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- I'm a Fish!
wrote this for a local newspaper a while back, so excuse the over explanation, most of the readers are not divers. I don;t have any pictures to go along with the story as Saudi Coast Gaurd has a habbit fo taking camera's at the dock
It's 0400 and I'm shivering, wondering what possessed me to leave my light back on the boat. I'm floating in 130ft of black water on the windward side of Kiran Island, a small coral "bump" off the coast of Saudi Arabia. At 78F the air temp is a startling contrast to that of the water, a tepid 89F. Yet I'm still shivering. Moments ago I boarded a small zodiac after sharing breakfast and a smoke (I respectfully declined) with the first mate of the Ajaz 2, a 70ft vessel owned by a local dive operator. as the rest of the divers were sleeping, I was whisked 2500m up current at an alarming rate of speed to the far side of Kiran where I would begin my drift. It's still dark out, yet the full moon is bright enough to pilot by, and the many of the sizable population of sea turtles in this area can be seen breaking the surface of the water. The inflatable comes to a halt, I grab my float, line, and spear gun, don my fins, and slide into the black water.
No lights. Lights, although comforting, attract a great deal of unwanted attention when you're floating solo in an area know to be frequented by Tiger Sharks. So I wait, continuing my prayanna breathing, slowing my heart rate down and triggering a "mammalian diving reflex". I am free diving, so my heart rate and breathing rates are important as their speed will dictate my time spent at depth. The sun has begun to crest the horizon and I can hear the gulls waking on the island. Slowly my black surroundings grow to a deep blue. I have drifted closer to the island now, and can see the coral 50ft below me. I am now into the current that will take me around to the backside of the island. I load my gun and dive.
I touch sand at 40ft and stop. There are shadows in the distance, just on the edge of my vision, a school of jack. I return to the surface and pause, the down again. The jacks havent moved and I snake through the coral heads until Im close enough for a more detailed look. Theyre Trevally jacks, and at eight to ten pounds, very large for the gulf. I take aim and squeeze the trigger. My shaft slices through a large one and it bolts, my reel humming I return to the surface to play out the fish. Its a good hit and the travally quickly tires. I drag him in, one quick stick in the head with an Ice pick and there is no more shakes. He gets clipped him to my float and reload. My heart is pumping at this point, first kill of the day always gets me going, but I am hungry for more. Its been a slow summer and my lust for the hunt has reached an all time high. I dive back down and settle into a neutral position about 10ft off the sand and let the current take me. There is a surprising amount of life first thing in the morning, the parrot fish awakening from their cocooned sleep, crabs scampering across the sand to find dark places to hole up in for the day, and many large predators, my primary quarry, are still milling about, in their constant quest for food.
Ten to twelve 50ft dives later the sun is up, I have three large trevally jacks on my stringer and I have rounded the side of the island and have drifted into deeper water. I arch my back, feet above my head and prepare for the first deep hunt of the day. I slowly fin downwards, eyes panning in every direction, as the sand grows ever closer. With a gentle touch I stop my self and glance at my gauge, 72ft. To my right the sand slopes down into a deep blue, to my left a coral wall rises vertically to a depth of 40ft. I can see small grouper poking their heads out, wondering what this new creature will do next. The water is a wonderful cool temperature now, and its hard to find a reason to return to the hot surface, but after a slow tour of the wall I do. I work this wall for the next few hours, adding 2 more trevallys to my stringer. They are in large numbers here today, something I have never seen before.
I can now see the boat, about 500m to my left, and the sun is high in the sky and its around 10:30,. My stomach tells me its time for lunch, and I suck back the last of my water. I raise my float high in the air and wait for a response. One long tone on the ships horn and I have my answer, time for retrieval. The First mate, Mohammad arrives and drags my catch into the boat, hes impressed. I ask him Hamsa Dagiga? (Five Minutes?) and responds with a nod. I grab my gun, time for one more. The water is very deep here and he wants to drag me in closer but I decline. He doesnt believe I can reach the bottom. I promise him Ill bring up a rock to prove it. He smiles and I slip below the surface. I fin downwards, arms pointed forward like superman, and it begins to get colder. After I feel myself get heavy I stop finning and begin to glide. I cannot see the bottom yet, the visibility is about 50ft and there is sediment floating in the water. I glide deeper and pick up some speed, its a wonderful feeling and soon I see the bottom, barren sand, rushing towards me. I split my legs and brake, gently touching down on the sandy bottom. A small remora swims by, and I watch it, thinking, damn, thats funny, the only time I ever see these things their stuck under a shark . HOLY $#&@!
Suddenly I am starring into two very large black eyes set against a yellow face covered in spots. I roll backwards and almost soil my shorts. Its a Zebra Shark and hes a big one. This 300lb monster is closer to a puppy dog then Jaws, and they are very curious critters. But being surprised by one when its face is less then 3ft form yours is enough to freak anyone out. The shark circles me a few times as I kneel in the sand and moves on. I glance at my gauge, 89ft, and my deepest dive of the day. Time to go home. I begin my rather rapid assent, and break the surface with a well deserved gasp of hot acrid salt air. I pull my self into the boat, show Mohammad my gauge, and drop a handful of wet sand into his lap. He laughs and revs the outboard. 5mins later Im back to the boat. I toss the 3 biggest fish to Mohammad as a tip, cook one for shore lunch and ice the last for dinner. All in all a good day on the water.
It's 0400 and I'm shivering, wondering what possessed me to leave my light back on the boat. I'm floating in 130ft of black water on the windward side of Kiran Island, a small coral "bump" off the coast of Saudi Arabia. At 78F the air temp is a startling contrast to that of the water, a tepid 89F. Yet I'm still shivering. Moments ago I boarded a small zodiac after sharing breakfast and a smoke (I respectfully declined) with the first mate of the Ajaz 2, a 70ft vessel owned by a local dive operator. as the rest of the divers were sleeping, I was whisked 2500m up current at an alarming rate of speed to the far side of Kiran where I would begin my drift. It's still dark out, yet the full moon is bright enough to pilot by, and the many of the sizable population of sea turtles in this area can be seen breaking the surface of the water. The inflatable comes to a halt, I grab my float, line, and spear gun, don my fins, and slide into the black water.
No lights. Lights, although comforting, attract a great deal of unwanted attention when you're floating solo in an area know to be frequented by Tiger Sharks. So I wait, continuing my prayanna breathing, slowing my heart rate down and triggering a "mammalian diving reflex". I am free diving, so my heart rate and breathing rates are important as their speed will dictate my time spent at depth. The sun has begun to crest the horizon and I can hear the gulls waking on the island. Slowly my black surroundings grow to a deep blue. I have drifted closer to the island now, and can see the coral 50ft below me. I am now into the current that will take me around to the backside of the island. I load my gun and dive.
I touch sand at 40ft and stop. There are shadows in the distance, just on the edge of my vision, a school of jack. I return to the surface and pause, the down again. The jacks havent moved and I snake through the coral heads until Im close enough for a more detailed look. Theyre Trevally jacks, and at eight to ten pounds, very large for the gulf. I take aim and squeeze the trigger. My shaft slices through a large one and it bolts, my reel humming I return to the surface to play out the fish. Its a good hit and the travally quickly tires. I drag him in, one quick stick in the head with an Ice pick and there is no more shakes. He gets clipped him to my float and reload. My heart is pumping at this point, first kill of the day always gets me going, but I am hungry for more. Its been a slow summer and my lust for the hunt has reached an all time high. I dive back down and settle into a neutral position about 10ft off the sand and let the current take me. There is a surprising amount of life first thing in the morning, the parrot fish awakening from their cocooned sleep, crabs scampering across the sand to find dark places to hole up in for the day, and many large predators, my primary quarry, are still milling about, in their constant quest for food.
Ten to twelve 50ft dives later the sun is up, I have three large trevally jacks on my stringer and I have rounded the side of the island and have drifted into deeper water. I arch my back, feet above my head and prepare for the first deep hunt of the day. I slowly fin downwards, eyes panning in every direction, as the sand grows ever closer. With a gentle touch I stop my self and glance at my gauge, 72ft. To my right the sand slopes down into a deep blue, to my left a coral wall rises vertically to a depth of 40ft. I can see small grouper poking their heads out, wondering what this new creature will do next. The water is a wonderful cool temperature now, and its hard to find a reason to return to the hot surface, but after a slow tour of the wall I do. I work this wall for the next few hours, adding 2 more trevallys to my stringer. They are in large numbers here today, something I have never seen before.
I can now see the boat, about 500m to my left, and the sun is high in the sky and its around 10:30,. My stomach tells me its time for lunch, and I suck back the last of my water. I raise my float high in the air and wait for a response. One long tone on the ships horn and I have my answer, time for retrieval. The First mate, Mohammad arrives and drags my catch into the boat, hes impressed. I ask him Hamsa Dagiga? (Five Minutes?) and responds with a nod. I grab my gun, time for one more. The water is very deep here and he wants to drag me in closer but I decline. He doesnt believe I can reach the bottom. I promise him Ill bring up a rock to prove it. He smiles and I slip below the surface. I fin downwards, arms pointed forward like superman, and it begins to get colder. After I feel myself get heavy I stop finning and begin to glide. I cannot see the bottom yet, the visibility is about 50ft and there is sediment floating in the water. I glide deeper and pick up some speed, its a wonderful feeling and soon I see the bottom, barren sand, rushing towards me. I split my legs and brake, gently touching down on the sandy bottom. A small remora swims by, and I watch it, thinking, damn, thats funny, the only time I ever see these things their stuck under a shark . HOLY $#&@!
Suddenly I am starring into two very large black eyes set against a yellow face covered in spots. I roll backwards and almost soil my shorts. Its a Zebra Shark and hes a big one. This 300lb monster is closer to a puppy dog then Jaws, and they are very curious critters. But being surprised by one when its face is less then 3ft form yours is enough to freak anyone out. The shark circles me a few times as I kneel in the sand and moves on. I glance at my gauge, 89ft, and my deepest dive of the day. Time to go home. I begin my rather rapid assent, and break the surface with a well deserved gasp of hot acrid salt air. I pull my self into the boat, show Mohammad my gauge, and drop a handful of wet sand into his lap. He laughs and revs the outboard. 5mins later Im back to the boat. I toss the 3 biggest fish to Mohammad as a tip, cook one for shore lunch and ice the last for dinner. All in all a good day on the water.
