Shark Dive

By Dennis Snider

Sketch Allen was well known in the Naples area for providing an exciting shark dive over spectacular reefs along the southwest Florida coast. Together with his mate and dive master Charlie Jenkins, dive charters were always left with thrilling stories of encounters with large toothy predators on every dive trip. But then, a confluence of horrifying events would change both of their lives forever. An act of sabotage and a massive shark, largely unknown in the Gulf of Mexico would leave a trail of death and destruction unheard of by Coast Guard rescuers. Nothing in Sketch and Charlies vast diving experience could have prepared them for the terror that unfolded on that fateful dive with a charter of Wall Street bankers. The continuation of the saga in “part 2”, provides the culmination to the shark encounter and an exciting end to the criminal animal rights fanatic that was responsible for so much carnage. A tale of intrigue and excitement, Shark Dive will leave you breathless and wanting for more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Jul 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781483470535

Book preview

Author

part 1

Shark Dive

1

W andering from side to side against the tidal current, she pushes forward, attempting to satisfy her insatiable need for food. Days have lapsed since she last fed, and her senses are alert for any trace of something edible in the water column. At over eighteen feet in length and weighing more than thirty-five hundred pounds, she is massive, intimidating even to other members of her kind.

As she continues to meander, she notes a subtle scent, a blood trail, not obvious but definite enough to be detected by her acute sense of smell. She increases her pace, flushing more and more water through nares located below her snout. Attempting to better locate the source, she varies her depth until sensing a change in intensity. Even subtle changes are detected by her enlarged olfactory bulb, of vital importance to her survival. Sensing a further increase in scent, she again increases her pace.

Electroreceptors below both of her eyes begin to record subtle electrical fluctuations, weak impulses emanating from a struggling prey animal. The signals are minute, almost imperceptible, but eons of evolution have honed her sensory system for survival.

Her lateral line begins to detect small vibrations, telltale signals created by erratic struggles from a wounded animal. Further excited by the new stimulus, she charges forward in frantic anticipation of food.

Her lateral line, composed of a series of interconnected canals running from the back of her head to her tail, provides her with a remote sense of touch, an ability unique among animals of her type. The lateral line canals are lined with motion-sensitive hairs. When stimulated by abnormal wave energy, these hairs report the disturbance to her brain, further informing her of her surroundings.

Even returning wave fronts, created by her own forward motion, provide information about the condition of her prey. She already knows her prey is under vicious attack and that her success in locating food is time dependent.

Scanning her surroundings for any glimpse of the animal, her mind forms a kind of echo map of the immediate area. Her vision is excellent and vastly amplified by a layer of mirrored crystals lying behind her retina. Even in the normally subdued light of her environment, she can detect detail with clarity.

She continues her frantic meander back and forth into the current, knowing that her prey is very near. Finally, a distant glimpse of activity induces a sudden burst of speed. As she approaches, she witnesses other predators removing large chunks of flesh from the dead animal, food that she desperately needs for survival. Defensively, she closes the nictitating membrane rising from below her eyes and begins her assault.

Though she is virtually blind, her electroreception is now vitally important. Experience has taught her to react quickly, or she could become a meal.

Frenzied by the excitement, she charges. Smaller predators scatter to avoid her menacing size. She extends her jaws, amputating huge chunks of flesh in mere seconds. Then, circling, she attacks repeatedly with equal ferocity until the large prey animal is fully consumed, leaving only the discolored water and tiny scraps of food for the darting remora and remaining scavengers.

Her hunger hardly sated, she continues her search.

2

"Everyone ready? Charlie asked as the divers checked their gear one last time. Listen, when we reach the bottom, please stay together as much as possible and, definitely, stay with your dive buddy. I know you are all experienced divers, but any accidents will fall on our shoulders. As Sketch told you, we usually do not provide night diving. We only accepted your request because of your credentials and your project."

Sketch stood on the bridge and watched as the divers got ready. He fancied himself a naturalist and an environmentalist although he had no formal training in either field. His hobby was to learn what he could about the marine world by exposure and observation.

Charlie, we are cautious divers and follow the rules of safe diving. Trust me, none of us like risk taking, especially when diving at night, said Dr. Rick Marshal, the principal investigator for the project. I think I speak for all of us in saying that darkness adds an extra level of caution. I know that I, for one, find myself spending as much time watching the water around me as I do studying the reef.

Rick Marshal was a full professor of marine sciences at the University of Miami. Funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Fish and Wildlife Service, his research project included a study of goliath grouper in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. The project would monitor the success or failure of the 1990 ban on goliath grouper harvesting by commercial and private interests and provide study data on current numbers.

Sketch, again, thank you for allowing this dive. As I mentioned, we are just about to wind up this study but wanted to see if more goliath might show up on the reef after dark. It’s just a final check on our data before we submit the project, Rick said.

Not a problem, Sketch replied, looking down from the bridge. Glad to be of help. Just be careful down there.

The professor, along with graduate students Maria Cantwell and Ted Sawyer, who were participating in the project, began to climb over the transom and onto the swim platform.

Ted, it’s you and I together, Charlie instructed. Anything you want me to do while we’re down there?

Not particularly. Just watch my back if I am piddling in some hole, Ted responded.

Okay, everyone, lights on and let’s go, said Charlie.

Charlie had been diving for most of his adult life and was usually confident and entirely comfortable. He had been down at night on several occasions and each time felt greater stress from the experience. Not that anything major had happened. It was just the lack of visibility, that wall that nighttime created just beyond the reach of his dive light. Each time he felt as if something was lurking out there in the darkness, something awaiting the right opportunity to break through the darkness curtain and explode into his reality.

Charlie knew he was just being paranoid and that his chances for trouble were not much greater than daytime diving. Still, there it was, that visibility thing.

He was the first to reach the reef and immediately noticed the brilliant colors of fluorescent corals glowing within the dive-light beam. He had been diving this reef for years but never at night and was astounded at the change. Corals were aglow in colors from orange to rust, as well as purples and greens, standing out brightly against the darkness. The reef was transformed into something fascinating and alive with and entirely new complement of life.

As he swam, Charlie noticed shrimp and crabs busily feeding from the coral, taking full advantage of the relative safety of the darkness. Beneath the reef, parrot fish were encapsulated in a protective mucus that most predators avoided. Lobster antennae probed the entrances to their lairs, ready to escape with the least provocation.

Ted took the lead, swimming between elevated peaks of coral. He poked his dive light into a hole that appeared in the reef and was startled briefly by a large, green moray eel that loomed menacingly in the opening. Although it appeared threatening, he knew that eels posed little threat to divers.

He continued along the reef and then dove deeper to investigate the underlying ledges. Each ledge held sleeping occupants, though all seemed unconcerned by his presence.

The professor and Maria surveyed another area of live bottom about twenty feet from Charlie and Ted. After seeing several small goliaths, Rick wrote busily on a tablet while Maria followed close behind, documenting each sighting with digital photos.

Off in the distance, Charlie caught sight of something moving. He trained his dive light in the direction and saw them: three large bull sharks that were circling the divers, staying about thirty yards away. He flashed his light on Ted and then on Rick and Maria to make them aware of the sharks, but when he again tried to locate the animals, they were out of sight.

Motioning with his hands, he attempted to inform them of what he had seen and that they all should stay alert. He was accustomed to seeing bull sharks, just not at night. During daytime diving, they were almost always present and less predictable than other species. Considering their aggressive nature and speed, and that wall of darkness just beyond visibility, Charlie found himself on high alert.

Although Charlie and Sketch never carried a spear gun on daytime dives, on this occasion Charlie felt justified. As a precaution, he braced himself and cocked both bands, carefully latching them into position. Against several predators, he knew that the spear gun would provide little protection, except perhaps to create a diversion. He hoped, of course, that would not be necessary.

As Ted continued to investigate beneath the reef, Charlie positioned himself above to provide better visibility of anything approaching. He probed the darkness in all directions for any sign of their return. So far, so good, he thought. Maybe something else caught their interest.

Suddenly, from behind, he saw them approaching. He removed his dive knife and tapped on his tank to alert the other divers, noticing that the sharks already seemed excited. Picking out the closest shark, he trained his dive light directly into its eyes, hoping that would stifle its aggression. The lead shark continued to approach but then veered off about twenty feet away.

The professor and Maria were searching the darkness, flashing their dive lights in all directions as they moved closer to Charlie and Ted. When they arrived, they got into position, back-to-back with Ted and Charlie to maximize coverage. The sharks were erratic, moving rapidly, and darted threateningly close. They seemed