Two Words: WHALE SHARK !!!

[ItsBruce]

On June 30, my kid (a product of my “Grow Your Own Dive Buddy Program”) and I did a two-tank dive out of Port Allen, Kauai.

After our first dive, a drift dive, we returned to the boat for our surface interval. The boat continued to drift. Sitting there and just hanging out, someone noticed a dark shape under the surface about 15 feet off the starboard quarter, and announced “turtle.” Someone else responded: “No, too big … manta!” Our dive master, Pete added: “NO! Wrong Shape! It’s a WHALE SHARK.” I grabbed my camera and got off one frame as Pete jumped into the water. I dropped my camera, slipped on my fins and jumped in myself. I put on my mask as I kicked at full speed in the direction Pete had headed. About the time I had cleared my mask, the whale shark had turned to see what the commotion was about. The rest of the divers joined us by pretty quickly. For 7 or 8 minutes, the whale shark played “tag” and just “hung out” with us. It passed within 3 feet of me no less than 10 times. I avoided touching it for fear of spooking it or otherwise damaging its skin. For as close as it passed, that took some effort.

The dives themselves would have been great -- had the surface interval not been so exceptional. What a rush!

 

[H2Andy]

very, very cool

 

[calscubagirl]

I'm so jealous!! Way to go! You were in the right place at the right time! Good for you!!

 

[Jcsgt]

Way to go, Bruce! Diving with a whale shark is #1 on my list of critters I most want to dive with.

 

[downdeep]

Could you please request its presence on Kona mid August?

 

[ItsBruce]

Don't get me started on Kona. I did the manta night dive last year. There were more mantas than you could shake a stick at. This year, we sat on the bottom and waited. And waited. When the mantas did not show, we did a basiic night dive back toward our boat. What a disappointment after the whale shark! However, as we approached the boat, who should we see? None other than a manta feeding in the light of the boat's deck and boarding lights! There were something like 10 boats in the area and only the divers from our boat and one or two others saw the manta. (We were with Kona Honu Divers. It uses a big boat which generates a LOT of light.)

 

[SoggyShoes]

Swimming with the whale sharks is amazing. I did it last year in Mexico. In the northern part of the Yucatan Peninsula there is an estuary for them. I am not sure how long they stay but I think that they are there now (we went in June). In the estuary you are NOT allowed to SCUBA only snorkel but it is so worth it. The nice thing about snorkeling instead of diving is that family members that do not dive can go and see why we are obsessed about being under water. I went through a great dive shop in Playa Del Carmen called Yucatek Divers. The shop is run by a German lady named Yolanda. All there dive instructors and guides speak perfect English and she takes very good care of you. It is a high quality shop/ guide/ instruction operation. Yolanda also owns a hotel next to the dive shop. Here is a link to the shop: http://www.divetrip.com/playa/yucatek.htm . The whale sharks we saw and spent several hours swimming with were all between 30- 45 feet. They have videos of one that is almost 60 feet! Its mouth was about 6 feet wide. Fortunately, they are filter feeders! It is worth the trip!

 

[TheFoggyMask]

Does the grow-a-buddy kit come in a deluxe pack where one might incubate and facilitate its growth for faster results? Also, do they count as people?

There are way too many critters out there that I wanna see. I watched Ralph and Norton at the Atlanta aquarium for three days solid. They've got girlfriends now!

 

[ItsBruce]

Growing one's own buddy is a slow process. And, now that I've grown one, I'm trying to slow it down. He wants a car. At some point, he may want to be with a YG and then heaven forbid, an XYG, rather than diving with me.

The IRS says they count as people.

 

[Aquanautchuck]

They are number one on my list also. I was in Roatan two years ago and they were around but I did not see one. I am so jealous.