a frequent ignorer of the Shark Spotters warnings not to swim when the beach was closed, as it was that day, still chose to do so. It cost him his leg. And it cost sharks a very bad rap, resulting in a tsunami of ignorant reactions from many members of the public, including gung-ho, testosterone-driven males wanting to ‘hunt the shark down’ (as if they would be able to determine the ‘culprit’ from any other shark. White sharks are also one of the only protected shark species in South Africa, a country comparatively far behind protecting its sharks due to local fishery department’s total inadequacies and inertia - but that’s another story for later - and it’s against the law to kill a white shark, if caught it can result in a two year imprisonment and/or a R50 000 fine).

To set straight the stream of self-proclaimed shark experts opinions which offer impractical/ignorant solutions to what they perceive as a problem, note that for biological reasons white shark populations cannot explode; that there is no scientific evidence that sharks become rogue animals and hunt people; that shark nets are not barriers but fishing devices, which indiscriminately kill marine animals, including whales and dolphins and therefore not recommended for Cape Town; and that culling some sharks is not an absolute solution as one remaining shark can still bite.

I reflect back to Tyna Webb, also a regular swimmer of the bay, that was killed by a shark in 2004 in the same place and recall the now monotonous tune being sung then already: I had rushed down to the beach minutes after the incident and interviewed some of Tyna’s friends on camera who told me: “They warned us there were sharks in the bay and we told her she mustn’t go in, but she wouldn’t listen to us, she never did.”

What I said on National Television E-News the day Michael was bitten, I say again, it’s their domain, not ours, and we really need to keep our wits about us, use the ocean responsibly and keep things in perspective by remembering some simple facts: we need our sharks because they keep our oceans in balance (no sharks in the oceans means no tasty fish on your dinner plate, plus a whole lot of other negative repercussions that will affect us all since the oceans are our life support system), we slaughter over 70 million sharks a year, while worldwide last year there was only 6 fatalities by sharks, 2 of which were in South Africa. On average from 2001 to date in South Africa there has only been 48 ‘attacks’ (a word I use very sparingly as it is misused and misplaced since sharks are not out to attack us – if this was the case they would be doing so daily), and of those 11 were fatal i.e. 1 death by sharks per year over 11 years in South Africa. Ever wondered what the murder stats are in South Africa in comparison – try 15,940 murders in 2010/11.

So why the huge fuss when sharks kill on average only 1 person a year in South Africa and little fuss over daily murders? Perhaps it’s because we have become desensitized to murder stories because there’s just so many in comparison. Unless of course it’s the murder of the wealthy and famous and the details are intriguing to the average Joe Smoe who also happens to be an avid reader of ‘Heat’ or ‘You’ magazines and the like, or if the murder is comparative to the Chainsaw Massacre, which makes for a perverse, enthralling story. It’s about what sells papers, gets prime time coverage and the gorier the better. I mean, who wants to read about yet another murder in South Africa – pretty boring right? But a death by a shark or an ‘attack’ by a shark, with headlines like “Fish Food, Eaten Alive” with an image of a white shark bearing its razor sharp teeth, well now that gets the masses lining up at the café newspaper stand. People and the media are predictable.

According to the International Shark Attack File, it is true that globally the number of shark bites has increased. But before jumping to conclusion about increasing shark populations, sadly shark populations worldwide are in fact declining at an alarming rate, and many species will become extinct in our lifetime. It’s therefore a matter of simple arithmetic: an ever growing human population i.e. 6.8 billion and counting = more water users + spending increased amounts of time in the ocean = increased risk of encountering a shark.

And though white sharks are efficient predators that are potentially dangerous to people, considering the daily number of water users, the actual number of shark bites remains extremely low. As our Rethink the shark PSAs illustrate, you are more likely to be killed by your toaster, flying kite, or falling off your chair than by a shark! (Watch our award winning Rethink the shark here or see video below this post). Why sharks bite people is mostly unknown but possibly because of mistaken identity, curiosity, investigation and in few cases, aggression. But following these guidelines can further reduce the very, very, small risk of being bitten:      

Pay attention to shark signage and flags on beaches and obey them.

Obey beach officials if told to leave the water.

If a shark has recently been sighted in an area where no shark spotters are present, use another beach.

First time visitors to beaches should ask local law enforcement official, life guards or locals about the area.

For those kayaking or surfskiing far out to the sea, consider paddling in groups and staying close together.

Consider using a personal shark shield when surfing or kayaking.

Don’t swim, surf or surfski when birds, dolphins or seals are feeding nearby.

Don’t swim in deep water beyond the breakers.

Don’t swim, surf or surfski on your own or at night.

Don’t swim if you are bleeding.

Don’t swim near river mouths.

Don’t swim, surf or surfski near trek-netting, fishing or spear fishing activities.

Don’t dive using a baiting bag.

Where there are Shark Spotting Programmes, and for those who have never quite got the flags meaning, myself included, here they are:

A Green Flag means visibility for the spotters is good and no sharks are visible to the spotter.

A Black Flag means visibility for the spotters is poor but no sharks have been seen.

A Red Flag means that a shark has been seen recently but is no longer visible to the spotters.

A White Flag with a Black Shark, along with a loud siren, means a shark has been sighted and you should leave the water calmly but immediately.

No Flag visible means that spotters are not on duty.

Just remember that though the Shark Spotting Programme is effective, it can never be 100 % guaranteed because of human error and bad viz days, for example. But clearly in the recent case, had Michael chosen to adhere to the safety measures in place, he would have avoided being bitten - informed decisions and responsible behaviour while using the sea greatly lowers any risk of ever encountering a shark.

Will I go swimming in Fish Hoek beach again which I love? Of course I will, but I will be sure to check the flag and obey the safety measures, I won’t swim behind the backline where each previous incident took place, and I will be mindful that the sharks are thankfully still out there, somewhere, but that there’s more chance of me being killed driving home after my swim than of me ever being bitten by one. Or perhaps I shouldn’t ever swim in this ocean again, but then I best never drive my car again…

Watch my space!

Talking RETHINK THE SHARK at TEDx

I'm in one of those phases that is all too familiar: too much to do, too little time! We have been setting up our new public office and getting the wheels turning for our exciting AfriOceans Warriors Environmental Education Programme, funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund of South Africa. We are hectic with Marine Week which is soon upon us, International Coastal Cleanup, which is next week, the Simonstown Festival around the corner, exhibits and talks pending, lobbying quietly behind the scenes still ongoing, new campaigns, documentaries, books and research projects developing, and much, much more. (Visit the AfriOceans website to find out more about all we do)

With so much on the go I only just heard a message from the Expresso Show, a live TV news show, asking me to talk about the last shark 'attack', and unfortunately they had to find a replacement since I had not responded. So it goes... but while I struggle to keep up with the workload, fortunately my voice is still being heard, this time through TEDx and a talk I gave called RETHINK THE SHARK, at the TEDxStellenbosch conference, which was recently uploaded onto YouTube, and which I share with you here. WATCH VIDEO

I look forward to sharing more of what we are doing, in the meanwhile, watch my space!

Rethink the Predator - Bahamas

It's been a very eventful and busy few weeks: since our Lottery grant was finalised we have been up to our eyeballs in setting up offices and getting our exciting AfriOceans Warriors programme off the ground, I have given a talk at the Whale of an Equation Conference held at Muizenberg to 500 strong, plus I have had the privileged to be taught to freedive by one of South Africa's leading freedivers, Trevor Hutton, which I will share more about in another post. And today AfriOceans launches our new series of RETHINK THE PREDATOR awareness campaign productions, RETHINK THE PREDATOR - BAHAMAS, a slide show production of my photographic expedition to the Bahamas a few months ago.  

I am honoured to have my images make up this slide show and look forward to working on the many others planned in the future as part of this new AfriOceans series - see the production link below. In addition, another of my articles has been published in the beautiful DIVESITE magazine this month, with one of my shots glossing its cover. The article begins like this:

I’m in paradise: not a single sight of land only a magnificent turquoise ocean yawns endlessly before me, merging with the equally expansive blue sky, as though they are one. Looking down from the Dolphin Dream vessel, about 30 Lemon Sharks and two large Tiger Sharks, whose stripes I can count through the gin-clear water are swimming around the bait box placed on the sand about six metres below on the famous dive site, Tiger Beach. I breathe the moment in, and let out a loaded sigh of relief; I’m in the Bahamas with the sharks, finally!

Download a PDF copy of the article here

Subscribe to the DIVESITE magazine here

 Watch the slide show RETHINK THE PREDATOR - BAHAMAS

Watch my space!