Ready to play with the giants

Comment On This Article

Add to My Favorites

I hung motionless in the water, sucking air through the gurgling snorkel and straining to see into the blue void. I could feel the warmth of the sun on my back, the caress of the ripples on my bare skin. Around me a few other like-minded adventurers—Viv and my son Trent included—hung in a similar trance. Waiting.

Then things changed. Out of the gloom of 30-foot visibility a giant form materialized, silently and seemingly without effort. A second later it was below me and only then did I realize how quickly it was moving. I snatched a quick breath, then flicked over in a duck dive but already its giant dorsal was under me, just an arm length away. And then I saw its tail, flowing, curving in a sweeping arc towards me and I realized I was already down the back end of this fast moving giant. I hit the surface and powered into my fastest free style, fins helping to power me along—and the giant tail, swinging back through a lazy arc, was the last I saw of this mammoth of the sea as he raced away languidly into the gloom.

Ten more times that morning we did the same thing—that's what you do with whale sharks. What a mind-blowing experience!