Whilst holidaying just off the coast of Africa
we went on a catamaran boat trip. I am normally fine at sea and love the water. However, this time I didn't feel too well. We carried on anyway, and after a couple of hours of sailing, anchored the boat in the water and we were allowed to go for a swim and a snorkel.

As I said, I am quite confident in the water and had been snorkelling and scuba diving many times before. This time, however, I was desperate to get out of the water. My mum had paid for it all and was getting rather pissed off at me for panicking. Then all of a sudden the boat began to move. A large pull from the water pulled me down under the water and under the boat. I was literally swimming on the spot under the water due to the strength of the current. Suddenly the bouy line hit me straight in the chest and pinned me up against the side of the boat as I felt something large and leathery brush past my legs.

I managed to free myself from under the water, only to have to emmerse myself under it again as the anchor line came toward me quickly at neck height.

Fortunately, there was another boat trip near by, and I remember being lifted out of the water by a man on a jet ski. He took me round to the back of the catamaran and helped me on. It was only then, when I looked over the edge of the boat that I actually saw the two sharks circling below.

I looked around me on the deck to see many pale faces, a screaming child and a pool of blood. Sat nearby the blood was a young woman with a large cut on her leg.

We quickly removed the anchor and travelled back to our hotel. In the years since then, if I ever get a feeling that I really shouldn't be doing something I bloody don't do it.

I have other stories similar to this that I may tell during this week.
( Fluffy elephants, Thu 8 Feb 2007, 21:55, Reply)