The Adventure That Wasn't

Do you see that time? That was AFTER my shower, I was actually up at 3:45am. There is no way I ever see a "3" or a "4" on the clock from the GETTING UP direction as opposed to the STILL UP direction, unless I'm planning on an adventure.

And oh, what an adventure I had planned.

I was going diving with sharks.

Sharks, I have learned, have migration patterns. In the early fall, they congregate off the New England coast. I have a scuba diving license, and I have a friend whose job it is to tag sharks, and a friend who is an underwater photographer. I had it all planned to go out with them on a charter boat with a shark cage, to spend the day swimming with sharks.

The day before the trip, I rented the gear I needed from a dive shop. Then that night I packed up my tank, B.C., regulator, wetsuit, fins, mask, snorkel, food, water, camera, towel... Gracious, it takes a lot of gear to go diving! I went to bed especially early. I was carpooling, so at 4:30am my ride pulled up and we rolled out, headed for Rhode Island. We made it there in good time, although it was drizzling. We pull up to the dock, pile out of the truck, and meet up with our boat captain.

"We're not going." he says.

Aw, man.

Turns out that some other fishing boats had already been out beyond the breakers (!!! it's 6am, how were they already out and back? guess that's fishermen for you...) and reported 12 foot swells. That's too much for safety (and comfort - hello Drammamine) of the divers. Plus, it was drizzling, so visibility wasn't that good. All in all, if the fishermen don't want to be out making money, there's no way our captain wanted to be out with expensive gear and people's lives in danger in the water.

Bugger.

And, to top it off, the captain was completely booked for the next several weeks - plus, it was late in the "shark season." So there were no available rescheduling dates.

So, next year we all agreed we would be back. More adventures await, just not that day and not that adventure.

I' d love to see one of these buggers up close and personal. 

In fact, I want to spear one with a tag.

It will happen next June, believe me. :)