- HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION
-
- By Todd Gatesh
-
-
- I have just spent today washing my boat, flushing the
motor with fresh
- water and cleaning my dive gear.
- About a month ago I invited Jim Hamilton over for a weekend
of diving
- during the Labor Day holiday. Jim readily agreed as he
and I wanted to
- explore some new areas with great potential as well as
check out an old
- favorite, an offshore rock pinnacle where I had seen
a large blue marlin
- 2 years ago at this time of year. Jim flew over to Tucson
and we drove
- down the mainland of Mexico to the Sea of Cortez in my
truck.
-
- When we arrived it was the day after the hurricane had
past through the
- area and so the humidity was near 100% and the air temperature
about 100
- degrees. Also, I believe that the mosquito density was
approaching
- 100%! We set off from the hotel in my truck early the
second morning in
- the dark, hoping to avoid setting up my inflatable boat
on the beach in
- the blazing sun. After a 2-hour drive to a remote beach
we launched the
- boat and off we went to the offshore rock.
-
- Upon our arrival we noticed that there were about 20
sealions on the
- rock and in the water surrounding the south point of
the island.
- Sealions are not unusual at this spot but usually there
are no more than
- one or three juveniles. Two big bulls were sharing an
entire large
- harem of females this time. The rock is approximately
200 feet by 50
- feet in size and maybe 40 feet above the waterline. The
surrounding
- water is very deep, plunging to over 200 feet less than
25 yards
- offshore.
-
- Jim and I anchored my inflatable boat by wedging the
anchor in a crack
- between two large rocks in about 50 feet of water; easy
freediving
- depth. The visibility seemed about 30-40 feet and the
current was non
- existent. Jim got in first and then did I. Both of us
were hunting the
- blue water for the usual game fish of that area, tuna,
billfish, dorado,
- etc and therefore we didn't really concentrate any diving
near the rock
- at first but instead dove about 100 yards from the rock.
After a few
- hours of swimming in large circles around the rock and
seeing not a
- single gamefish of any size, I started diving near the
rock itself
- looking not only for a potential reef fish to spear but
also just
- enjoying freediving and observing the tiny aquarium type
fish which
- inhabit this place.
-
- I swam near the end of the rock that the sealions were
claiming as their
- territory. 18 sealions or so where out swimming in the
water in a small
- group patrolled by the resident males with a few females
choosing to
- bask in the sun. Unfortunately, at this time a big seal
took a huge
- crap and I was forced to swim through a cloud of brown
chunky seal shit.
- The south end of the rock has the only place for man
or beast to get out
- of the water. The spot comprises one small horizontal
shelf of rock
- about three feet by seven feet on an otherwise vertical
piece of
- bird-shit splattered granite rock. The shelf is 2 feet
above the
- waterline and the sealions have no difficulty jumping
up onto it. One
- entire side of the rock is a shear wall, which drops
vertically to 60
- feet before tapering into a steep downward angle to 200
feet. This
- vertical wall is right below the sealion's rookery and
is a great spot
- to spearfish for leopard grouper if the sealions will
leave you alone.
-
- As I said, I was swimming around the outside edge of
the group of
- sealions trying to avoid antagonizing the big bulls.
To do this, I swam
- well around their group on the outside of them while
making my dives.
- The bulls would swim near me and growl, showing me their
nasty teeth and
- barking with authority! I was not to have one of their
females! (Sorry
- guys, I can do better.)
- Unfortunately, at this time a big seal took a huge crap
right in front
- of me and I was forced to swim through an enormous brown
cloud of chunky
- seal shit. When seals go, they must crap about 15 pounds
worth!
-
- Anyhow, I was in a "bottomless" depth, not
being able to see the
- seafloor from about 40 feet down, trying to circumvent
these nasty
- creatures. I had the group of sealions to my left side,
behind them was
- the vertical wall of underwater rock and above them was
their little
- haul out spot. To my right was a solid curtain of murky
blue with
- perhaps 30 feet of visibility. I was eyeing the sealions
from
- underwater to make sure one of those males didn't try
to seek up behind
- me and give me a bite. They were not huge males but they
were
- definitely anxious about my presence and could cause
me trouble.
-
- I was down on a dive to about 40 feet when all at once
there was a loud
- "boom!" as the sealions darted in unison back
to the rock wall with a
- couple of them leaping out of the water! Even the big
males cracked
- their tails and hi-tailed it back to the rock. They acted
exactly like
- a school of frightened baitfish. Never in my life had
I seen seals
- behave in this manner. I was now left alone about 20
feet out from the
- ball of barking nervous seals who were hugging the rock
wall. Talk
- about shit your pants!!! Those bastards set me up as
bait! Of course
- I immediately spun around and looked into the murky blue
curtain of
- water as I sunk vertically into the depths. I quickly
scanned side to
- side and up and down....nothing. I didn't feel too good
about what had
- happened but then again there wasn't anything in the
water. I suppose
- if one seal acts like an idiot, all of the others will
automatically
- follow.
-
- I swam around the harem, back to my little inflatable
boat, threw the
- speargun in and climbed over the side. I took a break,
drank some
- unfortunately hot bottled water that had been siting
in the sun and for
- energy munched some oat bran cookies. I looked for Jim
and saw his
- floats off of the northern point of the rock. The sealions
were at the
- south end. Eventually I was rested up and decided to
make another grand
- circuit tour of the island, this time without my speargun
since there
- really wasn't anything to shoot and carrying it was becoming
a pain. I
- just wanted to freedive without having to carry something
and be able to
- enjoy the long meditations of a deep ride down. Jim joined
me after a
- while and we made some fairly deep dives in blue water
all around the
- rock. This lasted for many hours throughout the day and
into mid
- afternoon. I dove down and checked the anchor which I
found was right
- where I placed it wedged into a deep fissure in the rock.
Clearly my
- little boat wasn't going to drift off in the wind without
us. Jim began
- to have sinus trouble and headed back to the boat for
some fluids and
- rest.
-
- I came around the rock once again by myself. As I neared
the sealions,
- I veered out away from them into deep water making a
large circular
- path. I wanted to give them plenty of room. While diving
down in the
- vicinity of the sealions, "Boom!" they all
charge back to the rock and
- leave me all alone to quietly sink into the depths. This
time I had no
- gun and wasted no time with my scan. I gazed into the
depths looking
- for a predator...shit! Nothing! Bastard sealions!
-
- I swam around them and back to the boat where Jim was.
I drank some
- more water and told Jim about the strange behavior of
the seals. Jim
- said, "Hmmm, really? I didn't notice them acting
strange when I swam
- by". We both got back into the water and at this
point we had been
- diving for maybe 5 hours. We both decided to forsake
the guns and
- concentrate on our diving technique. (Jim really couldn't
dive deep
- due to his sinus troubles). We swam back past the sealions
and I made
- a dive right below them while Jim watched me from above.
I closed my
- eyes as I usually do and relaxed....10 seconds, 20 seconds,
30
- seconds,....must be approaching 65 feet.....open my eyes
to check the
- bottom....there it is....pull out and glide towards a
nice boulder to
- lay on. I look up in front of me.
-
- Wow! Holy cow! I'm right in the middle of a huge school
of leopard
- grouper. Really big ones and they are all around me!
Big fat white
- bellies hanging off of each one of them. I don't think
any fish were
- less than 20 pounds.
-
- I quietly push off of the bottom, close my eyes and ascend
the water
- column. It takes a bit of time to swim up from 65 feet
and I just
- meditate on the way. As I break the surface, I excitedly
tell Jim
- about the unusual school of big leopards below and he
suggests that I
- get my new speargun out of the boat. My new gun has never
been fired so
- I'm anxious to test it for accuracy and range. When I
return, the
- sealions are all around us because the school of fish
is right below
- them. Jim acts as the safety man, stays on the surface
and feeds me my
- float line so that I do not have to feel the floatation
of the line
- through the gun.
-
- I close my eyes and concentrate on relaxing the large
muscles of my
- back, my neck, my thighs and my calves. I'll have to
dive a bit deeper
- this time to make a good intercept. Not an overly deep
dive, but one
- that will have to be executed perfectly in order for
me to have a decent
- bottom time at 70 feet. I inhale slowly and exhale fully
several
- times, each time trying to get more air into my lungs
without more
- muscular effort. I adjust my shoulders, sternum and ribcage
to an
- optimum position for inhalation. When I'm about to fall
asleep and I
- have a very slight feeling of hyperventilation, I slow
my breathing rate
- further. I inhale fully, pinch my nose and pre-inflate
my Eustachian
- tubes. I exhale...the light headed feeling has just past.
I begin to
- inhale slowly until my lungs are full to capacity then
I slightly pull
- back my shoulders, extend my rib cage and suck in a bit
more. I close
- my eyes. I roll over like a dead man, angle my gun downward
above my
- head and kick for the bottom of the ocean. It is deep
here and I have
- no worries about my gun smacking into the rocks below.
I monitor my
- depth by experience, knowing exactly how deep I am by
the liquid sound
- and feel of the water's velocity as it massages past
my cheeks. I clear
- my ears by moving my throat muscles only. As the water
accelerates by
- with increasing depth I hear the barking of the sealions
grow weaker and
- weaker. Jim is above me and 15 feet more distant from
the rock as my
- vertical path. He doesn't want to be directly above me
as I ascend,
- putting himself in line with my upward pointing speargun.
-
- When I have descended for perhaps 40 seconds I open my
eyes and see the
- seafloor rushing up at me. I casually execute a vertical
spin to place
- myself in a prone position upon my pull out. I then pull
out at 65
- feet, where the vertical wall meets the steep downward
angle of the sea
- floor and continue deeper, parallel with the slanting
bottom. I see some
- fish ahead and angle my descent for a particularly nice
rock to lay
- on; a rock about 3 feet high which will give me a full
field in which
- to swing my gun onto the fish below. I touch down with
my left hand on
- the rock to break my fall. While holding my gun straight
out over the
- rock I'm now laying on, I scan to my right.
- There are some fish in the near vacinity but deeper now.
- I scan straight ahead.....a few more fish.
- Damn, they are deeper this time, just my luck.
- I scan to my left and see nothing but a great wall of
moving grey
- flesh. The enormous flanks of a great white shark, swimming
right next
- to me! I was paralyzed not with fear but with horror!
My mind
- completely collapses. Complete and utter shock. A sickening
wave of
- disbelief and hysteria hit me like a breaking surf.
- "I'm not seeing this."
-
- "This isn't real."
-
- "This isn't happening."
-
- His great bulk was moving slowly through the water without
so much as a
- twitch of his giant sickle tail. His movement was as
if he were
- levitating. He was directly parallel to me and a few
feet higher in
- the water column from the bottom than was I. He was swimming
dead ahead
- into the blue curtain of water and it was obvious from
his trajectory
- that he had followed me down through the water column
all of those long
- long seconds to the sea floor. At the bottom he had pulled
out with me
- and at the last second sensed in it's primordial brain
that something
- just wasn't quite right with a seal that lays directly
on the bottom.
- He decided to keep swimming....this time. Why shouldn't
he? He had been
- hunting this stupid seal all day and sooner or later
it would dive
- again. Then, just maybe, the neurons of its brain would
be triggered
- into an electrical frenzy culminating with an explosive
charge and a
- savage fatal bite!
- ONE FACT IS QUITE SOBERING; HE HAD ME COLD AND I NEVER
SAW IT COMING.
-
- Just then my mind screams "NEED AIR! GET OUT!"
I regain physical
- control over myself, push my left hand onto the rock
I had been laying
- on and swam backwards as fast as humanly possible with
my new (and
- untried) speargun pointing between my legs. I came up
short when my
- back smacked into the bottom of the vertical rock wall.
I was pinned!
- At that point I half swam, half crawled up the rock face
while looking
- for Whitey's charge. Would he turn around and make a
vertical charge up
- the wall inhaling my legs?
-
- When I was 15 feet from the surface I looked up in order
to locate Jim.
- He was further out into the ocean than either myself
or the 20 nervous
- sealions. (The sealions probably thought that I was a
smart little seal
- this time!) I waved frantically to get Jim's attention.
Luckily, Jim
- was looking right at me. Unluckily for Jim, he thought
I had just
- speared a large fish and that I wanted him to swim away=85and
so he did,
- out further from the rock.
-
- When I broke the surface I inhaled and screamed four
words Jim will
- never forget. "WHITE SHARK, GET OUT!" Poor
Jim was out there without
- a gun just floating on the surface like a dead seal carcass!
I think
- that his eyes actually popped out and touched the glass
inside of his
- facemask. I think it would be in the United States best
interest to
- appoint Jim as Team Captain to the World Finswimming
Championships
- because I witnessed him swim 20 meters in less than 2
seconds! In fact,
- he nearly swam right over me and I thought he was going
to jump up with
- the sealions on the rock!
-
- We were now positioned with our backs against the rock
wall scanning
- downward into the depths looking for the direction of
the expected
- attack. Just then, I realized that we were right below
all of the
- sealions. Our heads were not more than 18 inches below
theirs and boy
- were they howling, barking and making a ruckus. I think
they were
- afraid that we were going to jump up out of the water
and shove them off
- their shelf! In fact, Jim almost did!
-
- At this point I was seriously concerned that a seal would
bend down and
- take a chomp out of the top of my head! They were going
berserk! Jim