| No, not the celebrity type, but
a whale shark. That's right, a whale shark! Right here in Palm Beach.
This giant of giants arrived with the snowbirds in late November. Changing weather
patterns, currents, karma, fate - whatever the reason - it showed up on the last day of
the month. Could you feel the excitement that Sunday morning? You bet! |
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We had just completed a drift
dive on the Northern Double Ledges. While most divers were back on board removing
their gear, several still remained in the water. Two seemed quite a bit agitated,
and we headed in their direction to make sure everything was all right. We could see
both doing back strokes and kicking furiously to distance themselves from a pretty large
animal. Completely unfamiliar with whale sharks, they thought they were facing an
overgrown, 17 ft. tiger shark because of the animalīs coloration and fearless
behavior. |
| As the Rampage approached,
experienced divers on board immediately grabbed masks and fins and jumped into the water
before I could finish yelling "WHALE SHARK !!!". Open water students stood in shock, bewildered and probably
thinking: What's all the fuss about? Isn't this a bit of an overreaction? They
would soon learn that such a rare sighting under ideal conditions - flat seas, sunny skies
and ultra-clear water - is truly the best Christmas gift any scuba diver could possibly
get. |
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Michael P. OīNeill |