Shark Scare

I just want to make a quick post about this. I live in South Florida, so I'm not a stranger to sharks and other aquatic dangers, but this was a bit crazy. 

A few days ago, I went out boating and snorkeling with my dad and brothers. We left the inlet and anchored at some shoals that were exposed due to low tide. The waves were moderate, but still crashed over the top of the shoals. All around the shoals was sand, spreading out - consider the shoals to be like a rocky sandbar, and it was deeper all around it. The beach was close, but not close enough to swim there easily - we were much farther out than the buoys which mark off the "swimmers only / no boats" area close to the shore. 

There, I set the scene. 

So we raised our red and white dive flag on the boat (which is required if you're swimming outside of the buoy-marked zone) and anchored beside the shoals. I'm a strong swimmer so I donned my mask, snorkel, boots, and fins and swam over to the shoals. 

Even though the waves were crashing over the shoals, the tide was slowly coming in so, as I swam around, I was able to carefully swim over the rocky shoals. There was only about 6 inches (at the shallowest part I attempted to swim over) of clearance between my belly and the rocks, so that made me a little uneasy. Plus, it wasn't just rocks - the rocks of the shoals were covered with a carpet of bright orange sponge, and every pocket or dip of the sponge or rocks was occupied by a sea urchin! So yeah, I was swimming inches above spiky sea urchins and trusting my own held breath to keep my buoyant and hoping a wave didn't smash me down! 

It was a bit crazy, but I wear a solid one-piece with swim shorts, so I was covered. Plus, I've practically grown up in the water, so I knew my way around. 

With little splashes of my fins (I couldn't use full strokes or else I'd touch the delicate bottom - it's very important in an ocean environment to NOT touch anything because the environment is so sensitive!), I swam over the shoals. We'd anchored on the west side (closer to land) so I swam over the shoals, east, toward the ocean. 

Once I was over the shoals, I explored the ocean-side of them. There were a lot more fish there: "Bermuda Chub" and "Permit", plus a ton of other fish (I noted those mostly because I wish I'd brought a fishing pole, LOL!). Anyway, I swam around quite a bit and then decided to swim south. 

I planned to swim AROUND the shoals (important to note that - I was NOT planning to swim back OVER them, but AROUND them). Okay, just gotta make sure you understand that. So, I was planning to swim AROUND the south side of the shoals and then turn north again to get back to the boat. 

When I reached the southernmost tip of the shoals, I paused. I was at the edge of the shallows. To my right, the rocks began and grew shallower and shallower as shoals until they were exposed. To my left, the sand stretched out beautifully, gradually deepening to a depth of perhaps 6 to 10 feet. Gorgeous sand to snorkel over. 

This is crazy. 

As I paused there, I looked left, looked over that sand, and thought about swimming out a bit to explore the sandy area. Normally, I'd do that. I'm an explorer, and even a plain sand bottom isn't "boring" to me. 

Yet, I paused. Something didn't feel right. I'd been doing an occasion "360" in the water, scanning my surroundings, and I'd felt strange during this entire swim. 

Something in my head whispered to me - "go back into the shoals". 

I didn't even realize that the voice wasn't my own thoughts. 

I'm a daydreamer. My thought process is a little weird. It went something like this:

"ooh that's pretty sand/water out there"

"i should go check it out"

"wait, nah"

"no, i shouldn't"

"the shoals are cool"

"wait, why am i saying no to that?"

"it's just sand! i love snorkeling over sand"

"lol what if my indecision is actually something/someone trying to tell me not to go out there?"

"what if i'm being told to go back into the shallows?"

"DANGER DANGER DANGER lol"

"gee, i wish i could have an experience like that"

"like those people who have those crazy testimonies of how they were about to do something but then heard a voice telling them to not do that thing and they listened to that voice for some reason and then later realized something horrible would have happened if they hadn't listened to that voice"

"oh well"

"i've never had an experience like that"

"well, let's just pretend"

"let's not go out in the sand this time"

"let's swim back over the shoals"

So yeah, that was basically my internal dialogue (that's close enough to how my thoughts and internal-narrator sound). I didn't hear a "voice" exactly, but that's what was going through my head. 

And it was close enough. 

I turned back toward the shoals and, even though I was exhausted and wished to be back in deeper water, I splashed into the mere inches of water, hovering over spiky sea urchins. 

And then it happened. 

It wasn't more than three minutes later (probably much less) that I heard SCREAMING. 

My name.

Shouted.

Screamed. 

And I just knew. 

Somehow, I just knew it. I knew why they were screaming. Somehow, in the back of my head, I'd known all along. 

I lifted my head and saw our boat. It was about 10 - 15 yards away (I'm bad with long distance estimates) and my DAD AND ALL MY BROTHERS WERE ON IT. 

I was the only one left in the water (I tend to wander off from the group... *sheepish look*) and everyone was watching me with wide eyes. 

"GET TO THE BOAT!" my brother shouted. 

And I took off. 

They were motoring toward me, as fast as they could in shallow water. 

I raced their way, my burning legs ripping with intensity. 

I didn't ask why. I didn't look back. I just knew. 

We're a close family. We can read each other pretty well. I knew they weren't messing around. 

One of my brothers threw me a rope, and with dexterity that surprised even myself, I yanked myself faster toward the boat. 

Another brother (I have 3) met me at the back of the boat and held out a hand. I took his, and he hauled me onto the boat. 

"Bull shark," my dad said. 

"I knew it," I replied. 

It took a few hours (we love each other but our communication could use some work lol) until I learned the full truth:

A bull shark, estimated at about 8 feet long, had been coming straight for me - from the sand off the southern tip of the shoals! If I had swum out into the sand, I would have swum right toward it!

[In case you don't know, bull sharks are the most aggressive species of sharks, and they've become quite a problem in Florida.]

God used my internal dialogue, my sense of whimsy, and my gut feeling of uneasiness to save me from what could have easily been a tragedy. 

As a side note, I've been distant from God lately and this was a wake-up call. Even when we stray or don't give God our full devotion, He doesn't abandon us. He's always our protector, provider, and Father 💛

~

I will sing of the Lord’s great love forever;

with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known

through all generations.

Psalm 89:1