Stalked by a Barracuda

You all probably know by now that I have a lot of respect for sharks, rays and barracudas. Most recently, I had been overwhelmed by the number and size of sharks that had "welcomed" us in the Marina at Rum Cay. (Not a place worth going by the way. While Rum Cay must be ideal for fishing, snorkelling and diving, the abandoned marina is just what you would expect from an abandoned marine, with tons of no-seems on top of it.)

One of the 10+ big sharks that were circling around our boat
in the Rum Cay Marine.

Most of the time, my respect for those creatures is keeping me from swimming, which is a real pity in such beautiful waters, and I’m not happy about it. Having stayed at Hog Cay, Long Island, Bahamas for quite a few days now without seeing any of the above, I felt save to enjoy a swim and even started some little exercise regime including swimming and walking in the water. That might have come to an abrupt end yesterday. High Intensity Exercise is supposed to be really good for you, right? Well, I did some of that, quite involuntarily, three times! 

First, I swam from the boat to the shore when a fast approaching small motorboat came in sight. Rolf made gestures to them at the bow, pointing out I was in the water, while I started my first High Intensity Exercise trying to get into shallower water quickly. I’m not a good swimmer and very, very slow, so that exhausted me quite a bit. They did see me thanks to Rolf, so I was in no immediate danger. I had been aware of this risk, but dismissed it as slim so far, but might take the kayak to get to the beach next time.

Next, I did my little routine swimming along the beach when I “ran” into a big fish. It surprised me so much, and I obviously scared him, too, that I immediately turned to swim to the shore while he turned the other way. That was my second High Intensity Exercise that morning. 

Doing some stretching on the beach afterwards, I could not believe my eyes when I saw that fish right in front of me in less than a foot of water, looking right at me. I had a hunch that it was a barracuda, which was later confirmed when Rolf checked the internet. That barracuda stayed with me and kept looking at me while I walked along the shore in the opposite direction of the boat. When I went in to shoo him away, he always returned quickly. I will never know whether he thought of me as pray or whether he was hoping my “hunt” would mean leftovers for him. Barracudas attacking people is quite rare, but not unheard of. Usually, it happens in murky water, though, or when people wear something shiny, like jewelry, which was not the case here. Anyway, at some point, he disappeared further down the beach, so I walked back to where I would have to cover the shortest distance to the boat swimming. I didn’t believe Rolf would hear me if I shouted for him to be picked up with the dinghy. I also felt slightly embarrassed to be that concerned. Hence with, my third High Intensity Exercise started. My legs felt like pudding when I got back to the boat. While feeling quite uncomfortable during that swim, I didn’t see the barracuda – until I was safely back on the boat! He swam around the boat for more than an hour afterwards and we got quite a good look at him. I can only assume it was the same guy. They can swim as fast as 40km/hour, while I’m slow as a snail in comparison. What an ugly, mean-looking fish! And big! Almost a meter long (3 feet)! Whenever Rolf splashed the water a little bit with his foot, he would shoot towards it like a dart. Rolf thought we should catch it to get rid of it, but because you can’t eat them due to the risk of ciguatera poisoning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ciguatera), we didn’t. In the end, I felt sorry for that guy as obviously his hunt had not been very successful. Regardless, I’m not going into the water today. Gotta built up my sense of safety again first…

That was him, my "High Intensity Exercise Trainer",
not a small guy, almost a meter long. 

With a mean, ugly face...

...and really ugly teeth... (picture courtesy
www.tarponfisher.com/fishing-for-barracuda-in-key-west)