usvi-on-line
Fish Tales
Here is a story from John.
He was out on a small sailboat off the coast of Cape Ann with some friends, hanging out by himself at the stern. Suddenly he noticed a HUGE shape moving towards the boat at a rapid clip. He knew it must be a whale, but he was so shocked that at first he could not say anything. By the time he called to his friends, the whale had gone under the boat and disappeared.
His friends did not believe him, of course, and thought perhaps he had imagined it. It was only a moment or two, however, before a large humpback whale leapt out of the water directly on the opposite side of the boat. John said it was one of the most amazing things he has ever seen.
He was out on a small sailboat off the coast of Cape Ann with some friends, hanging out by himself at the stern. Suddenly he noticed a HUGE shape moving towards the boat at a rapid clip. He knew it must be a whale, but he was so shocked that at first he could not say anything. By the time he called to his friends, the whale had gone under the boat and disappeared.
His friends did not believe him, of course, and thought perhaps he had imagined it. It was only a moment or two, however, before a large humpback whale leapt out of the water directly on the opposite side of the boat. John said it was one of the most amazing things he has ever seen.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
I grew up in a place that is known for whale watching - and I've never seen a single whale in my life. It's like I live in NYC and have never been to the Statue of Liberty – and both require a boat/ferry ride.
If I saw a huge shape darting towards my boat, it would freak me out. I assume whales are intelligent enough to know not to leap out over the boat, right?
If I saw a huge shape darting towards my boat, it would freak me out. I assume whales are intelligent enough to know not to leap out over the boat, right?
My husband and I were in New Zealand many years ago, and we took a boat trip in Bay of Islands, to look for dolphins.
We haven't been gone for more than 2 minutes, when suddenly a total of 7-8 Orcas or Killer whales showed up and started to swim close to the boat. It was amazing to see and we stayed there with them for 20 minutes.
Later we also saw lots of dolphins of course, and were even allowed to snorkel with them. It was just 11C in the water (around 55F) so we decided to watch them from the boat.
We haven't been gone for more than 2 minutes, when suddenly a total of 7-8 Orcas or Killer whales showed up and started to swim close to the boat. It was amazing to see and we stayed there with them for 20 minutes.
Later we also saw lots of dolphins of course, and were even allowed to snorkel with them. It was just 11C in the water (around 55F) so we decided to watch them from the boat.
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
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mindehankins
- Posts: 3014
- Joined: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:21 am
- Location: Western NY State
Sanibel, Florida...Just sitting in my beach chair reading and I look up and see 3-4 dolphins REALLY close to shore, actually in the gulley. I jump up, run into the water to get a closer view and one dolphin actually came so close to me that I could touch him, but didn't..he would dart away and I would move a little bit and he would do the same thing over and over...just amazing.
Swam with the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center 5 years ago and it was definetly a learning experience. They are sooooo huge next to you.
Swam with the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center 5 years ago and it was definetly a learning experience. They are sooooo huge next to you.
"Paradise...it's a state of mine"
When I’m out snorkelling I like to have hubby close to me - make me more relaxed – and then we can communicate pointing if one of us see something special.
Once at the island Tioman in Malaysia we were swimming around a very small island, and suddenly I saw a small strange fish or coral and pointed at it. It was orange, ring shaped and looked hairy. I could see that hubby was curious too, so we swam close to the object – just to find out that it was a bandeau, which you use for a ponytail! We still laugh of that experience.
But my best snorkel experience ever - I will never forget it - was in Egypt. We were on a sail trip
around in the Read Sea and had one day we could spent in Sharm el Sheik. We used a part of the day to go to Ras Mohammed, a protected area because of the sea life. But unfortunately the water was very swallow at that time, we were not in a boat, there were sharp corals overall in the water, and we didn’t have shoes, we could use.
So if we want to go out to the big coral reef, we had to lie down in the water and crawl through corals, sea urchins and seaweed. I tried to crawl a few meters and then gave up. I was too scared. Didn’t like that something underneath my hands suddenly moved. And the water was very cold too. Hubby continued and after perhaps 50 meters he called me and said that I need to come out, it was a fantastic sight, and he would wait for me. So I mobilized all my courage, and did as he said.
The reward was fantastic. Suddenly I came out to a big blue hole with swarms of fish in different colours and sizes, walls with a lot of awesome corals, and fish swimming in and out of the corals. An inexpressible beautiful sight! I was so fascinated and the only thought in my head was to enjoy the moment. Regrettably I have to go in again after about half an hour, because I was frozen to death. But I still plan to return to the place some day hoping that the coral reef is still intact.
Linne
Once at the island Tioman in Malaysia we were swimming around a very small island, and suddenly I saw a small strange fish or coral and pointed at it. It was orange, ring shaped and looked hairy. I could see that hubby was curious too, so we swam close to the object – just to find out that it was a bandeau, which you use for a ponytail! We still laugh of that experience.
But my best snorkel experience ever - I will never forget it - was in Egypt. We were on a sail trip
around in the Read Sea and had one day we could spent in Sharm el Sheik. We used a part of the day to go to Ras Mohammed, a protected area because of the sea life. But unfortunately the water was very swallow at that time, we were not in a boat, there were sharp corals overall in the water, and we didn’t have shoes, we could use.
So if we want to go out to the big coral reef, we had to lie down in the water and crawl through corals, sea urchins and seaweed. I tried to crawl a few meters and then gave up. I was too scared. Didn’t like that something underneath my hands suddenly moved. And the water was very cold too. Hubby continued and after perhaps 50 meters he called me and said that I need to come out, it was a fantastic sight, and he would wait for me. So I mobilized all my courage, and did as he said.
The reward was fantastic. Suddenly I came out to a big blue hole with swarms of fish in different colours and sizes, walls with a lot of awesome corals, and fish swimming in and out of the corals. An inexpressible beautiful sight! I was so fascinated and the only thought in my head was to enjoy the moment. Regrettably I have to go in again after about half an hour, because I was frozen to death. But I still plan to return to the place some day hoping that the coral reef is still intact.
Linne