Wednesday, April 07, 2010

I still like them - very much!


Epic: award-winning GW portrait by Terry Goss.

Well, here's the clip!

I still like those guys and I just love the general pro-Shark and anti-stereotype message!
Kudos to both: to Mike, for his insightful comments (I totally agree!!!) and to Cooper, for having had the guts to do it and above all, for providing a fabulous global platform for pro-Shark messaging - again! And: great marketing for South Africa's Shark diving industry!
Very very well done!!!

The difference to this?
Listen to the commentary: Mike does not conduct cageless dives commercially.
This is a targeted film shoot - along with research, one for the accepted reasons for deviating from standard commercial Shark diving protocols.

Did it maybe include some (and I would add: extremely mild!) macho posturing like some of the comments here suggest? Sure did - but let's be honest, much of the attraction, and fun of Shark diving consists in the adrenaline rush of being in the presence of apex predators. Doing what those two guys, and the cameraman did takes some mighty cojones and being amped up before the plunge is the most natural of reactions.
I say, not to worry, no harm done whatsoever!

And as to who conducted the first cageless dive with GWs, it was either Ron or Giddings, and the first ride, Jeremiah, not Hartman - which in no way detracts from the fact that Andre is one of the true Shark diving icons! Now it's Mike's turn to shine and I say, good on him!

But I'm digressing as usual - Enjoy!



3 comments:

Tim of the Deep said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Austin said...

After JAWS, I don't think I'll ever have the courage to go near a shark ever... :(

DaShark said...

That was 35 years ago!

Dontya think that using that as an excuse may be somewhat, uh, dated and hopelessly old fashioned?