Bull Ray

*****Warning: This post is not suitable for those family members who suffer from any form of anxiety. Warning...do not read on if you already lose sleep worrying about me!!*****

Today, I finally got to finish my dive course. We had a VERY early start. We had to be at the dive shop by 6 a.m. So, although sleepy, I was eager to get in the water and get my PADI certificate. I ended up being with a new dive instructor because the group was so big, we had to separate into 2 groups and take 2 boats out to Cook Island, where we were diving. Tanya, my instructor for today, was actually from Newfoundland. Anyway, there was really not too much to see, the visability wasn't the best and the sea creatures seemed to be in hiding. Well hidden actually...which brings me to me story...

One of the skill requirements that we had to do in order to pass the course was "hovering", which means that we had to be able to sit crossed-legged in the water, without moving. Basically it shows that you are capable of neutral bouyancy (you aren't floating and you aren't sinking). When my turn came, Tanya tried to find an area on the bottom of the ocean, where we could work on the task. I began concentrating on not letting too much air into my BCD (bouyancy control device...the thing that you wear that fills with air), and crossed my legs. As I was trying to find a neutral place, I began sinking to the bottom. Just as I was about to add some more air to my BCD, Tanya grabbed me by the arm and pulled me towards her and motioned to me to swim. So, I did. No big deal. I continued with my dive, wondering why we didn't finish the skill. Once we come to the surface, everyone said, "Cari! Did you see that RAY?!" I reply, "What ray?".

Turns out there was a bull ray directly under me while I was doing my hover. He was hidden in the sand, until I almost stepped on him, at which point, he raised his tail at me. Tanya said that she has never seen a ray so big. She said it was about the size of a kitchen table and that it's spikes were about a foot long. It also had a very thick tail. Tanya said when she saw the spikes, she was like, and I quote..."Holy Shit!" and that's when she grabbed me and pulled me away. The diving assistant said she literally gasped when she saw that it was directly under me and not so happy to have me directly above it. I took this from an article I found on the internet...

"Stingrays are considered by most experts to be docile creatures, only attacking in self-defense. Most stingray-related injuries to humans occur to the ankles and lower legs, when someone accidentally steps on a ray buried in the sand and the frightened fish flips up its dangerous tail."

Some of you may recall that it was a bull ray that killed Steve Irwin...http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://data2.blog.de/media/520/804520_ca2d469fb9_m.jpg&imgrefurl=http://healthiswealth.blog.co.uk/2006/09/08/pay_your_personal_tribute_to_steve_irwin~1107800%3Fcomment_ID%3D1670344&h=240&w=180&sz=16&hl=en&start=10&tbnid=nsY7_PTKnBvM6M:&tbnh=110&tbnw=83&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbull%2Bray%26gbv%3D2%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG, although that was very rare and a total freak incident.

Tanya said that the bull rays rule the ocean, as far as rays go. I didn't even get to see the thing, which totally sucks, but I have learned that on any future dives, I will stay well off the bottom! I really believe that everything happens to teach us something we need to know...guess that was what I learned today! If only I had actually seen the ray, it might have made this story even more exciting to tell! I think it is actually a cooler story for the people who watched it raise it's tail to tell, but Tanya said and again, I quote, "This is the kind of thing you write home about!". So that's just what I did.

The above pic is of a bull ray, taken from the internet.