My fears in the water!!!!

[Doc]

As JR alluded to just before, balance possibilities against probabilities. Give concern to the things that are probable.

All great advice above as well, but...

• Moray Eels are fairly myopic (nearsighted). Unless you dangle your fingers inches from their faces, you are not well recognized.

• Want something to worry about? Even more common than mechanical failures, consider well the microbes that live in the life-soup that is the Ocean.

Watch your skin cuts and scrapes and keep them covered, add a little Neosporin. Get your innoculations such as Hepatitis and Tetanus.

Then worry about the DM's attentions :love3: towards any females in your group

 

[Andy077]

I was lucky to see all of those within 2 days in the Caymans, along with some big hawksbills. The big hammerhead just cruised by, gave a look and kept going, the 'cudas were curious, one followed me for w hile, tailing me at my 6:00, it's kinda unnerving to turn around and see the toothy grin behind you, but they're harmless, too. As for the eels, keep your fingers to yourself, and you're fine. The turtles however, went right where they were going, and made us get out of their way

 

[AbyssalPlains]

but what happens when you do it by mistake and all of the sudden you find yourself with a barracuda or an eel? What is the best response? What is the best action to take?
CC

Simple: No "action" required. You just chill out and enjoy the dive. You leave them alone, they leave you alone. As far as eels go, unless you bury your arm deep inside their hole and corner them, they will never harm you. This situation, from what you describe, is impossible to happen.
Barracudas can be a bit intimidating, but they usually just hang around and chill. sometimes they close in on divers, and that can be a little unnerving, especially when there is a group of them, but I have never felt threatened. As a matter of fact, I like to extend my safety stop a little if cudas are around, because once the other divers leave the water, the cudas come a little closer. I got some pretty awesome pictures of them, taken from just inches away. I've heard stories of barracudas attacking shiny objects attached to divers, especially in murkier water. This is something I can't speak to much, as I have never observed it. Personally, I try to limit the extent of sparkly danglies and don't worry about it.

 

[siikik]

I suspect that the more you dive and see eels or barracuda, the more you will relax around them. My first experience with barracuda was, to say the least, impressive. We were diving a wreck off of West Palm and it was surrounded by a school of at least several hundred barracuda. But all they did was watch us. I think we didn't look very tasty.



Ken

 

[Andy077]

And don't forget, the foolproof way to keep from being eaten by a shark. At the first sign of aggressive shark behavior, stab your dive buddy in the hamstrings.

 

[TennisCoach]

At the first sign of aggressive shark behavior, stab your dive buddy in the hamstrings.

ROTFLMAO I will keep that in mind.

 

[J.R.]

And don't forget, the foolproof way to keep from being eaten by a shark. At the first sign of aggressive shark behavior, stab your dive buddy in the hamstrings.

Yea... as you'll probably hear more than once... you don't have to swim fast... just faster than your buddy....

Oh... and sikik pointed out:

I suspect that the more you dive and see eels or barracuda, the more you will relax around them.

I'd add that as you learn to relax you'll also improve your possiblity of seeing them... a lot of folk miss so much because they're working like heck to SEE things... I know that might sound like a contradiction... but... trust me on this one..

 

[paradicio]

If you really want to avoid seeing Sharks, carry a camera. As Dr. Bill says; they're the best shark repellent.

 

[boulderjohn]

Barracudas and eels have something in common, which is the need to force water past their gills when they are not moving. They do this by opening and closing their mouths. This makes it appear as if they are making a threatening or aggressive attitude, but they are really just breathing. I have never heard of anyone ever having a problem with a barracuda, and the only person I ever saw having a problem with an eel was an idiot who was antagonizing one with his fingers on a YouTube video. (You should see it--it includes both his relentless harrassment of the eel and what his hand looks like after the surgeons replaced his thumb. After the first part of the film, you are definitely rooting for the eel.)

As for sharks, look at the accounts of world wide shark attacks and you will see that they just about never involve divers. Almost all shark attacks occur to people on the surface, and they usually occur in the morning or early evening, when the light is poor. They are just about always cases of mistaken identity--one bite (Ooops! My mistake!) and the shark is gone. In the case of divers, they usually have time to figure out what you are and realize you are not on the menu.

There are some reare exceptions. Sometimes a shark will act aggressively toward a diver, usually because of a territorial dispute. In such a case, they usually give a warning that you are in their space and you should back down. (I have never seen this happen, by the way.) If that happens, back away carefully and even go to the bottom if it is nearby. That should defuse the problem.

 

[LowVizWiz]

... actually, I'd like to give you a more 'productive' answer than just calming phrases...

"Fear" has, at its base, one underlying foundation... that is, simply put, ignorance. A lack of knowledge about something causes people to try to fill in the blanks... and these 'fills' generally tend toward the extremes. Experience is one way of gaining knowledge that will help us dispose of our fears or... at least, put them in perspective and allow us to fill in those blanks with more temperate views.

We all have a choice of whether to act on our fears... or to see them as an opportunity to reseach and learn about that which we don't understand. There are a lot of GOOD books out there... and experienced people... who can be sources for understanding the REAL behaviors and manner of barracudas, sharks and what-not. You can learn to understand their "language" and to help give you clues about when you might be doing something that makes them say... "stay clear"...

Now... to balance this... I'd point out that inbetween "fear" and "heroics" lies the land of "respect"... you ARE playing in an area that is much more *their* home than yours... so a healthy "respect" of these critters is most definately and rightly warranted...

These a words to live by, well said J.R. underwater or above water! People are afraid of what they don't know.

The most dangerous creature you should be on the look out for on the reefs in So. Florida or elsewhere is a nesting triggerfish!