Your Basking Shark Stories
Your Basking Shark Stories from the Isle of Man.
This section is for YOU. We welcome stories about your Isle of Man basking shark experiences. Keep them short if you can. We would love to have stories from anyone who has had a basking shark experience. Whether you are an old basking shark hunter, or a nine year old on holiday, we would like you to share your stories with us on this website. Who knows, if we get enough we could make a book of them!
Wouter Groenewegen: Scuba diver, underwater photographer, has his first close encounter with a Manx Basking Shark.
This is a direct transcript of his e.mail to Manx Basking Shark Watch. Link to his web site for some amazing photos. WHEN we get our website re-organized we can put some more of his pictures on. When you look at his pictures just notice the Ampullae of Lorenzenii over the sharks nose. These detect electrical currents on the water. These are the BEST pictures I have ever seen of them!
Hello,
As you may have heard we, a group of English, Belgian and Dutch divers were very lucky to be able to sim with several basking sharks last saturday.
I even have been able to make some pictures, which is an achievement since I was also very bussy wetting my dive suit.
The first shark I saw was just after the first dive, I let myself into the water from the Castaway boat and waited for things to happen. It's a very weird experience to know that there are some giants very close to you. I kept on seeing the fin above the water but it didn't come very close to me and I was not about to give up a chance of a lifetime taking it's picture by finning behind it. Then the fin came exactly towards me. I saw it coming closer and kept telling myself, 'this is not JAWS, this is a gentle creature'. When the fin was about 6m from me I saw a huge open mouth coming directly at me. Somehow I was able to keep on taking pictures but I was afraid as well. I got the impression that this beautiful giant didn't know I was in it's way. Just before me it dived down one meter and missed me by less than a meter. It was swimming directly under me. I could not make any more pictures of this animal since I thought it would be best to keep me feet in front of me to be able to take a hit from the tail fin. Nothing happened and the giant just swam on.
At this point my breathing was as fast as my heart was pounding and I was shouting beautifull english words to the boat (I really didn't mean to offend anyone, it was just excitement). I climbed back on the boat and thought that things were over. Then wen we came close to the sound we saw 3 basking sharks roaming the surface. I qiuckly went in again and was again able to make some pictures. One of my friends and 2 of the english divers were also lucky.
It was very amazing how close we came to the sharks (beter to sat how close they came to us). I do want to take more pictures and am still shaken by what happened. An unforgetable experience which was also made possible by Gary, the skipper of the Castaway.
Hope you can use my pictures (if you do please mention my name or one of my websites). If you ever need a fool who is willing to swim with these giants and make some pictures please let me know.
Best regards,
Wouter Groenewegen.
P.s.: www.rebreather.nl and www.groenewegen.nu
A Fisherman's Tale: Mr Derek Pitman, visitor to the Isle of Man
One May morning, 2003, we were spin fishing for Pollock (Callig) from the rocks at Perwick Bay. Sport was slow and the eyes tended to wander instead of concentrating on the fishing. Something was different. A movement caught at the edge of the arc of vision. It was one of those occasions when the brain refuses to accept the impulse from the eye. It showed again. Standing like a windsurfer’s sail in the whitecaps of a stiff sou’easter, a grey/brown triangle gleamed in the sunshine and slid away. Fifty meters away a large white expanse showed in front of the fin as the apparition turned and came towards us. Is it? Surely not this close. It is, it is! The fin was a dorsal and the white area was a gaping mouth. After 71 years I had the privilege of a sighting of my first ever basking shark.
The fin was a dorsal and the white area was a gaping mouth.
Picture: Pauline Oliver.
A surfing shark: Maura Mitchell, diver and underwater photographer.
The sea was far too rough for diving and impossible for photographing or even seeing a basking shark. We decided to take visitor Ian for a trip down the coast from Port Erin instead.
Spray flying as the little 5.1m RIB bounced around on the waves we were glad to be in our drysuits. Approaching the Calf Sound I glanced seaward. Inside a big, curling translucent wave, like a surfer ‘riding the tube’ was a large basker, mouth agape feeding.
How I wish I was able to catch that image on camera but that unforgettable image will always be etched in my memory!
Basking sharks at Port Erin, life takes a turn for the better: Maura Mitchell, diver and underwater photographer.
The phone rang. "I am on the lower footpath to Bradda Head and there are basking sharks feeding right up to the rocks below me. Can you come down to see them?" It was a dear friend calling while on her afternoon walk. She was trying to get fit again after a number of very serious operations. "Will be down to Port Erin right away" I replied.
"there are basking sharks feeding right up to the rocks below me"
Picture: Pauline Oliver.
A brisk walk along the winding cliff path I saw a young man sitting on a rock by the water's edge. He was raptly watching a basker swim by less than three metres away from him.
My friend was around the next corner. Armed with binoculars and polarized sunglasses to protect us from the glare off the sunlit water we spent nearly two hours watching four young (4-5m) sharks. They were feeding on plankton held close inshore by the onshore breeze. They eventually disappeared around Bradda Head on the ebb tide.
Turning homewards, sun on our backs and surrounded by wildflowers my friend said "Life has taken a turn for the better".
Below us, the young man was still sitting in the late afternoon sun, gazing out to sea.
An Introduction to John Galpin's Basking shark observations.
John Galpin is an enthusiastic local basking shark watcher. He has contributed three Isle of Man basking shark stories to start off this site. Hopefully he will provide many more over the years.
"Virtually every year since moving to the west coast of Mann in 1995 we have observed large numbers of basking sharks, often to within 50 metres of the shore. The sharks have been seen to feed, socialize, and on one occasion, possibly mate. Shoal sizes have been to 37, seen in Glen Maye bay but this is rare. However, these waters have consistently produced large average shoal sizes per sighting, as well as having disproportionately high numbers of large and very large sharks (to 12 metres). These parts of the Irish sea, from Peel to Port Erin, are traditionally important fishing grounds, which have provided the Island with much of its staple protein source through history. Herring from May to October, mackerel from July together with sandeels, pout and cod, pollack, saithe and haddock have fed the islanders, the seabirds and the annual cetacean visitors. The fishing industry today concentrates on shellfish, with fixed gear for crabs, lobsters and whelks; and trawlers for scallops, queen scallop and Dublin Bay prawns".
"Virtually every year since moving to the West coast of Mann in 1995 we have observed large numbers of basking sharks, often to within 50 metres of the shore".
Picture: Shane Stigant.
The plankton rich waters that attract the herring are frequented by basking sharks from May to Mid-August. Quietly isolated, the West coast of Mann has long been known for its regular sightings and considerable numbers of basking sharks. Between Peel and Port Erin there are fewer than 12 occupied houses that have good clear views of the in-shore coastal waters (ie from shoreline to 3 miles). Those that exist are mainly around Niarbyl and Dalby. Contrary Head and the coastal footpath to Glen Maye offer spectacular scenery as well as a good vantage point to see basking sharks. Further along the coast, the path from Niarbyl to the Sloc provides wonderful views of this exceptional seascape.
John Galpin: Basking sharks courtship and a possible mating.
Those of you who have read the section on basking shark reproduction will have an understanding of how few scientific reports have been made on basking shark courtship behaviour. There only appears to be one account of a possible mating. This was viewed from a helicopter off Novia Scotia[12]. Dr Sims, the prominent basking shark researcher from Plymouth University goes as far as to say "….mating itself probably takes place as this was not seen at the surface" [30]. This makes John Galpin's observations of basking shark courtship and a possible inshore mating all the more precious and remarkable. His first hand account might help you to recognise basking shark courtship if you see it.
"Most years in the waters around Niarbyl and Glen Maye, it has been possible to witness the social behaviour of basking sharks, one with another. This has involved long periods of parallel and echelon swimming involving 2 or more sharks. Sharks have been observed to swim together in a synchronized and parallel manner with the lead (presumably female) shark closely followed by one or more (presumably) males in either a line astern formation or displaced to the side and rear as an echelon".
"The swimming of one or more sharks in synchrony with a lead shark is also characterized by the phase relationship of the movements of the following sharks with respect to the leader. The one or more following sharks swimming action is seen to be in phase with the leader, with little or no phase delay. So the sweeping of the tail to the left by the lead shark is perfectly and simultaneously copied without any apparent loss of fidelity by the following shark(s)".
"the sweeping of the tail"
Picture: Pauline Oliver.
"This behaviour has been seen to continue for many hours and on several occasions, for more than 5 hours. Some years these synchronized parallel and echelon swimming events are repeated on several consecutive days. Sometimes there have been three or four separate synchronized groups, independently behaving socially and these too may continue for several hours".
"On the 30th of July 1999 at 18.30 hours BST this social behaviour culminated in an apparent mating between two sharks. The sharks were first sighted at 14.00 hours, just 0.25 nautical miles from shore. The sea was flat, mirror calm under clear blue skies without any cloud cover. Sea and wind force 0".
"There were five sharks in total, of which three were seen to be swimming together as a perfectly synchronized trio, being lead by a large 8+metre shark. The two following sharks were displaced closely to the side and behind the leader in a 30 degree (approx) alignment. These three sharks continued their social swimming until 18.25 when the large lead shark and the one that had remained immediately behind (a 6-8metre shark) split away from the third. These two sharks, still in the same perfect formation, began to swim ever closer to shore".
"In shallow water 125 metres from shore (or thereabouts) the two sharks became extremely agitated and active with one another. The sharks writhed together, the smaller 6-8 metres shark entwined and twisted around the axis of the body of the larger shark. This writhing and possible mating continued until after 19.00 hours. After they had finished, the sea was reported to be "full of black oily liquid" which is thought to be the residue from mutual skin abrasion during the possible mating event. The other three sharks not involved with the writhing remained within 250 metres and continued to feed. This entire event was witnessed from land by the author (John Galpin); several others aboard a local boat, contacted by the author, witnessed these events from 18.20 hours".
John Galpin: Unusual Basking Shark Behaviour.
John Galpin has made some very interesting observations from the coast off Glen Maye about atypical basking shark behaviour in 2004.
"Most years there are numerous basking sharks basking close to shore, say 600m or less. Often they will slowly drift closer to shore as afternoon moves to evening. Usually sharks are clearly visible without binoculars. Not this year. Only a few were basking close to the shore and only for short periods. Those that were seen were spotted through high-powered binoculars in rough or very rough seas, not the mirror flat calm seas of previous years. There were ample days when the sea was perfect to allow easy sightings had the sharks been on the surface. In previous years it had been possible to watch the same sharks all day, with the same individuals remaining stationary at or near the cross hairs of the binoculars for 6 plus hours. The sharks were effectively motionless with respect to the shore/seabed and could be seen feeding on the same spot all day, turning on the weak tidal flow as it reversed from flood to ebb and back again. This year this has not happened at all."
"In previous years it has been possible to watch the same shark all day"---
Picture: Shane Stigant.
"Apart from a few off shore and short duration occurrences there was no echelon swimming activity. Normally, echelon swimming has been evident throughout a large parts of the season, with three or more sharks swimming in tight synchronized order for many hours at a time over 3 square miles plus of sea. Sometimes this would last for a few hours after sunrise and often throughout the entire afternoon and evening, often until very late. None of this happened this year (2004)".
"On numerous occasions this year it was possible to see sharks turn and face approaching vessels, even when the distance of shark to vessel was well in excess of a mile. Even when the sharks may have been feeding happily for some considerable time, the distant approach of a vessel was enough to make them submerge. The sharks would seem to turn and face the oncoming vessel and even at a range of one mile would slip below the surface and only reappear after the vessel had long departed. This apparent timidity was seen on numerous occasions. This was seen to occur with vessels under sail and those under power. Sharks that had been feeding quite happily at the surface for hours were seen to dive in concert as a yacht suddenly altered course and tacked hard towards them, even though that boat was still 3000 metres away from the sharks. This timidity in concert was often observed when a group of sharks, sometimes widely distributed, would submerge simultaneously as though someone had rung a bell to announce the end of that session! This behaviour always seemed to occur with the arrival of a vessel, be it a lobster potter, yacht or powered boat."
"At 10.15 am on 17th June 2004 some very unusual behaviour was observed. Sharks had already been seen in rough or very rough water, but on this morning one shark repeatedly surfed on breaking waves, cruising down the steep side sometimes with its mouth wide open and within a short distance of the shore. I have not witnessed this behaviour before."
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John Galpin: basking shark "jousting".
As we have seen in his earlier basking shark tales, John Galpin is an astute observer. Here he describes something that I have not found in the scientific literature.
"I have seen jousting behaviour on several occasions. Typically it has taken two forms, one a very tranquil nose to nose alignment, the sharks facing one another just holding station 2 or 3 metres apart, and this can continue for tens of minutes. The second form has been the intimate passing rub, which gives the appearance of knights jousting on a tilting yard. In this second form, both fish tend to swim towards one another and slide past each other in intimate contact, in a controlled and gentle manner while still both remain on the surface".
"Both of these actions can be seen at the times when some or many others may be engaged in paired or multiple echelon swimming, and occasionally, a pair that had been swimming in formation, might re-arrange themselves and joust".
The jousting event that John describes next is very different and very dramatic. John observes the sharks from a distance through powerful binoculars so he is not disturbing the animals in any way. He is therefore in a position to see undisturbed basking shark behaviour in a way that observers in boats never are. This is an abbreviated version of the events.
"Two basking sharks of about 5 metres arrive at 17.50 and 18.08. They move around, sometime at great speed, other times apparently slowly feeding. At 19.51 a large shark of estimated 8metres plus arrives. All three sharks are clearly visible. The large shark swims to within 600 metres of the shore and stops. It is still and stationary in the water, facing North along the coast. It remains stationary, its large dorsal fin piercing a moderate sea. Suddenly from the North, one of the other sharks is moving south, at high speed, heading for the stationary shark. When the sharks are about 60m apart, it is clear that the shark swimming south bound is on a collision course with the large stationary shark. Both sharks are clearly visible in the binoculars and with the cross-hairs on the stationary shark, there is a clear and straight path, as shown using the eyepiece graticules, between both sharks. The charging shark is swimming very quickly, more than 6 knots, its path unwavering and aligned as it has been for at least 100 metres. As the charging shark approaches the still stationary shark, they both begin to submerge. At 2-3 shark lengths from the stationary shark, the one charging has completely submerged and the stationary shark is nearly completely below the water with the smallest amount of dorsal fin showing. At the anticipated moment of contact the sea erupts in a boiling, seething upwelling of water forced to the surface. The surface is stretched and pillowed, fringed by an oblate ring of bubbles and foam. From out of the centre of this upheaval suddenly rises the whole tail of probably the larger shark. This was the whole tail, or at least 2.5metres worth, the caudal fin raised high in the air and slammed onto the sea, in huge fury and force, water cascading. Then a second slam to the fish’s right, then a third, smacking the water to the left again, with tremendous force. Then nothing, all sharks disappear, no further sightings that night. All this happened in full view through the binoculars and at the location of the stationary shark, bearing 282 (T) 600 metres from shore in around 10+ metres of water".
"all sharks disappear, no further sightings that night".
Picture: Maura Mitchell.
This is an amazing first hand account of a type of basking shark behaviour that does not appear to have been documented before. It is easy for such accounts to pass unrecorded.
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