Picture of the day

Well, I’m at it again… I’ve come across a few humorous pictures & decided to pass them along – Jules-style. So, over the next few days, I’ll give you a little tease… one picture a day.

Let’s get started! This one hits close to home for me…

*click me*

Thresher Shark Day!!

I had such an amazing dive this morning that I am hesitant to blog it just yet. I’m afraid that I can’t do it justice. Just try to understand that this was super fun, super special, and in a way – due to my love of the water, depth, diving, ocean life – almost spiritual.

When I arrived at the scuba shop this morning (to take a specialty certification exam), all the guys were running around like crazy. There was a chaotic buzz that I have never seen in them. It seems that one of the DMs (Dive Masters) saw sharks a Tinggo. Well, if one guy sees it, they ALL have to see it. The competition is so cute!!!

Well, the exam was out the window, we were going to see sharks. My driver ran back to the car to get all of my gear and I started gathering my weights and setting my dive computer. We chose a suitable blend of Nitrox (Enriched Air) – one that would allow us near maximum depth (40m/130ft) BUT would allow us to stay more than the measly 8min that air allows. We needed TIME!!!

Here, taking a boat off of Mactan Island, we can get to the site in 5min. time. Today was extra cloudy, so the water was nice and dark… drawing the sharks up to our depth. They scare easily, diving to unbelievable depths if there is a sudden movement. So, our plan, get out of the boat… head down as deep as allowable with our blend of Enriched Air… and wait, floating, suspended in water, still, unmoving, statue-like… (The water was ssssoooooo cold, even with neoprene!)

It paid off!!! Maybe 4min. after we settled in, voila Threshers. Yayyy! I saw a pup that I couldn’t put a length to… maybe it was 6ft of body and 3ft of tail. You can do your own math to get the metric value. I’m tired. This little paragraph does my experience NO justice.

What ARE Thresher Sharks??

Thresher sharks are about 6m in length, with 1/3 to 1/2 of that length being their scythe-like tail. They normally live in deep water and are nocturnal (night creatures), so are not often seen by divers. Although they are seen occasionally in other locations around the world, there are no known places anywhere else they can be seen so regularly. (Speaking primarily of Malapascua)

They have very small, sharp teeth and very big eyes to see in the dark. They eat squid and schooling fish such as herring and mackerel and it is thought that they use their tails to “corral” the fish into denser schools. The tail may also be used to stun the fish. They will sometimes “breach” and can jump completely out of the water.

A funny, but true, account of actually finding Threshers is at Monad Shoal near Malapascua. It’s a sunken island at 18-24m (more shallow than where we dive for them, off of Mactan) whose sides drop off to 230m. The thresher sharks live and hunt in this deep water for most of the day, but in the early morning, before it gets too light, they come up to the Shoal, attracted by its cleaning stations.

Cleaning stations? Yes! Here they have a symbiotic relationship with the small fish called cleaning wrasse which eat dead skin and bacteria from the shark’s body, its gills, and even inside its mouth. Because the cleaning benefits these huge animals, the sharks would never think of eating the wrasse as an early morning snack. The cleaning stations are like a car-wash for fish! Yes, it’s true.

The Blonde Good Samaritan

A blonde lady motorist was about two hours from San Diego when she was flagged down by a man whose truck had broken down.

The man walked up to the car and asked, ‘Are you going to San Diego?’

‘Sure,’ answered the blonde, ‘do you need a lift?’

‘Not for me. I’ll be spending the next three hours fixing my truck. My problem is I’ve got two chimpanzees in the back which have to be taken to the San Diego Zoo. They’re a bit stressed already so I don’t want to keep them on the road all day. Could you possibly take them to the zoo for me? I’ll give you $100 for your trouble.’

‘I’d be happy to,’ said the blonde. So the two chimpanzees were ushered into the back seat of the blonde’s car and after being carefully strapped into their seat belts, off they went.

Five hours later, the truck driver was driving through the heart of San Diego when suddenly he was horrified!There was the blonde walking down the street and holding hands with the two chimps, much to the amusement of a big crowd.

With a screech of brakes he pulled off the road and ran over to the blonde. ‘What the heck are you doing here?’ he demanded, ‘I gave you $100 to take these chimpanzees to the zoo.’

‘Yes, I know you did,’ said the blonde,’ but we had money left over—so now, we’re going to Sea World.’