Monday, June 29, 2009

Dive Log - Shark Junction

Location: Shark Junction, Grand Bahama
Date: 18 Jun 2009
Dive No.: 4 of the day, 21 of the trip, 89 lifetime
Depth: 43 feet
Bottom Time: 32 minutes
Bottom Temp: 84 degrees Fahrenheit

I wasn't going to go on this dive. I was cold and hadn't really enjoyed the other dives of the day. The first two were wrecks, Theo's Wreck and Seaster. I should have been ecstatic, I love wrecks and these were both decent sized and intact but instead I was apprehensive and couldn't relax. Maybe it was the depth, 99' and 85' respectively, or maybe I was just tired. Anyway I made one circuit of each of the wrecks and then went up.

After the second dive, it rained and it cooled down a lot. Too much for my taste. The third dive was cold and it was still drizzling a bit when we got in. It was a reef called Angel Camp. Even though I was cold I still managed a 43 minute dive. It wiped me out. I was cold, tired and I was done.

I changed into dry clothes and was prepared to sit out the last dive of the trip. I listened to the dive briefing and watched the other passengers get ready and giant stride into the ocean. There were only two more divers waiting to get in. I heard someone mention seeing sharks. It was horrible, I couldn't believe I was going to miss the last dive of the trip but I was so COLD.

I couldn't stand it, I ran downstairs, put on my cold, wet swimsuit, ran up, flung on my cold, wet gear and jumped in. DAMN, it's cold! But wait, I can see 4 sharks, this is very cool. I look around for my dive buddies and find them right away. There's no need to stray far from the mooring line because the sharks are swimming around within sight of the line. I join my dive buddies and we swim around a little bit but mostly we just stay put and watch. It's incredible. 4 sharks, wait, now there's 7 sharks! This is SO COOL! Now there's 10 sharks, maybe 12, it's hard to keep track. Finally, after about 25 minutes, I can't stand it, I'm so cold that I signal I'm heading up. Not even 12 sharks can keep me down. I hang at 15' for my safety stop watching the sharks circle. It's the fastest safety stop I've ever experienced.

I cringe when I think how I almost missed it all. It was the perfect end to a week of great diving.

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