2007's
Great
White
Shark
Adventure
By Carl Roessler
In
July
of
2007
I
went
to
South
Australia
for
my
annual
expedition;
this
time
I
was
excited
by
the
prospect
of
using
an
underwater
digital
camera
and
housing
for
the
first
time.
Australia’s
mid-Winter
is
the
perfect
time
to
arrive,
for
there
are
always
several
big,
hungry
sharks
in
the
bay
at
the
North
Neptune
Islands
preying
on
baby
sea
lions
born
the
prior
November.
Some
of
our
favorite
sharks
were
back
this
year.
Jonny
and
Kal
were
huge
and
intimidating.
However,
this
year’s
real
stars
were
some
large,
aggressive
female
white
sharks
such
as
Double
Scoop,
Tinker
and
especially
Rusty.
Curly
Boy
also
delivered
some
heady
moments
in
glorious
weather
and
water
conditions.
This
cruise
very
much
reminded
me
of
the
Good
Old
Days,
when
each
expedition
had
several
big
sharks
eager
to
perform.
In
this
case,
the
large
females
had
homicide
on
their
minds
and
didn’t
care
if
anyone
knew
it.
Rusty,
the
most
spectacular
example,
would
hang
back
perhaps
30
feet
beneath
the
surface
and
behind
us
as
if
she
had
no
interest
in
eating
any
thing.
When
a
fresh
bait
hit
the
surface,
however,
Rusty
would
accelerate
like
a
Polaris
missile
and
launch
at
the
bait
with
a
ferocity
I’ve
seldom
seen.
For
any
diver
in
the
water,
such
an
attack
would
have
been
unstoppable,
lethal,
brief
and
final.
This
shark
was
what
I
envisioned
as
a
natural
born
killer,
throwing
all
caution
to
the
winds
with
each
fresh
charge.
With
such
speed
and
power,
Rusty
was
one
of
the
most
successful
sharks
of
the
year
for
getting
the
baits
before
crew
members
could
pull
them
out
of
her
way.
As
a
warm-hearted
sidelight
to
all
the
mayhem,
a
seven-month-old
baby
sea
lion
appeared
beneath
the
stern
platform
where
we
were
feeding
the
sharks
one
day.
Soon
she
had
observed
us
long
enough
to
climb
out
of
the
water
and
sit
on
top
of
our
cage.
Minutes
later,
she
was
looking
over
the
side
to
watch
the
passing
sharks
as
if
she
owned
the
cage,
and
the
divers
and
crew
were
her
employees.
She
seemed
to
internalize
everything
she
saw
and
learn
from
it
like
lightning—a
handy
skill
when
your
life
is
lived
out
in
these
waters.
One
thing
led
to
another,
and
we
began
to
find
her
hanging
upside
down
inside
the
cages
with
us,
watching
us
film
the
sharks
outside
as
if
she
were
just
one
of
the
team.
After
three
and
a
half
hours
she
clearly
became
hungry;
she
would
dart
out
and
try
to
take
a
bite
out
of
the
hanging
baits
between
shark
attacks,
which
can
shorten
one’s
career
considerably.
Finally,
deciding
she
could
wait
no
longer,
she
watched
two
sharks
crass
in
front
of
our
cage,
raced
out
between
their
disappearing
tails
and
raced
for
home.
Crew
members
sitting
atop
our
boat
saw
her
make
it
to
shore
and
climb
out
on
the
rocks.
We
all
cheered
for
her.
What
a
kid!
Imagine
the
tales
she
had
to
tell
the
herd!
After
well
over
thirty
years,
this
expedition
with
Rodney
and
Andrew
Fox
still
produces
thrills
beyond
any
other
I
have
ever
taken.
Oh—and,
as
you
see,
the
digital
camera
and
housing
worked
just
fine!
