The Dolphins, the Shark, and the Evil Sea Monkeys : Finis
Posted By Todd Storey on 15 October 2006
Hey, Wait a Second -You're Not Flipper!
A few of us students stayed in the water to help the instructors dismantle the rig and get it back on the boat. I was bobbing there holding a spar when I heard muffled cries through snorkels and saw several fingers pointing downward.
I looked down, expecting to see part of the rig sinking into the abyss. Instead saw a considerable shark swimming away from us, about 30'/9m away, shadowed by two remora. Any thoughts of "Um, get OUT of the water" were overwhelmed by other thoughts of "Ooooooh, aaaah...."
Mmmmm...F l i p p e r ...
This awe factor was about to increase. As we got underway and had just started peeling off our wetsuits we saw them: curved dorsal fins, rising and falling in off the starboard aft side of the boat. "Dolphins!" someone cried out. Captain slowed the boat a bit and changed course, allowing the pod of bottlenose to get behind us so they could jump and surf in our wake. "We should get out and swim!" Mandy said, and I really wish we could have. We motored on, though, and soon the dolphins left us.
Kirk to students: "That means they were pleased with your performances today."
It was a nice thought, and it even helped sooth the wounds I'd begun to tear open in my own confidence. I had to remind myself, this was not about reaching a PB depth, but all about getting the technique down. As these great instructors kept telling us: get the technique down first and the depth and bottom time will come. I managed to find a positive thought and gently congratulated myself for doing as well as I did out in the open ocean, a totally new experience for me.
The day ended with a nice long discussion with Mandy on the bow of the boat, part of which concerned the styrofoam cups she'd taken down with her to depth on her 139m no-limits dive. Again, just two humans talking, but one human talking to the other human about her superhuman feats.
CLASS DAY FOUR
An air of sadness hung over me today as I drove to the marina for what I knew would be the last time. After this it would be back to Ohio, back to my real, mundane, uneventful life. I was truly going to miss the ocean, the boat, the PFI gang....everything about this trip had been fantastic, even if things weren't going as well as I'd wanted them to go out in the ocean.
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