Startled UW

[Uncle Pug]

Watching Blue Planet I saw the video of the white shark coming up from below to strike the seal shape target containing the camera... WOW!

Have you ever been startled by a fast approaching unidentified object UW???

I have been startled before by sea lions.... actually had one slam into me from behind once... but I wasn't startled until I turned around to punch my buddy back and found out that it wasn't my buddy...

Well today we were on the other side of the fence....

Shane and I were cruising along with our scooters at 65 fsw in 10~15 viz when I noticed something thrashing the bottom off to my right...

It was a diver on his back flailing wildly trying to reverse course!!!

I thought maybe he was in trouble so I turned toward him and the thrashing really went into high gear...

We had startled the poor guy and he was digging a trench trying to get away from the sea monsters that had come out of the haze!

 

[Greg G.]

Uhm, sort of. Actually, it was me who was moving and the object was still. Very low vis (3ft) on a shore dive to the 100ft rock. Oh I found it ok, it suddenly loomed out of the darkness, almost ran smack into it.

Originally posted by Uncle Pug
Have you ever be startled by a fast approaching unidentified object UW???

 

[Arduous]

When cruising along the deep and feeling like I’m the boss, I have always found it quite humbling , when something pulls up along side of me that’s bigger than me and certainly not afraid of me. Guess I’m not really the boss after all.

………… Arduous ………….

 

[Greg G.]

And? We're waiting for the other shoe to drop, what was it?

Originally posted by Arduous
When cruising along the deep and feeling like I’m the boss, I have always found it quite humbling , when something pulls up along side of me that’s bigger than me and certainly not afraid of me. Guess I’m not really the boss after all.

………… Arduous ………….

 

[The Chairman]

in a whopping 12 ft of water( or there abouts, it has been years), trying to find the mast of a long sunk boat. This was at Ponce Inlet, just north of where all the spinner sharks took several hunks of the surf boys this past Spring. Any way, the viz was way bad, and I thought I had found the tip protruding from the sand and I was fanning the sand away when BLAMMO!!! I was run over by a 3 ft + shark. He probably was a large spinner, but since I was rolled over, I did not get a clear picture. Needless to say, I was too rattled to continue the search. Guess next time I should put on some running lights!

The other time I was with a spear fisher in the Gulf. Just as he hit a nice size fish a Bull Shark came over the top of us to snare the prize. That indeed startled the snot out of me, but not as much as him fighting the fool thing for the fish! Yes, he got the fish, but he also got an ear full topside, and couldn't understand why my diving was done for the day. I will NEVER dive with him again.

 

[DennisW]

I was diving with Walter off Venice Beach, FL this past year in nearly zero viz looking for fossilized sharks teeth, when a small flounder popped out of the sand right into my mask and face. I think I sucked a whole quarter of my tank in one breath. Scared the bejeezus out of me. Oh, yes, I found a couple hundred sharks teeth. No Megaladons, though.

 

[gozumutti]

It was definitely YIKES when a triggerfish tried to take a chunk out of my fin.....it cost me 50 bar when I saw a woman fingering around the reef (a no-no, that!) about 5 inches away from a stonefish (but I secretly hoped that darwinism would strike ) ...

But I was most startled when suddenly something pulled HARD at my console.....a diver in the group had come up from behind and wanted to know how much air I still had....he had been complaining on the boat already about him (200+ dives) having to put up with a beginner (me, 20+ dives at that time) although he had NEVER been in the water with me....

Well....you know how it is with beginners....we don't know what we are doing and we get scared easily, and of course I apologized later for removing his mask with my elbow (incidentally a handy maneuver for rude divers everywhere - oh, so sorry, you scared me hehehe)

 

[SunshineFish]

My second night dive ever, I'm slowly cruising along back to shore, hoping to catch a glimpse of something, anything, to make this dive memorable.

I let my flashilight dangle on my wrist as I cleared the water out of my mask. Looking down to retrieve my light, I see a humongous green moral eel staring up at me that practically made me jump out of my skin. I had never seen a green moray before and it sure looked real scary at night.

:hiding: On that note, I startled myself when I saw the current cover of Rodale's.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Don't know if "startled" is just right - "startled" is when the bad guys' missle radar locks you up.
"Concerned" - a couple of serious bowed-back pectorals down attack mode bull sharks had me concerned this summer...
"Impressed" - The resident Tarpon off Buddy's/Lion's Dive (Bonaire) bumping you as he goes by to hunt in your light at night is impressive.
"Surprised" - at the "thwock!" sound of a big Jewfish suddenly engulfing a good sized snapper.
"Scared" - of getting my teeth knocked out trying to get back aboard when a sudden storm has popped up while we were diving..
Rick

 

[VTWarrenG]

I was poking my head into a wreck off of southern Florida, where I saw an enormous barracuda. I startled IT by poking my big bubbling head into his home. He got me back rather handily though -- he darted out through a porhole, came around behind me, and gave my bright green fin a good hard bite! It still bears the teethmarks.

- Warren