Experience – Don’t be fooled. When it comes to locating and diving with sharks, experience is everything. Just having a boat, cages
and a website doesn’t always indicate experience. Some operators may even attempt to give an impression of vast amounts of experience by combining
stats for multiple boats. Fact: SDI is the single most experienced white shark dive operator in all of North America with more days in the water with
white sharks than all the other operators combined. We have been running our white shark expeditions since 1998 and were the first to begin making
successful expeditions to Guadalupe Island beginning in September 2001.
Success Rate – Once again, don’t be misled. As previously mentioned, having a boat, cages and a website doesn’t necessarily ensure a high success
rate when it comes to white shark encounters. Fact: More divers have had successful white shark encounters with SDI than any other shark dive operator
in North America. In fact, we have a 100% success rate for Guadalupe Island and nearly an 80% success rate at the Farallon Islands. We take pride in
the fact that no other company can boast a better record of successful white shark encounters than SDI.
No Middlemen – In some cases, a white shark “dive operator” may only be a booking agent for a variety of boats. Their sole
connection is only that of a salesperson working on commission. Fact: At SDI, you are dealing directly with the company that oversees every aspect
of its shark dive operations. When you call our office, you speak with one of our expedition leaders or crew members. Dealing directly helps to
ensure unfortunate “surprises” are kept to a minimum when it comes to planning your adventure. You can rest assured that our highly experienced
expedition leaders are on each and every one of our white shark trips.
Maximum Flexibility – Our season runs longer and we offer more trips per season than any other operator without sacrificing our
industry leading success rate. This allows maximum flexibility when it comes to planning your vacation. We also offer a variety of white shark dive
trips ranging from our 1 day trips to the Farallon Islands off of San Francisco to our 5, 6 or 8 day liveaboard trips for the serious shark enthusiast
to Guadalupe Island. For our extended liveaboard trips, we even give you the option of booking a spot on our standard liveaboard or for those seeking
some finer creature comforts, our luxury dive boat is a great choice.
Top Equipment – When it comes to diving with white sharks, cage design is obviously not an area where you want to cut corners, so
to speak. Ours spacious cages are state of the art, designed by us and manufactured to our exact specifications, sparing no expense. We oversee every
aspect of their construction from start to finish. A cage will not go into the water until it passes with our seal of approval. With our wealth of
experience behind us, we know what designs work and more importantly, what doesn’t work. We understand the needs of our divers so each cage is designed
for maximum ease of entry and exit. For our photographers and videographers, extensive effort has produced an optimum design for acquiring those Pulitzer
Prize winning images while maintaining safety, structural integrity, and protective capabilities. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we are
flattered more and more with each passing season as we notice cages remarkably similar to our unique designs on other boats.
It’s not just our cages that must pass our stringent standards. All of our equipment, from our regulators which are disassembled, cleaned and tuned
every season to our high pressure hoses, cables, and fasteners, etc. are thoroughly inspected throughout the year
Deep Submersible Cage – To date, no other operator in North America offers its everyday customers the exciting option of diving in
a deep submersible cage when diving at Guadalupe Island. In addition to our large topside cages, every one of our certified divers can experience the
thrill of being lowered into the clear blue realm of the white shark. Our special two person (1 divemaster, 1 customer) submersible cage was originally
designed for our IMAX shark film expeditions. Suspended approx 25 feet below the boat while multiple sharks circled from every direction was a thrill
not soon forgotten. We had so much fun that we knew we had to offer this experience to our regular customers. It’s been a tremendous hit ever since.
Most divers exclaim it’s one of the most exciting shark encounters they’ve ever experienced.
More Cage Time – Unlike some of our competitors, the unique design of our cages and associated ladder systems allows us to keep
our cages in the water day and night, weather permitting. How does this impact our divers? What this means is that our divers are not restricted
(within reason – no midnight or 3am dives for you insomniacs out there) as to when they want to get into the water. It’s not uncommon for our
heartiest, hardcore divers to spend upwards of 8 hours a day in the cages. If we’re lucky enough to have inquisitive sharks continue to circle
into the night, we say “have at it folks”. We can’t pass up unique opportunities like that.
Fact: SDI is the only operator at Guadalupe that offers
the option of “Night Dives” with white sharks. Night diving with white sharks is both eerie and exciting at a primordial level. Unlike the daytime
dives, you won’t see the shark approach the cage until the last moment. Although perfectly safe, being in a cage in the dark as sharks circle close
by certainly might not be for everyone, but for those intrepid souls it is, make sure those pacemakers are properly charged if you know what I mean!
One additional note, we purposely limit the amount of divers we take on our expeditions. Although our boats are capable of taking 22+ divers,
we book no more than 16 per trip, ensuring comfort and personal service with the added benefit of increased cage time. We simply don’t believe in
loading our boats with extra divers for the sake of profit.
Conservation – SDI strongly supports environmental responsibility on all our shark diving eco-tours. As ambassadors between the
general public and the world of sharks, we strive to dispel the myths and misinformation that’s often associated with these amazing animals.
In return, we endeavor to provide our customers with a fun, exciting, educational and safe (for both human and shark) experience.
We believe that responsible eco-tourism will help provide a positive step towards protecting these fascinating and often maligned creatures.
SDI is often called upon a source of assistance for a variety of shark related scientific studies
Why Choose Shark Diving International?
