Boats for sale

Once the small boat had made its way beyond the reefline, the seas kicked up to 5-7 feet. The first dive of the day was like the previous two days; an underwater sprint in mid-water searching for a school of enormous cubera snapper that would be hugging the reef. It seems that the snapper mate for several days after the full moon, and that whale sharks love snapper eggs.

The boat found a spot next to some fishing boats and set anchor. Opting for tradition over modern techniques, these fishermen were using hand lines similar to the ones Hemingway wrote about in "The Old Man and the Sea". There wasn't a fishing rod or gaff in sight.

We had already suited up in a small, protected area a few minute boat ride from the site, so once the boat was secure, we jumped in and headed to a depth of 80 feet with the bottom sitting 70 feet below us. The girl that led us was going extremely fast. I didn't have a problem keeping up, but several in our group did. We had gone about 25 minutes into our dive without any luck and I was starting to think of a few choice things to say to the Dive operator who claimed to have a 100% success rate in finding whale sharks. I too was getting a little winded and frustrated that we had spent almost two whole dive days and had not seen anything but a school of jacks and hours of empty blue water.

About that time I heard the divemaster's buzzer, then the clanging of a knife on a tank. I turned around to notice several divers with their backs turned to me. This was an obvious sign that something worth seeing was behind us. As I swam towards those divers, it materialized out of the purplish-blue waters in front of them. The enormous animal was over 25 feet in length. Unintimidated by the group of much smaller divers, the whale shark continued on its course slowly cruising towards me. I veered off to the left of the shark as all the other divers were to the right in order to get shots of both the shark and divers in the same frame. As it passed me, another photographer descended a few feet and I snapped a photo of her above the enormous head of this gentle giant. The head of the shark dwarfed her entire body. The whole scene was incredible!

It slowly passed by me and off into the deep blue in the opposite direction from which it came. The whole group of divers got back together in hopes the shark would circle back for another run, but it wasn't to be.

The energy and excitement level of the group was much higher after seeing a whale shark up close on the first dive. The surface interval that included a lunch break seemed to never end. We were all anxious to get back in the water in hopes of finding another whale shark. The only exception being an older gentleman that was having trouble with the rough sea conditions.
Once back at the site, the rest of us suited up quickly and jumped in. As promised, the divemaster slowed her pace a little. This dive started with the usual underwater sprint in search of the school of snapper that at this point, I was beginning to believe didn't exist. At about the halfway point of this dive, a school of jacks circled and on one occasion enveloped our entire group.

As I looked to my right and below towards the reef, a ten-foot bull shark was cruising just above the reef line. My heart skipped a beat the moment it noticed the divers above and immediately ascended to investigate. As it encountered this group of bubble blowing aliens, it headed straight for the divemaster who was wearing yellow fins.

The rest of the group now believes the story I was telling earlier about yum-yum yellow. It checked her out twice and close quarters before backing away to investigate me. Fortunately, it lost interest and began circling the group. As it did, I fired a couple of shots of the shark and diver. Shortly after the arrival of the big bull, another whale shark made its way on the scene.
We think it may have been the same animal encountered from the first dive of the day as it was also about 25 feet long. This encounter though, you couldn't enjoy with the same appreciation. I'd first find out where the big bull shark was, then take a few moments enjoying the enormous whale shark. Every few moments looking down for the bull shark, then back up towards the surface for the whale shark. This was one of the most incredible underwater experiences I have ever witnessed. I was torn between two large underwater creatures that I've rarely encountered alone, much less at the same time.

The whale shark cruised straight in to our bubbles, then made an abrupt turn towards the surface. As it ascended, it opened its mouth as wide as it could. What an incredible sight! I took several silhouettes of the huge fish against the backdrop of the sun.

Even though we all had ascended to experience the magnificent animal, we kept in tight formation. This was difficult for me as the bubbles got in the way of my picture taking.

As quickly as it had arrived, the shark disappeared back into the blue abyss. The bull had also lost interest in the strange bubble blowing aliens and disappeared. We ascended to our safety stop with no other event and got back on the boat in an orderly fashion.

The boat ride in was a little bumpy, but a stop by a small island where the fishermen hang out provided for some interesting photos. Funny, nobody seems to remember how uncomfortable the boat ride was anymore...

Story and photos by Joe Froelich.