- Believe it or not, this was potentially

the most dangerous step of my entire life.

Oh, and did I mention this was an experimental craft?

Jump in, and miss grabbing the cage, you sink, fast.

(splash) (dramatic music)

(dramatic music)

(light music) (sound of waves)

Welcome back to Guadalupe, Mexico,

the site of our very first great white shark encounters.

Aboard the Socorro Vortex, we traveled over 175 miles

to this prehistoric island in hopes of getting up close

with the world's largest predatory shark.

Here we go.

And as millions of you witnessed,

that's exactly what we did.

But what if I were to tell you

that we really didn't come all of this way

for an ordinary shark cage adventure?

What if I were to tell you the real reason we came this far

was to embark on the single most daring mission

we've ever attempted?

Today, I will take you even closer to the most famous

set of jaws on earth in a one of a kind

shark cage submarine.

By now, I'm sure everyone watching this video

has at least seen images of a great white shark before.

But have you ever seen a S.P.O.C.?

Probably not because this self-propelled ocean cage

is highly experimental and can only be piloted

by one of two people in the entire world.

Now the sharks will let us get close in this?

- Oh yeah.

- Or ar they gonna get close to us?

- Both. - Both?

- Yeah.

- Meet Erick Higuera, our pilot for today's mission

and a world renowned marine biologist

and ocean photographer.

- So no matter what we're not gonna sink?

- Well that's on the

that would be the second step. - That's not,

that's not, that's not what I wanted to hear.

(chuckling)

I want you to say, "Yeah, we're not gonna sink."

- You are in charge of monitoring your own

air supply system.

I won't be able to monitor that.

If you run out of air, it's gonna be your fault.

- You're probably asking yourself or maybe even

yelling at your screen, "Why are you putting yourself

in this situation?"

Well, what we know of these mysterious creatures

has been limited to years of topside observation,

cage diving, and the infrequent free dive experiences

that only a few have lived to speak of.

So this vehicle truly represents an evolution

in our understanding of the world's most famous shark

which is also perhaps the world's most famous animal.

All right, so we had our debriefing with Erick

on the self-propelled ocean cage a.k.a. S.P.O.C.

and I have to say I am so excited to get out there

in the water in this research vehicle.

This is going to be probably one of the most unique

experiences you could have with great white sharks

in a safe way without free diving.

Certainly someday I'd love to have the opportunity

to free dive with great white sharks

but this about as close as you're gonna get

here in Guadalupe and now all we need to do

is go get suited up, get our cameras ready

and get out there for some action.

As if this activity in of itself wasn't dangerous enough,

the technical nature of this dive

was also quite daunting.

I would need to wear a full face regulator

in order to maybe have communication with the pilot.

However, underwater comms are notoriously unreliable.

I would also be wearing a pony bottle vc

in the case of an emergency bailout

in which I would need to rip off my full face reg to use it.

Not ideal.

Additionally, I would be wearing nearly 30 pounds of weight

without fins and I would sink like a rock

one foot outside the confines of the cage.

Oh, and did I mention this was an experimental craft?

The connections and critical mechanisms were all exposed

and at risk of damage from the divers.

If I were to kick one accidentally,

it could prove catastrophic.

Erick is in the S.P.O.C.

I'm about to get in the S.P.O.C.

And then we're about to go, get up close,

there's some giant sharks. - Okay, it's your time

to get in.

- Okay, here we go guys. See ya.

This was potentially the most dangerous step of the day,

and potentially of my entire life.

(dramatic music)

Jump in and miss grabbing the cage, you sink.

Fast.

This was a one-shot deal.

A no-miss scenario.

This wasn't just water, it might has well have been

looking off a 50 story skyscraper.

This was it.

(dramatic music builds) (splash)

Whew!

As soon as I got hold of the bar,

I pulled myself into the cage.

And what had seemed roomy on the deck,

had suddenly shrunk and there was barely

any room to move.

(dramatic music)

All right I'm all set, ready to go.

But what was worse, my headset was silent.

The communications had already failed.

Erick and I would rely solely on hand signals

for the entirety of the dive.

In a way, I was now completely on my own.

Once settled and breathing normally, I set the cameras

and gave Erick the signal to launch.

In an instant we were off.

The rush of water pressing against me

as we glided below the boat was much more intense

than I expected.

Great. Another obstacle.

After adapting to these new sensations,

the environment came into view

clear and brilliant blues to my sides and above

with a dark ominous floor below

which wasn't really a floor at all,

instead, literally thousands of feet of water.

The sharks were all around us

yet none of them were in sight.

So we began our descent in hopes of meeting

a great white shark face to face.

(dramatic music)

Erick zipped the S.P.O.C. up and down

checking different depths for shadows

and signs of movement.

The thermoclines or temperature layers were dramatic.

Each dive down would zap us with freezing cold water

and the light would retreat right along with it.

(bubbling sound)

It was very dark below 60 feet,

a perfect environment for these sharks

as they have adapted retinas that are actually split,

one part suited for surface light

and one part adapted for darkness.

And while we certainly require wet suits

to regulate our body temperatures

to keep from hypothermia,

the sharks are able to regulate their bodies

all on their own.

(bubbling sound) (dramatic music)

We had been looking for nearly 25 minutes

without a single sign of a shark.

But then, I saw a shadow to my right.

It was big.

I signaled to Erick to turn starboard

and as soon as he did, a great white swam into view.

I should've been alarmed the way it seemed

to appear from nowhere.

However, with my camera rolling,

I was thrilled to feel our speed increase

to keep up with the predator.

I couldn't risk missing the shot.

The shark easily outflanked us and for a moment,

seemed to be gone entirely.

Then, it quickly doubled back and was in front of us again.

However, we never really got that close.

A first sighting, yes, but the shot we were after,

not at all.

This adventure was far from over.

(dramatic music)

After relief of getting some footage had washed over me,

I was back on the lookout.

Great whites can grow up to one ton

and over 18 feet in length and swim at speeds

in excess of 30 miles an hour.

Even with the S.P.O.C. to protect us,

I couldn't help but feel completely outmatched.

But who could blame me?

It's not every day you find yourself in the kill zone,

a favorite hunting ground of the great white.

Again, we dashed around the grounds.

Only sardines and other fish came into view.

And after 45 minutes, I began to think that was it.

That was as close as we were going to get.

When then, Erick suddenly turned.

He must of seen something I hadn't.

I knew we were near the boat,

but I wasn't quite sure how close.

And then I saw the shark.

(dramatic music builds)

It was swimming straight for us.

All I could do was breathe and keep my camera

as steady as possible.

This was it, the encounter of a lifetime.

(dramatic music) (bubbling)

Time slowed in that moment.

And as the shark moved and swam back around

for an even closer look,

the fact that I was being observed and calculated

by this creature, was unmistakeable.

A real connection between myself and the shark

that I had been dreaming to meet had finally happened.

(bubbling) (music builds)

As it turned and swam away, a sense of relief came over me.

I was ready to be back on the boat

but I wanted to tell everyone the tale

of how obvious and beneficial vessels like the S.P.O.C.

would be for revealing the true nature

of this misunderstood species.

I certainly would be walking away today

with a brand new perspective that I never thought possible.

Whew!

We got really close to a shark.

That was awesome!

That was the shot we needed.

So much more intense than I thought it was going to be.

Just gimme a second, need to like,

absorb the fact that I'm back on the boat (chuckling)

Wow! What an experience!

Getting to be in the realm of the great white shark

in a shark cage submersible,

are you kidding me?!

That was the coolest thing I have ever done!

The water vis got pretty bad at the end.

But we did get to see some great white sharks up close.

In fact, that last one, I thought was gonna hit the camera.

Huge thank you to the Socorro Vortex

and all the crew that helped us out today.

A special thanks to Erick for captaining the S.P.O.C.

and keeping me safe so I can get those up close shots

for everybody at home.

I hope you guys love this episode as much as I did.

Make sure to subscribe and hit the notification bell

so you don't miss a second of the action ahead

on Blue Wilderness.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave.

Stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive. All right.

I'm gonna go warm up and dry off.

As the boat departed back to the mainland,

I couldn't help but be grateful for all that took place

these last few days in Guadalupe.

I knew I would be back.

When? I don't really know.

For another round in the S.P.O.C.?

Probably not.

I won't lie, that was pretty crazy.

Sorry mom.

If you thought this adventure was crazy