While we have been here at the beach it has become our daily routine to eat breakfast, clean and do laundry, do some schoolwork and then swim in the ocean every morning. Some days we swim for a little while, some days we swim for hours.
A few days back when Gam and Rye’s friend were here, we had a very interesting experience.
We are on the East Coast swimming in the Atlantic Ocean. And, as we all know, the Atlantic Ocean (at least near the Southern States) is chock full [and I do mean chock full] of sharks. They are everywhere. And all different kinds. Now typically this is not a huge concern in the ocean surf as juvenile sharks, the ones that would typically be in the surf, do not bite people. They eat fish. However, one would be crazy not to keep a keen eye out and always stay on alert for the rogue adult shark that can be and may be nearby.
So, one day we are swimming and laughing and having a ton of fun in the surf (it was pretty rough) and all of the sudden I look over and see a huge black fin swimming about 10 – 20 yards from us.
“FIN!” I scream. I freak, we all freak, and we start running to shore.
My mind is racing, my heart is beating fast and in a moment of disbelief it enters my mind as I am running that maybe I was seeing things and didn’t really see a fin. So, I look back. And there it is again. So I start running faster. As Rye has already reached an area close to the shore he is looking back keeping an eye on the fin and then he sees…
“Mom!” he screams. “Look! It’s not a shark! It’s dolphins!!”
So, we all look back and sure enough, now you can see the arch of their backs and smooth gray ’skin’. They are arching and swimming in a school so near us we could swim up to them if we just could swim fast enough (and if they would have let us get that close, which I don’t think they would have).
It was so cool!!
We are all standing there in the surf and the dolphins are swimming by us near the surf. Just feet away from us.
And then they were gone.
It was incredible. And something I don’t think any of us will ever forget.
2 Comments
That’s cool, but all I can think is… you swim in waters with sharks???? Wow, you’re one brave mama, you wouldn’t catch me with a toe in the water. Unfortunately, the movie Jaws has ruined any opportunity to swim in the ocean.
First let me tell you how jealous I am. I so want a beach vacation. It is so relaxing and wonderful.
What a great thing to see. Dolphins are so fun.