Christmas Day's Maui dive photo

[Gilligan]

There was no actual dive today but rather an aborted dive. All I have is a Photoshop depiction of today's experience. I did my usual kayak dive routine which lastly involves getting into the water with only my wetsuit, mask and fins on so as to do a quick 360 degree inspection of my surroundings before putting on my weight belt and getting into my BCD. I was in 80 feet of water and immediately upon entry saw the "man in the gray suit" about 50 feet from me and below me at about 20 feet. Should I reach for my camera hanging on its leash so as to have some evidence? NOT. A rapid re-entry into the kayak was performed. I can't identify what type of shark it was as I mostly had a frontal view of it which included its teeth.

There are bold divers and there are old divers. I'm not sure how many old bold divers there are?

 

[alcina]

Sorry you missed out on your Christmas Day dive! Hope tomorrow sees you underwater again

 

[rjens]

Glad to hear your hand is better, too bad about the dive. Sounds like you need a glass bottom kayak so you can check out the wildlife before joining the foodchain.

RJ

 

[DivemasterSteve]

i'm sorry sir to hear you had to abort the dive but i'm glad to hear your one of the smart ones that would and did abort. its much better to live and dive again tomorrow than to risk it and never dive again. Merry Christmas sir.

steve

 

[Dee]

We much prefer you be an old diver! Tomorrow is another day....

 

[rad21]

You made the right decision Gilligan

 

[R_Deluca]

Sorry that you had to miss your dive, but smart decision!

 

[Otter]

Chicken!.....Ok, well I know I would have done the same, but I KNOW I AM A CHICKEN!

A friend of mine just got back from Kauai....she had the 'opportunity' of diving with a 10' Tiger....crikey! No problems, but lots of nervous divers.

Glad we will be able to see your pics in the future....

 

[jepuskar]

Hey Gilligan, would you mind if I PM'ed you sometime soon about the local diving? I think a trip to Hawaii, specifically Maui is in my near future..would love to pick your brain about it.

Jason

 

[Gilligan]

jepuskar, feel free to e mail me or PM me anytime about diving on Maui.

Otter, I envy your friend being able to see aTiger Shark on a dive. I would love to have pics of one. The down side of that scenario for me being a solo diver is the 100% chance of me being the one who is eaten. At least with a group of divers the odds diminsh accordingly.

As for the shark yesterday,
I can't rule any type of shark cause the ocean is still somewhat of a mystery. I did however use information that routinely applies to Hawaii's inshore waters. The four sharks that are considered inshore and dangerous to man here are the Galapagos, Gray Reef, Hammerhead and Tiger. The Hammerhead is out as there is not mistaking its appearance. The Gray Reef is not commonly seen except out at Molokini Crater. That leaves the Tiger and the Galapagos.
I'm putting my money on the Galapagos because of the description in the Hoover book which considers them bold and inquisitive and potentially dangerous, especially to anyone carrying speared fish and the most likely shark to approach divers in Hawaiian waters.
My after thoughts on the experience was not so much about being attacked by it in the short time I was in the water but more about the amount of time I routinely spend gearing up and gearing down on my kayak when my legs are dangling overboard.