whale sharks

the whale sharks have decided to play with the puny humans these last couple of days.

as long as the weather holds this will probably be the case.

the question is not necessarily whether or not they are there; it's whether or not you can find them. that is the key.

this involves a sharp eye and a working radio. you either have a captain who knows where and how to look or you have one who knows how to listen to his vhf radio and leech off of someone else's skill.

there are way too few of the former. at least they have developed, through the years they've invested in getting to know their quarry/income stream, an affinity with the sharks. they treat them with respect.

some captains, like willie waterhouse, seem to know where, and if, they are before his boat leaves the dock.

it's a six to twelve mile trip from his dock to the sharks depending on which end of the island they're feeding .

i remember a time when i was divemastering off willie's boat and he put us on an underwater sea mound. i hadn't dived that site before so i asked him about it.

"just go west around the mound at 40'; after about five minutes you'll see a big green moray under a ledge. a couple of minutes after that you'll see a big school of southern sennets."

he was spot on.

after the dive i asked him when he had dived that spot last.

"oh, about eight years ago i guess".