"JAWS" Week
By Stan Hauter
Do
you remember watching the "Jaws" movie when it first came out? I do.
The final thought I was left with was, "If you don't hear any music...
no sharks".
This theory almost worked for the many years that Deb and I were collecting trops here on Moloka'i. I'd be prying her fingers off the gunnels of the boat while screaming, "YOU HEAR ANY MUSIC???" Deb would yell back, "NO!!!!" My response was always the same, "THEN LET GO DA BOAT!!" That would distract her long enough for me to drop her into the drink, kicking and screaming. I figured that if there was a shark around, that would bring it out. After a couple of minutes of Deb's frothing the water, if there weren't any dorsal fins on the surface I would join her and we would get down to work. Why did I do it? Because I could. The downside of all this was the claw marks that Deb would gouge into the starboard side of the hull. I had to re-glass it about once a year. I finally talked her into trimming her nails, which really cut down on the claw marks, making my job a whole lot easier.
I have to admit that 10 years of this continuous "innovative motivation" took its toll on Deb. Whenever we were in the boat she always had that "deer in the headlights" look about her. Please don't get me wrong. Deb is a fantastic lady. It was my constant challenge to find new and innovative ways to get her to go diving with me that was the problem. I finally ran out of ideas and we quit diving. Ain't no way I'm getting in the water without dropping my "shark detector" in first. We've been out of the water for almost two years now, but in spite of all that time gone by, whenever I drive Deb down to the wharf she gets this strange "tick" in her right eye.
Considering the thousands of hours that we spent in the water, we had very few encounters with "Jaws". There were some memorable ones, to be sure, but nothing serious. We have speculated that this was because we were not "poking" (spearing) fish, which sends out a specific vibration in the water that attracts sharks. We also never put any blood (with the exceptions of mine) in the water. The south shore of Moloka'i has a very high concentration of sharks, so... in retrospect I suppose that we were very fortunate. Sharks, in Hawaii, are considered to be treasured "amakua" (dead relatives' spirits). Perhaps my father was reborn as a shark and has looked after us all these years. For whatever reason, Deb and I were statistically "outside the envelope" for survivability in the trade for a number of years.
Seriously, I can not think of a better dive partner than Deb. Over the 10 years of our diving off Moloka'i she was always there when times got tough, and in the end, we would laugh about it all. Deb put her life in harms way one time to fend off a hammerhead that I didn't see. (I never showed her how to start the boat engine, so I was pretty safe, here...LOL). She worked so hard that she would surface with less than 10 pounds of air in her tank, rebottle and go down again. While diving, the sound of Deb's whimpering, along with the sounds of the whales' songs was a constant reassurance to me.
So much for nostalgia. In honor of the 25th Anniversary and re-release of the movie "Jaws", here are some "real" shark tales to keep you out of the water for another 25 years. Keep in mind, as soon as you enter the ocean, you drop down a couple of notches in the food chain.
Happy Swimming & Diving,
Stan Hauter
Your About Guide to Saltwater Aquariums
~ Some "Real" Shark Tales ~
A
Hammerhead Shark Pays Us A Visit
A Salty Story
from Stan & Debbie - It was another beautiful day on the water.
The sun was shining, the winds were mild, the ocean was blue, and all was
right with the world.
Fiona's
Shark Mania
Sharks, sharks,
and more sharks. Fiona's Shark Mania website is completely dedicated to
news, graphics, clip art, stories, and lots more about Sharks.
Great
White Shark Attack in California
Date of Report:
July 1995 / Filed by Marco Flagg - The following report is an account of
a shark attack on myself. This report details the sequence of events, as
observed by myself, to the best of my knowledge and experience.
Shark
Attacks - International Shark Attack File
Shark attack
statistics including special sections for the great white shark and shark
attacks on divers.
Sharks
of Hawai`i : Ten Tips To Avoid Shark Attack
How to avoid
shark attack, and where to call to report large, aggressive sharks in Hawaiian
waters.
Deep Sea Diver & Shark animated gif from
Cameo's Clipart Hut - Animated Aquatic Gif Collection
Swimming Shark from Fiona's
Shark Mania
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