Excuse my absence…

It’s hard to follow a Great White Shark dive with anything really.  For my two loyal fans and the occasional passerby, forgive me.  The Wetsuit In Sneakers and I have been working on getting a few marinas in the Miami area to join the Shark Free Marinas Initiative.  If we succeed, we’ll let you know. If we don’t, we’ll lie.

Just as I suspected, we survived our Great White shark adventure and we are now too cool to socialize with you people.  What we suspected would be an experience of a lifetime was nothing less than so.  We encountered some of the most feared and respected creatures in the world and made lifetime friends with fellow adventurers.

Day 1 was spent entirely at sea.  It was a 24 hour trip South on the Pacific towards Isla Guadalupe.  Along the way we passed the Coronado Islands and picked up a group of 20 to 30 hitchhikers.

“Coronado Islands”

“Spinner Dolphins hitching a ride”

Isla Guadalupe stretches 21 miles.  The clouds can be seen rolling off the mountain side like a waterfall.

“Out of the clouds”

“Cloud Waterfall”

The first shark of the trip was Shredder who treated us to some hits on the bait.  The action started relatively slow but at around 1 or 2pm the sharks were plentiful and active.  The chant of “SHARK ON THE BAIT!” was followed by hit after hit of what our Dive Master, Luke Tipple, counted as up to 5 different sharks at a time.  Luke is a long time shark enthusiast and avid shark and ocean conservationist.  He’s been on countless trips.  Needless to say, we hit the jackpot when we scored him as our dive master.  You can check out his work at Shark Diver and on his own personal website (Link here).

The following are just samples of some of the action we saw.  For more great pictures check out my facebook.

“Cage Inspection”

“Body Shot”

“Black, like a dolls eyes”

“SHARK ON THE BAIT”

Our adventure seemed to fly by.  5 days hardly seemed like enough time to spend at one of the last truly wild places on earth.  Thankfully we took enough pictures and video, and have enough lasting memories to keep us remembering our experiences at least until the next time we get to visit.

Just before we embarked on our trip home, we were stopped by the Mexican navy for inspection (photos on facebook).  The Wetsuit in Sneakers and I were the only two on our charter that spoke spanish, so we were used as translators.  It was quite the thing to see them board our boat in full gear, guns and all.  Everything checked out perfectly and an hour later we were on our way back to San Diego.

All in all, it was more than we expected.  The shark action was above average and our shipmates were too.  To come home to the beeping of cellphones and honking of car horns was a knock back into reality.  But at least we have the lasting memory of an alternate world and alternate reality. A place where our trivial day to day problems compare to nothing when your problems have the potential to mean the difference between living and dying.  A place where “wild” doesn’t mean being cut off by a fellow motorist, but watching a prehistoric fish majestically glide by undetected just feet from your blind spot.

“Out of the shadows”

Special thanks to Islander Charters and their crew (Captain John, Dive Master Luke Tipple, Rick, Gringo, Jason, Jack, and Greg) for making this dream come true for us.  We hope to see you again in the near future and help with your conservation efforts as much as possible.

Captain John, Jason, Greg, Rick, Jack, Dive Master Luke, & Gringo

The Guadalupe Gang

On Sunday morning the Wetsuit In Sneakers and I will set sail on a voyage.  A voyage that may very well render us incapable of living life normally again.  A voyage that may make us unable to live confined in a cubicle farm, or allow us to socialize with boring people like you.

In preparation for our adventure we decided to get into the mood a little.  The following photos have nothing to do with shark diving, but everything to do with badassity.

“Tracking the shark. There. Over yonder.”

“I Believe the shark is there.”

“I fear no fish.”

“I will use this as a defense, for sharks fear wood.”

“I can smell his filthy shark denticles.”

“I will show that shark who is superintendent.”

“There! Into the brush!”

“I second that, lets go.”

“Oh boy.”

“So we’ll just come back after my dad calls the landscaper I guess.”

“Run! For it is a shark!”

“We did not retreat fast enough!”

“Quickly, over to that there log.”

“The shark will not find us now.”

“Ha ha ha, into your face shark.”

Thanks to my buddy Manny over at Milano Productions for going out with us to shoot the pics.

Just a little sample of what the Wetsuit In Sneakers and I are in store for…

Just a little more shopping left to do. Travel materials and first aid bandages incase of any accident.

Maybe we should scratch that bandage and make it a body bag.

A recent report on a possible creature deemed the “Muck Monster” in West Palm Beach has been discredited by bad editing.

There was a big hoopla over the following video.  Officials had trouble identifying something swimming in the water so, like any other reasonable human, they deemed it a monster.

I’m going to assume this was a weak attempt at getting some national coverage for the Palm Beaches.  Perhaps they wanted to spark an interest in their parks and get an influx of tourism.  If that indeed was the plan, they should’ve done some better editing.  That’s clearly an eagle ray jumping out of the water at the end of the video.  Also, Spotted Eagle rays have been known to swim along the surface with merely their snout sticking out of the water.

Long story short….

Lame.

There are 17 days left on our countdown and news out of Massachusetts gives me a serious case of ‘sharks on the brain.’

In the span of four days, biologists have managed to tag a total of five Great White sharks off the coast of Chatham, Massachusetts (Article here). Although white sharks have been known to inhabit the waters off the east coast of the US, this marks the first time any have been successfully tagged in the Atlantic Ocean.  This is big news for biologists and shark lovers everywhere. This opens the door to an endless amount of information regarding the migratory habits of these fish, possibly leading to further knowledge concerning one of the most mysterious animals known to man.

I hope to read more about the studies that will be conducted using the information received from the satellite trackers placed on these sharks. It should be fascinating.  In the meantime, the Wetsuit in Sneakers and I will just have to swim with these suckers face to face to get a better understanding of them.

What’s worse than taking a bad driver’s license photo? …..

Taking a bad concealed weapons permit photo.

Now, I swear the picture looked like this when I took it. I know because I was there….

This is what they sent me in the mail. Somehow they altered the photo to make me look like someone who shouldn’t be issued a permit to carry a firearm, none the less be allowed to purchase one.

WTF is up with my eyes,  my right ear looks like its stuck on with sticky-tack and is coming loose, and I’m NOT 5’10”, I’m 5’11”.   Such B.S.

I call shenanigans. But I guess if you can’t laugh at yourself, what can you laugh at….yall.

Have you ever experienced “runners high?”  Well if you have……GET HELP.

According to a new study, exercising can be as addicting as drug use.  Experts theorize that “hardcore runners who can’t bear to skip a workout may be hooked in a way that’s similar to heroin addiction.”  The study also claims they experience withdrawal symptoms when not given the opportunity to exercise.

Article Here

I wonder if while conducting this study they found similar traits in the lab rats that one would find at your local gym.  For example; did any of the mice not wipe down the wheel post run?  Did they leave all the weights lying around out of place?  Did they leave their towel on the only machine available and then go to the bathroom for thirty minutes?

Personally, I can’t imagine ever reaching a point running that would give me a feeling of euphoria.  The Suit In Sneakers and I have been hitting the gym religiously in preparation for our trip (we’re booked on the same charter as the sports illustrated swimsuit photo shoot, gotta look good).  Yet at this point, I can barely run for ten minutes without my legs giving out, falling face first onto the belt and flying out the back window.  But I’ll keep trying, and maybe one day you’ll find me in the corner of the gym curled up into a ball scratching my forearms and sniffing a lot.

The Wetsuit In Sneakers and I have entered the final stretch of the long wait for our shark diving trip. Before you know it, we’re going to be even cooler than we are already. Be jealous.

It’s only a few weeks away.  In the coming weeks we’re going to have to start doing some trip shopping.

So far I have purchased:

• 16GB memory for my camera
• Columbia cool guy windbreaker
• Kelty Redwing 3100 (not that pussy 2650)
• Cressi Matrix Dive Mask
• Those little glasses straps so my glasses don’t fall off my face whilst I’m throwing up over the side of the boat

Needless to say I still have some shopping to do.  At the top of the list:  Dramamine.

We’ll keep you posted…

It may only be one step, but it’s still better than just standing around.  Cause then we could be charged with loitering.

On Wednesday Judge Donald Hafele ruled in favor of Governor Crist’s half billion dollar Everglades land restoration deal with U.S. Sugar Corp.  Governor Crist’s plan is to buy 73,000 acres from U.S. Sugar and ‘build a system of reservoirs and treatment areas that would reconnect water flows from Lake Okeechobee to what remains of the Everglades.’

Article Here.

Although this is a step in the right direction, Judge Hafele ruled against Crist’s plan to borrow as much as $2.2 billion to pay for future land buys from U.S. Sugar.  This leaves Governor Crist 107,000 additional acres short of what his primary goal would have been.

It’s a good sign when you have people in high places who appreciate your cause.  In spite of Judge Hafele’s ruling against additional funding for the project, one has to admit that even the littlest bit is a major step in the right direction.  If Governor Crist can prove his plan will benefit the state of Florida and its tax payers, perhaps we can take more steps towards saving our cherished sea of grass.

Something to keep in mind:  In the whole of the world, there is no other ecosystem as unique as the everglades.  What occurs in the southern half of Florida occurs nowhere else on planet Earth.

Cool way to help:   Friends of the Everglades