TRAVELSPECIAL
A titan triggerfish foraging among the marine turf
Heading South
From the Brothers , we headed due south , arriving at the most isolated of all the Red Sea islands – Daedalus Reef , with its imposing lighthouse and elliptical reef .
My shark-obsessed friends were looking forward to hammerheads , but my philosophy in the Red Sea is to prioritise the coral . At Daedalus I took my time to appreciate the reef tops , where masses of anthias basslets flowed back and forth . I ’ ve never seen so many anthias ; while the shark group fixed their gaze on the blue , I drifted serenely with my buddy , Chris , watching the shifting red clouds .
Undaunted , the shark posse appeared at breakfast brandishing hurriedly downloaded footage . I was regaled with stories of deep encounters , and murky photographs of dark grey water with perhaps a few light grey pixels in the frame , which I was assured was a school of hammerheads . Still , it did stir my competitive instincts , so I joined the next deep dive and found myself deftly tracking a couple of sharks at 35m . Over lunch , my buddy delightedly showed me video footage that depicted me in a haze of narcosis , chasing a couple of terrified sharks . Thus , the moral high ground was lost .
The inquisition was curtailed by news that an oceanic white-tip shark had been sighted , so Under the Boat was nominated as the next dive site . I ’ ve had some great times with OWTs , but as large predators they demand respect . The key to safety is disciplined diving and heightened awareness – let the shark know that you ’ ve seen it , and you are less likely to be subject to ‘ exploratory ’ behaviour . However , oceanic sharks such as silkies and OWTs are adept at finding your blind side , and when you have three or four of them in the vicinity , it ’ s difficult to prevent them sneaking up behind you .
It ’ s hard to piece the events together , but after about 45-50 minutes Sayed told us to abort the dive . He had apparently seen one of our party appear at the surface beside the liveaboard , being harried by two sharks . I didn ’ t see this , but it ’ s common knowledge the surface is a bad place to be in the presence of oceanic sharks .
I ’ d noticed a ramping-up of the sharks ’ behaviour when a few amberjacks chanced
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