BARRACUDA
is a 12.5m Lee Cat and was purpose
built for
great white shark cage diving. Her twin hull makes
her extremely
stable - something to consider if you are prone
to sea sickness!
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We
take a maximum of 21
clients although we are surveyed to carry
30 people.
The back deck is spaceous and the upstairs
viewing deck offers an awesome vantage point
to watch the action!
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On
board we have all your diving equipment,
towels and picnic lunch. Barracuda also
carries all the required saftey equipment
including two 15 man liferafts
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Shark
Diving Unlimited is a family run
business whoes combined experience ammounts
to over 30 years working with great white
sharks!
Our expertise has
guided many international television crews
who bring stunning footage of great white
sharks into your living room! |
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Shark
Diving Unlimited was the company
of choice for HRH Prince Harry, The King
of Jordan, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad
Pitt !
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Shark Diving Unlimited
is owned by Michael Rutzen who has been
working with great white sharks since 1994.
Four years later Mike began freediving with
great white sharks and is now known world
wide as one of the few people who is able
to interact with these magnificant predators
outside the safety of the cage!
Breath
taking images of Mike have been featured
in numerous magazines and documentaries
including BEYOND FEAR (National Geographic)
and SHARKMAN (Discovery) |
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Mike’s
aim is to protray positive images of great
white sharks in order to dispel the ‘JAWS’
myth.
READ
MORE ABOUT MIKE HERE!
Mike
is a PADI Instructor and the only person
in the world qualified to teach the prestigious
Great White Shark Distinctive Specialty
PADI course. He is a
qualified skipper, First Aid instructor,
qualified rebreather, nitrox and commercial
diver. |
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Your
skipper Frank Rutzen has spent his life on
the ocean from Kwa-Zulu Natal to the Western
Cape. He has worked in the great white shark
cage diving industry since 1995 and has a
passion for wildlife and an extensive knowledge
of the Dyer Island marine ecosystem. |
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Morne, Michael and
Frank’s nephew, is your dive master
on board. His love of great white sharks will
make your day not only enjoyable but also
educational. Morne is an avid freediver and
has been filming great white sharks since
2002, guiding many reknown photographers. |
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Nsunda is a qualified South African tour guide
and qualified scuba diver. He will help you with all your
diving equipment needs and make sure that your day runs
smoothly!
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Suzy,
a marine biologist, has worked with sharks
in Australia, Honduras, India, Tanzania, Djibouti
and South Africa. She has over 7 years underwater
camera
experience and will be on board to answer
questions and make a DVD of your day! |
The Top Predator
Team, at South Africa’s Marine
and Coastal
Management Department, utilise
the skills of Shark Diving Unlimited.
We assist on various great white shark scientific
research projects
including DNA sampling, tagging and acoustic monitoring.
Mike’s
knowledge and diving expertise allows him and
his divers to work safely in prime great white
shark territory! Base station receivers
are placed on the sea bed at strategic locations
around Dyer Island, False Bay and Mossel Bay.
Individual sharks are tagged with acoustic ‘pinger’
tags which emmit a certain sound frequency. When
a shark passes close by a base station the sound
is recorded and the data reveals information about
the sharks local migration patterns.
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In
2003 Shark Diving Unlimited played an ingtegral
role in a joint MCM and WCS, (Wildlife Conservation
Society) great white shark satellite tagging
project. One female shark named Nicole suprised
everyone by making an epic migration from
Gansbaai, to Western Australia and back
again!
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For
professional film crews ONLY
Shark Diving Unlimited is able to apply for
a filming permit which allows us to film and
photograph great white sharks from outside
the cage. |
To
date our footage has been broadcast on Animal
Planet, National Geographic, Discovery Channel,
Channel Five and in 2008/9 will be aired on the
BBC Natural World strand. We have HDV capability
underwater, (2 x Sony Z1 cameras with 1 x Amphibico
Phenom and 1 x GATES underwater housings), digital
stills and an extensive stock footage library.
Over
the years sharks, especially the great white shark,
have been misrepresented by the
media. We maintain a high standard and will only
work with productions which carry a
strong conservation message.
WATCH
OUT FOR:
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BEYOND
FEAR
In 2000 German film maker Ralf Kiefner made
a ground breaking film about, Shark Diving
Unlimited’s, Michael Rutzen free diving
with great white sharks. The documentary
was called BEYOND FEAR and was broadcast
on NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
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For
the first time auidences saw, not only people
swimming freely with great white sharks, but also
communicating with them! Micheal believes that
he can decipher the body langauge of great white
sharks and proves so by altering his own body
langauge to keep control of the interactions.
His golden rule is to stand your ground as everything
which swims away from a great white shark is potential
prey! By making his body smaller he can attract
a curious shark; by making himself bigger in the
water he can deter a confident shark. ‘All you
have to do is defend your own personal space and
stay calm’, say’s Michael. The stunning images
of Michael freediving with great white sharks
have graced the front covers of many international
dive magazines. Michael believes that these images
speak a thousand words and helps to promote the
gentler side of sharks. Which he believes is a
crucial step in the right direction to changing
the public’s negative image of these magnificant
predators.
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SHARKMAN
Since the release of BEYOND FEAR Michael
has become known, world wide, for his unique
understanding of great white shark behaviour.
In 2005 the independent televsion production
company Off
The Fence invited Michael to make the
film of his life’s dream.
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SHARKMAN
was broadcast on ANIMAL
PLANET in the UK in March 2007. DISCOVERY
CHANNEL liked the documentary so much they commissioned
another version to showcase on the 2007 SHARK
WEEK schedule. Look out for SHARKMAN Aug 4th (USA),
and later in the year for the UK.
Michael has always been fascinated by the phenomenon
found in sharks called tonic immobility. SHARKMAN
follows Mike’s quest to unravel the secrets of
tonic immobility and his attempt for the ultimate
goal - to put a great white shark into tonic immobility!
The epic 94 minute production features Mike working
with the Raggy-toothed sharks at the Blue
Planet Aquarium, (Ellesmere Port, UK); with
lemon sharks at Doc Grubers Shark Lab in Bimini;
handling Caribbean sharks with shark lady
Christina Zenato of the Grand Bahamas; and
free diving with tiger sharks with
Walter Barnardis off the east African coast.
All this before returning South Africa to dive
with the great white sharks! Watch out for Mike’s
hair-raising dive with not 1 but 8 great white
sharks! A breath taking free dive with a 5m great
white shark! And ultimately his attempt to induce
tonic immobility on a great white shark!
CLICK HERE to read what people who have seen SHARKMAN
have to say
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