Off we are once more Guadalupe bound and after claiming that trip 8 was our best of the season........unknown to us, we where about to top it!
With another fantastic group of guests (including some good friends) and some continued great weather conditions, we where soon dropping the anchor in the north east bay of the Island and attracting sharks to the boat once more.
Just like trip number 8, we had sharks around the cages during the first rotation of the day and just like last trip, Chappy and co where having a lot of fun with our bait wranglers! Mid morning came by and so did one of our favorite and most famous sharks........Bruce was back!! We last saw Bruce earlier in the season and one thing that is undoubtedly evident is the amount of weight he seems to have gained in the past year! As well as being the largest male White shark we have ever seen, he is also the fattest! In September he spent a couple of hours with our guests, today he spent the entire day!
Bruce epitomizes the love we all feel for the Guadalupe sharks and how, after seeing them trip after trip, year after year, we get quite attached to seeing them when they arrive at the boat. Its often like seeing an old friend return and as well as giving our guests great entertainment, its also a relief as you never know if and when they are going to be seen again.
Day 2 and after starting well, after a few hours the action turned frantic! Bite Face arrived on the scene along with his buddies Chappy and Arden Grace. At this point we had 6 different sharks very excited around the boat (including Ugly and Garmin) so much so that our divers didn't know where to look next! The sharks were feeding off each others excitement in the water so much so that at one point we deliberately took the bait out of the water for a short period to calm them down a bit! During the next few hours we witnessed the most exciting and intense time period spent at the Island this season! By the end of the day (plus 2 natural breaches later!) our guests where left breathless!
Day 3 and there was still time for some of our favorite sharks to make an appearance. Yesterdays sharks where all back and next to arrive was another huge female, Gianna followed soon after by a small commonly seen male, Mau (named after Mauricio Hoyos, the Islands head researcher.) Just when we thought we had seen all our classic sharks of the season, Bella (a massive 16ft female) arrived, just stopping by to say hello before disappearing again! Seeing all these sharks we have come to know well this year together was a humbling experience and watching each others characters and behavior as they interacted with one another was fascinating. 
Over 200 different sharks have been identified here at Guadalupe since records began and each year more sharks get added to the now bulging photo identification books we have on board. Over the course of the season we have accumulated thousands of photos which will be sent off to update scientific records and potentially ID new sharks seen here.
After a hugely successful 3 days we made our way home perhaps after seeing some of these sharks for the last time. It is fair to say, however, that our guests will not forget many of the individuals encountered during this trip, which will go down as possibly the best of the season, all thanks to a fantastic group of sharks. My thanks to each one of you animals for this year and for hopefully, many years to come...................
One more trip to go now guys, lets hope it finishes in style...................
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