Swim with sharks off the coast of Oahu in VR

When you think of being in the ocean, unprotected, with sharks, you probably imagine a scene from “Jaws”: razor-sharp teeth, thrashing limbs, more than a little blood.
 
“A common misperception is that just because you’re in the water with a shark it’s going to eat you; that’s obviously not true,” says shark conservationist and marine biologist Ocean Ramsey, who runs One Ocean Diving in Hawaii, off the island of Oahu.
 
So what does it feel like swimming with one of the earth’s oldest predators?
 
Enter VRtually There, a weekly video series from the Paste BN network. Using some of the latest state-of-the-art virtual reality technology, they’re giving us a 360 degree first-hand view of what it feels like to swim with these fearsome creatures.
 
“You really feel like you’re weightless. It’s kind of that feeling of freedom, where it feels like you’re connected to everything,” says Ramsey. She’s three miles off shore on a research tour, collecting data on sharks to better protect them. If she doesn’t seem afraid, it’s because she isn’t.
 
“If you factor in their biology, physiology, behavior, and adapt your behavior, the animals will actually give you a lot of respect and treat you like an equal predator,” Ramsey says. “Or maybe even a more dominant predator.”
 
Each year, about 10 humans die in shark attacks, while humans kill over 100 million sharks, mostly for shark fin soup. Ramsey says that if more people knew the reality about sharks, they wouldn’t allow that to happen.
 
“Sharks are basically the white blood cells of the ocean ecosystem,” she says, “picking off the dead, dying, weak, sick, injured so disease doesn’t spread so populations are healthy and in balance.”
 
Check out the full video below, which also includes an amateur goalie’s view from the net as he faces off against NHL top scorer Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. To get the epic 360 degree experience, download the Paste BN app and search for the video in the “VR” section, or view the video below in your phone’s YouTube app. And don't forget to subscribe on YouTube for future episodes of VRtually There.