2022 August
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Well known for Blue shark encounters, Condor Reef lies in deep water near Pico and Faial islands, two of the nine islands of the Azores archipelago. In August 2022 I dived there with Frank Wirth’s Pico Sport. Spoilt for choice with three comfortable day boats MV Black Pearl, MV Blue Bay and MV Reef Cat, I had a great time. Dive instructors Corin Fuchs, Diogo Boa Alma and Gioia Egloff ensured that all the divers were attached to ropes connected to the boat, then crates of bait were lowered into the clear water. Blue sharks are a pelagic species, preferring cool and deep water but the scent from the crates quickly lured them up from the depths. I had seen Blue sharks off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in the Aqulhas Current off South Africa and also off Cornwall, UK but the sheer number of Blue sharks here and the frequency of close encounters made this my favourite location. 

Some of the Blue sharks had black markings on its face. Blue sharks like shiny metal such as on boat engines and enjoy rubbing their skin against the metal, picking up temporary black markings as they do. It is thought that the shiny metal reminds them of the shiny skin of the fish they eat, such as sardines and tuna. They pick up scent from the metal and can smell everything that is on it. The engines smell really strongly to the sharks. So much so that they sometimes bite into them, gaining even more black markings. Another reason, probably the main reason sharks nibble propellors and engines, is the electrical fields they produce, both from the batteries and the metal itself reacting with the saltwater. 

An unexpected trip bonus for me was spotting a Sei Whale, the first one I had ever seen.