One of my biggest fears in life is sharks, being eaten by one or having a lim torn off or whatever else the movies tell you. I spent my 25th birthday in Durban, South Africa on the World Race, and what else is there to do but step out of your comfort zone and conquer one of your fears?
We got up at 3:45 to leave at 4:15 and drive down the coast to be to Blue Wilderness at 5:15 to launch at 6. We get out of the taxi and it starts to set in a little bit… I about to swim with one of the most feared creatures in the ocean on my own free will, with nothing but a wet suit, snorkel and fins on. We get our briefing of the dos and don’ts while we’re out there and the first group of 5 launch, then the 9 rest of us shortly after. There were 14 of us who decided that this is how we would spend the morning.
We start walking to the boat around 7 A.M. and it sets in even more… yep, there’s the ocean, the waves are huge, the ocean is amazing, can we just boogie board or something? The boat is ready to go, jump in, here goes nothing. We wait for a break in the waves to get out to sea and find our friends who launched a little before we did. We’re on the boat and we are all a little amazed that this is what we’re doing, that we’re in Durban and that e’re about to do something we would (probably) never do back home.
We see our friends in the distance, swimming next to their boat. We see their snorkels, everyone is in the water, it can’t be that bad. Our boat slows down and we all turn and look to see fins coming out of the water, and not the fins attached to our friend’s feet… Holy smokes, we’re about to willingly get in the water with these things. My heart starts pounding a little faster but I’m trying to play it cool, here goes nothing.
The other group gets out, we get our gear on and the guide slides in and says who is first? Without hesitation I go “ME!” I swing one leg over, then the next, look in the water if I see any sharks and he tells me to slide in. I get out of the boat. Theres a bar floating in the water you can hold on to, as I reach out for it I stick my face in the water. I look down and 2 feet in front of my face under me swims a black tip shark, about 5 or 6 feet in length. In that initial moment I was thinking “what the heck am I doing?” As the rest of my group jumps in, I let go of the bar and start swimming around. I can’t let the fear of the experience keep me from getting the most out of it.
It was one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had and I got to share it with some wonderful people. I realized that the fear came from something unknown, foreign, different than the reality. Yes, these are large creatures with the power to rip you limbs off or end your life, at least that’s what the movies and shark week tells us. But these were incredible creatures, they weren’t aggressive or out to hurt us. They just were beings, living in their natural environment, letting us enjoy their beauty.
I walked away from this day wanting to spend more time in the water with them. Understanding them more, not fearing what I don’t know or what I’m not used to. It put life into a new perspective for me, to not fear the uncomfortable because sometimes it will be one of the greatest experiences you will ever have.
