North American andContinental record holder freediver William Winram, (famous for his swimthrough the Blue Hole in Dahab wearing only his wetsuit and a dive mask and nopropulsive equipment), and world reknowned underwater freediver photographer,and world record holder (1995/1996) FredericBuyle, have recently visited the East Coast of South Africa to dive withthe resident finned beasts that patrol the coasts of South African quite abundantly,especially during the winter months.
In a series of photographs takenby Frederic Buyle and JamesNewell, Winram is swimming face to face with a tiger shark, maintaining arelaxed posture and spending some quality time. Mr. Winram writes in an article on his website, “if you think sharks aredangerous, although swimming within their territory is not devoid of some riskand should only be done with proper knowledge of the area and fauna, considerthis:
- More people die every year from falling coconuts than from shark accidents. This a very serious and accurate fact.
- More people die from attacks by crocodiles or elephants, than by shark accidents, yet people think “sharks are more dangerous”. Go figure.
- Bees, dogs and sharks, what’s the link?
He goes on to talk aboutthe pillage of approximately 100 million of the ocean’s sharks a year, all toprovide Asian markets with shark fins for human consumption. He explains thevital role that sharks play in the oceanic environment starting as the apexpredator and how their behaviour and feeding habits affect marine life rightdown to the smallest coral reef and that their survival is necessary for ourmarine environment to remain healthy.
To see the photography byFrederic Buyle see www.nektos.net and alsoWilliam Winram’s website and South Africa trip commentary at www.williamwinram.com
