Swimming with Sharks

For Jeff's birthday this year, I gave up trying to figure out what high-tech gadget he hadn't bought yet and have him something that he has been wanting to do since we moved here: shark diving. Well, its not really "diving" its more like snorkling in a cage while sharks swim around you, attracted to the cage by chum (dead fish) and the electrical impulses that are transmitted through the alumnium cage. Yah. People actually do this..enough that on the north shore there are TWO companies that do this and only this.

Also, you should know that since moving to Hawaii and reading about numerous Tiger Shark attacks around Oahu this year...the face-to-face encounter I had with a 4ft reef shark in the dark has suddenly taken on a life of its own and made its way into several nightmares. I have never had shark nightmares before moving here. So, its only sensible that I would then jump into the ocean with sharks swimming around us. Ogh, did I mention that Jeff further tormented me by telling me that we had to swim to the cage?!

So this weekend was the weekend that we did the unthinkable. And guess what?! It totally rocked. The sharks that swam around us were stunningly gorgeous animals. Quick and agile, lean and muscular with totally amazing cat eyes. The sharks that were swimming with us were Galapagos and Sand Sharks. They were not aggressive towards us at all, maybe curious, but not scary. After they pulled the cage back to the boat, and we climbed out and safely back into the boat. The next group climbed in. And then.

Da Nah. Da Nah. Da NA NA NA NA NA........The Tiger sharks showed up. Uh. Huh. And from the safety at the boat they were really damn cool. Huge. But cool. The fool on the boat kept teasing her and when she came out of the water (which she did so she could get that huge marlin head sitting there), he would put his hand on her nose (which apparently sends them into some kind of temporary coma) and push her back. Our Tiger shark had to be over 11 feet long and she was huge: 1000 pounds?!! THUS, I am calling this guy a fool.

Doing this was like BEING in a National Geographic special.

Anyway. It was good for me, my phobias and I can not wait to do it again.

We'll be posting video on YouTube once I get it all edited. In the meantime..don't let those 1000 pound predetors get to you. Once you see inside their souls, you'll see, they are just hungry too. Throw 'em a femur and they will totally take your other.