Surface tension
The great white shark is an evolutionary masterclass. Honed for 420 million years,
it has achieved perfection – a temple of form, function, fear and respect. In the dark waters of the Pacific we look into the eyes of the world’s oldest predator
WORDS: JOHN C SILCOX
PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEXANDER RHIND
The warm waters of the Pacific Ocean unveil a spectacle of light and colour when observed from under the surface. Through the lens of my diving mask I see spears of brilliant sunshine piercing down into this aquamarine world, transforming the bubbles from my respirator into little gems that sparkle as they rise. A school of silver, turquoise and yellow tuna swirls around me, moving like a single body with only one mind. Each fish glitters independently, mimicking a sequin on a cocktail dress: it’s impossible to resist the charm of such a mesmerising dance.
Yet in a flash they’re all gone and before I have time to wonder why, my spine turns to ice as I realise that I’m being watched. Turning around, my eyes lock onto the lifeless gaze of two black dots staring at me from a short distance away. When they come into focus, so does the giant head they belong to, and it dawns on me that I’m not dealing with a casual observer. This intruder is the stuff of legends, the villain of Hollywood lore and a beast renowned for being the ultimate predator of the seas. My heart is in my mouth as my brain frantically sends emergency signals to the rest of my body: beware, there’s a great white shark straight ahead and it’s coming right at you.
Despite the menacing situation, I shouldn’t really be panicking. I’m protected by a purpose-built cage made up of reassuring solid steel, and it would be a redoubtable barrier for a bulldozer, let alone a wild animal. Additionally, this encounter is the conclusion of weeks of preparation and the sole reason I have travelled more than 6000 miles to a bay near the volcanic island of Guadalupe, situated off the west coast of Mexico. These waters are the best destination in the world for great white shark spotting, and for the duration of the five-day trip I am the guest of Nautilus, a company that specialises in luxury shark diving trips.
‘Cage diving is the best way to admire these majestic creatures,’ says Captain Gordon Kipp, skipper of Nautilus Belle Amie – the ocean-going dive boat we are staying on. ‘It provides divers with fantastic access to sharks in complete safety. Guadalupe Island is a prime feeding area for great whites that prey on the colonies of seals and sea lions living on the rocks. Thanks to the crystal-clear water, visitors have the opportunity to admire them in their natural habitat in high definition. Then, once they come back out of the water, they can enjoy all the perks of a luxury holiday, thanks to the excellent facilities on board our boat.’
Guadalupe is a protected nature reserve and members of the public are forbidden from setting foot onshore. It takes nearly 22 hours to reach from the port of Ensenada on the mainland, so visitors to the area must sleep on the boat they arrive on. In the diving community it’s referred to as a liveaboard, but that doesn’t quite evoke the fact the Belle Amie is more akin to a boutique hotel on water. The ship can accommodate up to 32 guests in its eight staterooms, six suites and two premium suites. It is comfortably spacious with a large communal dining room and lounge, plus a sun deck up top with loungers and a jacuzzi. There are also two well-stocked bars (one inside and one out) where guests can enjoy a drink, and you’ll never go hungry, as there is a constant supply of delicious American-Mexican cuisine coming from the galley.
To cater for underwater activities there’s a big dive deck that extends off the back of the ship, from where the dive masters launch five individual dive cages – each one capable of holding up to four people. Two lateral cages situated on starboard and port respectively are lowered into the water via a small crane to depths of more than five metres. In between there are three ‘surface’ cages where divers can climb in and out whenever they want, and which offer views just below the surface of the water. All the cages are fed by hookah-type respirators pumping air from the surface so there is no need to wear cumbersome air tanks, and because divers aren’t going down to any great depths they can immediately surface without going through decompression. Instead, they are greeted with a cup of hot chocolate and a dry towel when getting out of the water.
However, knowing there is this much comfort waiting for you up above doesn’t change the way you react to your first encounter with a shark. It’s impossible to control your natural instincts when you find yourself staring such an awesome creature in the face.
‘It’s this blend of beauty and danger that makes the great white shark such a design inspiration,’ says McLaren Chief Designer Robert Melville, explaining the link between the British supercar and the giant fish. ‘A modern supercar needs to embody a certain level of aggression so that its appearance can capture the imagination of onlookers. When developing the new 720S we wanted to make sure it made you freeze in your tracks, with the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention, before you then noticed the subtle beauty of the bodywork. It needed to be something that was menacingly beautiful, so that’s why we decided to study the oldest predator in the world.’
Sharks have been roaming the oceans for at least 420 million years, ranking them among earth’s oldest still-surviving life forms. To put that into perspective, that’s nearly 200 million years before the appearance of the first dinosaurs and more than 350 million years before primates came along. Over time, sharks have substantially evolved – at one point we believe there were 50-foot-long giants called Megalodons, commonly referred to as the T-Rex of the sea. But, like the dinosaurs, they became extinct and 11 million years ago the first modern great whites came about. Astonishingly, they have remained more or less the same ever since.
“Guadalupe Island is a prime feeding area for great whites that prey on the colonies of seals and sea lions”
‘They say the secret of a good design lies in its longevity so it’s hard to argue against something that was already firmly established in the Jurassic period,’ states Robert. ‘By capturing the essence of what constitutes the shape of a shark and translating it onto our vehicles, we can be sure that they won’t go out of fashion as they are based on time-old aesthetics. This process is called bio-mimicry and we spent a lot of time studying sharks so we could understand how they worked. What really fascinated me was the whole idea of something gliding through water and what shapes that made necessary. It is amazing to see how these creatures propel themselves at high speeds through the water, while using minimal amounts of energy.’
Indeed, great whites don’t look amazing just for the sake of it – their form is solely derived from purpose. These sharks grow to an average of 15 feet in length and are extremely streamlined swimmers. Thanks to two bands of cylindrical muscle on each side of their body, sharks can move through the water at speeds of up to 30mph. They can even leave the water completely and leap into the air, breaching like whales when attacking their prey from underneath.
Special skin also helps a shark to be more hydrodynamic by reducing water resistance and facilitating a smooth, laminar flow over its entire body. The presence of extremely flexible scales that regulate the water’s circulatory flow allow the shark to swim rapidly and change course without slowing down. These structures are located where they are most likely to affect the flow of water, namely behind the gills, along the side of the body.
‘Such streamlined attributes inspired us in our work,’ adds Robert. ‘For 720S we went back to the drawing board and developed a heavily sculpted body side that optimises the way air moves around it, in a similar way to how water slides around the body of a shark. We have combined this elementary design with other aerodynamic advances made on our Formula 1TM cars.
‘A particular focus was to control the flow of the air around the vehicle and keep the wake off the front wheel – that’s why it’s tucked into the body. Another important area is building power and grace into a shape. By looking at the chunks of muscle in the body of a shark and analysing the way they intersect and blend into each other, we’ve managed to recreate the same aesthetic in the car.’
In addition to purely physical attributes, great whites are also equipped with a battery of high-performance senses to detect their prey. Incredibly, they can pick up sound vibrations from an otter at more than 1.25 miles and catch its scent from 330 feet away. For this they rely on sensory receptors called the lateral line – an organ that’s similar to an ear that can feel pulses or vibrations in the water. Contrary to popular belief, their eyesight is also highly developed and highly sensitive in low light. Unlike human eyes that are only adapted for land and cannot see in the water, sharks can see in all conditions and are actually long-sighted.
‘The more we learn about great white sharks, the more fascinating they become and less like bloodthirsty predators,’ says dive master Ryan Wilson, who works on the Belle Amie and contributes to a number of scientific shark research projects. ‘They are in fact amazing creatures that unfortunately have a terrible reputation. It’s bizarre that most humans have changed their views on tigers, lions, bears and other dangerous mammals but still see sharks as being evil. They’re simply animals acting on instinct and their natural way of survival is to eat other animals. If you look at their actions objectively, a shark eating a seal is no more cruel than your family cat killing a mouse.’
Probably one of the biggest influences on the way that great white sharks are perceived was Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film Jaws. This cult classic introduced the great white as a killing machine, condemning it to repeated sensationalist reporting. Negative views keep popping up in the media that support the notion that no one is safe from these ‘man-eaters’.
But, in reality, great white shark attacks on humans are rare – and it is even rarer for one of these attacks to be fatal. In fact, the opposite is true – great white shark numbers are dwindling because of human activities. Fishing, pollution and targeted attacks are heavily damaging populations of great whites, which are among the 100 million sharks killed each year for their fins. As a result, in 2010 the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) listed the great white shark as one of the 10 most threatened species on the planet.
It’s strange to think of such highly adapted predators as being fragile, but down in the water this knowledge helps to settle my nerves. As panic subsides it is replaced by admiration for the natural grace of these incredible creatures. When the shark comes nearer to the cage, light dapples on its slate-grey upper body, creating an attractive contrast to the pure white of the underbelly, which gives this species its name. Such massive, graceful animals are undeniably beautiful and, even though I am intruding on its natural territory, the shark appears incredibly serene and calm: happy to let me be.
As my tranquil friend glides past the cage, it’s hard not to appreciate its perfect poise and effortless demeanour. It barely flexes its powerful muscles to propel itself forward. I feel tempted to reach out a hand and stroke the smooth skin to feel its cold, sleek surface but, before acting impulsively, I check myself. Best not forget that behind this calm shark’s mouth, closed in grin-like fashion, lie 300 serrated teeth, all arranged in careful rows.
