"THE DROP OFF?!?" (Insert Marlin voice from Finding Nemo)

The date is July 13.  Since the start of my Caribbean castaway experience, I've collected a baker's dozen sea beans, my skin has somehow darkened at least 6 shades, my beard length has grown to grizzly proportions, and my yearning to explore the mysteries of the deep has increased 10-fold.

Little Cayman is world renowned in the scuba community for it's astoundingly pristine reefs, almost completely untouched by human hands, teeming with hundreds of species of fish, corals, and invertebrates.  But what really draws those who truly yearn for an out of body experience is the wall diving.

The Cayman Islands are actually parts of the Cayman Ridge that have broken the surface of the ocean.  Directly offshore stretching to the tip of Jamaica lies the Cayman Trench, possibly concealing hundreds, if not thousands of new species in the dark, cold wilderness extending 25,000 feet to the ocean floor.  This ocean realm remains relatively unexplored, but in 2010, UK researchers from the National Oceanography Center in Southampton (NOCS) deployed a remote-controlled robot 3.1 miles beneath the surface and discovered black smokers, spewing sulfide-rich water exceeding 840° F.  In January of 2012, the researchers published their findings, announcing the discovery of a new species of eyeless shrimp, Rimicaris hybisae, that possesses mysterious light-sensing organs on their backs.  All this sounds pretty cool right?  Now for the best part... I was blessed with the opportunity to dive the legendary wall

At 8:00am, we loaded our scuba rigs into the old, beat up white pick up truck that has definitely seen better days.  The anticipation was building during the short 5 minute ride to the dive site.  As we descended down the mooring line to the sandy bottom and swam to the reef edge, I had to fight with every cell in my body to control my breathing as not to suck up my limited supply of air.  Then I saw it.  The drop off.

Swimming over the reef bottom at 40 feet, it hit me like a freight train.  Suddenly there was nothing but blue.  Keep in mind, the visibility here is 100 feet plus, and I couldn't see anything remotely similar to bottom below me.  As we descended down the wall to 76 feet, I literally felt like I was on the edge of the world or something.  I wish I had a photo from far away to really give you a glimpse of the magnitude of the sheer drop off.

If being in this holy place wasn't enough, we were greeted by 107, a 5 foot tagged Caribbean reef shark.  Naturally I sucked like 300 psi (that's quite a lot) being a complete fish nerd as she appeared like hazy apparition in the distance.  She slowly swam around us, curiously checking us out-- so close I was able to watch her pupils move.  

As quickly as she appeared, 107 vanished into the abyss

And just like that, as quickly as she appeared, 107 disappeared into the abyss.  It's kind of ironic how everybody thinks they're on the dinner menu for sharks as soon as they step foot in the ocean-- We've been diving almost every other day for the past 2 weeks here at CCMI, in some of the most pristine reefs on the planet, and I've seen a whopping two Caribbean reef sharks.  My mom messaged me later that night after our dive saying "How scary!" (referring to the shark)-- if she wanted to, 107 could have easily taken a chomp out of me and my alien-like counterparts, completely out of our elements with bulky, somewhat cumbersome scuba equipment.  It just goes to show, they aren't any more monstrous than the human race is

I'm praying to Poseidon that I get to see more sharks and other large creatures of the deep.  But for now, I'm off to finish my project.

P.S., due to my grizzly, ginger appearance, I've been deemed "Redbeard".  I guess that means I can stay here the rest of the summer, sailing the Caribbean sea on a homemade bamboo raft, bartering sea beans for rum and pillaging adjacent islands?


--Redbeard out