Scuba divers have 'once-in-a-lifetime' close encounter with great white shark near Catalina

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. - It was the last dive on Sunday afternoon, near Catalina, aboard one of Sundiver International's vessels—until it became one of the most exciting experiences the scuba divers ever had.

"[In] 40 years, I've seen two from far away, but six feet away? I couldn't believe it!" says Seamus Callaghan, who was testing the Oceanic waterproof casing for Huish Outdoors when he felt something over his right shoulder – a white shark – a good 15 feet long. 

He began capturing images as the shark calmly made its way around the divers.

Kacy Madigan, who is a safety diver and has plenty of experience overseeing shark video shoots, had just gotten in the water when she spotted the shark beneath her. 

"I didn't want to flail or move, but I controlled my descent to get close without getting in front of her path," she says, adding, "I actually started getting too close and backtracked a bit to give it plenty of room, as much as I wanted to get as close as possible!" The shark can be seen on video, seemingly checking out the divers for a while before moving on.

"It's so rare," says an obviously excited Madigan. "I have been hoping for an out-of-the-cage encounter with a Great White all my life, so I feel so blessed."

We reached out to the Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, which has several tagged white sharks in the area where the divers were. We couldn't see a tag on the animal's top rear fin, but they are checking their sensors in the area and "can't wait to see the video," says lab director Dr. Chris Lowe.

It goes to show that these animals, while apex predators, are not the vicious hunters attacking humans that they are sometimes portrayed as. The sharks can regularly be seen in videos swimming beneath surfers, but scuba divers rarely see them this close, as they tend to avoid humans. When hungry, their preferred meal tends to be sea lions or seals.

White sharks have come back from near extinction, as laws have changed to protect them, especially in California waters, where they are protected. But these encounters are rare and, for these divers, a most cherished experience.