Blue Planet Aquarium - Shark Awareness Course

[Chris W]

Well the Alarm went at 6am ..... I was expecting snow and wanted to check the roads ............ M56 closed between 10 and 11 ... wonderful

I decided to set off a Little earlier to make sure I could get there on time ..... Kit allready packed so off I go......

apart from a unscheduled visit into Runcorn to rejoin the M56 the journey was fine. I managed to get there with a few mins to spare.....

When the place opens we are met by our instructor who asks us to take our cars round to the staff entrance to unload kit ........

We leave our kit round the back and you can see the surface of the main aquiarium and smell the salt water ............it looks amazing and that smell really gets you in the mood for a dive !!!!!

Then off down for a coffee and a chat while its quiet ..... check certs. and log books a quick look at the sharks in the main tank.....

Then off to the classroom to start the course.....

The course itself is well worth doing and goes into Shark Anatomy.... Physiology....species .... behaviour ......plus loads more ........ and most importantly shark conservation

A nice lunch was provided and Tea/Coffee was available all day. We also watched the Sharks being fed over Lunchand had a wander round the aquarium.

There is video, powerpoint to support the course...... it's easy enough to get through without a degree in biology or anything......... and it's really interesting.

After an initial dive briefing down to kit up and prepare for the dive........

Before the dive we also managed to get a surface tour of the main aquariium and a quick talk on how it all works .......amazing !!!!!!

The dive itself takes place in the main tank in around 3m of water at 24 DegC for around 30Mins ............. rather than finning you are negativley buoyant and walk across the bottom ... this does not detract from the experience at all.......

On the dive itself loads of fish came to greet us to have sand sprinkled on their back and say hello ............ the Sand Tiger Sharks we really curious and we had a few enncounters ..... one female swam over my head about 12 inches away!!!!
a male passed beside me around 2ft away!!!

The Nurse Sharks kept away but could be seen in the distance and the Lemon Shark kept a close eye on us from a distance too ........

I have three lovely kids and it was great to see their faces as daddy dived infront of them ........I've taught my eldest a few hand signals so we had a little fun with these........

I also have a Sand Tiger Shark tooth

The team really looked after me and my family when they arrived Jessica apparently asked loads of questions!!! (She is a diver in the making!!!!)

Is the course worth doing?

In a word yes ....... it helped me not only understand why Sharks are truly amazing and understand them more ..... it also opened my eyes to just how close we are to loosing them from our waters and that we can all do our bit........

So to that end my eldest daughter has taken my Shark tooth to school today to tell everyone just how wonderful sharks are and how we need to save them .....

I really want her to have the chance to see them too........

[e14724]

I live 20 minutes away and have considered doing this. Glad to hear it was worth while, may sign up while the weather is crappy. How much does it cost and are there group discounts etc?
Nick

[Chris W]

Hi not sure about group discounts I think you would be best contacting them...........

HTH.