Running with the Bulls.........

[Walter]

I am not upset with any of the folks who were on the boat. Should they have come for us? Yes. OTOH, I can see why they did what they did. I didn't hang on the surface for confirmation. I couldn't, but they didn't know that. Everything about this dive was unusual. I've never seen sharks act like this except around spearfishing and this was more extreme than anything I've experienced even then. Denial is common in us all. When one person gives a quick distress signal and immediately disappears, a very experienced diver might think, that looks extremely unusual, I'd better get there ASAP. OTOH, I'm sure most divers with Tracy's experience level would have acted in a similar manner. Asking for confirmation of the distress signal, makes sense, getting an OK in response means sit tight. I can't fault them at all. OTOH, I know everyone on the boat, including Lil Sis with her 5 dives of experience, would react differently today to any distress signal. Every dive is a learning experience and everyone (3 in the water and 3 on the boat) learned from this one.

 

[TheCaptain]

I've learned a lot, from this, in particular not to emerge after the other two and report ok to the boat without consulting with the buddies! anyway, great experience and honestly, probably because of my inexperience in dives with sharks, iàve never had the sensation of real danger, probably because even if it was the first time we were diving togheter we shared automatically thje responsabilities and the watch sectors, trusting one each other.
as for the distress signal, probably I would not have called it, we were 50 mt or less from the boat, the time they could start the engine and rise the anchor was too much to recover us.
Lessons learnedç
if you have a speargun in the boat, take it with you, even if you don't like scuba fishing

Thankyou again to the buddies and the crew. ready for another ride . . .

TheCaptain

 

[DennisW]

Walter called me while he was driving home and told me the story. Man, that's scary. A big Bull Sharks actually, any Bull Shark that gets agressive is dangerous. I've only seen the backside of one as it was getting the heck out of the area while divers were decending on a bridge section off Panama City. That one was a pretty big one, but I was glad to see his backside.

Like Walter said, every dive is a learning experience. Thankfully this one ended as a good learning experience. It's great we have people to share their dives so we all can learn as well.

 

[Orlando Eric]

Walter I am going to respect your perspective of this bullSHark story. Sounds like they were crusing around you pretty close with the intent of checking you out too closely.

I know that our dives here in Jupiter Very often include BullShark encounters. As a matter of fact the local fisherman have been catching 5'+ off the beach by my apt latley. (They smoke the meat and eat them.)

BaitedStorm was making her way through a swim through in Jupiter and came face to snout with a Bullshark in a one lane tunnel and they both turned and finned away.

We often dive with Blacktips, Carribean Reef, Bullsharks, and sometimes a few hammerheads. I have never thought I was going to "Get bit" yet. Hoepfully if they do it will be over the head and at the neck and I never see it coming.

Knowing your expericence level though I will believe that these two were wondering if you "taste like Tuna?" Which is the what sea creatures think in lieu of chicken.

As far as "bring a speargun for protection." A spear in a 10' bull is going to be like a Pellet in a Pitbull... you are going to have an angry critter on your hands.

There is a option but I will not post it here. Go to a spearfishing store, look around and think outside the box.

Eric

 

[Walter]

Dario,

I was amazed at how well the three of us meshed on our first dive together, especially when things started going wrong. I'd happily dive with you and/or Jim anytime.

You may be right, they might not have been able to pull the anchor and get to us any quicker than we were able to get to the boat on our own, especially with that slow windlass, but with a person pulling the anchor, they might have gotten us out sooner. The other point is we were lucky the Bulls backed off from time to time. That allowed us to swim to the boat. They could have kept us from making any progress. If that had happened, we would have needed that pick up. We should have called for a pick up after our first close encounter and not tried to continue west.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

...Like Walter said, every dive is a learning experience. Thankfully this one ended as a good learning experience. It's great we have people to share their dives so we all can learn as well.

Amen.

Pictures anyone?

Here are the pictures from the dive day... low viz as they are

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=1817

Enjoy

 

[Walter]

Eric,

I've had sharks come straight at me before, but never with the erratic movements like this. I've never felt a shark might actually be coming after me or my buddies before. Yesterday, things could easily have gone horribly wrong. BTW, that is an excellent idea, it would have been good to have had that option as a last resort yesterday. I actually have one packed away. It might be time to unpack.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Dario,

I was amazed at how well the three of us meshed on our first dive together, especially when things started going wrong. I'd happily dive with you and/or Jim anytime.

You may be right, they might not have been able to pull the anchor and get to us any quicker than we were able to get to the boat on our own, especially with that slow windlass...

Agree, we worked well together as our experiences have taught us.

We did not panic at the time, we did not panic after the fact. We discussed with everyone our experiences, what was done right, what was done wrong... and everyone learned from it.

No injuries to report... Hey, successful dive!

I actually WILL dive with Dario and Walter again before the summer is up... that is a given.

Additionally, I will be diving next weekend with many who were on the boat this weekend.

Had a fantastic day of fun... just read my byline and you will understand when I say.... Great dives yesterday.... memories I will never forget... ALL of them good memories

 

[dive4funOften]

Walter you always have all the fun!

Gosh I am glad no one got hurt by those nasty bulls!

 

[Scuba_Dad]

Walter,
Excellent trip report. I'm glad everything turned out OK. You shared several lessons learned, and I appreciate you sharing them with us.

btw... you probably scared that poor old bull half to death when you charged him. Just think of the psycological impact you had on him. He probably will never charge another diver again.

Al