I expertly expelled the contents of my being without getting anything on myself. I braced for the next rocking of the boat and prepared for the oncoming evacuation. I looked at the other “seals” on the boat who were horrifically observing my display. My breakfast chum was thrown 6 feet from me. I prepared to heave hard, fast, and far away from my body. I apologized to my husband as I grabbed the starboard side of the boat, knowing I was about to expel breakfast at the next downside of the watery mountain. The sickness started with a splitting headache, mainly due to the fumes, I guessed. The overwhelming inhalation of toxic fumes chugging out of the ancient and unmaintained engine, the smell of the fish used for chum, and the rigorous swells were overcoming my brain, balance, and body. I was hellbent on maintaining composure and keeping my breakfast - scrambled eggs, black coffee, and orange juice - from making an appearance. We had spent $2,500 dollars to see a great white up close and to dive with the apex of the ocean. I found the shore and focused on a stationary object. I’ve spent days on old, slow-moving, diesel-fueled dive boats without problems. The little vessel was folding in on itself from side to side at a 45-degree angle all the while expelling noxious diesel fumes. We were rocking from port to starboard while being pummeled by 20-foot waves. The swells were so intense that the captain struggled to maintain a position. Including our crew, our boat holds a baker’s dozen plus a few additional crumbs. Our slow-moving, ancient, diesel-fueled boat chugs along for an hour to reach the destination where the whites were last spotted. We lumber to the boat like a dozen poorly dressed seals ready to tease the apex of the ocean by dressing like their favorite morsel. Everyone is excited and ready to experience the great whites. This is on the tippy top of my bucket list! We arrive at the outfitters and, along with 10 other participants, we slip into our wetsuits. IN … and I’m taking my parents and husband with me. The cost for this expedition is roughly $600 per person. Boat tour operators estimate 80% of viewers will get up and personal for at least 5 minutes with a great white while in a surface cage. I was having girl issues at that time, and unbeknownst to me, I had nearly made us the main course at the shark’s dinner party.Ģ017, Cape Town, South Africa, I became obsessed with the “flying sharks” that can jump skywards of 15 feet out of the water to reach their prey. We were diving in a turtle washing station in shallow water just 60 yards off the beach when we noticed them. Maui, 2007, My husband, myself and a master diver friend of ours noticed some natives swiftly swim past us, splashing on shore trying furiously to get our attention. By fortune, I had danced my rum-filled brain back to shore prior to the arrival of the murderous duo that were hanging by their tails the following morning. We visited The Rainbow Bar on Caye Caulker - a local establishment famous for its panty ripper drinks.Ī few of those and I had no inhibitions being in the sharks’ hunting ground at their dinner time. Beauty in the Beast logo (Courtesy/Stacy McCloud)īelize, 2003, I frolicked in the same water at dusk that two bull sharks were pulled from just hours later. This is the shark who inspired the blockbuster movie. This shark prefers to hunt at dusk and dawn in shallow waters. One of the top oceanic apex predators is the bull shark. These are the two most deadly man-eaters.Īny Jaws fan will tell you that the movie is loosely based on the actual events of a man-eater. I have swum with many species of shark, scuba dived with a handful of man-eaters, and unknowingly been in the dangerous proximity of the tiger shark and bull shark. Diving with the great white shark is on the top of my list. Like everyone, I have a bucket list that I am constantly adding to, improvising and adjusting.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |