salub2007
Contributor
Although I have heard of the infamous Torpedo Ray, I never thought I would
have an encounter with one, hearing they are rare to see on Cape Ann.
My buddy Rich and I were diving with the MWDC on Sunday and lets just say
it was a shocking experience, no pun intended.
We set up for our first dive at Folly Cove planning to dive the right side wall, and all was going as planned when we were not reaching adequate depth after a good time into the dive. We both surfaced and decided to swim across the sandy bottom of the middle of Folly cove to the left side. After a good while of swimming seeing many flounder and assorted rays in the sand, we came across an area that had many small rays and I started taking a series of pictures...
Not a minute into seeing the cluster of rays I felt a pain in my leg like someone hitting me with a hammer. I immediately thought it was a cramp, but a second later i felt it again, this time I noticed it had a very electrical feel to it, like touching an electrical socket or an open wire. I thought to myself, oh dear, we are being struck by lightning, as it was an overcast day although no thunder clouds in sight.
As I finally turned around to view what was going on I received a third blast of electricity and saw a 4 foot torpedo ray wrapped up in my fins. I was frightened and kicked feverishly. The ray circled once then swam off, offering me no more shocks.
Knowing only of the myth of the Torpedo Ray, I went directly over to my buddy to see if he was okay. He looked at me funny so I know he was unaware of the encounter as i was behind him.
I grabbed his dive slate and wrote "I was zapped by a ray, Holy Crap!" He immediately said to surface with him, we were in 25' of water at the time. I explained to him the story at the surface, and he barely believed me, but thought it best that we rest, and that I calm down. For a minute my leg felt as though it was asleep, or I had been laying on it, but quickly felt fine after 5 minutes or so. We rested for 20 minutes or so, then we decided that we would be okay finishing the dive, and went straight back to shore.
I never saw the ray again, and neither did any of the other divers i asked that day at Folly Cove. I guess they are harmless, but it was a pretty good shock to be honest.
Question: Does this sort of thing happen often? What is the story with these Torpedo Rays? Are they aggressive? What type of charge do they put out I was told 220 volts? And info on this anyone can provide would be welcomed.
I recovered well from the encounter. I am a bit skiddish around bigger rays now. And I have a greater respect for the wonderful creatures in our ocean..
Safe Diving!
Mark B
Salub
have an encounter with one, hearing they are rare to see on Cape Ann.
My buddy Rich and I were diving with the MWDC on Sunday and lets just say
it was a shocking experience, no pun intended.
We set up for our first dive at Folly Cove planning to dive the right side wall, and all was going as planned when we were not reaching adequate depth after a good time into the dive. We both surfaced and decided to swim across the sandy bottom of the middle of Folly cove to the left side. After a good while of swimming seeing many flounder and assorted rays in the sand, we came across an area that had many small rays and I started taking a series of pictures...
Not a minute into seeing the cluster of rays I felt a pain in my leg like someone hitting me with a hammer. I immediately thought it was a cramp, but a second later i felt it again, this time I noticed it had a very electrical feel to it, like touching an electrical socket or an open wire. I thought to myself, oh dear, we are being struck by lightning, as it was an overcast day although no thunder clouds in sight.
As I finally turned around to view what was going on I received a third blast of electricity and saw a 4 foot torpedo ray wrapped up in my fins. I was frightened and kicked feverishly. The ray circled once then swam off, offering me no more shocks.
Knowing only of the myth of the Torpedo Ray, I went directly over to my buddy to see if he was okay. He looked at me funny so I know he was unaware of the encounter as i was behind him.
I grabbed his dive slate and wrote "I was zapped by a ray, Holy Crap!" He immediately said to surface with him, we were in 25' of water at the time. I explained to him the story at the surface, and he barely believed me, but thought it best that we rest, and that I calm down. For a minute my leg felt as though it was asleep, or I had been laying on it, but quickly felt fine after 5 minutes or so. We rested for 20 minutes or so, then we decided that we would be okay finishing the dive, and went straight back to shore.
I never saw the ray again, and neither did any of the other divers i asked that day at Folly Cove. I guess they are harmless, but it was a pretty good shock to be honest.
Question: Does this sort of thing happen often? What is the story with these Torpedo Rays? Are they aggressive? What type of charge do they put out I was told 220 volts? And info on this anyone can provide would be welcomed.
I recovered well from the encounter. I am a bit skiddish around bigger rays now. And I have a greater respect for the wonderful creatures in our ocean..
Safe Diving!
Mark B
Salub
