USVI-On-Line

So, we're out on a daysail last week with
Capt. Bob and Matey on the Spree 2 and we've just pulled up behind Little St. James Island. We try to figure out the best way to gracefully exit the boat with snorkel gear on (or not) without the shock of the cool water making us look like amateurs. Or maybe that was just me. Capt. Bob is asking us about our snorkeling experience level to determine if he's going to have to jump in and rescue us from dangers unseen. We assure the Capt. that we've snorkeled plenty during our last 4 trips to the VI. His last words of wisdom to us are: "take your time and don't worry about anything attacking you down there. It's all harmless" We put our faces in the water and this is the first thing we see.


Hubby sticks his head up out of the water and tells the Capt. " Hey, there's a shark down here." Then he proceeds to try shooting a movie with his camera. I was already trying to gets pics of the reef shark (Chase the monster, Chase the monster) I think the poor shark was terrified of us crazy tourists and promptly fled the scene. Capt. Bob didn't believe us until we showed him the pic. It was the highlight of our daysail. Ah, to be back on the island...

i guess i am just a complete chicken shit--i think even toothless sharks would freak me out--there is something about that cold stare--maybe it was growing up in the Jaws era....

that looks like the guy I saw at Vie's beach.

Loria I am so with you! I have such a gut feeling that this trip is going to be the one. I have been lucky so far but it has to run out sooner or later. Well atleast nobody will realize that I peed myself when it happens. Maybe we will catch you down there! Have a great time!

Cool pic and a real cool tale!

Is that a Reef shark or a Nurse shark?

I have had a few run-ins with sharks over the years. They generally try to stay out of your way, but it is really nerve-wracking when they cruise right past you (coming up from behind) to check you out.

The first time I spotted a very large Nurse shark a few years back, I decided that I had a new rule:

I am generally completely comfortable in the water and not a lot freaks me out except seeing a snake swimming in the water (never have seen this in the VI) but my new rule is... that I do not like it when I am not the biggest thing in the water.

When I see something bigger than me, then there's something that clicks in my brain: "and we're done here."

Makes me seriously uncomfortable.

Looks like a nurse shark to me but I didn't bring my fish ID book with me.

Gromit,
That was our first question--what kind of shark was that? After looking at the pics and movie, based on the fins, we concluded that it was a reef shark. We have encountered nurse sharks before and I'm pretty sure that this was not one. We were in about 20' of open water, so it made sense. Just so you don't think that we have a death wish, we always evaluate the 'mood' of whatever we come across and we would never have pursued the shark if it had given any indication that it was 'annoyed' with us. Besides, he was really fast and I barely had time to snap off 2 pics. We had a similar encounters with a ray the next day and we were equally careful. We always back off when those fascinating sea critters seem agitated.

How big do you think it was?! Kinda hard to guage from the pic.

Great pics! What kind of camera were you using?

The shark was about 5' long. The positioning of the fins, the tail and the shape of the head all tell me that this is a reef shark.

juliebud,
I bought a Canon Powershot D10 before this latest trip despite some horror stories about it leaking. It has proved to be an exceptional camera and takes great underwater shots with ease. The screen makes it easy to see just what you're taking pictures of in that sometimes murk. Since I am really attached to Photoshop to help me clear away the murkiness I had a hard time finding pics that I hadn't yet worked on but here they are. Unretouched and all from the Canon D10. It is my favorite camera now.

http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt35 ... 1_0386.jpg[/IMG]



http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt35 ... 1_0278.jpg[/IMG]
http://i627.photobucket.com/albums/tt351/jkhud/101_0047.jpg[/IMG]

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A Nurse Shark has a very distinctive tail and this shark doesn't have that tail as far as I can tell from the photos.

Speaking from my experience, shark sightings are not common while wading or snorkeling from the beach around St. John (boat trips might be different stories). I'm more relaxed in the water there than anywhere else that I've been in that sense. Some places, especially in the South Pacific, I had to watch my back/surroundings all the time because sharks were there all the time. It's nothing like that in the waters around St. John. Okay, occasionally, I see a few Lemons but it

We weren't in the waters around St John. We were snorkeling off of Little St James Island. And it was definitely, without a doubt, not a nurse shark. I have seen plenty of those off the STJ beaches. Wrong tale, wrong fins.