SCUBA Feb 2021 Issue 111 | Page 39

UKDIVING
The muscular flank and long pectoral fins of a basking shark
The first shark was small , maybe only three metres long according to Shane , who estimates their size by the distance between the dorsal and tail fins . But soon there were other sharks on the scene , including some real giants . Alex and I were beyond excitement , desperate to get in the water . However there was a whole new group to be briefed and we had to sit in agony while they were swiftly inducted in the rules of engagement .
Eventually , it was our turn to be dropped a discrete distance from a feeding shark . Alex and I slipped into the water , then snorkelled in the direction indicated by
Laura Corbe , our superb in-water guide . The water was full of salps and lion ’ s mane jellies , hanging like curtains along the water column . Then the shark materialised before us , its mouth open to sieve the water , then closing as it registered our presence .
With the sun now coming over our shoulders we could see clearly as its immense head hove into view , followed by the broad gills and the serpentine body . What a shark ; what an amazing creature . I pressed my camera ’ s shutter release and let it fire away as the great fish slipped silently through the water .
Andy Clark in the zone Cows on the beach
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