Oahu: Sharks

Tigana has long been fascinated by sharks, buying and reading every book available on the topic. Her interest in shark conservation was greatly heightened by seeing Shark Water, a documentary she highly recommends to anyone who will listen. So when Mary realized that there was an opportunity to see sharks in Hawaii, she arranged for Tigana to go on a shark encounter. Tigana and mom took a boat out to a spot in international waters at 6AM (when waters are supposedly calmest and sightings the best, but a voyage Mary describes as rollercoaster-like) where the boat lowered a shark cage and everyone doned snorkels and climbed in. Then the guys on the boat throw out fish for bait, and approximately 60 sandbar and galapagos sharks showed up, swimming right up to and banging into the shark cage.

Mary and Tigana going into shark cage somewhere off the northern coast of Oahu.

Tigana in shark cage as shark swims by.

A few of the 60 or so sharks that swarmed round the cage.