Big In Bimini

Now when someone says to me - I was really outside my comfort zone - all I can think of is a recent dive I made with a Great Hammerhead and several "bad boys from the hood" Bull sharks.

When in South Bimini, entry point for us into the Bahamas, Lizzie & I thought a dive would be great as everything is 'Big in Bimini!" - manta rays, great hammerheads, turtles, but it just so happened that the dive operator had tied himself up with a film crew intent on recording close encounters of the shark kind. So the only choice was to join them, and their crazy burley feeding, shark prodding dive crew. 

After too many uncomfortable  jokes about using me, the newby, as shark bait in we went to have VERY close encounters. Never thought I would enjoy the sensation of a very large shark, mouth open in a kind of threatening smile, brush against my body as it cruised by for another look. The water clarity started out sensationally but soon clouded up as the action of the sharks, us,  the strong current (and reef fish after the burley) stirred up the fine white coral sand. I found myself rubbernecking trying to keep an eye on each of these monsters, but they'd catch me out, cruising past my head, or under my legs, and making my breathing more rapid than it already was. But I went up for another tank and rejoined the crazy film fest for another stint as it was all at once invigorating, beautiful, tantalising, and scary - you find yourself in awe of these graceful and powerful creatures of the blue.

Well as you now know it all ended happily, tho there was one moment when the six Bull Sharks got a bit excited, fighting over a large morsel of bonefish, and our dive master motioned us all up & out. Hate that anxious time of finning back up and climbing the boat ladder when you can't protect your rear!

The marina where we stayed, and the dive operation is based, is one of a growing number in the Bahamas that forbid shark fishing, or bringing caught sharks to their dock, and encourage protection of sharks. There were several huge Nurse Sharks cruising the marina everyday, seemingly quite happy with this notion. And it felt fine to swim off the boat there as well, in their presence.

And talking about BIG - Big news-well, news to me after being awol in Cuba for a month- Japan has finally been forced to stop it's "Scientific Whaling" - great news to big marine creatures everywhere!