kirby a.k.a. sharkbait

the brothers islands
in the middle of the red sea
accessible only by liveaboard
it was october
and the sharks were there
i swam with some grey reef sharks on the first dive
they were large
they were deep
and there were at least 4 or 5 of them
moving like a pack of wolves
through the ocean depths
i didn't get close enough to touch any
but i did have a pretty good view
when i descended to their cruising depths
it was a nice re-intro to diving with big sharks :)
by dive 2,
i'd heard there were silkies in the water
and one of the girls on the boat
had videographed a large oceanic white tip
in pretty darn shallow water in her first dive
(videographed is a kirbyword for what a videographer does...
*wink*)
so at the end of the dive
i decided to "hang out"
under the boat
after every one else went up
there was a rule on the boat
that everyone was to dive with a buddy
but i figured
hanging onto the safety line under the boat
should suffice
as they'd know exactly where i was
(the rule was in effect
because many divers apparently cannot handle
the currents in the area
and they don't want people swept off to sea alone
...it's a good rule then
because if i ever got swept out to sea
it would be nice to know
that i'd be dying together with someone i knew...
*rasp* :P
that being said
we were either super fortunate
to not really run into anything super turbulent
or the the definition of a "strong" current
is different in the red sea
than say, oh ... canada? *wink*)
now this safety line hangs about 5m or 15 feet
under the boat
with some weights and a spare tank and regulator
(in case people run out of air or something)
now for those that do not dive
this is a depth
where one can chill for pretty much as long as they like
and not risk getting "bent"
(decompression sickness)
the only limiting factor is the air in your tank
i'd been down about an hour
and had a good 40 minutes left at that depth
plus, the people on the boat
had been kind enough to leave another bottle down there
that would easily last me another 2 hours or so
:P
with that in mind,
i decided hang onto the line
and see if any big critters would show up
now there's something kinda cool
about hanging around in the blue
with no other divers in the water
the massive hull of the Empress Serenity above me
was kind of a comfort
as was the rope i hung on to
knowing that it was attached to my home for the next week or so
while all these thoughts
and a dozen other miscellaneous ones
were passing through my conscious mind
it suddenly occurred to me
that sharks attack from below
and my feet were dangling under the tank
now imagine yourself
suspended in the water
in a standing position
then imagine a sphere around you
and try to "see" in every direction
it's pretty much impossible
now
if you take half a sphere...
say the bottom half
- from which a shark is "most" likely to attack -
you STILL can't see in every direction
without constantly moving and swivelling
it is at this precise moment
that the steel hull of the 44m liveaboard boat
becomes a scant comfort
so to remedy the situation
i applied my immense intellect
and did the smartest thing possible...
i decided to sit cross-legged on the tank
so if a shark DID decide to do something
like oh... try a test bite, or something
i'd have a nice strong aluminum cylinder
under my legs
and under my butt
which the shark would hopefully bite first
of course,
then i wondered if an aluminum cylinder
could actually explode under water
from a strong enough compression of it's sidewalls
(ie. shark bite)
and what that might do to my rear end
*ponder*
while my mind was furiously engaged
in doing the "smartest thing possible"
i got a feeling...
one of those "some one is looking at you" feelings
so with a graceful pivot around the line
(with my legs still crossed on the tank)
i looked behind me
and lo and behold,
i saw
nothing
:)
i must have been getting spooked or something
and upon realizing this
i relaxed some
and just kinda swung in a globular fashion
(with the tank still under my butt)
right around to face a fully grown oceanic white tip
swimming above me
it's like one of those bad jaws movies eh?
except my scream was of excitement
and not fear
i could see the school of pilot fish
hovering around her dorsal and pectoral fins
which were the clean rounded tips splashed in white
now in the category of sharks
there are two kinds in kirby's world
the kind that are afraid of me
(nurse sharks and white tip REEF sharks mostly
who swim away when approached with sincerety)
and those that might think i'm food
(any shark that comes TO me
instead of having me swim over to him/her)
this shark clearly belonged in an upper class
as a predator on the food chain
and i didn't even have a buddy diving with me
to use as a food shield
*inno*
seriously though
to see any deep ocean shark
is a wonder to behold
the words lethal and dangerous come into mind
at the same time as beautiful
along with a definite respect
for it's power
at this moment
as if choreographed or something
i noticed a sleeker dark shape below me
remember,
sharks attack from below
and with the oceanic swimming circles at head level
i started to take photos and video
of the large silky shark
that was cruising maybe 10 feet
below my silver tank protected butt
when the 3rd and 4th sharks arrived
i was in heaven!
i mean imagine this
big sharks (8-12 feet)
2 different species
ALL coming right TO me!
it was better than national geographic
and it was like Nat Geo Live in 3D!
what more could a guy ask for?
with the sharks swimming in and out of view
from all different directions
and no other divers in the water
(divers in the water usually mean bubbles
which can obscure one's own view
...sucky!)
i had one of those moments
where i pictured how i would look
from a third person's point of view
(or a 4th shark's point of view)
kirby sitting crosslegged on a silver tank
with another tank on his back
reflecting what little light there is
kind of like how a fish might
flashing silver lines
as he spins in a ball like motion
at the end of the line
in deep blue water
from the back end of a boat
and then the word "bait ball" popped into my head
and i thought to myself
"hmm, do i really look like a bait ball?"
i was glad i didn't have fish for lunch
i will be completely honest
i felt just the tiniest bit vulnerable
so i did the most sensible thing i could think of
i turned on the air pressure for the safety tank
(they leave it shut off,
so you have to turn it on if you want to use it)
i figured with 2 extra regulators
and a tank charged with air
if i needed to
i could blow some serious bubbles
(by purging the regulators underwater)
and that might deter a shark from attacking
sad to say
i never did have a chance to test my theory
as after 17 minutes or so
the sharks circled off into the blue
i was like the exploding air ball of death
just waiting for a shark to try something stupid
and all for nothing
with 2 minutes to go until my 80 minute max
and still over 1/3 of a tank of air left in my tank
(i reached a compromise with the divemasters on board
i told them i would only dive for 80 minutes at a time
if they cut me some slack in how i buddied up with people...
in this case
i figured i was buddied up with the boat
so that should count for something)
the line above me
gave a sudden jerk
and i was hauled out of the water
i guess they'd seen me hanging below the boat
or at least my bubbles constantly rising to the surface
in the same spot
and decided it was time for me to come up
78 minutes!
(i could have had 2 more minutes!!!)
and i was sure the sharks would return soon
quel dommage!
what a shame...
:)
i guess the most interesting part
of the whole mental journey
and the fears that would arise
is the fact that
even tho i KNOW that humans are a shark's natural food
and even though i KNOW that sharks don't attack divers
(unless provoked...
and really, i didn't try to touch any of these ones
as i was still watching how they moved
and studying their body language)
it doesn't help the feeling that one is vulnerable
when one knows
that there are sharks at one's back
under one's feet
and above one's head
and even though i've seen a shark's attack patterns
quite a few times now
(on video and live)
and recognize some of the signs
that are a precursor to the test bite
(of which i didn't see any at all this time)
when the animal is wild
and at least 5 times your mass
with LOTS of sharp pointy teeth
it does take some meditative thought
to stay in that place of peace and harmony
very cool :)
and life is beautiful!