I have always been fascinated by sharks - blue, mako, thresher, basking, tiger - but none so much as the undeniable ultimate predator: the Great White Shark. There is something about Great Whites that transcends any other type of shark - some of that fueled by “Jaws,” and other mass media, but the Great White Shark truly epitomizes everything that a monster should be: huge, impassive, silent, mysterious, loaded to the gills (no pun intended) with scores of lethal weapons.

Watching shark documentaries always gives me a slightly vicarious thrill - seeing divers swimming with smaller sharks, or secured in cages when the big sharks are around, is spell-binding. But when a Great White appears on-screen, something inside of me goes cold. Some sort of lizard-brain primal fear, I suppose, knowing that this creature could literally bite me in half or nearly swallow me whole.

And then along comes someone who actually swims WITH a Great White Shark - no cage - and actually reaches out to touch the shark. This happened in Hawaii, and the guy that did it, Jimmy Hall, has been raised around and in the ocean (father is a marine biologist). Absolutely incredible.

And the local news interviewed Jimmy and has video of the encounter.

OK, here’s the question: how much money would it take to get you in the water with a Great White Shark?

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