Species: Blacktip Reef.
Location: Ko Tao, Thailand, 2005.
My first wild shark encounter was memorable, but certainly not glamorous! Ko Tao is a small island in the Gulf of Thailand. Imagine a beautiful idyllic island bathed in sunshine and you’d be right for every other day except the day I went shark freediving. A low-pressure system had hit the island overnight, the sea was grey and rough. When we reached the coastal reef area where the sharks could usually be found it was about 6:30 am and I realised I was in danger of losing my stomach! Excitement took over however and I was straight in the water.
My first glimpse of a 5ft Blacktip Reef shark was accompanied by heavy water chop, a wave flooded my snorkel. I swallowed what felt like a gallon of seawater, which pushed my sea sickness to the limit. I kept one eye on the shark, indicated to someone else I’d seen a shark and prevented myself from drowning as I was regurgitating my stomach contents (talk about multi-tasking!), as the retching subsided, I was delighted by the benefits my stomach evacuation had bought – swarms of reef fish and with them roaming sharks! Perfect!