Original subtitles

My name is Mark Vins.

For over five years, 500 videos--

You all right, man?

And over a million miles traveled around the globe,

I have been here with you on "Brave Wilderness."

And through those thousands upon thousands of hours off trail

with my two best friends, I have witnessed some of the most

amazing spectacles imaginable.

Oh, wow.

I have stood amongst the shadows of mountains,

of forests, of a cowboy hat, of some of the world's

deadliest creatures, and most often

the shadow of my own camera.

Then last year, I decided to step out and take my place

in front of the lens to pursue my lifelong dream of ocean

exploration.

And since that day, there has been a singular

entity, an enigma that has drawn me

back to the "Blue Wilderness."

But before I was to meet this creature of epic lore

and mystery, I had to first pass a series of tests

to prepare myself.

There were tiger sharks, hammerheads, and deep water

dives and not simply for any certification

but to prove to myself to know that I was ready,

ready to meet my fate beneath the waves,

ready to come face to face with the great white shark.

There it is.

That's our ship.

Today is the day.

We are here in Mexico about to go on our first ever

great white shark adventure.

Actually I take that back.

This is our second attempt.

The first attempt didn't go as planned in the Farallon

Islands, but I've got a feeling this one's going

to be a whole lot different.

Upon leaving shore, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck

stand up.

Would this be a gateway to the next phase of my adventures,

or would this be my last?

I am no stranger to risk.

I have come face to face and hand

to claw with some of the most ferocious and notorious animals

on the planet.

But this one was so much more--

inevitable, intentional, imperative to my quest

as an explorer.

Welcome to Guadeloupe, a remote volcanic island

175 nautical miles off the coast of Mexico's Baja Peninsula.

This towering mountainous expanse of prehistoric earth

will serve as a backdrop to my greatest adventure to date.

I made it.

Because if there's one place on Earth

to find the world's largest predatory shark, this is it.

What's cool about Guadalupe is it's kind

of like the sister to the Farallon Islands

that we filmed at before.

Unfortunately, we didn't see any sharks in the Farallons,

but down here, the sharks come in because of the seals.

They have three different species of pinniped

here in Guadalupe.

They've got their endemic fur seal population.

They've got California sea lions, and then, of course,

they have northern elephant seals, all of which

are on the menu for the great white shark.

And the place we are at right now is known as the kill zone.

This is the space between the feeding grounds where the seals

need to hunt their food and the shore

where they rest during the day.

And as you can imagine, in that space in between

is the great white shark's favorite buffet.

But our goal is to see seals getting

eaten while we're out here.

Our goal is to get under the water in the realm

of the great white shark so we can get the cameras up close

and personal with one of the world's top marine predators.

Our home in this mystical place will

be none other than the Socorro Vortex of the Pelagic Fleet.

This ship and its crew have been making the voyage

to Guadeloupe for years and have been

assisting in shark research and conservation all along the way.

The very first step to try to protect sharks

is to get in the water with them.

Once you're in the water with them,

it's a complete different perspective

you will get forever.

So one of the biggest differences between what we

tried to do in the Farallon Islands

and what we're doing out here in Guadeloupe is this.

We actually get to use attractant, AKA bait,

to draw in the sharks close to the cages

and therefore up close to the cameras.

All right, guys, think it's time to get

suited up because it's about to be

our turn to get in the water.

As I began to suit up, reality sunk in.

I do need to say this is the point where

the nerves start to kick in, and it's not because I'm scared.

It's not out of fear.

It's healthy because an activity like this is not risk free.

Even though we're with one of the best crews in the world

when it comes to diving in cages with great white sharks,

we still have to have our wits about us.

Anything can happen.

We're talking a ton-plus animal that can be ferocious

in a moment's notice, and they can literally

rip these cages apart.

In fact, one of my friends caught footage

of a shark entering a shark cage,

and they had to pop the top or the divers

are supposed to come out to release

the shark, not the diver.

So we definitely have to keep our eyes peeled,

be aware at all times, watch each other's backs

when we're in the cages because literally anything can happen.

Just because there's bars in front of us,

that's not any sign for complacency

when you're in the water with an animal that formidable.

The few steps between the deck and the shark cage

created a bridge to the world of the great white.

My heart began to race, but this time the nerves

I felt were more distinct.

This was an adrenaline rush from the excitement

of a life's dream nearing closer with each and every step.

My moment had finally arrived.

Here we go.

As I entered the cool 65-degree water, my eyes began to adjust,

and I became aware of the endless blue void

that lurked below me.

The sunlight danced through the 12,000 feet of water

surrounding the landscape of the island,

and there was no bottom in sight,

meaning the sharks could be anywhere

and come from any direction.

Looking around, scanning for our first shark,

I was in awe the clarity of the water

and the abundance of fish in the area.

Our main challenge at this point was

getting properly positioned.

The strong currents threw us around the cages

like rag dolls, so to keep the camera steady

and our bodies from bouncing off the walls,

we fixed our feet to the railing and held

tightly with our free hands.

Watching from below the surface, I

could see the occasional splash from above

as the crew tossed bait lines into the water,

knowing full well that each attempt

could be the line that to draw the apex predators from below.

We waited patiently scanning the blue abyss for any shadows

or signs of movement.

Minutes seemed like hours, but then without much warning,

it happened.

From the distance, a dark shape began to appear.

It crept toward us slowly, and then suddenly it

was right in front of us.

Wow, I couldn't believe my eyes.

What I'd been witnessing for years on Shark Week

was right in front of my lens.

Finally, I was in the presence of a great white shark.

It thrashed toward the bait and mist,

but after a quick lap around our cage, it disappeared again.

As fast as the giant flashed into view, it was gone.

But this was proof, a victory.

We were going to be seeing sharks today

and hopefully lots of them.

On average, great white sharks will have up to 300 teeth

in their mouths at any given time,

and these teeth are arranged in up to seven rows

with the first two known as their working teeth.

As you could see by our footage, their attacks

are calculated and precise.

The torpedo shape of their body allows the great white

to accelerate up to speeds of, get this,

35 miles an hour and strike with a force of 29 G's.

So forget about the bite for a second.

The impact alone is enough to kill prey all by itself.

As I calmly observed the frenzy of sharks surrounding the cage,

I am reminded that I am in their world.

Not only am I observing them, they are observing me.

Witnessing a strange visitor in a metal cage,

they would come closer and closer with each pass

for a better look.

And locking eyes with a great white shark

is something that I'll never forget as long as I live.

As my time in the cage came to a close,

I couldn't help but keep my camera rolling.

We had seen many impressive sharks today,

but I just had this feeling that something big was

about to happen when suddenly a giant silhouette

charge from straight beneath.

And with its sights locked on the prize,

it lunged at full kill speed.

And how.

I could not believe it.

It's rare to see from the surface let alone

from underwater, but what we had just witnessed

was a full breach.

Behold the full fury of the great white shark.

Now feeling extremely happy with our footage and after hours

underwater, it was finally time to return

to the safety of the boat.

Woo!

Oh my goodness, what an epic great white shark adventure

that was.

For our very first one, I don't think we could ask for anymore.

The surface cages did not disappoint.

We had all kinds of action.

We had encounters right at the cage.

We had bites at the bait.

We had surface breaches.

Huge thanks to the Socorro Vortex

crew for helping us out and keeping

us safe on today's adventure.

Don't forget to subscribe and hit

that notification bell so you don't miss

a second of the action ahead.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive.

It's no surprise that these sharks

are referred to as great.

They are truly a perfected product of evolution

and largely differ from any of the previous sharks

we've encountered on "Blue Wilderness."

Great whites are intelligent creatures,

highly inquisitive by nature and as we clearly witnessed today

master hunters of the deep.

We'd like to give an extra special thank you

to the captain and crew of The Socorro Vortex.

Welcome to Tiger Beach.

Located off the coast of West End Grand Bahama,

this location is not a beach at all

but rather a world famous destination for shark diving,

more specifically tiger shark diving.

And it also happened to be the location of our very

first shark dive ever.

If we wanted to kick off "Blue Wilderness" in a big way,

let's just say this location did not disappoint.

From the powdery white sand basin,

we encountered four different species of sharks.

There were reef sharks, nurse sharks,

the snaggle-toothed lemon sharks,

and, of course, the mighty and magnificent tiger sharks.

Being in their presence was exhilarating.

The recipe of danger, tranquility,

mixed with a dash of adrenaline resulted in a truly

life-changing experience.

Everyone on our team went into this dive

with a high level of uncertainty and admittedly

a healthy dose of fear.

But we all survived and came out with a bond

that all shark conservationist share.

Sharks are truly incredible creatures.

However, there was one character missing from the cast of sharks

at Tiger Beach, one we'd hope to see but had

seemingly eluded us.

In fact, this shark was held in such high regard for its rarity

and greatness, the crew of the boat

would only acknowledge its name by way of whisper, hammerhead.

But as we finish our final dives at Tiger Beach

and prepared to make way for port,

it became clear the great hammerhead encounter was not

to be.

Or so we all thought.

Luckily with a few moments left before pulling anchor,

I decided to fly our drone.

Wow, look at all those sharks.

Hold on a second.

Hey, Mario, is that what I think it is?

You got to see this.

Come check this out.

That's a hammerhead.

That's for sure a hammerhead we're looking at.

Mario, go tell the captain we need another dive.

The entire boat lit up with excitement as we all raised

to reassemble our dive gear.

This was it.

This is the moment we'd been waiting for.

And it's a good thing fellow diver Jonathon

Bird came along with us.

His years of experience kept us all locked in on the task

at hand, which was not only to get our cameras in front

of that hammerhead but was to put our safety always

first in shark infested waters.

Remember, there were still hordes

of sharks surrounding the boat, but this dive was different.

This was not our first shark dive,

and it was all about the hammerhead.

One thing that's, like, really cool about scuba diving, guys,

is, like, every time you're about to go in,

you kind of get butterflies.

You kind of get tingly and excited,

and you can't wait to get in.

Let's do this. Go.

Go for it. - You ready?

All right.

Without hesitation, we all jumped back into the water.

First Jonathon then Mario and then, yep, there I am.

Once again, we drifted through countless lemon sharks

and made our way back to the white sands of Tiger Beach.

At this point, the tiger sharks that greeted us upon landing

almost seemed like old friends.

Well, three-hour old friends that is.

But, hey, once you do a barrel roll

to escape the path of a charging shark,

I think that definitely makes you friends for life.

But as strange as it may seem, the circling

tigers almost vanished.

Well, almost.

Still had to keep a watchful eye on them but the other sharks,

well, they might as well have all been guppies.

Everyone in our crew wanted to see one thing and one

thing only, the hammerhead.

Yet it was nowhere to be seen.

I started to think was that really

the shadow of a hammerhead.

Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me.

Will I forever be known as the diver that cried hammerhead?

But then it happened.

Suddenly the sand grew dark, almost

like the long shadow of a thunderstorm

rolling in from some far off place.

We all looked up, and there, the perfect silhouette

of a great hammerhead shark.

It glided across the sun like some kind of aquatic Phoenix,

but then it turned and it dove straight for me.

I froze as it plummeted by.

Wow!

That was close.

Man, the speed of that 15-foot shark

was so incredible that I decided right then and there

I would be blinking a whole lot less for the rest of the dive.

Of the nine species of identified

hammerheads on Earth, the great hammerhead

is by far the largest.

Some individuals have been known to exceed lengths of 20 feet

and weigh well over 1,000 pounds.

Of course, more impressive than their sheer

size has got to be the shape of that head.

Just look at it.

Perfectly designed to increase the surface area of their face

to fit more electro-sensing Ampullae of Lorenzini that

help them detect their prey.

This makes hammerheads quite formidable food detectives,

able to sense a stealthy stingray

hiding beneath the sand.

Just seeing the shark at Tiger Beach

was an absolute stroke of luck as great hammerheads are

not common at this location.

But today was our lucky day.

Well, as long as we made it back to the boat that is.

Now compared to the tigers, this hammerhead

was downright ornery.

Between the multiple dive bombs at our cameras to knocking down

our dive master Houston flat on his butt,

it had no shortage of tricks to keep us on our toes.

It was fast, vigorous, and, you know,

I think its antics even had an effect on the tiger sharks.

Check that out.

Of all my expectations of coming on this trip,

seeing giant sharks do tricks was not one of them.

But, hey, it sure was cool.

After around 60 minutes of putting on quite the show,

the hammerhead decided it was time to take its bow.

And with that, it headed back into the unknown regions

of the reef.

What a perfect ending to the perfect day.

Woo!

Dude, most cooperative hammerhead ever.

Is this real life?

Did that just happen?

Unbelievable.

Woo, man.

Guys, what an epic dive.

We actually did it.

We shot an entire video with the great hammerhead shark.

I'm Mark Vins.

Be brave, stay wild.

We'll see you on the next dive.

In life, we are so rarely able to identify the moments

that truly reshape our existence and even more so while they're

actually happening.

But the bond I formed with those sharks on this day

is unmistakable.

They have indeed changed me forever.

From here forth, I'm committed to being a champion

of their preservation, a true believer

on a mission to educate others through the lens of my camera.

I mean, just look at them.

They are in a word extraordinary.

And as for Tiger Beach, I'm not sure

when we'll return to the brilliant white sands

beneath the waves, but I can say soon

won't be nearly soon enough.

And we're back.

My name's Mark Vins, and I hope you're

excited as I am for another "Blue Wilderness" adventure.

On this dive, Mario and I will be trying something

a little bit different.

Today we're going to challenge ourselves

to see just how many creatures we can spot on a single dive.

Sure some of our adventures require multiple dives and even

days to get the footage we're after,

but one thing that draws me to the ocean

is just how much can be seen each

and every time we're underwater.

We only have one take, Mario, so we've got to make this count.

You ready? I'm ready.

Let's go. - All right.

Let's get in the water and see what we can find.

So this whole area is surrounded by these crater-like

depressions lined with reef.

Let's go investigate one to see what

we can find right on the edge.

Oh, check this out.

Hello?

Hello, Coyote?

OK, Mario, it's for you.

Oh, well, short call.

I guess that was Coyote.

I never know where he is anymore.

OK, let's try this way.

Ooh, I spy some razor sharp teeth in the mouth

of that barracuda, but luckily for us,

they rarely attack divers.

See you later.

Uh oh.

We're surrounded.

Let's just stay calm here.

There are about 50 or so barracuda all around us,

but the best thing to do right now is just to stay put.

Like I said before, barracuda rarely

attack divers unprovoked.

They're known for being aggressive for sure, one

of the fastest predators out here in the reef system,

but the good news is they only seek

fast and distressed prey, which we

are definitely not right now.

But being surrounded by this many razor sharp teeth

certainly gets my heart racing.

Looks like Mario is doing a great job

of staying calm as well.

Get that shot, buddy.

OK, by the looks of things, they've

accepted that we're not food, so let's carefully proceed.

There they go.

Wow, I did not expect for that to happen today.

That is a first for me.

Now how about that for some excitement

on a single tank dive.

Yeah.

All right, time to head back to the boat.