For those that enjoy life on the edge....
This is a story about my friend Dan Parker. Dan used to work for a big manufacturing company in Jacksonville. He and his wife were getting divorced and he quit his job to become a self employed saltwater fishing guide.
That is not to say that he became a bum. Far from it. In fact Dan became so good a guide that he was highly sought after. From far and wide people would make appointments to pay $300 per day in advance just to get a ride on his 24 foot Aquasport center console inboard and learn to saltwater fish. Didn't hurt him one bit the year when he won the Jacksonville Open Kingfish Tournament with a $600 charter.
Anyhow, getting back to the story. I met Dan at the dive shop when the owner recommended me as someone who could teach him to spearfish. I was not impressed as he was not a certified diver and I figured he just wanted to spend a lot of my time talking and never really do anything. You know. A wannabee. But he invited me to go fishing on his boat one Saturday and I accepted. He told me not to bring any tackle as we would be using his.
To keep from digressing, it was a super day of fishing. I will say that Dan is one of the most talented saltwater guides I have ever seen. I was VERY impressed with his uncanny knowledge and skills so I told him to "Get Certified" and call me.
Well about six weeks later he called. Said he was certified and we set an appointment to go out on my boat for a day's spearfishing. I, in the meantime, talked to his instructor and found that yes he was indeed certified but had not yet dove in salt water. He was an excellent student and should do OK.
The big day came and we were off to the BR ferryboat on a fine Monday morning in June. I mean if he can dive in 30 feet of freshwater he ought to be able to do it in 115 feet of salt. Right? For you non divers, 115 feet is considered an advanced dive and is extremely hazardous. If something goes wrong. I mean, it is ten stories straight up to the surface with 53 pounds of gear strapped to your back. Not to mention short nitrogen dive window and rapid air consumption due to depth.
We arrived on the BR and had the wreck all to ourselves. After gearing up we dropped down on the wreck and the visibility was pretty good. About 40 feet. Dan starts chasing a huge red snapper and is doing OK so I shoot a couple of gag grouper and turn back to check on him. He has shot the snapper and is putting it on the stringer but doesn't notice the 6 foot sand tiger dogging his every move. At that exact moment he sees another bigger red snapper and starts after it. The snapper makes about 30 feet and comes to an abrupt stop. Seems the fish had been hooked previously by a fisherman and had hung the 100 pound test line in the wreck and the fisherman had broken off leaving the fish tied to the wreck.
The fish turned a hard left running from Dan and at the taut end of the line began to make a large high speed circle around the now bewildered diver who had pulled up short and was standing on the bottom watching the fish run.
The fish made one, two, three, laps around Dan all the while the 100 pound test line was being wrapped around him like a bobbin. Five, six, seven laps, the line is getting shorter now and Dans arms are firmly tied to his body as the 30 pound fish pulls harder and harder and is getting closer and closer as the line gets shorter and shorter.
Finally the fish ran out of line, came to a tight stop, and was pounding the now thoroughly tied up Dan in the face with his tail still trying to escape. That's when the sand tiger decided to intervene.
It was like watching the Keystone Kops. The sand tiger was ten feet away calmly munching on his other snapper while the current fish was pounding him senseless and me trying desperately not to bust a gut laughing at that depth.
One look at Dan changed the whole story. His eyes were as big as saucers through his mask. The only thing that was keeping him from killing himself by making a panic ascent from that depth was that he was tied to the wreck by the fish.
Things were about to get outta hand. Usually it is the diver that comes to the rescue of the panicked diver that gets hurt. I powerhead the shark, knife the fish and string it before cutting only the fish free from Dan. All the while trying to make eye contact with the tied up diver who is at 19.8 on a panic scale of 10. Out of it!
Finally, I grabbed him by the shoulders and got him eyeball to eyeball with me and just waited for him to calm down. I checked his air gauge and he was getting low. Finally I began to see sanity returning to those eyes. I pulled out my regulator, cracked a smile and gave him the thumbs up signal. He returned it. Thank God. I cut him out of the fishing line and handed him the strung up fish to carry. I carried the rest of his spearfishing gear and with one hand on his web rigging we began the long slow swim to the surface.
When we got back to the boat and after Dan had a chance to calm down and dry off I calmly, off hand, asked him.
"So..., Dan..., How do you like spearfishing?"
BT
AI
