2016 Super Bowl Match Up

The Denver Broncos was one of the teams that I picked at the beginning of the season to win the Super Bowl. Tonight they are facing the Carolina Panthers who are coming away from a sound beating of the St. Louis Cardinals to win the AFC Conference Championship.

In today's world of algorithms the winner should be the Carolina Panthers. Face it. Does Payton Manning have four quarters of football left in him? Despite a great defense, If the Panther defense shuts Manning and the Bronco defense has to take the field for most of the game, do they have enough stamina, athletic ability and depth in their bench to shut down the Panthers? And then of course there's the issue of "turn-overs" which we have seen game after game, season after season take the victory from the apparent victors.

This indeed is football. "On Any Given Sunday" any man can stand up and perform physically and mentally to overcome any number odds facing him. These are are great athletes supported by great coaching and their fellow players. The fact that a team is labeled as "Underdogs" is enough to bring about a reserve of abilities that lie deep in themselves.

The Denver Broncos are the NFC Champions. They have defeated enough opponents to get them where they are today. If the Carolina Panthers believe they are going to come into that stadium and expect the Broncos to fold they will be in for a big surprise and perhaps at the end of the game be thinking "Maybe Next Season", for now my pick remains..The Denver Football Broncos.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Lost Summer: Prelude to a Sinking!

On the second week Rosemary and I went out alone on the boat and things worked out flawlessly. We took the boat to the ramp, launched and enjoyed a day of cruising around Blackwater Sound. I wanted to take the boat to the ocean side but Roe did not want to. At the end of the day we returned to the ramp, positioned the trailer and loaded the on to it flawlessly. If you ever go to a boat ramp you can spend hours looking at the drama. This time there was none on our part and we were pretty proud of ourselves.

A month almost went by before we went on the boat and by that time I had purchased a Fish Finder/Depth Reader. My expenses on the boat were going a bit out of hand but it was something that definitely bought the family together and I was quite happy. 
On this adventure I had planned to go through John PenneKamp and go to Rodriguez Key. We had talked to the kid at the bait shop who seemed to have spearfished throughout the entire Caribbean and he had described spearing Hog Fish around Rodriguez.
We went down to Rodriguez and although the fishing and diving was uneventful we all had a really good time getting there. Daniella especially seemed to enjoy it when I gave her the helm to get us there. We also went with "Wide Open Throttle-WOT" and were amazed at how fast and well the boat traveled.

On the way back I tried to take a shortcut and learned a very valuable lesson....stick to the channels....I almost ran my boat into the shallows. We returned to Blackwater Sound and made our way pass Gilberts and into Card Sound. The fishing there was uneventful, I'm really not much of a fisherman but Roe and the kids seem to enjoy it. As we were heading back Roe asked me if I wanted to stop at Gilbert's and get something to eat. I felt it was getting late and decided to keep going back to the boat ramp. As we made our way back I felt the boat was "sluggish" and playing with the trim tabs didn't seem to help. The boat was ridding bow high. I did not bother checking out the bilge or else I would have really freaked out.
When we arrived at the ramp's dock I let Roe and Patric get off the boat so they could bring the truck/trailer to the ramp. I stayed on board with Daniella and out of courtesy to the other boaters I reversed the boat in order to let someone else go in. As I did I felt water at my feet and to my surprise water was coming into the boat in large amounts. I really didn't know what to do and all I could think of was to come back to the dock. As I gunned the engine it died and we drifted past the jetty and to the neighboring dock....luckily. I was bailing like a mad man and by this time other boaters jumped on board and attempted to help me. We pushed the boat and beached it. Another boater loaned me a hand pump and I bailed a good amount of the water out. With the help of "Roger" an old sea dog that overseas the ramp parking I was able to bring the boat back out, into the ramp area and unto the trailer. It was a scene of desperation and I screamed "The Eagle has landed" when I powered the boat unto the trailer on the first try. Mind you, it has been a feat to do this before! I pulled the boat out and we washed it down. I had no idea how close I had come to a disaster and I still had no idea what a state of ignorance I was in. My boating education would start at a drastic pace from here on.
The property where I had been parking my boat at had been taken over by another man. He had picked up and organized the area as all new tenants do to recently acquired properties and I felt that my 50.00 a month rent days were coming to a close. He also came off as a marine mechanic so it was no surprise when I returned my boat and requested he check out where I was getting the leak from, remove the trolling engine and install my newly acquired fish finder. He was to furnish me with an estimate during the week, it was Sunday.
When he called me on Tuesday and explained he had "not figured out the details" I told him to just go ahead and do what he felt had to be done and to give me some "consideration" with his pricing.
On Thursday he called me to tell me he had completed the job and I owed him 450.00. I was taken aback. Removing the trolling motor was a mater of six screws, and the depth finder an hours work at the most. He explained to me that he had taken apart the bilge pump, it was the source of my problems and cleaned it because it was gummed up in oil. 
On Sunday I went to take my boat out and he explained that everything was in "working condition" and all he wanted me to worry about was taking the boat out. As far as the maintenance was concerned he would "take care of it all". I looked at his work and immediately was disappointed at the way he had installed the fish finder, taking the positive wire and merely wrapping it around the positive terminal at the battery. I should have taken this as a sign.
We got to the ramp and one of the scruppers broke off but I put a plug into it. I had plugged every hole I saw on the transom.

It was a gorgeous day and we were accompanied by Patric's friend Andrew who had been boating since he was born.

Andrew's advice was well received and he told me not to leave the bilge on "automatic" because it would drain my battery.

We navigated through PenneKamp and anchored around the Mosquito Banks area (I had no idea where we were until afterwards).

The water was "Key Wonderful" and there were a number of divers around the area. I had build a bit of healthy paranoia and checked the live wells a number of times. I felt they were very full and riding low. They would sometimes go below the water level and I did not like that at all.

But everything seemed to be OK and after sometime we took up anchor and moved to another location further north. Rosemary wanted to go fishing but I was enjoying doing a bit of snorkeling with Patric. It was his first time ever and he was really enjoying it. The reef was brimming with sea life and we spotted a turtle which seemed quite friendly.

After awhile I decided to go back to the boat intending to go further out. Later I would realize how close I came in making a possibly fatal mistake.

As I pulled myself out of the water over the gunwale Rosemary came to me and pointed out that the boat was taking on water. To my horror the water was already going over the transom. I immediately tried to turn on the bilge pump and realized that the entire bilge was submerged. The outtake was also underwater I immediately tried to turn on the engine but that was totally out of the question and I proceeded to take the next available course of action, I threw out the contents of the bait bucket and frantically began to bail.

While doing this I asked Rosemary why she hadn't used the whistle hanging off the side of the console to attract our attention....

I came to the dreaded realization that we were going to sink and instinctively the safety of everyone on board became my main concern. By this time Andrew and Patric had come on board. I announced that we were sinking and to don their life jackets. I also instructed Patric and Andrew to hail a boat that was anchored some 200 yards away. I gave them a horn and they started to frantically wave and blow the horn to get their attention.

I tried to call Boat US and kept going back and forth between my cellphone (yes, I had coverage) and the bailing. I finally gave the cellphone to Rosemary and told her to call Boat US and report that we were sinking.

Unfortunately Rosemary was totally confused and my situation was getting worst. All of a sudden the boat began to lurch to the starboard side and I realized that we were going to capsize. I yelled for everyone to don their life jackets immediately, jump over the side and swim away. If the boat capsized they could easily be stuck under it or the boat could turn on them hurt them. At this point Rosemary grabbed the gear bag with both her hands and began to panic.

I tried to go to the opposite side of the boat to see if I could put enough counter weight for the boat to straighten but to no avail.

By this time I was screaming to everyone to put on the life vests and jump clear of the boat. It finally lurched over and we all went into the water. I went into the water in a controlled manner keeping my cellphone above the water but I realized that Rosemary was not around. Luckily Andrew had grabbed her from under her shoulder and pulled her up. She was still holding on to the stupid gear bag which contained all our licenses, credit cards and money. But the bags weight was dragging her down. I put my hands in the water and instantly knew my phone was gone.

I was helping her keep afloat and Andrew shoved our cooler that was floating under her. Everyone was OK and I turned my attention to the location of the nearby boat we hailed. I could see they had pulled anchor and were headed towards us.

By this time I was in a state of disbelief. I wasn't really worried, the guys had their life jackets on, Rosemary was grabbing on to the floating cooler and most importantly we were in 9-12 feet of water.

The other boat approached us and I told the captain everyone was accounted for. Rosemary was the first to be helped in followed by Patric. I guess Andrew and Patric both tried to rush up the ladder and one of the men on the boat grabbed Andrew and tossed him back into the water....

After making sure everyone was on the boat I came up. It all seemed surreal to me. The boat's captain called Boat US and within 10 minutes they arrived. Unfortunately I did not get the boat owner's name nor the Boat US rep that came to tow our boat in. 

In the meantime I requested fins and mask to see if I could recover the gear and see how bad the damage was but the man that had tossed Andrew in donned a mask and fins and began to gather the gear for me. I felt ashamed because although it seemed to be a simple operation a person was exposing himself to a degree of risk because of my negligence. 

I finally convinced them that I was not "in shock" and that I would like to help recover our equipment. I was given a mask and fins and dived in.

I came up to the boat which was tossing in the waves and was drifting towards the reef. I looked  closely and did not see any gas leaking and the batteries were in their compartment. I began to pick up the gear (we ended up loosing just one fin and one shoe). I was told that the Boat US boat was on the way  but either way I kept my eye on my boat's anchor and what my options were if it would head closer to the reef. I was worried not only about the damage to my boat but the government bill if it crashed against the reef and had to be salvaged.

The boat tow boat arrived and once again I reported everyone was accounted for. We transferred our gear to that boat and thanked the "rescue crew" for their assistance. I really was a shame that I did not get their names.

The tow captain placed a tow rope on the bow and pulled from the stern on the third attempt our boat was right side up and we were headed for the boat ramp. The captain also used a pump and continued to take the water out. Once we got going the rest of the water cleared out through the scruppers.

We arrived at the ramp. As the tow Captain prepared his report I spoke to one of the men (Roger) who tended the ramp and he would be able to "pickle" my engine and try to save it. The  cost: 150.00$ this was the tip of the cost.....

Next Chapter: Lost Summer: Maritime School of Hard Knocks....Lessons Learned.

Shark Fins: The Lost Summer

At one time or another we all dream of owning a toy.....a toy boat in this case and over 30 years ago I dreamed of a perfect boat. A low maintenance, powerful boat that was interpreted as a 17 foot Mako Open Fisherman with a 150hp Black Max Engine. So you shouldn't be surprised when 30 years later as I was about to turn 55 years old and I was at a friends' Ralph's party I jumped when he offered to sell me his "other boat" which turned out to be that 17' Mako with the 150 hp engine!

Business has been horrible for the past three years but I managed to get the money needed. I also had to get money to pay for the tax and title but I got a chance to own the boat of my dreams.

I got lucky and on Craig's List found a place to keep the boat in Key Largo for 50$ a month. I drove there on Thursday and checked the property out. Robbie was my "landlord" and we entered a very informal rental agreement...I paid him 50$ in cash. The property had a boat ramp but it was really only good for Kayaks and Jet Skis. However security seemed adequate, the place was beautiful and I had the Caribbean Club within two miles where I would be able to use the ramp and park for 20$.

My girlfriend also had a 2006 Saturn Vue SUV that I could use to tow it as well. I had just leased a new KIA Forte the month before or I would have gotten a truck or SUV instead.

With this in mind I forked over another 300$ to get a hitch (U-Haul) installed on her Vue.

My birthday was going to fall on Saturday and I wanted the boat badly. I paid my buddy for the boat and he towed it to Key Largo for me. On the way there I was going to fill up the tank but he told me it had 3/4 of a tank full so I let it go.

I also went and purchased four PFDs, ropes, fishing gear and as I was paying for somethings at West Marine I noticed the tow insurance program by BoatUS. I skipped it thinking "what can possible go wrong the first time out".

That Saturday, with no experience whatsoever in towing or operating a boat I celebrated my 55th Birthday by going to use my first boat that I had named, much to my girlfriend's disappointment....The "CauSeaiCan". 

I hitched the boat and carefully pulled away from the property onto the Overseas Highway and stopped at the auto parts store to buy a grease gun and engine oil. From there we went to the CC where I warned the attendant that I had never towed, backed up or launched a boat in my life. Nervous, with Rosemary (my girlfriend), Patric (her son) and Daniella (my daughter) looking I slid the trailer into the water, pushed the boat off and tied it to the dock.

We were ready to go.....or so I thought.

I pumped the gas into the engine as per the 10 minutes worth of instruction that Ralph had given me and turned the key as I pushed in to give it choke......nothing. Tried again and again and again....NOTHING! I tried to call Ralph but he would not pick up his cell, he works. In the meantime Rosemary was calling Andrew one of Patric's friends whose Dad owns a boat. He got on the phone and asked about the "orange dial"....I remembered....TURN ON THE BATTERY SWITCH located under the console. I did and the engine immediately roared to life. 

We went out into Blackwater Sound and Rosemary requested we stop and start fishing. We stopped and I caught the first fish ever, a 4" grunt. I threw it back.

We moved to two other locations and when I went to turn on the engine for the fourth time it would not turn. I used the hand pump and noticed by looking at the filter on the hose there was no fuel running through the hose. We were out of gas!

Luckily we were able to hail a passing boat and they were generous enough to tow us to the fuel sight. Once full we were back under way. After that I learned one of my first lessons. Fill the tank right after using the boat.

I bought us back to the ramp early and it was a scene out of the Gong Show putting the boat on the trailer. I simply got it closed enough to attach the winch cable and cranked it up. The big topic was to whether or not the SUV could pull the boat and my heart sank as I put on the gas and the wheels began to spin. I had not noticed that Rosemary had put on the parking break and once I released it the truck easily pulled the boat out. But not with someone coming out yelling that I had not lifted the engine!

My lessons were just beginning.......

A Daughter's Birthday

 

To My Birthday Girl;
So today you turn 13. How fast these years have gone by for me and I guess it’s true about ‘time flying when you are having a good time’. Although we may be celebrating your 13th birthday, my heart is celebrating 13 of the most wonderful years of my life. So many memories that I keep in my heart of you growing up and yet the here and now keeps me so enthralled that I have little time to look back.

Every year that has gone by I have told myself that this is the year “you would need me the most’ and once again I’m telling myself “these are the years my daughter needs me the most”.....I will never stop believing this, I guess it’s the Father I have become because of you. I WILL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR YOU.

There is a specter that lurks behind all this, it’s the advice so many give me that you will soon be striking out on your own and will “rebel” against me. They call it “growing up” and I should know how it is, I did it myself. I’m told and I understand that your world will soon be about your friends and parties, concerts and events that frankly won’t be of common interest to both of us. Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now my life is pretty much filled with the wonder of watching you grow up into a young lady and admiring how you develop an understanding of the world around you. In the past month you have said things that have sounded so beyond your years and on two occasions have provided me with insights that just weren’t there.

I Love You my Birthday Girl. You’ve made me very Proud of You. I might not give you “things”, but you know I give you all that I have and that I am. Whatever blessings G-d has given me I pass on to you for the only blessing I have needed these years has been your Health and Happiness.

Happy Birthday
Your Father.

2011 A New Decade, New Challenges

The upcoming 2011 New Year is the start of the new Decade and many of us are entering it besieged with a host of economic and health challenges.

Despite what seems to be never ending pressure from all these challenges, we must all embrace this decade with Hope and Resolve to make these years the best of our lives. If our passing years haven’t taught us anything, they have taught us that nothing good or bad truly lasts forever.

Step forward with positivity and leave the negative elements that have weighed you down throughout these times at the doorstep of this Decade.

 

There are so many things so wrong with this world and we all feel quite impotent against the powers that be. I personally like the saying of “Think Globally, Act Locally”, and I take it to another level by concentrating on the well-being of my child knowing full well this goodness and positivity will have a ripple effect that will engulf the world.

Don’t allow the economic challenges posted at the workplace to have an overbearing effect on your happiness. Take the time from the race to take your child to the park and walk barefoot in the grass. After work take a drive to the beach and just enjoy the feeling of being engulfed in the salty water of the ocean. Don’t think so much, just go ahead and live the moment. the responsibilities of the world will always be there waiting for you.

 

Be selfish if you must label it as such, an hour of this a day or even a week will reinvigorate your spirit and somehow you will see begin to look at those “burdens” that seem to devour your energy as “Challenges”. Don’t ever, ever give up on your dreams or ambitions and if you have children hoist and propel them to follow their own dreams even further than you have pursued your own.

The Climb is just part of the Ascent. There is the View, Effort and Overall Feeling of our Small Victories that must be savored along the way. G-d Forbid we Reach the Top too soon.

Happy New Decade Everyone. Make it YOURS!

My High

I’m here at Barnes and Noble enjoying my latest “culillo”, a $4.55 Chai Latte with soy milk. Like so many others I have succumbed to the craze of paying such a ridiculous amount of money for a cup of coffee. But I realize that most people do it to be in a social environment and when you look at both the effect and prize of a beer at a bar, this is quite inexpensive and less detrimental to one’s health.

Last night I was watching a war series by Tom Hanks, The Pacific. At the end of the series the soldiers come home and begin to cope with what is described as “Post Stress Syndrome” and I realize that I have gone through this for the past 27 years. I have also figured out that it has to do with the life question of “Why?”. I believe this is the same question we ask ourselves when entering a midlife crisis and accelerated when we survive what can be a horrific episode in our lives. We ask of G-d…..why? Why did this happen to me, why did I survive while others around me did not and then comes the other question we ask of G-d…..so now what?

With this in mind I feel that I have been suffering from PSS for the past 27 years. I did my part to bring freedom to a large number of people and soon afterwards inflicted damage on myself which took me these past 27 years to recover.

I now find myself practically starting from scratch. During all this time I have continually asked G-d “Why?” and “Where to from here?”. I can figure that my answers lie somewhere within myself and perhaps the best one is to ignore the reasons as to why things are the way they are and continue living out one’s role in G-d’s Divinity/Divine Plan, faithfully believing that your answer, it there is one at all, will come to you.

My attitude shifts with the effect of the caffeine in my “Chai Latte with Lactose free Soya Milk”-(sounds like such a Gay drink)….and I begin to enjoy the beauty and rarity of this unusually cold morning in South Florida (it is in the 40s and the sun is shining brightly). Bundled up people are making their way to work and among the rest of the sparse B&N morning crowd I sit by the window taking it all in.

I am thankful that I am going to my own little shop and be able to exercise my creativity and pitch it against the odds against me. Perhaps later when the caffeine high fades and I am faced with slacking sales figures, limited inventories and limited funding I will sink into the ever present reality of retailing. For now I face it all as a “challenge and not a burden” amid my little piece of reality.

My Kill

The boat engine was cut as we reached the stored GPS coordinates. Almost an hour ago in the weak light of dawn we had left the dock taking advantage of a mirror calm ocean. Jerry, the captain had done his homework and his prediction of calm seas was dead on.

The boat named “Barely Legal” surely reflected the nature of our four man“crew”. Each member had run ins with the law, all had been indicted at one point or another and two of us served a number of years in prison but aside from this our love of women, boats and the sea bought us together into a unique “brotherhood”. Today two of my buddy’s sons accompanied us. The boys were thrilled to come with us, to hear our anecdotes and partake in the comradeship that was so unique to our group.

Before the anchor was secured I was already in the water. The water’s  morning temperature mildly shocked me but it was barely noticed above the excitement. I immediately gauged the direction of the slight current and began to swim against it. I had the title of “First One in Last One Out” of the group and today was no different. It took me about five minutes to find the first of the immense coral heads we had found a few months back and my spear gun wielding arm raised above the water to alert Jerry where the coral heads were. In turn pointing in my direction Jerry barked orders to the other guys who were in the water.

Ricky was my “dive buddy” but I did not wait for him. I took a deep breath and went 25 feet down on my first “recon”. As I reached the base of the coral head and looked around. There were a number of snapper but the prized groupers and hog snappers were no where to be found. As I rounded the coral I spotted a number of lobster antennae jutting out of the ledges. I slowed down to conserve my air but in a bit over a minute my lungs were bursting for air. I ascended to the surface.

As I took the snorkel out of my mouth exhaled and inhaled and yelled “lobster!” knowing full well the rest of the crew would head this way. I turned over and began to swim towards the Southeastern end of the coral head where I was sure to run into more of them. About a hundred yards away I came across two heads separated by a marine trench. By this time I had been breathing deep and hard concentrating on expanding my lungs. I bit down on the snorkel, spurted air out to clear the snorkel of water, took a deep breath and descended to the foot of the coral about 35 feet down. I moved fluidly concentrating my leg strokes to be purposeful and complete becoming as fluid as the water I was engulfed in, I reached the bottom of the coral base and slowly began to circle around it, holding on to the coral and pulling myself along. Careful not to place my hands on the life coral so that I would not damage them. Suddenly as I made my way around a dark shadow darted in front of me and I spotted the first grouper of the day. But It was small and I continued to follow it.

There were a number of sea urchins around and a colorful school of Parrot Fish were feeding off the coral. They looked like a small herd of cattle as they fed and silt floated from their ravenous mouths. I took a detour down into the trench. There were a large number of lobsters there and one could tell these coral heads had not been fished for awhile if at all. My lungs were panting for air and I slowed down using up all the air in them. I slowly began my angled ascend lungs bursting and I exhaled to make use of the last bit of air in them. I knew I was getting my “Aqualungs” back. As I ascended I noticed a number of groupers peering from their holes.

Just before breaking surface I spit out the snorkel. I would not have any air left to push the water out of it. This was the set back to the technique I would use. Although by pushing all the air out of my lungs on the ascend I would extend my down time by as much as a minute, I knew I would have to literally lift my head out of the water to renew my air supply. Once I broke the surface I breathed in and out a number of times, took a reading as to where the boat and the others were, bought the snorkel to my mouth, cleared it, breathed in and descended once again to the base of the trench separating the two coral heads. As I began to go around the other coral head I noticed a large indention about six feet over my left and I made my way to it. When I peeked in I was face to face with a nice sized grouper. Underwater it looked huge and this meant it was large enough to spear. But a grouper doesn’t reach that size without being wily and this one was no exception. The moment he spotted me he took off through one of the crevices. I followed in and realized the crevice made it’s way out to the opposite side of the coral head. The grouper had stopped halfway and I had to push the spear gun after it in order to flush him out. As I did this I spotted a nice sized moray eel eyeing my movements. I made a violent movement and the grouper took off. I backed off out of the hole and pushed up over the coral and a bit away from what I thought was the exit hole the grouper had come out of. He was no where to be seen and I swam down to the base moving slowly. Still felt I had plenty of air left in my lungs but my timing had to be good in order to locate the fish and still have air to chase it. As I came across I spotted the grouper swimming slowly but aware of my presence. As I moved slowly towards it, it took off again to the other side of the coral head. Once again I went up to the surface to get my air and descended rapidly. As I did this I saw the grouper go out into the open water and I followed behind. I was thankful the visibility was excellent and about thirty yards out I could see another set of large coral heads. I tried to swim a few feet under the surface, keeping my snorkel over the waterline and keeping my fins from breaking the water surface and splashing. At the same time I kept a close eye on my quarry.

My eyes followed the fish over a small coral mound as I broke the surface and swam hard angled to the spot where I hoped to find him. Sure enough he was there. I went back up again slowly taking a lungful of air and descended towards him. I was going for the kill shot. This was my first dive of the season and although I had been doing the stair-climber at the gym for a week before my breathing was a  bit labored. I had swam a full hundred yards in a matter of minutes.  The grouper was swimming high over one of the marine trenches that snaked across the ocean surface and instead of going directly after him I swam to his far right taking the “high ground”. When I reached the spot I wanted to get to I began to make myself back to him thus confronting him from his right. I unlatching the safety I bought my spear gun up and spotted a number of large barracudas as well. As I closed in the grouper took an almost sharp turn to his left and reminded me that I was indeed in his element. I closed in. He picked up speed and approached a coral mound at about halfway and I dove down kicking my legs smoothly and in rhythm. I did not want to warn him of an attack by kicking hard. He began to pick up speed but continued to move to his left exposing his side and I began to swim with my spear gun ahead of me extending my reach and narrowing the gap. All the sudden he slowed down and began to descend to what I thought would be a hole for him to get into. I was a bit far off but I’ve made these shots before. I squeezed the trigger and the rubber bands launched the spear at the grouper. Everything seemed to go into slow motion for a fraction of a second and the grouper broke into a fast swim at the last nano second and avoided the deadly projectile. I did not hesitate and began to gather the trailing line as I kicked hard to keep  up with the grouper who was now swimming away fast towards another coral mound.

I gathered in the spear quickly aligning the shaft into the spear gun, pulling down the safety switch and wrapping the cord under the housing, in a few practiced moments I was prepared to take another shot and I still kept the grouper who had moved some twenty-five yards away in my sight. I was caught up in the chase and determined this fish was going to be my next meal. The ocean floor began to descend and I was sure I was in about 35-40 ft of water, way close to my limit and I was exhaling once again having run out of air and getting the last bit of it out of my lungs. I was about five feet under the surface and I was completely out of air. It seemed like an eternity before I broke surface and refilled my lungs. In a smooth motion I returned to the chase. The grouper was completely aware that I was after him and his complete attention was in moving away. Luckily there were a couple of coral heads in front of us and he slowed down to look for a safe haven. Most groupers don’t believe in swimming out into the open ocean for fear of a larger and more efficient predator. As I came to the coral heads I noticed a rather large barracuda was swimming above us a few feet under the surface. I made a mental note of that. My breathing was a bit labored and I concentrated on bringing that into control. I was swimming with the spear gun in a neutral position but now I began to pull back on the propelling bands and hooking them to the notch on the spear shaft. I was ready and I was closing in again. The grouper darted  quickly. I chased hard. Down to the coral heads base and around. I followed. He went up and when I chased hard he went down to the base again. I still chased hard and was running out of air. I chased a bit more and he went around the coral head once again I took a left angle and surfaced for air. When I returned my descend he had slowed down and I was approaching from his rear left side. I bought my spear up in front of me, released the safety and took aim about a foot in front of him.  I kicked hard and continued my angle a few feet in front of him. I was about four feet away when I squeezed the triggered. The spear gun’s release mechanism detached itself from the spear and the bands once again propelled the deadly missile. The grouper did not have a chance at the last moment it exploded in a burst of speed forward and down to just the spot I had aimed the spear to.

The spear tore into it’s skin right behind it’s gill and came out the other side. The shot did not hit any of it’s vital organs, heart or brain and was not an instant kill and could have been better but the shaft had fastened itself well and It was now a matter of moments to reel him in and avoid him from going into the jutting corals where the line could be cut or my spear shaft bend. All of the sudden the large barracuda that was above us attacked the grouper. The fish swam frantically one way and the next avoiding the ‘Cuda’s attack. I closed in quickly and bought him in. His movements straining my spear shaft but I had him away from the coral head. As I held the line with my left hand I bought the spear gun’s butt end with my right and smashed it into the side of the attacking barracuda. This bitch was not going to take my kill. I hit the ‘Cuda two more times and it backed off as I moved my hand up and secured the spear and the grouper. As I did this one of the grouper’s fin quills dug into my gloved and and pierced the base of my palm. At the same time the ‘Cuda launched another attack. In one motion I pulled my hand away and moved it up the shaft to hold the fish taking another swing at the  ‘Cuda. It easily darted the blow but it was aware that I could hurt it. I swam up the surface took in air and ducked my head under water breathing hard at the snorkel.

Keeping my eye on the ‘Cuda I grabbed a firm hold of the grouper with my left hand. Placed the spear gun under my right arm and unscrewed the spearhead. I quickly took the spear into my mouth, I was still underwater, I could taste the grouper’s blood on the spear, I pulled and released the spear allowing it to sink below me. Keeping a firm hold of the grouper, thankfully it had calmed down due to the loss of blood, I placed it into the catch net attached to my waist.

I bought the shaft up, screwed back on the spearhead, reloaded and promptly chased the ‘Cuda, who was mercifully keeping a few yards away while I was doing this, away. I came up and saw the boat was about 400 yards away. But before going back I decided to look for some more fish. I had spotted a couple of nice size hog snappers and those are my favorite. As I was making my way back I speared a small hog as well. I kept going and spotted another hog that was bigger than the first. I wanted to make sure that I had enough to offer Jerry in lieu of the grouper that I was planning to eat with my family.

Hogs are rather easy to spear. They are just plain stupid and if you just approach them slowly they will lazily expose themselves for a clean shot. It is rarely that I don’t get a kill shot right off when spearing them. As I swam towards this large hog it started swimming towards me. I veared to my left and when I came back it had it’s left side flank completely exposed. My shot was placed right behind the eye and is was instantly dead when speared. As I stuffed it into my catch net I realized I over 30 pounds of bloodied fish strapped to me and about 300 yards to get back to the boat. I was lucky enough to be up current.

As I began swimming to the boat I kept my eye open. There were plenty of fish and lobster around. I was sure this was going to be a successful day out and it would be hard to resist over fishing. But the truth was that I had more than enough with just the grouper. I was already envisioning how to prepare the fish using lemon, bijol a few other condiments, stuffing it with shrimp and baking the whole thing. A couple of bottles of Pouly Fuisse were at the house and my mouth watered at the thought of this. All the sudden I had an instinctive feeling come over me and I looked over my shoulder. Some ten yards behind me was a six foot shark.

I reared up and turned to face it. I had no idea how long it had been behind me and I could feel my beating heart try to explode out of my chest. The  shark was slowly coming towards me. Was it curiosity, hunger, I didn’t know fear came up and almost paralyzed me. Today I’m sure this is the same feeling that grabs a deer when caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. I did not think, I reacted and lunged at the oncoming shark. It swerved to the side and I swung at it with all my strength with the spear gun I was holding in my right hand. I realized I had the spear gun halfway. The shark seemed to swim away but I was caught in a fear panic. I yelled at the guys that were about a hundred yards away that a shark was attacking me.

Jerry had seen the sharks dorsal fin from the boat and yelled at me to release any fish I had in my net bag. For some insane reason I simple ignored him and continued to swim towards the boat. My heart beating a thousand miles an hour. I swam slowly and  delibrately keeping my head underwater and looking around. To my horror I saw the shark approaching me from my lower left flank. I turned to it and in once again despite a wave of absolute terror I swam head on towards it. The shark once again veered off upwards and to my right and I dug into it with the tip of my spear as I jammed it with my spear gun. It shot off in a burst of speed away from me.

I came to the surface and my breathing was so hard I felt I would hyperventilate. Unknown to me was that Jerry was already trying to undo the anchor and come after me. By this time the boat was under 100 yards away.

Despite the jabbing the shark had smelled blood and was not going to give up on what it probably considered an easy meal. It came back swimming pretty quickly. I saw it’s approach and strangely I wave of calm came over me. I took the spear gun in two hands and everything seemed to slow down. I took to the side and once again lunged hard at the shark. This time deliberately aiming for it’s eye area. The shark had turned on it’s side and had been coming at me with it’s jaws opened wide but the second the spear point touched his eye he flinched in mid attack his snapping jaws came within inches from my torso. I jammed the spear into his thick under belly one more time as he flashed by me but did not pierce his thick hide.

By now my fear had turned into rage and I actually began to swim after it as is swam by and began to turn to it’s right. I came at it and it swam further away. I began to hear the sound of the boats engine approaching me. The shark was about 20 yards away and turned as to make another pass but by this time Jerry had come up with the boat and came between us. I put my head below the water as I heard  Jerry screaming and turning off the engines. I took off the catch net and with one hand actually swung it over my head and it the back of the boat. I later found out it weighed 38 pounds.

As soon as I did this I put my head back in the water and looked around. As soon as I did the shark was under the boat behind me and I swung around to face it. I tried not to paddle my fin strapped fins frantically but the shark lunged towards me and once again I rushed to meet it’s attack head on. Before I came close it veered to the side again and I watched it swim off. I practically jumped onto the dive platform behind the boat and frantically pulled my feet out of the water.

Jerry was screaming obscenities, he had never dreamed of anything like this happening but all I could think of was that our buddies were still in the water and ripping off my fins I told him to go pick up the rest of the crew. Jerry gunned the engine and we started to go after them.

Everyone had seen my head bop up and down a couple of times and had seen the sharks dorsal fin break the water surface a couple of times as well but had not idea what was happening. A couple of the guys saw me lug the fish on board and described it as me “heaving a ball of blood on board”, I realized then that was why the shark had been relentless. Jerry and Rick laughed at my stupidity at not giving up the fish and I explained to them that all though I was scared shitless, no lie, “I would not give up my fucking kill”. At the end of it all it became a fish tale  that the kids, now grown men, recount to describe of my obvious insanity. Of course the tale has changed. I could never tell what kind of shark it was and I am sure it was about 5 feet long. The way they tell it, I had about fifty pounds of fish strapped to me, the shark was a great white from 10 to 15 feet in length. Jerry ran over it with the boat and saved my life after the shark almost tore off some part of me………in the end everyone agrees, including myself that I had become temporarily insane.

We’ve been back to that spot on numerous occasions. The spearing has always been good but for my part I’ve punched off a number of barracudas from my kills, even became pissed and shot a huge one, but I am always paranoid when spearing fish and I keep a good watch as to where my dive buddy is……