All About Great White Shark Tours

Great White Shark Tours'  Brian McFarlane

Owner and founder Brian McFarlane was a professional diver and skipper and has always made a living from the sea. He started diving for perlemoen (abalone) at a young age, then moved on to become a commercial fisherman for 6 years and spent another 6 years diving in search of wrecks along the southern coast of Africa. This was followed by the diving for diamonds from the seabed for the next 20 years.

Brian has become a local legend with his fascinating tales of the sea and his underwater experiences. During the time when Great White Shark fishing was still allowed, Brian caught Great White Sharks, some weighing more than 1 ton. Today, he dearly regrets this and now spends his time and effort in finding the great beasts to be observed and photographed at close range.

Brian has worked with the Great White Sharks for 23  years and has an uncanny ability to attract sharks.  

Brian McFarlane, owner, and founder of the shark cage diving company, Great White Shark Tours,  believes that....

1. Every tourist who dives is entitled to have a great white shark swim past him or her an acceptable number of times, even though this means that the average trip length may be longer than other operators.
2. Although not going to sea day Brian will be personally involved in the shark cage diving operation. The waters around Shark Alley is Brian McFarlane’s territory, having dived there numerous times, he knows it well.

This, in turn, gives rise to his vision statement of:

MEET OUR CREW & STAFF

 Great White Shark Tours have an outstanding reputation for providing excellent friendly and helpful service. This is thanks to the quality of the people they employ. We work as one unit with staff in different areas. We have both land and sea crew and office staff. All boat crew are trained as Level 3 First Aiders.

CREW

The crew is all in possession of the necessary qualifications and certifications in safety and procedures to make your time at sea safe and memorable.
Brian McFarlane (founder and owner), now in semi-retirement, still occasionally takes  Apex Predator to sea. On most trips, you will be left in the capable hands of Skipper  Anthony who has been with us for the past 11 years.

You will also be able to learn a lot from Gert an experienced commercial fisherman who is our master bait operator who knows how to attract the sharks. He is also a keen fisherman and has a lot of stories to tell about his experiences on the sea. He has been with Great White Shark tours for 17 years.

Eric has been with the company for 16 years, is a competent divemaster and will ensure you are properly briefed prior to entering the cage.

Someone has to get the sharks closer to the boat and this is Dira our master chummer who attracts the sharks by the smell of the bait and ensures a constant flow of chum. He has learned his skill from his brother Happy who is our safety officer on board.

Albert joined Great White Shark tours a couple of years ago and is responsible for your comfort and will fit you with the correct size wetsuits. In addition, he is our qualified Marine Eco Guide and will answer all your questions about sharks, birds and whales in the area.

Hennie is the onboard videographer on every trip. He will be the guy behind the video camera, capturing all the action. Back on land, he will screen the trip footage and give you an opportunity to purchase your trip memories on a video link. Alternatively, when you book online, he will send you a link FREE OF CHARGE.
 
On land, we have Lee who ensures that the boat is kept in a spotlessly clean condition.  He joined the company in 2003 and loves his work, always giving 110% with a smile.  He is in charge of keeping the wetsuits, life jackets, raincoats, etc., clean and dry.

STAFF

The onshore office is run by Letitia who was has been with us for the past12 years and is the mother hen who ensures that everything and everybody performs at 100% levels.

Chrissie (12 years’ service) and Amelia (previously our marketing consultant) are our front of house Public Relations ladies who are responsible for bookings and liaison with clients.

Annie  (5 years’ service) is responsible for preparing the healthy meals enjoyed by clients both before and after each trip.

Kabier conveying our clients in a luxury coach. He may be the first staff member you meet when collecting you from Cape Town or Hermanus should you elect to make use of our personalized collection and delivery service. He is a qualified and authorized coach driver.

 All the staff and crew will be responsible for your time at the project. You will get to know them and be a part of this wonderful team.

View the boat fitted with four 200 HP eco- friendly engines on the "Boat" page