Tours offer thrilling dance with ocean predators

The theme music from “Jaws” played in my head over and over again as I prepared for my shark encounter off Oahu’s North Shore. I’d watched the online videos of the open-ocean, cage-free swims, with sharks circling below the boat, and questioned my sanity. Heading out from Haleiwa Boat Harbor aboard One Ocean Diving’s Pono Kai on a calm, sunny morning July 17, I suffered a near panic attack as I envisioned being maimed or eaten by the oversized killing machines.

Ocean Ramsey, a shark conservationist and our tour guide for the day, went over all of the aggressive shark behaviors to watch for and how to respond, which didn’t help my state. The vessel stopped 3 miles offshore, and Ramsey happily announced, “The sharks are here, let’s get in the water!”

I donned my fins, mask and snorkel and made my way down the boat’s ladder feet first before dropping into the sea, ready to face my fears and dive with the sharks.

Ramsey told us that since only a lone 8-foot Galapagos shark was circling, that meant a tiger shark most likely was lurking in the area (apparently there are normally a dozen or more Galapagos sharks present). She explained that tiger sharks are cautious predators, choosing to spend time on the periphery.

With that news, I climbed back onto the ladder to process the information.

It took a few minutes to gather myself, but I was soon back in the water and quickly mesmerized by these majestic creatures — even hoping that elusive tiger shark would make a visit. It was surreal to watch the sharks gracefully moving in their natural habitat, slow-dancing against a dazzling blue backdrop. And I was able to join in the dance.

Making eye contact, which I had feared most, turned out to be thrilling. As the shark and I locked eyes, in that moment it felt as if we had an understanding of each other. I could tell it was really checking me out, but I did not feel threatened. In fact, I wanted to get a closer look.

A couple more Galapagos sharks, about 6 to 8 feet long, later joined us as a barracuda the boat crew had named Kevin lingered nearby.

At one point I was following a shark to get a photograph when I heard Ramsey calling me back into the 15-foot safety zone set up so we would all stay together and she could keep us in her sight.

When it was time to go, I was a bit disheartened; I wasn’t quite ready to leave this awe-inspiring environment.

Just the day before, also out of Haleiwa, I experienced a cage dive with Hawaii Shark Encounters — the first time I had ever been that close to a shark. It kind of felt like we were in an aquarium and on display for these powerful animals. With the barrier in place, they come a lot closer during cage dives than they do when you’re free-ranging. But it was perfect preparation for the next step.

The water was rough, and the cage was thrashing around in the swells, which left me pale and seasick for the rest of the trip, even though I’d taken motion-sickness medicine the night before as recommended. For the next day’s cage-free dive, I took the medication in the morning right before our tour and fared much better.

I don’t go snorkeling much, so the hardest part for me was getting used to using a snorkel. I’d suggest getting comfortable with one before venturing out on these types of tours.

During the excursions, I learned a lot about shark conservation and got a reminder of how important sharks are to our ecosystem and well-being.

Most of my friends think I’m crazy to have jumped in with the sharks, but I’m grateful for the experience. You can’t do something like that and not be changed. I would do it again. I’m glad that I didn’t let fear hold me back. It was bucket-list worthy — an adventure of a lifetime.