Dancing with the beast...

its like a video game down here :D

So yesterday I had my first face to face shark encounter while spearfishing at Marine Lab. It all started when I decided to tie my catch to a rock in the channel. Since the fish I shot was still alive I figured Id keep it away from me as I continued fishing. I'm a pretty skinny guy so I might not be considered a threat to the beasts that lurk out there. Anyways, when I came back to the spot where I tied my catch I noticed the fish was no longer on the wire. I carefully examined it and didn't see how it could have escaped. The wire was still intact. I already knew what had taken it and as soon as I lifted my head I noticed the black tip less then ten feet away from me swimming to my left. I jumped but didn't panic. I stayed put and kept my eye on the creature. It stayed there for a bit and as I had my eyes locked on him I noticed to my right another blacktip speeding towards the first. Another jump but stayed cool. I waited for a brief moment thinking they would swim away but they didn't so I slowly backed off. I swam sideways towards the shallows where the waves were breaking while keeping my eyes and spear locked on the sharks. As I made my distance I turned around and swam in. I was done for the day.

This was the first time Ive been face to face with a shark in their environment. It was scary but at the same time it gave me a rush. I kind of enjoyed this experience and even though I loss my catch I was still pretty stoked that I was able to swim with these creatures. When I got home I kept thinking "if only I had my camera". This eventually led to some crazy ideas... I slept on it.

Looks like something out of my sculpture class.

So this morning I got a wake up call from Rob who had heard about my encounter last night. It turned out he wanted to shoot in the water while I fished. I was so down. Maybe I would be able to get another chance at meeting the sharks and maybe Rob could get a shot. We had it set and were supposed to meet up after class and go for a lunchtime shoot. However I didn't get the call so I ended up not going.

All day I had been thinking about the sharks. When I got out of my two o clock class early I decided to make a second attempt on my own and try and see the sharks again. This time I would bring out my camera.

So I actually went through with it. Drove down to lab brought the spear gun out and had the camera strapped to my side. I swam out to the same location near the channel and the wire was still attached to the rock. I started fishing the area. I decided if I catch a big one Ill take it in and call it day. Never mind the shark stuff. Well I didn't catch one. I think I still needed more training spearfishing (cant hold my breath for shit). Since I was unlucky at getting a big one I decided Ill just see if I could call the sharks. I caught an easy kill fish and put it on the wire on the rock. I left the spot and waited. About 10-15minutes had passed before I headed back towards the spot. Bam! Before I got to the spot there was a black tip. I jumped again when I saw it. I wanted to shoot a picture but I didn't want to let go of the spear gun. Using my left hand I attempted to put the camera in video mode. I tried to move quick but this time the black tip didn't stay around. I lost sight of it. I went back to the channel where I could see better (the water was kind of murky :P) and cleared my goggles. I didn't get the shot so I went back. Again before I got to the spot there was a black tip about twenty feet away. I had the camera shooting video but the shark disappeared before I could get a clear view. After that I felt I was done trying to get the shot. It was too murky and light was diminishing. I swam to shore and decided Ive had enough.

When I checked out the footage I saw that I didn't get shit. I guess when I saw the shark I panicked and didn't have the camera pointing the right direction (of course my spear tip was pointing right). It felt kind of weird after. Like I was out of place. I wasn't as stoked as the first encounter yesterday and I kind of felt like I was doing something wrong. After all of this I decided I will no longer try to feed the sharks at lab. I don't want them getting used to me coming out there and leaving fish on the wire for them. If I do decide to look for sharks again it wont be at Lab. I love the place too much to feel uncomfortable there.

The Marine Laboratory.

After the session I decided to cool down and do what I love doing out there. Bodyboarding! Even though the waves were junk I still went out and caught two. I'm way better at catching waves then at catching fish! The sundown was pretty sweet too with red and orange skies blasting the sea. I took some pictures but got scared out of the water by something even more frightening!!

I think Im better at this game.

charge!

small but stoked!

Lightning!! Haha! Yeah a thunderstorm rolled in while I was out there! I honestly swam in as if I was being chased by a shark!! Pretty funny! The boys out there didnt care much of the lightning but since I had a camera on me I wasnt gonna take a chance. Of course again I thought to myself "It would be so sick if I got a shot of the lightning in the water". Now if I did that then Id really be trying to kill myself! LOL!