Swimming with a shark...

[HighTide]

This past November I went down to the British Virgin Islands with friends of mine. We started off in Tartola, rented a 44' Catamaran, and then we proceeded to island hop the surrounding British Virgin Islands. One of the stops was lovely I was learning how to snorkel, had just done my first semi-serious free dive to pick up what I thought was a conch- and it ended up being a large hermit crab... I had come face to face with a baracuda, which I had never done in the water, and the trip was amazing to me so far. We were getting our snorkeling gear on, and a friend who was already in the water- started yelling that there was a shark. I had always joked with my friends my whole life, that if someone started shouting shark, while everyone else was running away, I would run in. Funny thing is, with this group of friends, that's what we'd all do. We knew she wasn't getting attacked, and it ended up being a nurse shark who was just chilling out about 20-25 feet below, but it was great to find out for a fact that it wasn't something I just said. When someone shouted shark, I did, in fact, go towards it. That entire trip was amazing. Also got the chance to see a giant ray with 2 little ones. Just awe inspiring.

[flyfish]

Originally Posted by HighTide This past November I went down to the British Virgin Islands with friends of mine. We started off in Tartola, rented a 44' Catamaran, and then we proceeded to island hop the surrounding British Virgin Islands. One of the stops was lovely I was learning how to snorkel, had just done my first semi-serious free dive to pick up what I thought was a conch- and it ended up being a large hermit crab... I had come face to face with a baracuda, which I had never done in the water, and the trip was amazing to me so far. We were getting our snorkeling gear on, and a friend who was already in the water- started yelling that there was a shark. I had always joked with my friends my whole life, that if someone started shouting shark, while everyone else was running away, I would run in. Funny thing is, with this group of friends, that's what we'd all do. We knew she wasn't getting attacked, and it ended up being a nurse shark who was just chilling out about 20-25 feet below, but it was great to find out for a fact that it wasn't something I just said. When someone shouted shark, I did, in fact, go towards it. That entire trip was amazing. Also got the chance to see a giant ray with 2 little ones. Just awe inspiring. What an amazing adventure you must have had. I’ll be totally honest with you though. I would have been the first out of the water. I like my limbs and wish to keep them all in tact. LOL

[HighTide]

I was a marine bio major for a while... Depending on the shark, and how many there are, being in the water with them isn't normally bad unless you decide to annoy the shark. That's always a bad idea . She stuck around, looked at us for a few minutes, then just swam away. It was amazing!

[hooked]

I have to admit that I'd been out of the water faster than Superman can fly...lol. The rest of your trip sounds incredible though. I have never been the Virgin Islands or anywhere similar so would have enjoyed seeing nature up close and personal like that.

[got_fish03]

What a great sea adventure you had there, captain. I would never ever swim or snorkel on the waters infested with sharks. I admit that I really am afraid of carnivorous sea creatures especially deadly ones like the stingray (I remember how Steve Irwin died from being barbed by a stingray on his chest).

[Humber]

Originally Posted by HighTide I was a marine bio major for a while... Depending on the shark, and how many there are, being in the water with them isn't normally bad unless you decide to annoy the shark. That's always a bad idea That reminds me of an anecdote a coworker told me about someone he knew who went of a guided dive "with sharks" at a vacation area. Of course he was instructed to keep his arms close to his body, the story goes that when he got down there in front of a shark he actually made contact by touching the shark. Apparently the instructor was very concerned and began gesturing with his hand in front of the dumb guy's face, then quickly reconsidered his own advice and pulled his arm close to his body. There was no unfortunate ending to this. That may be a fish story, but there are some pretty off-the-wall people out there.