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me to catch up. I asked him more than once to stay close. On one Lost at Sea in Fiji dive I was alone for half an hour and didn’t meet the rest of the A scary way to end a dive trip group until I was on my way back to the boat. On a night dive with three divers in the water, he swam “U.S. TOURIST RESCUED IN Princess, a five-night trip from off by himself at the beginning of BEQA WATERS!!” I was the U.S. Kadavu to Pacific Harbor diving the dive. None of us saw him tourist in that front-page headline the Great Astrolabe Reef. Two again until we surfaced to find in the Fiji Times last April. The couples and I were the passen- him sitting on the boat. gist of the story was how lucky I gers. I had left much of my gear was to have survived the rough in Nadi because I was told they After disappointing dives on seas, heavy rain, and strong had what I needed on the boat. the unspectacular tail end of the currents that were taking me reef in rough seas with poor visi- The Fijian divemaster was across hundreds of miles of open bility, we headed to Beqa Lagoon. supposed to be my dive buddy. I ocean from Beqa Lagoon to the We dropped anchor for a morning had explained to him that al- Lomaviti Islands. dive near Beqa Island, not far though I was an experienced from Marlin Bay Resort. When I My desire to see the Great diver and underwater photogra- jumped in, I discovered I was too Astrolabe Reef of Fiji got me into pher, I was not a strong swimmer. buoyant because I was wearing a this predicament. I was on Aqua- Nevertheless, underwater he wetsuit for the first time and didn’t Trek’s first charter of the Beqa rarely looked back or waited for have on enough weight. The cur- rent carried me away from the boat, so the deckhand jumped in Fewer than ten confirmed shark-at- and brought me another weight. Are You Standard, tack deaths have been logged in the U.S. since the 1950s. Fatalities are By the time I reached the Choice, or Prime? rare; most attacks are hit-and-run en- bottom, no one was in sight. The counters. The shark bites once, lets visibility wasn’t good and the cur- go, and departs. rent was building, so I decided to However, the number of attacks has been rising lately. Many experts be- abort the dive. I surfaced down- lieve this is because more people are hitting the surf on surfboards, sailboards, wind from the boat but couldn’t small boats, and water scooters, and that sharks mistake us for their favorite get anyone’s attention. The cur- food — seals and sea lions. rent rapidly carried me further away. I tried waving my camera But not everyone agrees. Peter Klimley, a shark researcher at Bodega Ma- rine Laboratory north of San Francisco, thinks sharks simply have a bite-first, and strobe, then my bright green ask-questions-later attitude. fin. Their BC didn’t have a whistle or any distress-signaling device, Territoriality, mistaken identity, or a bite-everything feeding strategy may but I doubt that anything could explain why the sharks clamp down in the first place. But why don’t they finish have been heard over the loud off their human meals once they’ve attacked? Samuel Gruber of the University of Miami says sharks may just prefer the odor and taste of seafood. Klimley, noise of the boat’s compressor. however, has come up with an intriguing theory: People might not be fat enough. I floated alone for three “Fat has twice the energy value that muscle does,” he says. “Seals and sea hours in six- to eight-foot waves. It lions have a layer of fat, unlike birds, humans, and sea otters. Sea otters often was pouring rain and each wave wash up with tooth fragments in them, but we never find them in the stomach looked like Mount Everest. of a shark.” By selectively hunting fatty animals that give more bang for the Luckily, fishermen saw me waving bite, the shark optimizes his own use of energy, especially in cold waters. my fin and pulled me into their In trying to get sharks to ingest transmitters, Klimley found that they ea- little panga, overfilled with gerly swallowed those inserted into dead seals.. But when he ran short of seals supplies and six surprised Fijians. and tried to use sheep carcasses, the sharks just weren’t interested. I had floated ten miles. If Klimley’s theory is correct, it’s unlikely that a victim of shark attack will They took me to their village, be eaten. It would appear that, if you are bitten, your best strategy would be to where I made quite an impression wait calmly until the shark lets go. And, perhaps, stay thin. as I was paraded to meet the chief. I called Marlin Bay Resort 14 ©1996 Elephant Socks Publishing, Inc. and asked them to contact the limitations — someone who will did, get assigned a divemaster who is Beqa Princess to pick me up. A boat wait for you on bottom if you’re also responsible for everybody else — from Marlin Bay came and took slow in descending, and who, if although this dude didn’t seem to me to the resort, where the Beqa you’re way behind, will realize you think he was responsible for anyone. Princess was moored. might not just be taking pictures. Speaking from experience, I’d rather dive solo than count on some of the The divemaster never said a If you think the operator is loonies I’ve been paired up with (the word, then avoided me the rest of doing something wrong, speak up. one who clawed my face when he was the trip. Apparently the crew had If the divemaster ignores you, don’t out of air comes to mind). And, let’s searched around the dive site for go in unless you’re comfortable. face it, photographers aren’t the best of about two hours, then notified P.S.: I did receive a nice letter buddies, especially when they shoot Marlin Bay to get help. They missed from my rescuer telling me how macro and you long to see more than me because the current was he thinks about saving my life six square inches of the reef. running in the opposite direction every time he crosses that part of from where they searched. I do think, however, that it’s the sea. He asked me to please unrealistic to expect an assigned The lessons are obvious. send him $6,000 for a new engine buddy — or even more so, the entire Carry and dive with your own for his boat. group — to spend much time waiting safety gear, scuba sausage, flares, Ellen Sarbone for you in such situations. While that or a loud alarm. San Francisco, California might be ideal, it doesn’t happen and If you’re traveling alone, it becomes the diver’s responsibility to In the real world, solo travelers make sure that someone besides join the group, not vice versa. get stuck with potluck, or, as Ellen your assigned buddy knows your J. Q. the former world record holder and Jean-Jacques is a formidable Random Scatterings freediver in his own right. He can be reached at 305-361-6558, fax News from on line and on letters 305-361-7678. The class instruction consists of pool, open water, class- room freediving-related physiology, Divers visiting Belize’s Rum baggage over 55 pounds 24 hours and yoga. Once you’ve passed the Point these days are complaining later, so we left our dive lights at class, you’ll be ready for the Casio about an attitude problem — owner home to stay under the limit.... Depth Meter advertised in Cabela’s grouchiness, which puts a damper catalog. The copy reads, “Mea- If you’re one of the few owners on the guests’ good times. We noted sures up to six hours of dive time at of a pre-1988 Viking dry suit, it’s in our October 1995 review that one-second interval, and shows been recalled — problems with while it’s a resort with interesting depth in one-foot increments up the inflator hose, says the manu- potential, it’s family run and could to 164 feet.” Yet it states, “Not for facturer.... Force Fin wearers use an infusion of people interested scuba diving.” take note: One voice on the net is in turning it into the charming, offering to pay for your hotel and Suspicion confirmed: In friendly retreat it could be.... dive boat for three days if you can October we printed a warning for Divers continue to speak highly of keep up with him and his buddies those returning to the States the good vibes at Fiji’s Garden on a dive for 20 minutes at their through Los Angeles Interna- Isle Resort on Taveuni; it’s less spearfishing pace. They would be tional Airport not to use the expensive than Dive Taveuni and using freediving fins (the long option of rechecking their bags closer to the diving.... In Depth blades).... Speaking of freediving, for domestic U.S. connections at reader Guy Huse of Little, Massa- Big Blue Divers in South Florida the conveyor belt just outside chusetts, warns about weight offers PADI certified classes in customs because dive bags were restrictions between Grand apnea (breath-hold) diving.

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