Almost four months to the day of his accident, it was in high spirits that Fred Buyle answered the call of the ocean. Together with Pierre Frolla and William Winram, they went back to South Africa to embark on a one week adventure in the quest for great white sharks.
The purpose of this expedition was to encounter these creatures in their natural environment, without cages and without scuba tanks. The photographic and videographic materials which would ensue, would show the great white sharks the way they are meant to be seen, that is as members of the oceanic fauna, not as ferocious man-eaters.
Although they hoped, they did not know if the ocean and the weather would cooperate. After all, last year’s photos were yielded over the course of two days amid twelve days of diving. This year’s conditions brought the three breath-hold divers many exciting encounters (a blue shark, lots of sea lions and a sperm whale) but it was not until the last moments of the last day of diving that a couple of great white sharks were spotted in the green murky waters of the Indian Ocean.
While it is difficult for most of us to imagine how exhilarated the three freedivers felt about this opportunity, we must applaud their relentless desire to expose the true nature of the apex predator. This expedition did not provide high quality images, whether through still photography nor through video. But it gave Fred, Pierre and William a kick start for future endeavors of the sort.
You can read more about this expedition here and enjoy video images on this site.
