Whale Sharks

Category: Research | Date: Feb 26 2008 | By: admin

Day 8.

I early woke with a good feeling. I could hear the waves crashing on the beach just outside. I was so excited I couldn’t stay in bed a minute longer. I thought to myself “This is the day!!”

David went up in the microlight with Rob so it was Volker, Brent, Lynne and me on the boat. We left around 11am. It was a beautiful day and the sea was flat although the visibility was “marginal” as Brent politely put it!! We had a lot of time out there, shooting the breeze, dreaming dreams, waiting, hoping…

Volker was snoozing with his hat over his face when he announced that we would have 2 sightings then we would tag on the 3rd sighting. None of us took much notice! Five minutes before the first sighting Volker sat bolt upright. Almost straight away came the call we had all been waiting for. “Whale shark, whale shark!” We missed that one. And the next. Volker tagged the 3rd shark we saw. It was around 3pm. We were heading for home. The micro had about 2 minutes of fuel left. We saw it, jumped in and Volker tagged it. He is an awesome shot! I saw the tail in the gloom. Incredible.

 Then the boat took Lynne and I a bit further forward to catch up with the shark. We jumped in again and swam with it for what seemed like ages. It was “trucking it” as Rob said later, as in it was seriously cruising. We swam until our lungs burnt and our legs ached. For a few seconds I was transported somewhere else. I could see it from head to toe. I could see every spot, every glint of colour, every remora, every swish of its tail. I followed in its wake as though my life depended on it. It was indescribable to be next to the huge shark and when we surfaced, completely out of breath, I was deeply moved.

I close my eyes now and I can see that fish so clearly. When we came back I heard someone comment “Boy, that was a long time to be out on the boat just for a couple of whale shark sightings.” I tell you, it was worth every single second. No doubt. There is something about swimming with these sharks that no amount of money could buy and no words can describe. We know so little about them. And you get a sense of something so mysterious and magical. It is somehow other worldly.

That is us swimming with the shark today. I am calling this entry “Amazing Grace” because that is the best way I can describe how I felt when I was swimming alongside it. I will never forget today.