Last Day Diving

---

Today I went for my last two dives, the first was rather uneventful and was a nice swim with the fishes. That wasn't really the case with the second dive,

It happened like this ....

This other guy, and I where tailing in the back of the group, enjoying the dive peacefully, I feel this thump on my tank, thinking it’s this other guy running into me I think very little of it, I slowly glance over my shoulder to see what way to go so that I can avoid him, well Shat!!! There is this mean ass looking (Snapper fish) about 70cm long and a foot thick, gnarling these huge teeth at me, (these fish are very territorial and we had been told about them in class). I panic, (Shat my pants really), I start swimming as fast as I can, my breathing is out of control, I'm gasping for more air and blowing bubbles all over the place, this fish keeps making darting actions towards me with its mouth wide open (teeth showing anyways), I flip over to my back so that I can see it, and make a fist, (well not that I think this is going to help) and keep kicking as hard as I can, (you get a very quick realization of how vulnerable you are underwater), My heart is pounding and this fish is still attacking me, their suppose to stop after you get a couple of meters away from their nest. This one must have had a huge nest!! I am kicking away, and laying on my back, it darts for me again, and I boot it with my fins, this crazy fish BITES my one fin, and is pulling on it, shaking its head back and forth, (OK I'm DEAD), I keep kicking it with me free fin, and eventually it lets go, my breathing is completely out of this world, I am in mass panic 20 meters from the surface, the guide has seen this going down and comes into help (Thank God), the fish starts attacking him, I really don't know how the guide got this fish away, as I was straight heading the opposite way as fast as I could, I get about ten meters away and see the rest of my group, I think to relax, and start getting my breathing back to normal, the guide is coming back, this fish is still following him, (ok I'm breathing heavy again), although the fish is not attacking as much, I keep on going about 7 meters in front of the guide until I can't see that Crazy fish anymore.

Wow that was scary!!

THEN, we see this school of about 400 barracuda swim by, harmless as they are, I don't think my heart can take it, and I'm looking all over the place in case this other crazy fish comes back!! Needless to say we did make it back to the boat and everyone was ok, I had 30 less bar (air measure) than everyone else. That’s worth about an extra 20 minutes of diving time. The guide said in his ten years of diving on the island, he has never seen a trigger fish so aggressive.

Well that's all my excitement for today, I am heading over to Ko Pha Ngan tomorrow then off to Ko Samui where I'll fly to Bangkok, then home.

---

Photos

Shark Island
This is the dive site I was attacked at.

Comments

[Darlene]

Trent - you are quite the world traveller :) You also seem to be VERY VERY LUCKY! Continued good luck in your travels. I will keep on reading - thanks.