The official Wetpixel Ocean Safari boat will start next week. I'll be jumping on another crew's boat for a bit before and after the WP boat comes and goes.
Stay tuned for 'almost' daily reports IF I can get Eric or Matt to update regularly.
The sardines are stretching from East London to Hole in the wall! This is going to be a good one I hope.

Sounds like it is going to be a good one. Just take the computer rights away from Eric and Matt if they move too slow and post.

Looking forward to reading these postings! The adventure in just getting there may as challenging as the diving with all the new airline hassles.

Good luck, Drew. Are you dressed as spiderman this time?

I am looking forward to these posts, as I plan to be doing the sardine run next year this time.

Unofficial reports of big baitballs are overexaggerated:
As usual, more disinformation for the tourists and suckers like us. Activity is picking up but still no huge activity. Just couple hundred dolphins and birds mulling around. Main show hasn't started yet.
Humpbacks are starting to show in good numbers and as usual, the jumping sharks that I can't ever get a clear shot of and doing their thing. Viz looks a dreamy 40ft but I'm sure that'll change. Eric ,water is a not so dreamy 18°C/64°F so spidey may yet show up if I get into the water too many times a day. Even with my mighty RAADIATORRR, it's DARN cold!
On news that doesn't have NDAs, the BBC with Hugh Person and Didier Noirot are also mulling around. I am still waiting for my superpod of thousands of dolphins to show in 100ft viz.

No matter what happens; the worst day on the water is still better than my best day in the office. Looking forward to some pics and video.

Let's see, Jeff... we pay $XXX a day for crap and you get paid $XXXXX a day for crap... I'm torn

Good news for the sardine netters today... they started netting sardines near Margate. Looks like pilot shoals (schools for the americanos) have shown up.
Lots of activity up and down the coast but too fast moving to get anything. I'm moving north to catch this activity today... here we go again!

Sardine netters are having a great day in Aberdeen KZN.
The people on the dive boats are reporting great activity and I'm stuck travelling to arrange for the WP party. Sorry guys I may just abandon you all!
Auntie Beebs crew is very happy now.
We've been discussing which shots are most desirable this year. Bryde's Whale through baitball is cool but so 2003 but Doug's shot was slightly behind.
So shot list for this year:
1. So a more frontal head shot of Bryde's Whale in baitball.
2. 8 fps gannet sequence from above water to snatching sardine in front of the camera.
3. Sharks are so passé so to make it interesting... breaching C. Limbatus or Brachyrus.
4. Triple breaching humpbacks.
5. Ok sharks in baitballs are still ok... DP had 3 sharks...let's do 10 coming through a baitball.

6. Blue whale with open mouth - at least

7. Humpback whale jumps over the boat - 3 times
8. hundreds of Orcas - spy spyhopping and jumps - at least

Sigh Jens... now I know you've found a gf.

Anyhow, the BBC crew has wrapped because the last few days were so good.

I'll think you will find its because "They have such a small budget they couldn't possibly do anymore"

Dive safe

Dean(wheres my expenses sheet)B

Had dinner with the Beeb crew last night. They didn't get their shots and and going back into bizniz. WP crew arrives tomorrow and we're in the water monday.
Sardine activity is good but viz has gone away. Looks like the pilot activity is past and now we wait for the main show.

Eric, remember the time we were following the ship with the dolphins on the opposite side of the IMAX boat.... that scene (minus us) is in WIld Oceans.

I remember that too !




i'd love to go there again and do this .. it's on my list fo sho .... You in the same place as always with Peaky ?

Everybody came in ok. One of the guys had a delayed bag and South African Airways tried to deliver to where we are... BUT.. because Andrej was eagerly calling the driver to check on the progress, the guy ran into a donkey and killed the car and animal about 1.5 hrs from where we are. We ended up paying for someone to go pick up his bag.
On the activity end, the sardines are 15km long in activity and thousands of sharks, dolphins and birds litter the area. Viz is still shakey but tomorrow is the WP group's first day. Tough to get into action first day but I guess baptism by fire is nice too.

Wish the best to the guys. Say hello to Pkee for me and Drew [the other] if he is around. How's TLC?
Stay away from Monkey's...
Have a good one.

Boys got a good taste of 5000 dolphins which ran through us today. Alex and Andrej even got visits from humpbacks whilst shooting the dolphins but the viz was so bad they didn't see the whales while we were laughing on the boat. Viz is slowly improving so it's not bad for the 1st day.

Good god im jealous - it sounds absolutely awesome. Definately a holiday to go in the diary!!!!!

Lou

2nd and 3rd day update:
Seems after a great 1st day and bringing hopes up, mother nature decides to temper our expectations as gale force winds blow out 2 days in a row. It's not called the wild coast for nothing. On the good side, we did manage to go around the area for sightseeing and cultural experiences. The auntie beeb crew are here as well and enjoying the off time.
Hopefully the weather breaks tomorrow so we can get out there, but it looks bleak. Never have I had 2 days of not launching but it threatens to make it 3!

You know what they say in South Africa; 'We stand for culture..... Agriculture'.
Ironic that the best time for diving down there is the most unpredictable time for weather.
Hope you guys are at least filling up on biltong, boerewors and sosaties. I'm getting a stash tomorrow.

Im busy snacking down on a nice piece of Kudu biltong right now,looking out of the window in Cape Town.The weather is horrible,5 meter rough swells is keeping the NSRI very busy indeed.

Of course you know why they call them kudu?

Why?

Because their nuts are so large, when they walk they go ku-du, ku-du!
Old Jo'burg high school joke

Yip,ive heard that one before.LOL

Well looks like the weather isn't going to give us a break. The good news is the guys are keeping good spirits and entertained by the wonderful scenery of the area. The rains have made it difficult to even contemplate launching.
The terrible thing is while we're complaining about the rain and its effect on us, people in KZN have been killed by landslides and flashfloods and many hundreds displaced by the rising water. Really does put a damper on things.

Went out to Magwa and Fraser falls today. The rivers were so full that the falls were really showing off their potential, so much so we couldn't cross them as we normally do.
Planes are flying again and reports of very little activity in terms of birds and dolphins. But this place has a way of turning things around overnight.

Drew, real bummer about the weather. I have my fingers crossed for your crew. I await the report later in the trip of the monster bait ball, loaded with sharks, whales crashing through and 10,000 gannets crashing in!

Click to view attachment

Hi guys
A guy i know called David has just returned from a trip to the Sardine Run in KZN.He is the owner and skipper of one of the world's fastest trimarans which he sometimes uses for diving,sailing and spear fishing trips.Anyways he has just sent this pictures today.Its taken before the cold front moved in up the coast.





Click to view attachment


The pictures of him surfing with dolphins while being towed behind the trimaran are real and not photoshop'd.


Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment


Enjoy,good luck with the Sardine Run.

Well it's been a very decent 2 days topside.
Yesterday we had thousands of dolphins spread out everywhere and could spit anywhere without hitting a common dolphin. Then the birds were diving madly but not real sardine activity we could see as the rains killed viz. We did have 4 humpbacks having a tussle later in the day but the skies were cloudy and light was pretty bad. We still managed some decent shots of breaches and cardunkle throws before calling it a day.
Today we came out to dirty water and a dead sea... but no sooner as we were fretting did reports of activity spring us into action heading south. We followed the bird activity and bumped into a Bryde's whales and even a few bronze whaler breaches. Then a small pod of pantropical spotted dolphins showed up followed by a few common dolphins. As sudden as the life came, the birds sat and sea was empty again. As we chomped on our meatball pasta salad, I noticed a few splashes in the distance. I knew this to be dolphins but we had a very pleasant surprise as a continuous long line of common dolphins approached, with numbers of over a thousand at least. They were in travel formation for awhile then suddenly split into a wide line for hunting. These superpods are common during this time of year and is probably the most spectacular sight of the indian ocean. It is my favorite thing to see here.
We followed this superpod and then they ran into a pair of humpbacks which weren't happy of the dolphins' presence and began tail smacking, breaching and throws at the pesky dolphins. We were waiting for the humpback to contact with one of the dolphins for that flying dolphin shot but it wasn't meant to be.

A very positive day as the weather was wonderful and the visibility returned. Had 3 species of sharks (brachyrus, limbatus and sphyrna), 2 species of whales (Bryde's and humpback), 3 species of dolphin (pan tropicals, bottlenose and commons) and lots of gannets and pectrals all over the place.
Got into the water with a mini-baitball of anchovies that disappeared as fast as I arrived. Seemed to be a training hunt for mother and calf dolphins as I only saw parent child pairs hit them. The best news for all is the viz has cleared to a workable 15ft/5m+, even to 25ft/8m in some areas. Now we just need the baitfish to hit hard.

Rooting for you guys down there. Hope the vis continues to improve. All the ingredients are there (except sardines) but that can change in a flash. Look forward to the next report.

Just got an annoying text last nite from a buddy who's out there now. Thousands of dolphins, bride's whales, and breaching humpbacks... grrr... Nice of him to rub it in...

The sardines are already here. There was a 15 km shoal just before the crew arrived and was happening until the cold front created havoc. Seems like we were brought back to square one and restarted the whole process again. Which isn't a bad thing for the new guys.

Very nice day for cetacean watching for the crew as we spotted a pod of Pygmy Bryde's whale (B. Edeni) consisting of younger pups and a mother and a small minke (B. Bonarensis) .
The weather was gorgeous and the sea was so flat but activity was a bit lacking so I suggested a shark dive with a plastic bottle as an attractant. It wasn't very successful but then we delayed the doldrums in time to jump in on small baitballs of anchovies with diving gannets and dolphin action ( with the sharks always lurking in the murky shadows. The visibility has stayed clear but the water temp has risen so there is fear the sardines are staying deep. Hopefully the conditions will allow a pocket to surface for the sea life to get into gear.

Go Drew...
It's like having your very own on the sport news reporter

Kelly spotted a Great White out Whale Sharking here yesterday.

Had a short but fruitful day today. The winds were making the sea choppy but we still jumped on a few hundred common dolphins. Then out of the blue 3 humpbacks swam right by us and with 2m of one of the guys... scaring the crap out of him. He was so shook up, he's been sucking on wine all day to celebrate the experience.
Sardines are plentiful but none are playing in cleaner water. Seems the dolphins are hunting a different kind of baitfish in the clean water. Hopefully we can hit the stuff tomorrow again.

Sounds awesome....

Good luck and hope you get a super sized bait ball with all the trimmings!!!!

Good day today. The guys went on a shark dive and missed a big baitball action with Bryde's whales because they didn't heed the recall signal. But then after that, I spied some birds flying away in their response pattern and gunned after them. Paydirt! We ran into hundreds of gannets and common dolphins in frenzy mode and jumped in on the most stable action. On inspection , the little baitballl was redeye but it was so fast and furious it didn't matter what kind of fish it was. Sharks were hitting them from the bottom and then a Bryde's whale cruised by.
I popped up for a breather and then the skipper dropped me back onto the action... literally! I landed on a 2.5m bronze whaler which swam right between my legs (shrinkage and crapping are words that described my immediate reaction) and then I saw gannets and sharks chasing a football size baitball of mackerel from all sides. I'd never seen such incredible pandemonium before. Unfortunately I could only keep up for a few seconds before the action blew past me.
It was a pretty good day on the wild coast today.

Sure hope to see some footage of all this, so that we know whether to believe you or not.
Great that things are starting to happen fast and furious.

Nice follow up day to yesterday as we hit 3 different baitballs of mackerel and redeye herring. Too many divers for the sharks to stay in but we had plenty of dolphins and gannets and even a few tuna (bonitos). We also saw sailfish from the distance but the Beeb managed to get it in their baitball, which brought them smiles. Cameraman Noirot declared the war was over between our boats (we have a friendly joust every year). That was a bummer as I was about to escalate to hiding their equipment on their boat (they started it by hiding my swim trunks!)
In fact it's very peaceful as the guys are d/ling their 8-16GB cards which were full. I myself only shot 400 shots.
It got so hectic, a few of the guys blew through their air in a hurry (always what happens with newbies in such action).
One of our guys leave us tomorrow as he had to return to work but as much as we'll miss him, we sure like the extra space.

Sounds great. When do we see some pix?

Today was a bit of a bummer. We decided to hit the same area where all the action took place the last 2 days despite the bad conditions and took a pounding getting there and returning. Action was sporadic and quickly over so it was a wash.
Then we saw the pics from another boat which didn't make the big journey out and they had a sailfish in a baitball that lasted 2 hours just outside where we launch everyday. Minimal carbon footprint and great action. What a great deal... and it was the same group of guys who jumped in on our action the day before. I did feel a little angry about the lack of etiquette but the operator did apologise for his client's conduct which were beyond control.
2 more days to go but it seems the weather wants us to sit out another day. I'm glad I'm extending

2nd last day saw a slow day get slower. Started with a few thousand gannets diving but in dirty water. The Beeb got a Bryde's whale baitball but didn't get the classic bryde's munch.
Tomorrow is the last day so the guys are getting restless.
As a teaser, I'll post just one pic from the other day's action (and burn my GPRS bandwidth on silly picture posts):


Canon 1DMk2N Sigma 12-24 at 15, 1/250, f11, exp -2/3.

Beautiful! That looks really exciting. Looks like the 15mm FE is working out well for you.

Wow. Looks fantastic.

Alex

lovely shot, very atmospheric....

Steve

Cool Drew...

Yep I'm jealous