Shark Bait
In case you didn’t know, I’m a
Floridian. The ocean does not scare me. However, I hold a healthy respect for
stingrays, jellyfish, man-o-war’s, the sharks, and any other creature that may
deem me an in-between-meal snack.
One day this summer I found myself
on a glass-bottom-boat tour in the Bahamas. The boat was older, privately
owned, but still a sea-worthy vessel. The captain stopped the boat in forty
foot, crystal clear waters. The first mate tells us the fish are plentiful and
will come to the boat if we throw fish food overboard. Which he is selling for
two dollars a cup. I smile and decline, as the others clamor for their wallets.
As a school of yellow tail snapper
swarm beneath the hull and fight for the food thrown overboard, I catch a
glimpse of something gliding by further below, probably thirty to forty feet
further down. A man-eater. I think it’s a sand shark, but it’s hard to tell
from the straight down angle through the double pane glass.
My first thought was the shark came
to feed on the yellow tails. Then I became concerned for the dive boat off of
our port bow. I wanted to talk to the captain so he could give warning. I found
him on the upper deck, holding a line strung through a barracuda. I keep my
concerns to myself and scurry back down to the lower deck. The Bahamian captain
displayed a confidence handling the line. There was something about to take
place that I did not want to miss, no matter how respectful I may be toward to
the terrifying sea life.
The view to the bottom now shows
not one, but three sharks, far below, gliding back and forth, as if keeping
sentry. The intercom announces to the passengers the captain has a ‘treat’ for
us, and we should all come to the starboard side to catch a glimpse of a great
white.
Every one of us lined up, cameras
ready. I found a spot on the starboard side with a view of the upper deck where
the captain stood, all the way to the water surface below. I cued up the video.
The captain dropped the barracuda
attached by a rope into the water. Within five seconds he had a bite. He and
his first mate heaved the line to withdraw from the water a six-foot behemoth,
holding the offered shark bait with row upon row of dagger shaped teeth.
They continued to pull this monster
from another age up and out of the water, until the thing was within an arm’s
reach of the crew on the upper deck. Literally. An arm’s reach. The Captain,
still holding the line with one hand, reached out and pets the damn thing. He
pets the snout, inches from those blades of teeth!
After the display, the crew lowered
the rope the living nightmare held through the barracuda. When the tip of the
shark’s tail touched the water’s surface, the jaws clamped shut, biting through
the bait, and the beast fell back with a minimum of water displacement. Two
thirds of the barracuda swung on the tether. The nervous passengers were asked
over the intercom if we’d like to see the shark again.
A second lowering of the shark bait
brought a fight amongst the monstrosities. Shark noses, eyes and jaws broke the
surface in a frenzied froth. The shark that won the battle for the bloody
remnants was pulled out of the water as the first had been. To say the
six-footer was the behemoth was an overstatement. The second shark’s tail
barely cleared the water as the Captain, from the upper deck, cooed and petted
the living nightmare. Again, as the show came to an end, and the crew lowered
the colossus to the surface, the moment the tail touched water the teeth of the
ancient predator ripped through the barracuda and splashed back to the depths
from which it rose.
Afterwards, I watched my video
recording of the first shark. The angle, the lighting, the Captain, the shark,
and even the barracuda were recorded perfectly from my spot on the starboard
side. While not a great white, I’m pretty sure it was a thresher, but it could
have been a sand shark. Gratitude is offered to my fellow passengers for
screaming, scurrying from the rail, and staying out of my camera shot for the
entire show. What did you think? The sharks would fly over the rail and eat
you?
Well, then again...
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