Tourism with bite: swimming with the great white shark

Diving off Guadalupe Island was a biologist's paradise for shark specialist Lauren Smith. The best bit? Seeing the drama of a great white shark defecating ...

The shampoo bottle skittered away from my grasp and looped around the shower tray for the umpteenth time. I had never taken sea sickness medication, but I was beginning to think perhaps now might be a good time to start. I was aboard the Southern Sport, leaving behind the port of Ensenada, Mexico and with it the calm of All Saints Bay, and was now several hours into the journey heading south-west into the north Pacific.

After around 24 hours the volcanic rocks of Guadalupe Island appeared on the horizon. Well known as a white shark aggregation site, the island is a shark biologist's idea of paradise. I hasten to add that such idyllic surroundings are not part of my day-to-day routine.