Diving with Whale Sharks: Check

24 November 2016

“Ok guys, we just got word that it’s still at Southwest. We’re three minutes out. Gear up!”

The excitement was palpable as eleven divers quickly donned their BCDs, strapped on weight belts, found fins and spit in masks (no foggy masks today). No one wanted to be the last one off the boat on this dive.

We arrived at the dive site, elated and surprised to find only us and one other boat present. How is that possible? Koh Tao is an island with over fifty dive shops, and news of a whale shark sighting at Southwest had been circulating all day. We’d been expecting a frenzy of activity here, but instead we arrive to near silence and calm seas. I thanked whatever good karma had earned me this moment.

The motors cut, and there was a momentary hush in the excited conversation as everyone scanned the water, geared up and ready to jump in at the smallest indication of activity below. Suddenly there is pointing and shouting from the other boat, they’d spotted it, and from their behavior, it was swimming right under them. Regs in, masks on, BCDs inflated, eleven divers took the leap one after the other. Our group of five circled up, gave the OKs to descend, and down we went.

Blue. Blue as far as the eye could see (which today was about 10-12 meters). The visibility wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t clear enough to spot a massive 20 foot fish wherever it may be. So we started searching, swimming in the direction it had last been spotted. Every so often, we’d all check over our shoulders, scanning the full horizon for activity. I did just this about ten minutes in, and my heart stopped. There it was. A massive looming shadow some 12 meters behind us, just barley visible near the surface. Being at the back of the group, I screamed into my regulator, trying to get the group’s attention. If you’ve ever been diving, you’ll know that this is not the most effective means of communication under water, but seeing as I didn’t have anything metal to bang on my tank, scream it was. I’m sure looking in on the scene it must have looked pretty comical, me yelling incomprehensibly into my reg, madly pointing into the endless blue behind us, becoming increasingly exasperated as it became clear my attempts weren’t working. Honestly, I don’t know if it was my yelling that finally caught their attention, or some act on behalf of my buddy beside me (who had noticed my fit well before the rest), but finally they all turned around, eyes widening as they too saw the shark swimming off behind us.

Kicking hard, we jetted after it, the massive outline growing clearer and clearer the closer we got. Before I knew it, we were gliding through the sea right beside it. I don’t know if I can accurately put into words the emotions I felt in that moment. Awe. Gratitude. Wonder. Amazement. Pure joy. It was an out of body experience. I swam beside it, above it, and under it, adjusting my position as it gracefully adjusted it’s. I think what stuck me the most was how simultaneously beautiful and powerful this creature was. It’s caudal fin, taller than myself, easily gliding back and forth to propel this gentle giant steadily ahead.

We followed it until it descended into the murky thermocline below, visible as no more than a shadow once again.

Or not.

Just when I thought we’d lost it, it made a rather abrupt turn, and came straight for us, angling towards the surface. I wasn’t the only one yelling into my reg at that point. A chorus of muffled “Whooohoooooo!”s and “Holy Shit!”s (ok maybe that was just me) could be heard from the group. I had to swim out of the way as it cut a path through us, making eye contact with it as it swam to the surface. Holy shit is right. I was left beaming and breathless.

Remarkably, we ended up spending most of the dive with the beauty. It continued to circle the main pinnacle, allowing us ample viewing experience. When it finally came time to surface, the minute our regs were out the air was filled with shouts of excitement and wonder. Our dive master, who’d had at least six whale shark encounters thus far, said she’d never in her life experienced one as remarkable as that.

I am so grateful that I was fortunate enough to have such an memorable and extended encounter with a whale shark in its natural environment. No baiting of the water, no man manipulation, just a whale shark doing as whale sharks do.